Originally posted on January 16, 2022 @ 9:26 pm
Want to live forever? I mean do you want to live a great life for eternity? You can. All you have to do is lose your life. Give it up. Hand it over. That’s a pretty good trade, don’t you think? Be willing to lose.
I was driving home from watching the Dallas Cowboys lose another in a long string of post-Jimmy Johnson losses. Losing is what Jerry Jones’ teams do best. They literally define mediocrity. But this is not about football. This is about you.
That scripture in the title says everything to those who know, and nothing to those who do not know.
I remember long ago when I read that scripture. It made no sense to me, so I asked someone what it meant. It made no sense to me when they explained it to me. It was almost offensive, as if it was a trick designed to sound spiritual while talking me out of my very own life.
It was my life in play. Someone who wrote that verse in the bible wanted me to give up my entire life on the threat of taking it from me if I didn’t cooperate. Well, Molon Labe, chief.
During those young years of my life, I lived a near dream life. I was practically a legend among my peers. Great street cred, women to spare, personable, hard working, loved to party. Giving that up because some weird verse in the Holy Bible was a fools errand. Give my life up for what, exactly?
No drinking. No dancing. No sex. No drugs. No party life. No freaking way. And I lived that way for 20 or so years. At some point in my 40’s I did ask “God” to change my life. I was standing in my living room when I said it, and sure enough He went right to work. Seriously. About a week later I was mowing the lawn and started up a conversation with Him.
I finished mowing, grabbed a cold Shiner from my refrigerator and sat down on a bench in the shade of my front porch. I popped open that beer, took a nice long drink, sat the bottle down and, to ‘God’, said “I don’t want you to change my life anymore. Please just stop. I’m losing everything.”
Yes, it was just like that, and I meant what I said. He was yanking people, income and fun out of my life as if those things were life jackets on the Titanic. Wholesale destruction of the life of Jerry Davis. I need that nonsense to stop.
I was in a really anti-christ marriage back then, too. I was ‘saved’ and often went to church. The woman I was married to went with me often at first, but then quit. I don’t remember the circumstances. Maybe I quit, too. Dunno. Years ago. But I remember turning back to ‘God’. I remember really turning back to Him. I remember one night in the kitchen with Tres. She was ripping me up one side and down the other about something. it was really bad, but then she was often very wicked.
As she ripped into me, instead of taking offense, I just looked into her eyes and ignored her words until I saw the face of Yahusha looking right back at me. I remember His face, mostly transparent, superimposed right over hers. I could still see her talking, but could not hear her words. I just saw Jesus smiling at me, and I smiled right back at Him.
As soon as I smiled that dreamy “I’m in another world” smile, Tres abruptly stopped talking, cocked her head at me oddly, and stomped off.
The following Sunday I went to church and prayed. I asked ‘God’ to show me what to do because otherwise I would stay with Tres forever trying to make a marriage out of it.
Six days later, a Saturday (the sabbath for me now), Tres said “Jerry, I never said I wanted a Christian marriage. I want you out of the house and I want a divorce.”
I was stunned. That is right out of the Holy Bible:
“But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.”
And so it was. I moved into an apartment, bought a new mountain bike, and got a new job as a research analyst for Frost and Sullivan. Life was good again.
It was in that apartment where I had the vision of the sword.
It was in that apartment where I had the Ezekiel experience.
Also in that same apartment bedroom and possibly in the same month, I had another very powerful experience. In my bed one night, reading Ezekiel 1, I was seized by the power of Yahuah and raised off the bed, my back and body arched with only my head and feet in contact with the mattress. I was weeping severely and calling on the name of Yahuah and in that moment I changed. My relationship with Him changed.
My life has changed so much that I am a different person. Yahuah acts immediately to take people out of my life when they are bad for me. He protects me and gives me peace and freedom. He does these things because I gave up my life for His sake. I surrendered my life, I lost it and in return I was given a new life.
That is what the scripture means.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
You will never live until you give up your life to Yahuah. All the gold on earth will never satisfy you like a relationship with Yahuah will satisfy you. If you want peace, Jesus will give you peace. If you want joy and contentment, Jesus has those waiting for you.
All anyone has to do is follow Him. By following Him, you are in fact surrendering your human life for a holy life. A human life is one of emotion and intellect. A holy life is one of unity with the Creator. Not “unity” like the new agers advocate, but unity like Yahuah advocates. He wants a relationship with you. A real conversational, happy, trusting and contented relationship.
He knows what you actually need and He will meet your needs. He simply asks for a relationship with you. Not some casual “when I have time for Him” relationship, although He will pay attention to your life and He will, if you ask, make changes that are in your best interest. You won’t like them, usually. But as you grow to understand Him better, you will be grateful for everything He does for you because you will experience the otherwise unobtainable peace that comes with obedience.
Example: I sit here at a desk I built myself. A plain plywood desktop with four legs I bought from Amazon. Its perfect. I’m not finished with it but will eventually paint it a piano gloss navy blue and it will be fantastic. I live in a rented room in a ladys’ house. I don’t know her but she seems fine. The bed is fantastic. Its quiet and I can study for my licensing exam in peace and quiet. I have my own bathroom and other than being 18 miles from my kids, its great.
But the being some distance from my kids prevents their mom from just showing up. Another bonus. And it keeps me at my desk rather than jetting around in my 4-Runner because I am lonely. I do get lonely.
Not a situation that I would volunteer for, but it is ideal. ‘God’s’ doing, not mine. And my circumstance will change, so I am delighted with this one.
I’m just happy. I write more. I think about important things rather than personal things. I’m like spring grass. It’s good, and I have this life because I gave up my own way of doing things in favor of His Way of doing things.
So take the plunge. Reach out for His hand. Surrender yourself to Him and let Him direct your steps. He wants you to reach out to Him, take His hand, make decisions about your direction in life and He will direct your steps.
Proverbs 3 :5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
In everything you do, call on Him for direction. Abide in His instructions for life and He will give you the finest life you can imagine.
Here are His blessings for the righteous, and His curses for the transgressors. Be righteous.
