Our Christian Perspective
Do You Follow God’s Recipe To Achieve True Salvation?
Forgiveness!
By Brother James
I do not like cake, I LOVE cake! I never met a delicious cake that I did not like! Have you ever attempted to bake a cake without a well-defined cook book approach, recipe? How did your cake turn out? Were you so delighted by the cake you created without following a recipe that you would contemplate entering it into a cake bakeoff or, better yet go on Shark Tank and try to get the necessary funding from the Sharks to open your own bakery? Well, if you are wise, you would realize the absolute folly of not having used a step by step approach recipe.
I believe that an intelligent and wise person, given the appropriate baking environment, utensils, ingredients and most importantly time is capable of creating the most delicious cake if they follow a step-by-step process of baking. However, if the baker were to use 5 pounds of flour instead of the required 4 pounds of flour; or two eggs when the recipe calls for 4 eggs, etc. then that baker should not expect to have the maximum success while they might have all the ingredients, but, did not use the exact and required amount of ingredients! If the recipe indicates that the baker must preheat the oven to 350 degrees but he or she chooses to preheat the oven to 450 degrees, they should not expect to take a perfect cake out of their oven even though they did turn on the oven but set it on the wrong heat level setting. So, my analogy, which I believe to be air tight, suggests that if we truly want to achieve salvation and eternal life, we must use and strictly adhere to God’s recipes for Christian life found in His cookbook of perfect instructions called the BIBLE!
Earlier in this discourse, I used two words I feel we should explore as it relates to my topic, these words are folly and wise. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines “folly” thusly: 1. The state of being foolish; want of good sense; levity, weakness, or derangement of mind. 2. A foolish act; an inconsiderate or thoughtless procedure; weak or light-minded conduct; foolery. 3. Scandalous crime; sin; specifically, as applied to a woman, wantonness. 4. The result of a foolish action or enterprise. Webster’s defines “wise” thusly: characterized by wisdom: marked by deep understanding, keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment. So, I ask given the divine instructions for Christian living are you a foolish or wise Christian? God’s word is crystal clear and all we need do is to follow it as long as we study so we might have a clear understanding of His word. The words of the apostle Paul in his letters/epistles to his protégé Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 (New International Version (NIV)) are worthy of our consideration.
“15 Do your best [study] to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” We must understand that Paul wrote these pastoral instructions directly to Timothy but, we all might be blessed by the universal application of Paul’s instructions to Timothy to study and be able to discern the word of God. How much and how often do you study the word of God? Do you leave your Christian education solely in the hands of your religious leader? If you lean only on the commentary of your pastor, bishop, etc., you might be flirting with disaster! For example, there are a large number of religious leaders who preach and teach the “prosperity gospel.” But, Paul in Galatians 1 instructs us all that there is only one true gospel, that being the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you remember what Jesus told the young rich man who in essence wanted to buy his way into heaven?” I agree with the Apostle Paul’s instruction to Timothy, “study to show yourself approved.” But I need to get back to my question, DO You Follow God’s Recipe For Salvation.
There are no circumstances, or situations that God has not given us a recipe to solve or enhance. I am ashamed to admit that I have publicly made the statement, “Forgiveness is not my forte (my strong point).” But by studying God’s word. I am learning to forgive those who have “despitefully used me.” I admittedly was a very weak and frail child who it seemed that every bully in my neighborhood found it necessary to mistreat and intimidate. I held grudges against these bullies for years, lifting them up in prayer but, prayers of imprecation, “Lord please destroy them!” As I matured spiritually, I discovered God’s numerous recipes about how and why I must forgive those I perceived as my enemies. One recipe that truly blessed me regarding my issues with forgiving others is located in Luke 6:37 in the New International Version (NIV), under the heading “Judging Others.” 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Yet another scriptural recipe on forgiving is located in the gospel of Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV) under the heading, “The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant:” 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
What the Lord made me realize was that I have no right to hold grudges or to seek revenge on those who hurt me without justification. I had to learn a bitter lesson that I will not be forgiven by the Lord if I cannot find it in my heart to forgive others. The word of God is emphatically clear that I MUST forgive others. I have chosen to attempt to forgive others not seventy seven times but exponentially, seven to the seventh power (823543 times)!
So, again I ask, are you wise in the way you conduct your life as a Christian. Are you foolishly seeking wealth, power and status rather than your place in heaven? Do you feel your faith being challenged by the actions of others while you pray for deliverance from your enemies or sad circumstances over which you have no control? Well, if you think the Lord is not moving fast enough for you or not even hearing your prayers, your recipe for your impatience and incorrect thinking is found in the NIV translation of God’s Holy word at Hebrews:11:1 “11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
I am finding tremendous solace in God’s recipe for forgiveness and pray fervently each and every day that through my studies I will one day be able to face those who have offended me with an outstretched hand and say, “I have forgiven you!” Please increase your studies and may I suggest that you spend as much time studying the word of God as you do watching television, engaged in idle gossip or engaged for endless hours on Social Media. Please remember we all have a day of reckoning and when asked by the Lord, “What did you do to help build my kingdom?” what will you say. A wise person realizes that studying God’s brings about faith. Faith in God brings about obedience and obedience to God brings about a commitment to do good works to build His Kingdom. I love the eloquent words of the late Reverend Doctor Adam Clayton Powell who oft said. “Keep the faith baby!”
Keep the faith baby as one day everything will be alright.
Unpublished Materials
ECO Copyright 2017 Henry James/Brother James