I know this is a stretch…

I woke with a song on my mind early this morning that was popular back in the early ‘60’s. I remember that because we drove across the country to California in a 1960 Impala Chevrolet that had no air conditioning, squashed in the back seat with my sister and brother, in late August riding through the desert with the windows down and the radio disc jockeys playing the new Marty Robbins song over and over again!  I have some favorite hymns like Great Is Thy Faithfulness which I have on my IPod by Cece Winons singing duet with her mom, another favorite is Total Praise written by Richard Smallwood, but standing at the sink this morning with the Gaither Homecoming playing in the background, I was singing, “Out in the west Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl…” a song I hadn’t heard in years, words I didn’t even realize that I knew! It was not my most shining moment, singing about a cowboy who shot another cowboy because he was jealous! I have always said that when you lay down at night since your spirit doesn’t ever sleep, you should tell your spirit, “I want to stand before the Throne of God all night and worship Him.” I think of the verse from Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” It gives me chills to think of the awesomeness of a complete silence in heaven for 30 minutes, of the angels and the beings saying “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” But this morning I’m thinking my spirit had obviously not been in the Throne room to wake up singing my less than spiritual song about jealousy!

OK, I admit this is a stretch but allow me, will you?

Deuteronomy 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God… I had been thinking of all the doctrines going around putting Jesus as only one way among many others to God, or discounting Him altogether, and suddenly, through this very crude example, I thought of God having given His all to us, being turned aside for the love of a “handsome young stranger”, representing the guilty excitement of people who have been raised knowing the truth of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, turning from the old paths to new directions. It will not lead to a flower covered garden path, no way, turning from God to seek “secrets” or “mystic” relationships will only lead to the death the cowboy faced out behind Rosie’s Cantina, an eternal life away from God.

If you’re seeking something new, look inside yourself to see what is missing in your life. You don’t seek after new if you are satisfied with the old. Are you trying to rearrange the Word to make room for your lifestyle, things the path of Jesus doesn’t allow for? Be honest with yourself don’t sell your soul’s salvation for an earthly problem.