THE MOST HIGH GOD

Our careful study of major world religions was amazing. Thank you, Michael, for envisioning the study and for securing the handsome, very handy charts for us to take home. It was a delight to have so many class members take part in the presentations. Thanks so much to: Tim and Rachel, Nick and Alia, Sean, Chris S. and Matt L. Every single one of you did an excellent job and we are so grateful.

I am left with the following thoughts:

The most critical element that separates a faithful follower of Jesus Christ from a follower of a false religion is a relationship with the Most High God. Not who I THINK He is, but who He is as revealed in scripture.

Abiding in Christ allows me the indescribable privilege of trusting in His sovereignty, His mercy, His protection, His grace, His strength, His righteousness, His power, His holiness, and His love. These are not "parts" of God. They are who He is. His love is holy and righteous, His mercy is loving and sovereign, His sovereignty is merciful and powerful. Why, then, do I worry? Why do I fear? Why do I hold back?

When I submit to the Lordship of Christ, I give up my right to myself because He has purchased my redemption with His own blood. There are many religious fanatics who have been willing to die for the god they claim to worship. But the greatest evidence of a relationship with the Most High God is my willingness to LIVE for Him.

If you are still trusting in yourself, submitting to a set of beliefs and rules that connects you to a group of like-minded people, and have never been changed inwardly but only outwardly, then all you have is a religion. Nothing separates you from a follower of a major false religion or cult. You, like them, are in need of a Saviour, and there is no other Name by which you can be saved...

if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, No one who believes on Him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Rom 10:9-13

If you know Christ as your Savior, then you, like me, cannot be unmoved by the need to share the Person of Christ with those who have never known Him.
But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things! (Romans 10:14-15)

My first thought is to put on my boots and march as a Christian soldier, off to conquer the lies that have imprisoned followers of false religions. But Jesus didn't call us to wage war. He simply called us to serve Him. By serving others. By washing feet. When I encounter someone who does not know the Lord, I am to serve that person until he or she comes to know the God I serve.

I need to take off my steel-toed boots and go barefooted. Willing to have my toes stepped on. To be a doormat. To let my feet get dusty. Maybe step on a thorn or two. Wherever I go, if I am guided by unbridled devotion to Jesus Christ, my love for Him will cause me to be interested in the people He loves. And He loves everyone.