By The Fireside: Filling or Feeling?

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
Ephesians 5:18

There are few left who will do what’s right when its uncomfortable.

All philosophies distill into two distinct paths. One which will go the way that gives them the return they want. The other will go the way that is right, regardless of how it makes them feel. Of the two paths, it is assumed that the believer in Christ would take the second.

But O how many only call themselves Christians because it gets them what they want: path #1!

Forgiveness of sin? I’ll take it.

Miss out of Hell? Absolutely.

No guilt? I’m in.

A secured place in Heaven? Deal.

What’s it cost? Free if I just pray a little prayer? That’s it? I know a good deal when I see it!

As Paris Reidhead iconically stated:

And the appeal could be as much to selfishness as a couple of men sitting in a coffee shop deciding they are going to rob a bank to get something for nothing! There’s a way that you can give an invitation to sinners, that just sounds for all the world like a plot to take up a filling station proprietor’s Saturday night earnings without working for them. (Emphasis mine)
Excerpt from the sermon, Ten Shekels and a Shirt (Read or listen)

This is just the tip of the horn, and there is a big, ugly rhinoceros attached to it. Humans tend to think life is all about them, while our Maker thinks it’s all about Him. One way glorifies Him, and the other pleases us. We can only choose one path.

The philosophy of the first path is ego-centric. I get what I want because I worked for it. Just because it LOOKS like spirituality–going to church, tithing, singing in the choir, volunteering– means little to the Spirit of God. You’re simply doing what you want to get what you want.

The philosophy of the second path is deo-centric, that is, God-centered. It states that Someone outside of ME is the most important personality in the universe. It has to have a Guide outside of myself, so that I cannot change it to suit my whims. When guided by the King James Bible and looking unto Jesus Christ, it brings me closer to being like Him. That’s what He wants.

There is abundant joy in taking the second path. Dr. Ruckman helped many put their lives in order with a simple alliteration: “Fact. Faith. Feeling.” I trust what God said without regard to my emotions, and He blesses me with assurance, confidence, and hope. One thing’s for sure: