Dangerous Thinking

The year that I met and fell in love with Jesus was one of many discoveries.

One thing I discovered was that not everyone knew Him though many pretended that they did.
The church that I was attending was filled with many of such people.

As I began to learn from Jesus I became uncomfortable with what was being taught.

One day I went to speak with the pastor wondering if I was misunderstanding what he was saying.
He informed me that his Jesus was on the Cross.  I said that for me my Savior was not-He had risen!
His response was that my thinking was dangerous!

Dangerous to whom?  Him?  Certainly not me!

However, there are all kinds of thinking that can be dangerous even to those who embrace a risen Savior.
This morning as I wrote my morning pages a dear friend came to mind.   Many years ago she had come to me distraught over a difficult situation in her life.  Seeking to comfort her I, of course, spoke of my Comforter.

Before she left my home that day Jesus became her Comforter. 
How I rejoiced!

Unfortunately, though her focus was on Him she did not let go of her other “beliefs.”  Thus with time the Living God was relegated to the shelf of her other gods and their religions; He has been embraced as just one more help for life.

It grieves both Papa and me.

After stopping and praying for this dear one I began to reflect on how easy it is for any of us to continue to hold on to those beliefs and ideas that conflict with the truth of our God.

Maybe we aren’t embracing another religion.  At least not one that is considered a true religion.
I asked Papa to reveal to me any false thinking that I still cling to; that I allow to influence me.

Shortly after this I opened the devotional “Daily Moments in His Presence” by Frances J Roberts.
The scripture used was Luke Eleven, verses Thirty-Five and thirty-Six,

“Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

The commentary spoke of how we allow a little darkness in through inattention, which is destructive ‘because it often goes unnoticed and unrepented, and is a secret, unexposed sin."’”
We are urged to…

“Cast it out in Jesus Name, and refuse the robber who would take your dearest treasure, your singleness of heart in your love for Me.”

Papa had my attention.

But just in case I didn’t stay focused on these concerns He repeated the message once more!

Normally I read the commentary “A Slice of Infinity” every weekday, but I had not had the opportunity to do so yesterday.

This morning I opened the email and read Jill Carittini’s words.  The title of the piece is “Thoughtful Idols”.
Ms Carittini explored how idols can come in many different forms.  We can make our view of God our idol.  We can hold so firmly to our understanding of His teaching that it becomes our god.
Her thought that God calls us to rediscover Him again and again resonated with me, as did her picture of the mere hem of His robe filling our holiest moments.
She quoted a professor named Stanley Wiersma, which I believe summed up her article.

“When you are too sure about God and faith, you are sure of something other than God: of dogma, of the church, of a particular interpretation of the Bible.  But God cannot be pigeonholed.  We must press toward certainty, but be suspicious when it comes too glibly.”

I believe this is what my Holy God is saying to me. 
In my joy of being His and the confidence that brings I dare not think that I have the whole picture.  Oh, He is so much more that I could ever think or imagine, yet it is easy to settle into what is comfortable, what we think we know.

Jill quoted Job, Chapter Eleven, verses Seven and Eight,

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?  Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?  They are higher than the heavens-what can you do?  They are deeper than the depths of the grave-what can you know?”

This God of whom I speak is not one to relegate to a shelf or to keep at arms length, nor is He one that can be grasped.

Yet, this same God is the One who invites us to enter His Holy Place and drink deeply of His Love and Joy as He revealed more of Himself to us!