Friday, January 27, 2017

The Sermon Within

Moses was a man who was asked to do something bold and dangerous. God commissioned him to confront Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be freed. But Moses doubted his ability to do the job.

Exodus 4:1, “They will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you…”

God, however, thought differently. He gave Moses tools to prove to the people of Israel and the Egyptians that he was indeed sent by God. From his staff, which was miraculously turned into a snake when he let go of it and turned back into a tool for guiding sheep when he picked it up again, to contracting leprosy and being healed from it all by putting his hand in his coat, God gave Moses what he needed to prove His power. But Moses still didn’t feel up to it. His next complaint was his lack of speaking ability.

Exodus 4:10, “O Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have been, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” (NLT)

But God’s response to Moses is something we should remember as well. He asked Moses, “Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Many times we fail to speak up and share our faith because we feel like Moses—inadequate. Yet Jesus gave a similar bit of encouragement to the apostles in Luke 12:8-12, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ‘for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.’”

The scenario Moses found himself in is not unique to him. Even though we may not be leading people out of Egyptian slavery, we may be setting them free. Many people are in spiritual bondage because of their choices, because of their environment, or many other reasons, and our words may be the light they have been looking for.

Never underestimate the power of talking to someone whenever God is behind our words. Think of the encouragement that Paul gave to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

You may be the only Bible some people ever read, so live powerfully for God. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Friday, January 20, 2017

Gaining Wisdom Through Listening

One cornerstone characteristic of wisdom is listening. A wise person listens, as opposed to a fool who won’t listen to anyone. Solomon commended his sons to live wisely and by doing so, they would find life. Proverbs 1:5 is one of many sayings Solomon gave to his sons that shows how much wisdom makes life better, “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance….”

God is pretty upfront about what He thinks of pride…He opposes it! (James 4:6). Satan loves it when we are full of ourselves because then we won’t listen to anyone else—even God. When we don’t listen to God, we will be separated from our Heavenly Father who has shed light on our path in order to lead His children home. Trusting God’s light, His words, His guidance becomes a necessary part of reaching our eternal goal.

Ultimately, listening to God is a fantastic demonstration of faith. People all throughout Scripture model for us the blessing that comes from listening, and there are also many that serve as examples of what NOT to do by their refusal to listen.

Solomon said in Proverbs 15:31-33, “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”

As we seek deeper faith, take a moment to reflect on how much listening to instruction helps our faith. And with deeper faith, comes a better display of faithfulness, which is a goal of a true child of God. Faithfulness isn’t just about attendance or Bible knowledge, it’s about being effective in God’s kingdom. Therefore, faithfulness may be better recognized by the way situations are handled, or temptations thwarted, or love shared.

What we soon discover is that we become more effective in God’s kingdom when we are able to be taught, when we receive instruction, and when we can practice things like forgiveness and mercy, which takes wisdom.

Solomon mentions a few characteristics of the wise in this way:
Proverbs 29:11, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit (let’s his temper fly), but a wise man quietly holds it back.”
Proverbs 16:21, “The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.” (NLT)
Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

Consider some ways you can model wisdom more effectively in your life. People will notice, you will notice, but most importantly, God will notice.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Understanding Holiness

It’s been debated for centuries: "Does a person learn a talent, or are they born with it?” I’m sure genetics plays a part, but I believe that a majority of a person’s talent is derived from their discipline to learn whatever it is that they are talented at, be it athletics, intelligence, or artistic ability. For those that believe that to be true, they might also see how that’s true spiritually. Can a person accidentally become holy? Can someone be born into holiness apart from their desire to become holy?

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after reaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” I’m sure it wasn’t easy staying focused on living a holy life when unholy people were constantly making his walk with God challenging: ridicule, imprisonment, beatings, stoning, not to mention the other natural phenomenons like shipwreck, starvation, etc. (2 Corinthians 11:24-29). But Paul realized the blessing of holiness.

Hours in a gym perfecting a pitch, a throw, a jump, a lift, a run, a swim, anything that causes you to be credited as talented, is at the heart of it. The desire to be good at something, and the discipline to perfect it. 1 Thessalonians 4:4, “Each one of you [should] know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.”

Hebrews 12:7-14, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … discipline [is] for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it….”

It's easier to credit talent or goodness to being born with it. Perhaps it’s a way those that choose not to discipline themselves can make an excuse for mediocrity. Jesus said, “If you sow sparingly, you’ll reap sparingly.” It should be our goal to encourage one another to do as Hebrews 12:14 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Once we are IN Christ, we are a new creation. We don’t feed the weak-minded things of mankind, but we feed on the strength found in spiritual things. But we all need reminders not to focus on human limitations, but instead do as Paul said in Ephesians 4:24, “Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Friday, January 6, 2017

Godly Separation

Separation…. The word naturally conjures up negative emotions for most folks. Separation means saying good-bye, it means losing something, it means being apart from something or someone. But there is something else about separation that can be good for us. In fact, one cliché describes separation as a way to grow fonder of what you can’t see or touch right now, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

It’s been suggested that part of the reason grandparents go bananas with their grandchildren is because they don’t see them all the time. I’m sure most parents would like to try that concept out with their children at times.

So, although separation generally sounds bad, it may have positive attributes to it. Consider the scenes at creation and how God defined what went where. God took something that was formless and void (that has been described as chaotic), and He turned it into something beautiful; something God called “good”.

Day 1 – Separation: Light from darkness
Day 2 – Separation: waters of atmosphere from waters of the ground
Day 3 – Separation: fertile soil from infertile soil
Day 4 – Separation: sunlight from moonlight
Day 5 – Separation: birds and sea creatures “according to their kind”
Day 6 – Separation: land animals “according to their kind”

And He made mankind; a special creation separate from all other created beings, because Adam was made in the image of God. By separating every created element, it actually brought beauty and order to the earth. Our lives aren’t much different; our old self must be separated from the new self in Christ. When we separate the old sinful actions from the new righteous actions, our life becomes more beautiful. Thus order can bring beauty, and order may cause us to have a different emotion. For many folks, order equals consistency, constant, maybe even faithfulness.

Separating the old habits of life from the new ones may require a lot of initial heartache, but if the end result is something beautiful, I think we’d all agree it would be worth it. Let’s continue to make our lives something God would call “good” by living for Christ and loving the way He loved.