Making things complicated?

Ever heard of the K.I.S.S. Principle of design? Now, don’t get offended. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.  Systems work best when they operate in the least complicated way. When Steve Jobs set about designing the IPhone™ he insisted on a design so clean, so intuitive, that no manual would be needed. He wanted someone to pick up the device and be able to use it immediately. He succeeded. Even a child can take a ‘smartphone’ in his hands and start to use it with no instruction!

God wants to know us and says that He is near and accessible.  When Moses spoke to the people of the Lord for one of the last times, he reminded them of this. "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 30:11-16, NIV)

Christian, that word remains for you and me. The Spirit of God lives in us, makes the Way plain to us, and asks for our obedience. We don’t have to travel to the far side of the world on a vision quest to find Him. We don’t have to go through esoteric rituals to unlock spiritual mysteries. God is here, now, active in our hearts.

Jesus endorsed that simplicity, teaching us to keep our hearts pure and our words a simple ‘Yes’ to God, the Spirit. He told those who came to Him wondering about how to please God that it came down to just two basic commands – “Love God wholehearted and love your neighbor as yourself.” "All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:40, NLT)  He reserved only scorn for those who tore up the Word of God looking for loopholes and minimal ways to remain in God’s favor.

This does not suggest that learning or theology is unimportant. Those who are blessed with hearts that are responsive to the Spirit and minds that are diligent in study bring benefit to us as teachers, helping us to gain insight. However, at the core of our faith there remains the pure truth summarized this way – Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!

Do you want to know the will of God in your life? Start with “yes” to the Spirit that has no reservation. Like Samuel of old, make your prayer “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

Living with a yielded heart allows us to know the Spirit’s leading, keeps us from “grieving” Him, and blesses us with revelation.

Here is a word from the Word. Lord, help us to have open ears, responsive hearts, and hands that move at Your direction. Amen

""But the way of getting right with God through faith says, “You don’t need to go to heaven” (to find Christ and bring him down to help you). And it says, “You don’t need to go to the place of the dead” (to bring Christ back to life again). Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is the message we preach—is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart. For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." (Romans 10:9-10, NLT)

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Holy Spirit

(a song of adoration and invitation)

There's nothing worth more that will ever come close

No thing can compare You're our living hope

Your Presence

I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves

Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone

In Your Presence Lord

Holy Spirit You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory God is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your Presence Lord

Your Presence Lord

Your Presence

Oh God how we love Your Presence Lord

Let us become more aware of Your Presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness (Lord)

Bryan Torwalt | Katie Torwalt

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