Prince Charming

“When God’s presence loses reality among his people we always retreat to codes of conduct.” (This is from the Naked Church, by Wayne Jacobsen).

I remember when our children had just learned to crawl which opened up a whole new world of continued learning for them as well as for their parents.
Often in venturing out further into the larger world of our house, they would inevitably become fixated on some object that caught their fancy, usually something that was costly and precious to us, and or, harmful for them.
What became a smooth, clever and painless exchange for the potential harmful situation in taking away from them the object of their delight was done through distraction. I would take some bobble that was usually bright in colour and had a noise that it made, waved it, and rattled it in front of them only to see them instantly loose their firm grip on that which we wanted to save.

There is no possible way for our senses becoming honed or sharpened without vigorous and rigorous testing. “For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

The heart cry I believe Father God has put into our spiritual DNA is to know Him, and anything less is simply missing His best.

"For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully."
The warning is as real today as it was then, becoming distracted, and in these distractions is hidden a diabolical charmer desiring to lead us astray from the simplicity of real heart to heart intercourse.
You might ask yourself, why doesn’t God simply eradicate once and for all this deceitful snake charmer, persistently trying to keep us bewitched? Folks, without these needed and necessary distractions there would be no opportunity to continue growing in grace.

I find it most astute in the flow of the language used here by Paul; “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray.”
Our soul is under construction/transformation, it is being renewed in true righteousness, therefore the needed emphasis of hearing the voice of our Father, it being that which effortlessly cuts through that which is intended to cloud our thinking!
As I shared with my wife this morning in light of a most serious decision she is in the process of making, our security is not in what we possess materially much or little, it is only available in hearing His voice will true permanent, now and ever lasting security be hers/ours.
There are so many things, distractions the father of lies is permitted to bring to our attention whereby we are tempted to look at the instant gratification at the expense of loosing our birth-right. He comes to each of us just like I did in distracting my children to let go of their prized trophy, in my case it was to save them needles harm, in Satan’s case it is his ploy once again to get us to surrender, give up our God given authority to rule in this life and in the life to come.

Finally brethren, having done all, stand!

Rich