If any man will do His will,

he shall know of the doctrine….”

John 7:17

The Golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, indellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

   No man ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to test over it. We disobey and then wonder why we don’t go on spiritually. “If when you come to the altar,” said Jesus, “there you remember your brother hath ought against you…don’t say another word to Me, but first go and put that thing right.” The teaching of Jesus hits us where we live. We cannot stand as humbugs before Him for one second. He educates us down to the scrupleThe Spirit of God unearths the spirit of self-vindication; He makes us sensitive to things we never thought of before.

   When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don’t shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually. First go—–at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you.

My Utmost for His Highest  July 27th entry

Now those are big words and strong statements. They might shock you and put your guards up, but just think about it; when are you confused? Is it when you haven’t been obedient? This devotional was an inspiration to me when Daddy read it to us. And here’s why:

As many of you might know (and many of my readers actually are part of this) the little fellowship we had been attending for the past eight(?) years, fell apart almost a year ago. We had been expecting it for awhile, but when it actually came, it was a shock. This was ‘home’. This was where we belonged. Not only was it confusing and heart-rending for us as the ones involved, but it was also confusing for the bystanders. Weren’t we the ones that claimed to have the real thing? We probably never said it, and yet, in our hearts we believed that this was the way to go. We still don’t regret the years we spent there but now God has something else in mind for us.

Now, why do I tell you this? For one thing, a lesson.

Our little fellowship started during a revival. People were getting saved, God was moving. One thing that was impressed upon me was the fact that when you were born- again it was a U-turn, a day-to-night difference, a life-changing experience. I was young at the time, but I decided in my heart, that that was what I wanted when I got born again. A date I could look back on followed by real changes in my life. The problem was, no matter what I did or didn’t do, I didn’t get that. I had listened to the testimonies of others and I did not want to go through the confusion and heartache that they experienced when they didn’t have assurance of salvation. However, God again had something else in plan for me. (Isn’t it interesting what God does with the things we set our hearts on?) I knew that I needed to realize my need of a Saviour and yet, I couldn’t! I thought I was just too proud to admit that I had done something wrong. And yet, (as I see things now) I realize that perhaps I couldn’t see my sins because I had confessed them as I saw them. I have always been a very conscientious person. I can’t fall asleep until I have a clear conscience. When I was younger, Satan got a hold of my brain through this. Before I fell asleep, he would bring up all sorts of “sins” that I thought I needed to confess. Sometimes I even felt guilty for other people’s sins. Oh, the misery of getting up at night again and again to confess to my parents unnecessarily.

By the way, this is just the place Satan wants us. He wants us confused. I learnt how to deal with this unnecessary guilt but later I came to a wonderful realization. If you feel guilty and you can’t pinpoint it, that’s from the Devil. However, if there’s something specific, don’t try to shake the guilty feeling; God is trying to tell you something.

As the years went on, I tried to stay away from the subject of being saved as much as possible. I just got more confused the more I thought of it. I didn’t feel “saved” and I didn’t feel “unsaved”. What was I to do? My greatest fear was that I would pass away suddenly and my family would have no idea where I had gone. However, I am coming to realize that they know me better, much better, than I know myself.

Now here I want to backtrack a bit. Through the years when we had our fellowship, I felt convicted to wear the women’s head covering. Even though I didn’t count myself a Christian, I felt that the passage in 1 Corinthians 11 was addressing women, not just Christians. This brought up more questions as people began wondering if I was baptized. “No”, we told them, “I was wearing it because of conviction, not baptism.”

My one comfort (and yet I don’t know how comforting it was) was the Bible verse that says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” But sometimes I wondered if I wasn’t just being a very good hypocrite. More confusion. Until I read the rest of the passage. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

I always thought that God was making a wonderful testimony out of me. (and I still believe He is) I thought that one day I would have a ‘born again’ experience and then I could tell others about my years of confusion and then this glorious ending.

Now I realize that ‘getting saved’ isn’t a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience. This quote describes it so well. “I was saved. I am being saved. And I will be saved.” Instead of a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience, it’s a life-long process.

A while ago, it was mentioned in an opening that it was Naaman’s pride that didn’t like Elisha’s way of healing him. After all, he was a general of the great army of Syria. Shouldn’t Elisha have made a big ceremony of healing him? Now to just go bathe in the Jordan with only his servants as witnesses? That was too much. He wouldn’t do it.

As I heard this, I realized that I had been (and am) a proud person. I would like to have the dream conversion with the right people present and … “a huge ceremony”. This was pride. God wants me to be content with the way He has planned it. He doesn’t want me to have that kind of conversion because then I would take the glory. He created me and He has planned my life, shouldn’t I give Him the glory?

Glory to His Name,

                               Yesenia Unger

“Being confident in this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.  (Philippians 1:6)