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Devotion to God

This was originally posted on my Yahoo! 360 blog in early Oct 2006.

The world is such a fickle place. Every one wants their history rewritten. This past Thursday, the "Pope quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th-century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam." (Foxnews.com) The quote of the Emperor was as follows: 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."'

Now the Muslim world expects the Pope to apologize for a truthful statement. It would seem that the Muslim world wants Islam to be known as a peaceful religion, but they just can't stop reacting violently to anything major or minor some one says to prove that they might just be non-violent. In the words of Fox News the world sits in fear that Muslims may break out in another round of anti-Western protests. Gee -- what's new about that? If you will remember the peaceful reaction to a bunch of Danish cartoons - how many people were murdered to aswage the anger of peaceful Islam?

So how is the Muslim world reacting to the Pope's reference to an obscure Byzantine Emperor?

"The pope and Vatican proved to be Zionists and that they are far from Christianity, which does not differ from Islam. Both religions call for forgiveness, love and brotherhood," Shiite cleric Sheik Abdul-Kareem al-Ghazi said during a sermon in Iraq's second-largest city, Basra.

(You notice that the Jews are always blamed for anything and everything? Reality check -- historically - that would be in the past - Catholics have been some of the worst pursecutors of Jews.)

Salih Kapusuz, deputy leader of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party, said Benedict's remarks were either "the result of pitiful ignorance" about Islam and its prophet or, worse, a deliberate distortion.

"He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world," Kapusuz told Turkish state media. "It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades."

"Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words," Kapusuz added. "He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini."

And finally, five West bank churches - Anglican, Catholic and Greek Orthodox - were fire bombed in protest to what the Pope said. So, what exactly did the Anglicans and the Orthodox do again? I expect much more in the coming days no matter what the Pope does.

And what started this controversy to begin with? The Pope was calling for more dialog between religions among other things. (psst! Pope Benedict - get used to this. These are the kinds of exchanges that will occur - Christian talks, Mulsim fire bombs. Reminds me of the Roman Empire's reaction to the church for the first 300 yrs) During his stops in Germany he also called for Dedication to God - true devotion to God and the real reason we are here on this earth to begin with. He said, "God needs people, he needs people who will say, 'I am ready to help with your harvest." So what was the Pope really talking about? Well, I'm not a Catholic and I haven't read his sermon, but let me share with you what it means to be dedicated and devoted to God.

1) Love for God. There must be an attitude to give your whole heart to God, not just part of it. True love of God, not token acceptance of Christ. Duet 6:5-8 says:

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

We are to learn about who He is, what He wants, and do that, but not just that - to teach those things to others, especially our kids. God should be the first person we think about in the morning and the last person we think about at night.

So are we to wear strange contraptions on our forearms and forehead? Take black marker and write all over our doorposts? No, it was about doing something out of the ordinary to help jog your memory. Set something out of its normal place so that you see it and remember something important. Do whatever is required to prevent you from forgetting who should be the single most important person in your life. And if that means carrying a 500 lb Bible to prevent you from forgetting, then that is what you do! I use Christian worship songs. I have them on my work and home computers, and I listen to them all of the time. I get two Christian magazines a quarter. What do you need to do to help remind you to keep your whole life totally and completely devoted to God?

2) Obedience to God. Ps 119:2 says: "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." Can we love God with a whole heart and not do what He wants us to do? Can we really seek His will in our life and not obey Him?

3) Trust in God. Pro 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." If we love God and believe that He loves us, then we must by default trust Him. When we lean on our own knowledge, our own understanding of truth, that usually causes us to question the truths of God. Look at the 19th century intellectualism that rejected the biblical miracles. Men who thought they knew more than God.

4) In Prayer. Jer 29:13 says: "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Some one devoted to God seeks God continually. That person talks with God all of the time. You don't get to know some one by keeping them at arms length; you spend time with them - lots of time! Whole hearted devotion means whole hearted seeking, so don't be surprise when He shows up! (actually, He's always there, its us that are MIA)

5) In Repentance. Joel 2:12-13 says: "'Yet even now,' declares the LORD, 'Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.' Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil."

The truly devoted believer with seek God with every fiber of his being. They will not be scared to repent of their wrongs, nor holding up their rights as a banner for themselves. The true believer seeks to listen to God and obey (Eph 2:10), not for the brownie points, but simply because they desire to do the will of the God that saved them. The true believer will trust God in the good times and in the bad, and especially in the bad. They will be looking for excuses for their lack of faith or improper behavior, as if we could ever come up with any. The true believer loves God with their whole heart, seeks Him continually, listens for His voice, and longs to be in His presence.

Are you a true believer? Are you truly devoted to God?

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