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Bondman · 07-19-2008, 05:13 AM

Message #115

'GREEK THINKING' REALLY DOESN'T HELP OUR CHRISTIAN WALK!

In respect of how we think about life, from the cradle to the grave we Westerners are taught how to think in the way THE ANCIENT GREEKS DID - rather than how God’s special people, the HEBREWS, thought at the same time in history. Sadly, this is MOST UNHELPFUL to our Christianity, adversly affecting, in a quite serious way, how we see things and react to them. Let me try and explain.

I’ll start with something strong to help get us on track to understand the problem we’ve inherited. Because we ARE Greek thinkers we will perfectly happily stand up on our hind legs and say to Almighty God, "Hey you, I got rights y’know!! Who do you think you are anyway!!" Hmm… I’m pretty CERTAIN He already KNOWS Who He is!! In point of fact His UTTER RIGHT TO BE GOD AND TO RULE OVER ALL OF OUR LIVES IS EXACTLY what we really don’t want to accept, or certainly not to FULLY accept!

We have OUR rights we reckon!! This "I, me, my, mine" stuff is straight-out Greek thinking. Hey, look at me, I’M the most important person round here!! I saw children doing this in the playground every day of my teaching career! Our way of thinking and therefore our way of approaching THE WHOLE OF LIFE is so VERY detrimental to one of the most IMPORTANT and NECESSARY steps that we all need to take in the whole of our Christian life: ACCEPTING AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS OVER THE WHOLE OF OUR LIFE.

You see, Greek thinking teaches us that the INDIVIDUAL is ALL-IMPORTANT, and so we’ve all learnt how to stand up and assert our INDIVIDUAL IMPORTANCE and RIGHTS!! Greek thinking! And thus we think that NO ONE, BUT NO ONE, should ever be able to have authority over us and try bossing us around. No way!! -- Man how sad is that! This is a problem that HEBREW THINKING does not have!!

Thing is, if ever we are to grow and progress in our Christian life we simply HAVE to let One particular Person have TOTAL AUTHORITY OVER US. That’s what Jesus’ being LORD in our lives means. HE becomes the One Who is in charge. In my life these days I do what He TELLS me to do: NOT what I want to do! HE has ALL the authority, not me!! I happily ALLOW HIM TO CONTROL MY WHOLE LIFE!! May sound pretty drastic, but I can assure you that IT WORKS INCREDIBLY WELL!!! But oh, how our Greek-moulded minds and wills fight AGAINST this! We’ll do just about anything rather than give in to Jesus, and let Him rule in, and over OUR LIFE!!

I have to tell you that you will get NOWHERE in your Christian life until you front up to this FACT – that He MUST RULE in your life. Not in part of it – in ALL of it! It IS a drastic step. And GREEK THINKING will work to STOP you from TAKING IT! Please give up this rotton way of thinking! Then you can bow down to Him as Lord now, rather than be FORCED to bow in eternity, when EVERY KNEE will bow - whether we want to or not!! Philippians Ch 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

- BM, with his Beloved

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY
FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!