Keep it simple
Just wanted to pass along this quick, wonderful testimony from someone who came out of a commune/cult (the 60's!):
Why I Believe in a Biblical Worldview (A Testimony) by Rick Segoine.
I loved it when he said "... along with all of the study and knowledge that comes with it, my dear and precious Jesus always reminded me along the way to never forsake the simple things. The simple faith of a child. The gratefulness for my salvation and what He did for me. My heart filled with His love..."
This resonated with me because after leaving our church (because of Calvinism - lofty, convoluted, contradictory, soul-deadening, love-destroying, faith-suffocating garbage), I have been longing to get back to the simple things.
Simple truths. Simple joys. Simple relationship with God. Simple Gospel.
"For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
We complicate things so much, too much - trying to achieve more or do better or impress God or earn our way with Him. Always running. Always striving. Always trying so dang hard to be more than we are because we just don't feel good enough.
When all along, God's been trying to remind us to stop running, stop striving, stop trying so hard... and to simply find our hope and help and healing in Him.
"The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, who hope in His unfailing love... We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You." (Psalm 33:18-22)
“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)
“You will keep in perfect peace he whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa. 26:3)
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isa. 40:31)
“… the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10)
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul...” (Psalm 23:1-3)
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19)
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
"Be still and know that I am God!" (Psalm 46:10)
I don't know about you, but just reading these helps my soul. (Go back and read them again, and try it out loud this time.)
And I could sure use more hope and help and healing these days, something stable to plant my feet on in a world that's falling apart.
And for me, it can only be found in Jesus.
And you can find it too:
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
God keeps it simple: Believe and be saved. Believe... and get all the things He promises His children, all the things we really need.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matt. 6:33)
"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)
“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.” (Prov. 2:6-8)
God keeps it simple: "Have faith in Me - trust Me - and you'll be okay."
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I love the line in Jesus Revolution when Chuck Smith is lamenting that there are so many voices out there, yelling all kinds of things, that it's hard to know what to believe anymore. And his wise, godly wife says "The truth is quiet. It's the lies that are loud." And he sighs and says that it's all so complicated. And she pauses, looks at him, and says "The truth in simple."
There are so many voices out there yelling all kinds of things today, so many distractions and deceptions and lies, so much fighting and confusion and hopelessness and fear. And it's all just getting to be too much.
If you've been listening to all the loud voices out there and tried all the other ways and yet still haven't found what you're looking for, maybe it's time to tune in to the quiet voice of God and listen to His simple truths.
And the most important simple truth is this: God wants to love you, save you, heal you, help you ... and all you have to do is let Him.
Jesus loves you so much that He died in your place so that you could be forgiven, healed, whole, and have eternal life, and all you have to do is believe Him, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and be saved.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
"... Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it [eternal life] is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
“For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already ...” (John 3:16-18)
“if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved... ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:9,13)
It's that simple. It's that easy.
And do you know why?
Do you know why God could simplify salvation like this? Why He could offer His gifts to us so abundantly, so freely?
Because He already did all the work for us. He paid the price for our sins (death) so that we don't have to, because He loves us and wants us with Him in heaven. He calls out to us all, pursues us, meets us in our messes, knocks on the door of our hearts, and pleads with us to let Him in, to accept the free gift of eternal life He offers us all. The free gift that cost Him His life, His blood.
And all we have to do - all we can do - is accept it, opening our hands and humbly receiving the free gifts He offers us all. Hope, help, healing, forgiveness, love, grace, mercy, freedom, peace, joy, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Don't cheapen faith by complicating it.
Just believe Him, trust Him, and watch what He can do!
"The Lord answered Moses, 'Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.'" (Num. 11:23)
(Maybe the fact that having faith is supposed to be so simple is what makes it so hard for us to do.)
I love the way C.S. Lewis explained the moment he was saved. I can't remember where I read it, but he basically said that it's not that he had to do anything more to find God or to reach Him; he just had to stop resisting Him, stop holding the door shut.
God does all the work of trying to reach us, and all we have to do is open the door and let Him in.
The simplest faith thing you can do is to just stop pushing Him away. Put your arms down and let Him reach out and hold you. He'll take it from there.
Why do we complicate it? Why do we fight it, especially when all God wants to do is help us, heal us, love us, save us? How many more things do we need to try or trials do we need to face before we'll turn to Him? How much "evidence" will be enough to convince us that we can trust Him? How much more will it take before we'll finally put our arms down and let Him hold us?
There are many who resist Him because they doubt He exists: "If God is real, then why doesn't He prove He's real?"
Well, He did ... it's called Creation.
"Oh, that's just evolution. It's nature," they say. "But if He's really real, why doesn't He send us a clear message, in black-and-white?"
He did ... it's called the Bible.
"No, no, that was just written by men. An interesting old book, but nothing more. But if He's really, really real, then why doesn't He come down here and show Himself to us physically? Why doesn't He come show us how much He loves us? Then we'd really believe!"
Once again, He did ... and His name is Jesus ... and He died so that we could live ... and they still don't believe.
How much more will it take?
Romans 1:18-21,28,2:5: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened...
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind...
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed."
As Rick so rightly says in that article, "each and every person has been endowed with the gift of free will to decide for themself."
So what do you choose to believe? And why?
What are you putting your faith in?
Where will you end up because of it?
(And are you ready to find out?)
"So if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!" (Joshua 24:15)
Two of my favorite City Harmonic songs, worth listening to again and again:
[And three more songs I love: Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle and I AM by Crowder and Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith. Come on, you know you've got a time to listen to five great songs. Oh goodness, I've got to add these two also: Manifesto (City Harmonic) and We Believe (Newsboys). So good. Such simple, beautiful truths.]
And another great testimony from a skeptic who tried to disprove Jesus but ended up believing in Him instead: The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (70-minute documentary)
And for my testimony and my research into Jesus and the Bible and the other options out there, see:
Support for Jesus and the Bible
An Overview of World Religions
Starting your own relationship with Jesus Christ
Why I could never be an Atheist
