Does your life after coming to Christ look different than life before becoming a Christian? What we may not always see, others will notice. When we claim to be followers of Christ, people will hold us to a higher standard.
Peter said in 1 Peter 2:12, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.” Live carefully! Does that mean never make a mistake? Ideally perhaps, but more importantly, be consistent in your kindness, in your generosity, in your forgiveness, etc.
In our culture that honors pride, success, and being the best, it can be challenging to think of “others more important than ourselves.” But when we esteem self, Jesus usually gets pushed to the background. Therefore, when we understand what God has done to our thinking about those around us, we see how important demonstrating our faith really is. How will people ever know Christ by my life if my life doesn’t look drastically different than the world around me?
Jesus prayed in John 17:15-18, “I'm not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.”
The world around us becomes our mission field, our canvass where we paint a godly picture from ungodly things. All of this requires our thinking differently about our enemies and those who abuse us in ANY way. Paul gives instructions on how to think about everyone we come in contact with: Love one another.
Focus on how you can glorify God in ALL the people you come in contact with, and that will be an indicator you actually UNDERSTAND the gospel of Christ.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
Trained to Understand
Why do we do fire drills? Why go through safety classes at work? Why take a self-defense course? To prepare us for the day that a fire happens, or a high voltage explosion occurs, or we’re attacked at the mall. The reality is that we’re involved in activities every day that will prove to be even more detrimental to our lives.
We are engaged in a battle for our soul. Satan wants to do all within his power to convince us to abandon God and follow our own will while God is passionately revealing the truth about life as often as people will listen.
Satan doesn’t waste time; early on he convinced Eve, along with her husband, to abandon God’s garden paradise for selfish knowledge. He hasn’t lost any steam; from the garden to the patriarchs and the judges, the kings and the prophets, Satan has been consistent. Even Jesus was offered a taste of his tricks (Matthew 4, Luke 4). However, like Jesus, we’re armed for the fight and we must UNDERSTAND the difference between the truth and a lie.
One place this is described is in Hebrews 5:14 where we’re told that “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” The solid food is the meat of God’s word, but that doesn’t necessarily mean “deeper truths,” but understanding – “he who has an ear let him hear.” Jesus warned the church at Thyatira in Revelations 2:23-25, “…I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” The Christians there failed to have an understanding of God’s will; therefore they were entertaining “the deeper truths, as they call them—depths of Satan, actually.”
The instructions Jesus gave in Revelations 2:25, “hold tightly to what you have until I come,” are the same instructions we can offer one another. Hold tightly to the truth. Matthew 28:20, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Paul helps the Colossians “see” what an understanding of the truth looks like in our daily actions. As we dive into specifics about living by the truth, let’s be proactive in helping our brothers and sisters gain a fuller understanding of God’s word. James 1:22, “But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says.”
We are engaged in a battle for our soul. Satan wants to do all within his power to convince us to abandon God and follow our own will while God is passionately revealing the truth about life as often as people will listen.
Satan doesn’t waste time; early on he convinced Eve, along with her husband, to abandon God’s garden paradise for selfish knowledge. He hasn’t lost any steam; from the garden to the patriarchs and the judges, the kings and the prophets, Satan has been consistent. Even Jesus was offered a taste of his tricks (Matthew 4, Luke 4). However, like Jesus, we’re armed for the fight and we must UNDERSTAND the difference between the truth and a lie.
One place this is described is in Hebrews 5:14 where we’re told that “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” The solid food is the meat of God’s word, but that doesn’t necessarily mean “deeper truths,” but understanding – “he who has an ear let him hear.” Jesus warned the church at Thyatira in Revelations 2:23-25, “…I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” The Christians there failed to have an understanding of God’s will; therefore they were entertaining “the deeper truths, as they call them—depths of Satan, actually.”
The instructions Jesus gave in Revelations 2:25, “hold tightly to what you have until I come,” are the same instructions we can offer one another. Hold tightly to the truth. Matthew 28:20, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Paul helps the Colossians “see” what an understanding of the truth looks like in our daily actions. As we dive into specifics about living by the truth, let’s be proactive in helping our brothers and sisters gain a fuller understanding of God’s word. James 1:22, “But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says.”
Friday, December 2, 2016
Looking Beyond Our Past
Overcoming our past starts with me. For many of us, our past becomes an anchor from progress, from healing, from becoming more like Christ. Although we’re told that “all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23), Satan can use our own “worthlessness” against us if we’re not careful.
A powerful illustration of Satan’s attempt to use our sins against us to keep us from seeking God more diligently is found in Zechariah 3, where Satan accuses Joshua of sin. In that vision of something like a courtroom, it’s very comforting to hear God’s response to “the Accuser’s words.” God says in Zechariah 3:2, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” Instead, God had new clothes put on Joshua to replace his dirty ones.
Sin has always separated man from God, but God has consistently made avenues to lay aside our old ways, and He gives us new ways that allow us to continue our walk with God. The folks in Colossae were no different than Joshua or the Israelites who came out of their years of captivity, nor were either of those situations different than our own. They needed hope; we need hope.
The “Good News” of the gospel is that Christ has made progress possible. The Holy Spirit becomes our guide when we put on Christ in baptism. A gift from God that helps us “understand” what God wants from His children. He sees something different in us than we often see in ourselves.
As we grow in our understanding of God’s will, we are not only motivated to say NO to our own sins, we also, because of the pattern left to us in Christ, eagerly seek out how to help others who are bogged down in poor choices, and bad lifestyles; just as Jude 23 describes, “Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”
This week I want to challenge you to consider the different areas you may have to dedicate more time to, or humbly lay aside so that you can become the child of God that you were designed to be.
A powerful illustration of Satan’s attempt to use our sins against us to keep us from seeking God more diligently is found in Zechariah 3, where Satan accuses Joshua of sin. In that vision of something like a courtroom, it’s very comforting to hear God’s response to “the Accuser’s words.” God says in Zechariah 3:2, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” Instead, God had new clothes put on Joshua to replace his dirty ones.
Sin has always separated man from God, but God has consistently made avenues to lay aside our old ways, and He gives us new ways that allow us to continue our walk with God. The folks in Colossae were no different than Joshua or the Israelites who came out of their years of captivity, nor were either of those situations different than our own. They needed hope; we need hope.
The “Good News” of the gospel is that Christ has made progress possible. The Holy Spirit becomes our guide when we put on Christ in baptism. A gift from God that helps us “understand” what God wants from His children. He sees something different in us than we often see in ourselves.
As we grow in our understanding of God’s will, we are not only motivated to say NO to our own sins, we also, because of the pattern left to us in Christ, eagerly seek out how to help others who are bogged down in poor choices, and bad lifestyles; just as Jude 23 describes, “Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”
This week I want to challenge you to consider the different areas you may have to dedicate more time to, or humbly lay aside so that you can become the child of God that you were designed to be.