Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Yesterday, we talked about patience and the most practical foe that we face as our patience grows: waiting. Simply waiting. It can be for anything. Food. Weather. A relationship. As we mentioned yesterday, the Israelites had been waiting for their Messiah for centuries. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Singing songs to God about waiting. Keeping their eyes open at all times for this king. This Messiah.
I want to stop and hang out here for a moment. Today will be a little bit different. We’re going to jump into a few of the many Psalms of David that had to do with waiting.
For a few moments, think about some situations that you’re going through in your life right now where you are waiting. You may be waiting on an answer from a friend. You may be waiting on an answer from an employer. You may be waiting on an answer from a doctor. You may even be waiting on an answer from God. Take whatever it is you’re waiting on today and give it to God as you pray through these psalms.
Psalm 130:5-6 (MSG)
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 27:14 (MSG)
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-6 (MSG)
God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life. God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I'm set for life.
Psalm 39:7-8 (NLT)
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me.
Psalm 40:1-2 (ESV)
Iwaited patiently for theLord;he inclined to me andheard my cry. He drew me up fromthe pit of destruction,out ofthe miry bog, andset my feet upon a rock,making my steps secure.
Waiting is tough. But as David learned in the verses above, we are able to find God in our times of waiting. So I challenge you today: Instead of looking for an answer or a solution to the situation you thought about earlier, look for God. Chase after Him with reckless abandon and you’ll find Him. And with Him, you’ll find the peace and the grace that you need to get you through this season of waiting.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Fruit #6 (Patience #1)
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
True patience is special.
A little girl visited a farm one day and asked to buy a large watermelon. “That big one you got on your hand costs 3 dollars,” said the farmer. “I’ve got only 30 cents,” replied the girl. “30 cents will buy you a small watermelon,” replied the farmer. “What about that one,” asked the farmer, pointing to a small watermelon in the field.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” smiled the little girl. “Here’s your 30 cents but leave it on the vine. I’ll be back for it in a month.”
This is a simple story that teaches us about patience in its most commonly thought of form: Having to wait. We don’t like to wait.
Musician Tom Petty makes big money singing that “the waiting is the hardest part.” We eat fast food because we don’t want to spend time or money preparing a healthier alternative. Sometimes we even use the drive-thru window so we don’t have to waste time or energy parking our car and walking inside. We order appetizers so we can eat before we eat. We record our television shows so we can skip the commercials. We pump chickens full of steroids so they’ll plump up faster. We litter our crops with fertilizers so they’ll grow faster. We charge up credit cards because we don’t want to have to spend time saving up our money. I could go on and on.
We just don’t like to wait for anything. God knows this. He knows us inside and out. That’s why he usually makes us wait. We pray for things and expect certain answers to be given within a certain time-frame. When they aren’t, we get impatient and sometimes angry.
The Israelites were faced with this same predicament. They had been waiting on their savior, the Messiah, for centuries. Year after year they waited. Their spirits groaned in expectation of this great day of God when their king, their Messiah would swoop down from the Heavens and deliver them from the pains of this life.
They found God in their waiting and so can we.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
True patience is special.
A little girl visited a farm one day and asked to buy a large watermelon. “That big one you got on your hand costs 3 dollars,” said the farmer. “I’ve got only 30 cents,” replied the girl. “30 cents will buy you a small watermelon,” replied the farmer. “What about that one,” asked the farmer, pointing to a small watermelon in the field.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” smiled the little girl. “Here’s your 30 cents but leave it on the vine. I’ll be back for it in a month.”
This is a simple story that teaches us about patience in its most commonly thought of form: Having to wait. We don’t like to wait.
Musician Tom Petty makes big money singing that “the waiting is the hardest part.” We eat fast food because we don’t want to spend time or money preparing a healthier alternative. Sometimes we even use the drive-thru window so we don’t have to waste time or energy parking our car and walking inside. We order appetizers so we can eat before we eat. We record our television shows so we can skip the commercials. We pump chickens full of steroids so they’ll plump up faster. We litter our crops with fertilizers so they’ll grow faster. We charge up credit cards because we don’t want to have to spend time saving up our money. I could go on and on.
We just don’t like to wait for anything. God knows this. He knows us inside and out. That’s why he usually makes us wait. We pray for things and expect certain answers to be given within a certain time-frame. When they aren’t, we get impatient and sometimes angry.
The Israelites were faced with this same predicament. They had been waiting on their savior, the Messiah, for centuries. Year after year they waited. Their spirits groaned in expectation of this great day of God when their king, their Messiah would swoop down from the Heavens and deliver them from the pains of this life.
They found God in their waiting and so can we.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Reflection and Meditation
1. Is your life bearing fruit that shows you belong to Christ? Be honest. What are you leaving in your wake? A trail of changed lives for the better or a trail of brokenness?
2. Have you ever pondered the fact that Christ tells us that loving each other is "equally important" to loving God? Stop right now and pray that God will grow your desire to love others.
3. We are shown a beautiful story of love through the Chapman's tragedy. What part of this story did you identify with the most? Why?
4. Think of a tough situation that you've gone through in your life. Can you find joy in that particular sorrow? If you can, thank God for showing it to you. If not, pray that God will open your eyes to it and show you the blessing you were meant to find through it.
5. Think of something you are struggling with right now. Now ask God to grant you peace through this struggle. Trust him completely to carry you through it. Now share that peace with others!
2. Have you ever pondered the fact that Christ tells us that loving each other is "equally important" to loving God? Stop right now and pray that God will grow your desire to love others.
3. We are shown a beautiful story of love through the Chapman's tragedy. What part of this story did you identify with the most? Why?
4. Think of a tough situation that you've gone through in your life. Can you find joy in that particular sorrow? If you can, thank God for showing it to you. If not, pray that God will open your eyes to it and show you the blessing you were meant to find through it.
5. Think of something you are struggling with right now. Now ask God to grant you peace through this struggle. Trust him completely to carry you through it. Now share that peace with others!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Fruit #5 (Peace)
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
True peace, the kind of peace this passage is talking about, is one of the most beautiful attributes we can receive from Christ as our relationship with him grows. This isn’t simply referring to an absence of wars or everybody getting along. Peace certainly carries these things with it on a large scale but Paul is speaking to peace on a personal scale. The peace we feel when the world around us is crumbling. The peace we feel as we are confronted with an unthinkable tragedy. The peace we feel as we take our last breath.
This peace is different.
In the end everything will be all right, nothing can harm you permanently; no loss is lasting, no defeat more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement and death will be part of your journey, but the kingdom of God will conquer all of these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever. - Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
A couple of days ago, we read the story of the Chapman family and the unthinkable tragedy they went through a few years ago. We spoke of the love that was on display in every chapter of this story. But just as powerful is the peace that carried this family through the pain that followed the incident.
Steven Curtis Chapman told about a discovery he made in the hours after the accident that has provided comfort in the days since.
“Maria had the morning of the accident drawn a picture of a flower and had written a word that she had never written before. She knew how to write her name. That was all I had ever seen, and maybe ‘I love Dad’ or ‘I love Mom,’” Chapman said. “But she had never written any other words.”
“And when she first died, Caleb and I, especially, kept saying if we could just see, if we could just have a dream, something, God, we’d believe it. If we could just see something that would tell us that she’s OK.”
“And the day after the accident, we went home to get some clothes for the funeral, for the memorial,” he said. “Sitting on the art table was this little picture that Maria had drawn the morning of the accident. She had drawn a six-petaled flower, and only one petal was colored in. We have six children. Only one is whole now, we believe, in the arms of Jesus.
“She wrote the word S-E-E,” he said. “She wrote the word see. And she had never written that before. She was saying, ‘See, I'm good. I'm OK.’”
True peace is ours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose peace.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
True peace, the kind of peace this passage is talking about, is one of the most beautiful attributes we can receive from Christ as our relationship with him grows. This isn’t simply referring to an absence of wars or everybody getting along. Peace certainly carries these things with it on a large scale but Paul is speaking to peace on a personal scale. The peace we feel when the world around us is crumbling. The peace we feel as we are confronted with an unthinkable tragedy. The peace we feel as we take our last breath.
This peace is different.
In the end everything will be all right, nothing can harm you permanently; no loss is lasting, no defeat more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement and death will be part of your journey, but the kingdom of God will conquer all of these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever. - Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
A couple of days ago, we read the story of the Chapman family and the unthinkable tragedy they went through a few years ago. We spoke of the love that was on display in every chapter of this story. But just as powerful is the peace that carried this family through the pain that followed the incident.
Steven Curtis Chapman told about a discovery he made in the hours after the accident that has provided comfort in the days since.
“Maria had the morning of the accident drawn a picture of a flower and had written a word that she had never written before. She knew how to write her name. That was all I had ever seen, and maybe ‘I love Dad’ or ‘I love Mom,’” Chapman said. “But she had never written any other words.”
“And when she first died, Caleb and I, especially, kept saying if we could just see, if we could just have a dream, something, God, we’d believe it. If we could just see something that would tell us that she’s OK.”
“And the day after the accident, we went home to get some clothes for the funeral, for the memorial,” he said. “Sitting on the art table was this little picture that Maria had drawn the morning of the accident. She had drawn a six-petaled flower, and only one petal was colored in. We have six children. Only one is whole now, we believe, in the arms of Jesus.
“She wrote the word S-E-E,” he said. “She wrote the word see. And she had never written that before. She was saying, ‘See, I'm good. I'm OK.’”
True peace is ours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose peace.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Fruit #4 (Joy)
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Last year, I saw the following phrase posted on Facebook, sent through text message, posted on the wall at the church, and spoken with an encouraging tongue:
I choose joy.
This is a decision that we have to make every morning. Because of our fallen condition, true joy does not come naturally. We try to fill the void with all kinds of addictions and bad habits. We try to find it in sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. We try to find it by giving ourselves to our career. We try to find it by joining the gym or remodeling the house. We try to find it by having children. We try all sorts of things to find true joy and contentment in our lives but nothing seems to work. There is a good reason for this:
True joy is not something that we are able to claim outside of a personal relationship with Jesus.
Wikipedia (Teachers, calm down. You don’t have to grade this!) states the following about joy:
The Greek word for 'joy' is chara, derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for 'grace.' This is significant to note, for chara is produced by the charis of God. This means 'joy' is not a human-based happiness that comes and goes but, rather, true 'joy' is divine in its origin. It is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, the Thessalonians were under great stress due to persecution; yet in the midst of it all, they continued to experience great joy. The Greek strongly implies that their supernatural joy was due to the Holy Spirit working in them. Paul even called it the "joy of the Holy Ghost".
We may have a few hours go our way today. We might get that raise or that promotion. Lunch may be extraordinary. You might reconnect with an old friend. You might win a free drink at Sonic. There are many things that could happen today that will bring about a momentary relief from the heaviness that is life but it is only through giving our lives wholly and completely to Jesus Christ that we will experience a true joy that not only surpasses the momentary relief we have been conditioned to seek but also lasts forever.
Jesus Christ is our only hope and it is only by living to please him that a fruit such as joy can grow in our lives.
I challenge you to choose joy by choosing Jesus today. Say it out loud: I choose Jesus.
True joy is now yours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose joy.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Last year, I saw the following phrase posted on Facebook, sent through text message, posted on the wall at the church, and spoken with an encouraging tongue:
I choose joy.
This is a decision that we have to make every morning. Because of our fallen condition, true joy does not come naturally. We try to fill the void with all kinds of addictions and bad habits. We try to find it in sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. We try to find it by giving ourselves to our career. We try to find it by joining the gym or remodeling the house. We try to find it by having children. We try all sorts of things to find true joy and contentment in our lives but nothing seems to work. There is a good reason for this:
True joy is not something that we are able to claim outside of a personal relationship with Jesus.
Wikipedia (Teachers, calm down. You don’t have to grade this!) states the following about joy:
The Greek word for 'joy' is chara, derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for 'grace.' This is significant to note, for chara is produced by the charis of God. This means 'joy' is not a human-based happiness that comes and goes but, rather, true 'joy' is divine in its origin. It is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, the Thessalonians were under great stress due to persecution; yet in the midst of it all, they continued to experience great joy. The Greek strongly implies that their supernatural joy was due to the Holy Spirit working in them. Paul even called it the "joy of the Holy Ghost".
We may have a few hours go our way today. We might get that raise or that promotion. Lunch may be extraordinary. You might reconnect with an old friend. You might win a free drink at Sonic. There are many things that could happen today that will bring about a momentary relief from the heaviness that is life but it is only through giving our lives wholly and completely to Jesus Christ that we will experience a true joy that not only surpasses the momentary relief we have been conditioned to seek but also lasts forever.
Jesus Christ is our only hope and it is only by living to please him that a fruit such as joy can grow in our lives.
I challenge you to choose joy by choosing Jesus today. Say it out loud: I choose Jesus.
True joy is now yours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose joy.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Fruit #3 (Love #2)
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his family suffered an unthinkable tragedy on May 21, 2008. Maria, his 5-year-old daughter, had been on the playground in the backyard with her two sisters and ran towards her brother, Will, when she saw him backing up the driveway in an SUV. He didn’t see her and backed right over her.
Maria died soon after.
As paramedics arrived on the scene, Will, overcome with guilt and anger, just wanted to run. Will spoke of what happened next:
“And then Caleb (his older brother), not too long after that, just kind of ran and tackled me and just kind of jumped on me and it was just like, ‘You can't leave, you can’t leave,’ and just—was just on top of me saying, ‘Everything’s going to be OK. We love you. You can't leave.’ And just—it was just that—that was super important.”
As Steven rushed his youngest daughter to the hospital, he shouted out to his heartbroken son in the field:
"Will Franklin, your father loves you."
This father had every right to be angry at his son. He had every right to be disgusted at his son. He had every right to place the blame on his son. But he didn’t. Not even for a split second. All he knew to do was love his son.
“Will Franklin, your father loves you.”
This story brings me to tears today just as it did the first time I read it. I put myself in Will’s shoes. I would want to die. I would want to stop breathing. Just as he did, I would want to run as far as I could and collapse into nothing. But in the middle of this chaos, a voice.
“Will Franklin, your father loves you.”
Wow.
Jesus loves us even more than that. His love for us is jealous. It is powerful. It is passionate. We can’t earn this love and in the same way, we can’t lose it. Jesus is the ultimate model for how we are to love each other. The Chapman family, through terrible tragedy, showed us a beautiful story of this love.
A love such as this is ours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose love.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his family suffered an unthinkable tragedy on May 21, 2008. Maria, his 5-year-old daughter, had been on the playground in the backyard with her two sisters and ran towards her brother, Will, when she saw him backing up the driveway in an SUV. He didn’t see her and backed right over her.
Maria died soon after.
As paramedics arrived on the scene, Will, overcome with guilt and anger, just wanted to run. Will spoke of what happened next:
“And then Caleb (his older brother), not too long after that, just kind of ran and tackled me and just kind of jumped on me and it was just like, ‘You can't leave, you can’t leave,’ and just—was just on top of me saying, ‘Everything’s going to be OK. We love you. You can't leave.’ And just—it was just that—that was super important.”
As Steven rushed his youngest daughter to the hospital, he shouted out to his heartbroken son in the field:
"Will Franklin, your father loves you."
This father had every right to be angry at his son. He had every right to be disgusted at his son. He had every right to place the blame on his son. But he didn’t. Not even for a split second. All he knew to do was love his son.
“Will Franklin, your father loves you.”
This story brings me to tears today just as it did the first time I read it. I put myself in Will’s shoes. I would want to die. I would want to stop breathing. Just as he did, I would want to run as far as I could and collapse into nothing. But in the middle of this chaos, a voice.
“Will Franklin, your father loves you.”
Wow.
Jesus loves us even more than that. His love for us is jealous. It is powerful. It is passionate. We can’t earn this love and in the same way, we can’t lose it. Jesus is the ultimate model for how we are to love each other. The Chapman family, through terrible tragedy, showed us a beautiful story of this love.
A love such as this is ours to claim. It’s now up to us to share it.
Choose love.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Fruit #2 (Love #1)
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Love is paramount and it is all around us. It’s safe to say that our world is consumed with the word. Songs, movies, water bottles, and chewing gum all inspire us to love these days. Even more so as Christians, we say we love God and each other. All of us say that we love but do we really?
Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT):
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Wow. We are to love God with everything that we have while also loving each other as we love ourselves. Jesus also tells us that the second part of this commandment is “equally important.” It is just as important that we love each other as it is that we love God.
So how do we love God? Sure, we can tell Him that we love Him but how do we show Him that we love Him in a tangible way?
We can do this by loving each other. The commandment above is not a combination of two commandments. Loving God and loving each other aren't interchangeable. They belong together. We can’t do one without the other. We can’t love God and not love each other and we can’t love each other and not love God.
I challenge you today to love God in a louder way. Begin your day telling God that you love Him and then show Him the evidence of your love by showing the love of Christ to someone else. It’s the only way that we will change our community and point others to Him.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Love is paramount and it is all around us. It’s safe to say that our world is consumed with the word. Songs, movies, water bottles, and chewing gum all inspire us to love these days. Even more so as Christians, we say we love God and each other. All of us say that we love but do we really?
Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT):
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Wow. We are to love God with everything that we have while also loving each other as we love ourselves. Jesus also tells us that the second part of this commandment is “equally important.” It is just as important that we love each other as it is that we love God.
So how do we love God? Sure, we can tell Him that we love Him but how do we show Him that we love Him in a tangible way?
We can do this by loving each other. The commandment above is not a combination of two commandments. Loving God and loving each other aren't interchangeable. They belong together. We can’t do one without the other. We can’t love God and not love each other and we can’t love each other and not love God.
I challenge you today to love God in a louder way. Begin your day telling God that you love Him and then show Him the evidence of your love by showing the love of Christ to someone else. It’s the only way that we will change our community and point others to Him.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Fruit #1 (The Change)
Matthew 7:15-20 (NLT)
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) uses an illustration to bring these passages to life. It goes something like this:
You’re a tree. You’re planted firmly in the ground. You have beautiful apples hanging from your branches. Along comes a passerby that can’t help themselves. They pull an apple from one of your branches and bite into it. Amazed at how perfectly juicy and flavorful the apple is, the person looks at you and says, “This is absolutely the best apple I have ever eaten. It is amazing.”
Instead of basking in the compliment, you become indignant. “That’s not an apple. That’s an orange. You see, I’m an orange tree.”
“No,” the passerby replies,” I’m eating an apple right now. A juicy red apple. There is no doubt in my mind that you’re an apple tree.”
You become frustrated. “No! It’s an orange! I am an orange tree! I repeat: I am an orange tree!”
Confused and a little bit concerned, this admirer of your fruit decides it would be best to just keep walking down the road. As they pick up their pace, one thought is running through their mind:
Either that tree is lying. Or it’s insane.
This story illustrates perfectly our relationship with those around us and how, whether we realize it or accept it, we are identified by the fruit our lives bear. When we say that we are followers of Jesus Christ and live our lives accordingly, the fruit we bear will show that. In the same way, when we claim the name of Christ and call ourselves Christians yet live our lives according to our own selfish desires, we will bear a different type of fruit. A type of fruit that will leave people in your wake pondering what the passerby in the story above pondered.
Either that person is lying. Or they’re insane.
May we live out our faith in authentic ways and produce fruit that will point those around us to Christ.
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) uses an illustration to bring these passages to life. It goes something like this:
You’re a tree. You’re planted firmly in the ground. You have beautiful apples hanging from your branches. Along comes a passerby that can’t help themselves. They pull an apple from one of your branches and bite into it. Amazed at how perfectly juicy and flavorful the apple is, the person looks at you and says, “This is absolutely the best apple I have ever eaten. It is amazing.”
Instead of basking in the compliment, you become indignant. “That’s not an apple. That’s an orange. You see, I’m an orange tree.”
“No,” the passerby replies,” I’m eating an apple right now. A juicy red apple. There is no doubt in my mind that you’re an apple tree.”
You become frustrated. “No! It’s an orange! I am an orange tree! I repeat: I am an orange tree!”
Confused and a little bit concerned, this admirer of your fruit decides it would be best to just keep walking down the road. As they pick up their pace, one thought is running through their mind:
Either that tree is lying. Or it’s insane.
This story illustrates perfectly our relationship with those around us and how, whether we realize it or accept it, we are identified by the fruit our lives bear. When we say that we are followers of Jesus Christ and live our lives accordingly, the fruit we bear will show that. In the same way, when we claim the name of Christ and call ourselves Christians yet live our lives according to our own selfish desires, we will bear a different type of fruit. A type of fruit that will leave people in your wake pondering what the passerby in the story above pondered.
Either that person is lying. Or they’re insane.
May we live out our faith in authentic ways and produce fruit that will point those around us to Christ.
Friday, June 20, 2014
We Have a Problem #1 (Really)
Refuge Church, we have a problem. A big problem… This problem has been weighing on my heart for a while now and I figured this would be the proper avenue in which to address it. It’s not a new problem. In fact, Paul speaks of this problem in Romans:
Romans 7:21-24 (NLT)
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart.But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.Oh, what a miserable person I am!
The problem is that we aren’t naturally inclined to do good things.
We aren’t born with a desire to love others.
We don’t possess, in and of ourselves, the ability to live a sacrificially selfless life.
These are big problems. They become even bigger in light of the call that Jesus placed on our lives as he ascended into Heaven. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all the nations. We read this and realize that most of us can’t even make disciples of our own families, much less all the nations.
This is a huge problem.
Don’t get too depressed though. Every problem under the sun has a solution. Paul shares the solution as we keep reading the scripture above:
Romans 7:24-25 (NLT)
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is extremely important that we, as followers of Christ, stay spiritually-healthy. If we are to live lives that exhibit qualities such as patience, goodness, and self-control, we have to maintain a constant connection to Jesus Christ. We need Jesus. He’s our only hope. We can do our best but even our best efforts won’t stand the test of time. We may burst out of the gates with a flurry of right living but all it takes is one conversation, one flat tire, or one tragedy to reduce us back into the spiritual infants that we are apart from Jesus.
So over the next few days, we’ll revisit some simple ways that we can maintain the close relationship with Christ that we must have to fulfill our purpose in this life.
After all, you can’t pour anything out of an empty cup.
Romans 7:21-24 (NLT)
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart.But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.Oh, what a miserable person I am!
The problem is that we aren’t naturally inclined to do good things.
We aren’t born with a desire to love others.
We don’t possess, in and of ourselves, the ability to live a sacrificially selfless life.
These are big problems. They become even bigger in light of the call that Jesus placed on our lives as he ascended into Heaven. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all the nations. We read this and realize that most of us can’t even make disciples of our own families, much less all the nations.
This is a huge problem.
Don’t get too depressed though. Every problem under the sun has a solution. Paul shares the solution as we keep reading the scripture above:
Romans 7:24-25 (NLT)
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is extremely important that we, as followers of Christ, stay spiritually-healthy. If we are to live lives that exhibit qualities such as patience, goodness, and self-control, we have to maintain a constant connection to Jesus Christ. We need Jesus. He’s our only hope. We can do our best but even our best efforts won’t stand the test of time. We may burst out of the gates with a flurry of right living but all it takes is one conversation, one flat tire, or one tragedy to reduce us back into the spiritual infants that we are apart from Jesus.
So over the next few days, we’ll revisit some simple ways that we can maintain the close relationship with Christ that we must have to fulfill our purpose in this life.
After all, you can’t pour anything out of an empty cup.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Thinking Clearly #2
Hebrews 12:14 (NLT)
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
We spent the latter part of last week talking about holiness. We’ll continue that conversation this week. As we saw before, the scripture above lays out some basic principles in regards to holiness that we’re going to spend a few days diving into. The first is thinking clearly. If we’re going to be a holy people, we must have clear minds.
So how do we make sure our minds are clear? There are three ways that we’re going to discuss here:
We discussed taking care of yourself physically on Friday so we’ll move forward to the next two today. This is not something new. We’ve discussed how to take care of ourselves spiritually but luckily this is something that I don’t think we can hear enough.
There are three basic yet vital aspects to taking care of ourselves spiritually:
The last way that we make sure our minds are clear is to take care of ourselves physically and spiritually and let God take care of the rest. Check out what Paul tells us in Philippians:
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
There’s not much that I can add to this. We serve a BIG God. He is bigger than we can even imagine. Yet it is so easy to lose perspective and see the problems that life throws at us in a bigger light than we see God in. There is a way to conquer this defeated thought process and that is delivered to us by Paul above.
“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”
Holy people think clearly. Let’s be holy.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
We spent the latter part of last week talking about holiness. We’ll continue that conversation this week. As we saw before, the scripture above lays out some basic principles in regards to holiness that we’re going to spend a few days diving into. The first is thinking clearly. If we’re going to be a holy people, we must have clear minds.
So how do we make sure our minds are clear? There are three ways that we’re going to discuss here:
- Take care of yourself physically.
- Take care of yourself spiritually.
- Let God take care of the rest.
We discussed taking care of yourself physically on Friday so we’ll move forward to the next two today. This is not something new. We’ve discussed how to take care of ourselves spiritually but luckily this is something that I don’t think we can hear enough.
There are three basic yet vital aspects to taking care of ourselves spiritually:
- PRAY – We must spend time with God in prayer. We have to work at a relationship with God the same way we work at a relationship with a friend here on earth. We talk to Him. Constantly. If you want to get to know a person better, you spend time with them. You have deep conversations with them. It’s the same way with God, our Father. The more time we spend just talking to Him, the more intimate our relationship with Him will become.
- BIBLE – We must spend time reading and studying God’s Word. He has given us a book of letters that reveal His heart and His character. The Bible is our ultimate guide to who God is and if our goal is to fall in love with Him and give our lives to Him, we need to know Him at least a little bit, don’t you think?
- PEOPLE – We must spend time with our Christian brothers and sisters. The easiest way to do this is to get plugged into a church family. Here at Refuge, we do little things to make sure that we have time to hang out. On top of the time we spend together in worship, we eat breakfast on Sundays, dinner on Wednesdays, and have LifeGroups to connect us even deeper. This is vital to your spiritual health. Don’t go it alone!
The last way that we make sure our minds are clear is to take care of ourselves physically and spiritually and let God take care of the rest. Check out what Paul tells us in Philippians:
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
There’s not much that I can add to this. We serve a BIG God. He is bigger than we can even imagine. Yet it is so easy to lose perspective and see the problems that life throws at us in a bigger light than we see God in. There is a way to conquer this defeated thought process and that is delivered to us by Paul above.
“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”
Holy people think clearly. Let’s be holy.
Thinking Clearly #1
Hebrews 12:14 (NLT)
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
We’re talking about holiness. The scripture above lays out some basic principles in regards to holiness that we’re going to spend a few days diving into. The first is thinking clearly.
If we’re going to be a holy people, we must have clear minds.
So how do we make sure our minds are clear? There are three ways that we’re going to discuss here:
Check out what Paul tells us about taking care of ourselves physically:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Wow. There is much being said in this verse that we could dive into but we’re going to simply study the surface of it today. The most important thing that Paul tells us is this: “You do not belong to yourself.” When we accept Christ and His call on our life, we give up our right to destroy ourselves. We give up our right to put on beer-goggles this Friday night. We give up our right to eat 16 plates at the buffet. We give up our right to destroy our lungs with cigarettes. We give all of these rights up!
Furthermore, if we’ve given God our whole lives, we cannot just give Him the easy things. We must give Him those things it would be impossible for us to give Him apart from the Holy Spirit’s working in our hearts.
There’s a line in a song that haunts me whenever I hear or think about it:
“I want the things you just can’t give me.”
Jesus knows us intimately. He knows how much we struggle with these things. But He also knows that He is all-powerful and that through Him, there is nothing that we can’t do (or give up).
Give God some of those things this weekend and pray for a clear mind!
We’ll continue this conversation next week.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
We’re talking about holiness. The scripture above lays out some basic principles in regards to holiness that we’re going to spend a few days diving into. The first is thinking clearly.
If we’re going to be a holy people, we must have clear minds.
So how do we make sure our minds are clear? There are three ways that we’re going to discuss here:
- Take care of yourself physically.
- Take care of yourself spiritually.
- Let God take care of the rest.
Check out what Paul tells us about taking care of ourselves physically:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Wow. There is much being said in this verse that we could dive into but we’re going to simply study the surface of it today. The most important thing that Paul tells us is this: “You do not belong to yourself.” When we accept Christ and His call on our life, we give up our right to destroy ourselves. We give up our right to put on beer-goggles this Friday night. We give up our right to eat 16 plates at the buffet. We give up our right to destroy our lungs with cigarettes. We give all of these rights up!
Furthermore, if we’ve given God our whole lives, we cannot just give Him the easy things. We must give Him those things it would be impossible for us to give Him apart from the Holy Spirit’s working in our hearts.
There’s a line in a song that haunts me whenever I hear or think about it:
“I want the things you just can’t give me.”
Jesus knows us intimately. He knows how much we struggle with these things. But He also knows that He is all-powerful and that through Him, there is nothing that we can’t do (or give up).
Give God some of those things this weekend and pray for a clear mind!
We’ll continue this conversation next week.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Why Do You Ask?
Proverbs 1:7 (NLT)
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline
We think we have it all figured out… So many of us claim so many truths and make so many arrogant statements. How quickly we forget that only in humbleness can we approach the throne of God. I have been tremendously guilty of this many times.
Asking questions is a very important aspect of our personal walk with Christ. But just like with anything else, asking questions of and about God with misguided motives usually does more harm than good.
In my experience, I have discovered, off the top of my head, three of these misguided motives, which are actually child-like needs, and I’d like to share them with you so maybe you won’t make the same mistakes I have:
The need to be right – I have had in-depth conversations about God that had nothing to do with God. While I seemed, on the surface, to really care deeply about what I was discussing, my main objective was to simply be right. Or at least get the last word in. This is a dangerous place to be because you completely sacrifice the humility and love that deep conversations about God can bring and instead turn it into a competition.
The need to justify your lifestyle – While being a little bit messier, this goes hand-in-hand with the need to be right. The difference is that there’s much more at stake here. Instead of just being right about a theological belief, you have to prove to not only yourself but to everyone else in the conversation that you’re actually right in a behavioral way. You end up with questions like this: “If Jesus was called a drunkard (Luke 7:34), he must have enjoyed a drink every now-and-then. How can drinking be a sin if Jesus did it?” – While this may, on the surface, seem like a good question, I want you to think about the motives behind it. What is really being asked? Like I said, this can be pretty messy. Which leads us to:
The need to make God understandable - This is a big one. God is not something we can grasp. He is much larger and much more complex than we could ever imagine. While we all know this, we aren’t all satisfied with it. So we ask the same questions of God that we might ask of ourselves. Or our pastor. Or our spouse. We put God into a box. We expect him to act and react as we would. The truth is this: If I could understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, then they would be on the same level as my dog. He sits when I tell him to sit. He eats when I put his bowl down. He stays when I tell him to stay. He comes when I tell him to come. I have him figured out. God is, however, not this simple and it’s ignorant of us to think we can figure him out in such a way… Questions asked with this motive will never have life-changing answers.
So keep asking questions. Just try to understand your motive in asking them. Throw the bad ones out. Take the good ones to Jesus.
He can handle them.
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline
We think we have it all figured out… So many of us claim so many truths and make so many arrogant statements. How quickly we forget that only in humbleness can we approach the throne of God. I have been tremendously guilty of this many times.
Asking questions is a very important aspect of our personal walk with Christ. But just like with anything else, asking questions of and about God with misguided motives usually does more harm than good.
In my experience, I have discovered, off the top of my head, three of these misguided motives, which are actually child-like needs, and I’d like to share them with you so maybe you won’t make the same mistakes I have:
The need to be right – I have had in-depth conversations about God that had nothing to do with God. While I seemed, on the surface, to really care deeply about what I was discussing, my main objective was to simply be right. Or at least get the last word in. This is a dangerous place to be because you completely sacrifice the humility and love that deep conversations about God can bring and instead turn it into a competition.
The need to justify your lifestyle – While being a little bit messier, this goes hand-in-hand with the need to be right. The difference is that there’s much more at stake here. Instead of just being right about a theological belief, you have to prove to not only yourself but to everyone else in the conversation that you’re actually right in a behavioral way. You end up with questions like this: “If Jesus was called a drunkard (Luke 7:34), he must have enjoyed a drink every now-and-then. How can drinking be a sin if Jesus did it?” – While this may, on the surface, seem like a good question, I want you to think about the motives behind it. What is really being asked? Like I said, this can be pretty messy. Which leads us to:
The need to make God understandable - This is a big one. God is not something we can grasp. He is much larger and much more complex than we could ever imagine. While we all know this, we aren’t all satisfied with it. So we ask the same questions of God that we might ask of ourselves. Or our pastor. Or our spouse. We put God into a box. We expect him to act and react as we would. The truth is this: If I could understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, then they would be on the same level as my dog. He sits when I tell him to sit. He eats when I put his bowl down. He stays when I tell him to stay. He comes when I tell him to come. I have him figured out. God is, however, not this simple and it’s ignorant of us to think we can figure him out in such a way… Questions asked with this motive will never have life-changing answers.
So keep asking questions. Just try to understand your motive in asking them. Throw the bad ones out. Take the good ones to Jesus.
He can handle them.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Unlearn
Isaiah 30:1-3 (NLT)
"What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the LORD. "You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced."
“It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every [trial] he brings our way, he wants us to unlearn something. His purpose is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with him is exactly like that of a child.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 29
The world conditions us to think a certain way, act a certain way, and to pick up the pieces in a certain way when trials come. Common sense tells us some of these things as well. Our own human nature. So when a crisis comes, we go with our gut feeling in resolving it.
God (like he always does) has a different plan though. The phrase “faith like a child” is fun to say and to preach about but in the midst of heart-wrenching pain, it is anything but a natural reaction.
My adult chain-reaction when pain hits me goes something like this: My first impulse is to shut down momentarily. My second impulse is to try to fix it. My third impulse is to tell someone else about it. By someone else I mean another person. My first impulse is never to pray or dig into my Bible.
My child-like chain-reaction when pain hits me goes something like this: Run to Mom or Dad. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. There is only one step. Run to Mom or Dad. As we read in the passage above, Israel had the same reaction to pain. They ran to something tangible. Something they could see and feel. While God was waiting with open arms to rescue his people, they chose the Pharaoh and suffered much for it.
I believe this is what God means when he constantly says throughout his word to take refuge in him and to trust in him and to not lean on our own understanding.
God MUST be our first line-of-defense when pain comes. Doing everything humanly possible and then praying about it not only shows our lack of faith in an omnipotent Father but it also just makes no sense.
"What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the LORD. "You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced."
“It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every [trial] he brings our way, he wants us to unlearn something. His purpose is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with him is exactly like that of a child.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 29
The world conditions us to think a certain way, act a certain way, and to pick up the pieces in a certain way when trials come. Common sense tells us some of these things as well. Our own human nature. So when a crisis comes, we go with our gut feeling in resolving it.
God (like he always does) has a different plan though. The phrase “faith like a child” is fun to say and to preach about but in the midst of heart-wrenching pain, it is anything but a natural reaction.
My adult chain-reaction when pain hits me goes something like this: My first impulse is to shut down momentarily. My second impulse is to try to fix it. My third impulse is to tell someone else about it. By someone else I mean another person. My first impulse is never to pray or dig into my Bible.
My child-like chain-reaction when pain hits me goes something like this: Run to Mom or Dad. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. There is only one step. Run to Mom or Dad. As we read in the passage above, Israel had the same reaction to pain. They ran to something tangible. Something they could see and feel. While God was waiting with open arms to rescue his people, they chose the Pharaoh and suffered much for it.
I believe this is what God means when he constantly says throughout his word to take refuge in him and to trust in him and to not lean on our own understanding.
God MUST be our first line-of-defense when pain comes. Doing everything humanly possible and then praying about it not only shows our lack of faith in an omnipotent Father but it also just makes no sense.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Harmony and Encouragement
Romans 14:19 (NLT)
So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
This verse in Romans is short but carries much weight. These deliberate acts of encouragement and maintaining harmony are absolutely pivotal to us fulfilling our purpose here at Refuge Church, which is to make disciples.
Think about a time when you’ve needed encouragement. Those moments when you feel like the entire world is either falling down around you or resting on your shoulders. In an ideal world, it would be at these moments that we should be able to call on one another as not only friends, but as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Alas, it doesn’t always work this way.
I don’t believe it is any coincidence that Paul mentions aiming for harmony and encouraging each other in the same sentence. It would be hard to have one without the other. Think about a harmonious relationship between a husband and a wife. You can bet that there is plenty of encouragement coming from both sides. He supports her in any way he can. She supports him in any way she can. There is harmony because both sides feel loved and respected. Now think about a not-so-harmonious relationship between a husband and a wife. He likes to make her feel stupid. She likes to make him feel stupid. They carry with them a constant tension. There is disharmony because neither side feels loved or respected. The same thing that will keep this couple from having a harmonious relationship is the same thing that will keep us from having harmony at Refuge Church:
Selfishness. That quiet (usually…) inner-voice that reminds us that we should have it our way and everyone else should just have to deal with it. We leave the womb with this mindset guiding us.
To sum all of this up, let us not forget that in order to build each other up, we must elevate the feelings of others above the feelings of ourselves. Since this is not a natural tendency of ours, we need help. We can find our help in the form of Jesus Christ, who has given us power over sin through his death on the cross.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with a phrase that I believe sums it up perfectly:
If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.
Pray that God will help you be a constant encouragement to everyone you encounter today. Also pray that God will use you to build harmony, not only at home, but as a part of the body of Refuge Church as well.
So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
This verse in Romans is short but carries much weight. These deliberate acts of encouragement and maintaining harmony are absolutely pivotal to us fulfilling our purpose here at Refuge Church, which is to make disciples.
Think about a time when you’ve needed encouragement. Those moments when you feel like the entire world is either falling down around you or resting on your shoulders. In an ideal world, it would be at these moments that we should be able to call on one another as not only friends, but as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Alas, it doesn’t always work this way.
I don’t believe it is any coincidence that Paul mentions aiming for harmony and encouraging each other in the same sentence. It would be hard to have one without the other. Think about a harmonious relationship between a husband and a wife. You can bet that there is plenty of encouragement coming from both sides. He supports her in any way he can. She supports him in any way she can. There is harmony because both sides feel loved and respected. Now think about a not-so-harmonious relationship between a husband and a wife. He likes to make her feel stupid. She likes to make him feel stupid. They carry with them a constant tension. There is disharmony because neither side feels loved or respected. The same thing that will keep this couple from having a harmonious relationship is the same thing that will keep us from having harmony at Refuge Church:
Selfishness. That quiet (usually…) inner-voice that reminds us that we should have it our way and everyone else should just have to deal with it. We leave the womb with this mindset guiding us.
To sum all of this up, let us not forget that in order to build each other up, we must elevate the feelings of others above the feelings of ourselves. Since this is not a natural tendency of ours, we need help. We can find our help in the form of Jesus Christ, who has given us power over sin through his death on the cross.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with a phrase that I believe sums it up perfectly:
If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.
Pray that God will help you be a constant encouragement to everyone you encounter today. Also pray that God will use you to build harmony, not only at home, but as a part of the body of Refuge Church as well.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
A Tested Faith – When Questions Come
Job 42:1-6 (NLT)
Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
The story of Job is a beautiful portrait of the human condition and God’s love for us. I urge you to read the entire book but offer you this summary for now:
Job is a man who is wise, rich, and good. Blameless. He was also very blessed. In fact, Satan tells God that Job is only serving him because of how God has blessed him. So God allows Satan to test Job. Suddenly terrible things happen to him. His ten children are killed, he loses all his wealth, and he becomes ill with a painful skin disease. Three of his friends come to visit him and they try to explain to Job why these bad things have happened. They tell Job that sin caused his suffering and God was punishing him. Job insists it is not true but no one believes him. Job becomes very discouraged and angry but he still believes God cares about him although he doesn't understand why he must suffer so. In the end, God answers Job in a whirlwind, reminding him that humans can never understand how great God is. After Job hears God speak, he repents (in the verses above) and realizes that his trust in God should not depend on what happens to him. Finally, God restores Job's health, makes him twice as rich as he had been before, and gives him ten more children.
What I can’t show you in this summary is the barrage of questions that Job asks God. While he never lost faith in God, he asked some very tough questions. Over the past few days, we’ve talked about the challenges that come with simply keeping the faith. Noah was faced with uncertainty. Abraham was faced with the most painful situation he could have imagined. Here we find Job wrestling with all of the above.
While doubt and selfishness can certainly destroy our faith, we can learn from Job that questions don’t. God shows us time and time again that he is big enough to answer our questions. So the next time you feel like your faith is being tested, go to God and be real with him. Scream, yell, sing, or whisper your toughest questions to him. He can handle it. You just be ready for some answers.
May our faith grow when questions come.
Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
The story of Job is a beautiful portrait of the human condition and God’s love for us. I urge you to read the entire book but offer you this summary for now:
Job is a man who is wise, rich, and good. Blameless. He was also very blessed. In fact, Satan tells God that Job is only serving him because of how God has blessed him. So God allows Satan to test Job. Suddenly terrible things happen to him. His ten children are killed, he loses all his wealth, and he becomes ill with a painful skin disease. Three of his friends come to visit him and they try to explain to Job why these bad things have happened. They tell Job that sin caused his suffering and God was punishing him. Job insists it is not true but no one believes him. Job becomes very discouraged and angry but he still believes God cares about him although he doesn't understand why he must suffer so. In the end, God answers Job in a whirlwind, reminding him that humans can never understand how great God is. After Job hears God speak, he repents (in the verses above) and realizes that his trust in God should not depend on what happens to him. Finally, God restores Job's health, makes him twice as rich as he had been before, and gives him ten more children.
What I can’t show you in this summary is the barrage of questions that Job asks God. While he never lost faith in God, he asked some very tough questions. Over the past few days, we’ve talked about the challenges that come with simply keeping the faith. Noah was faced with uncertainty. Abraham was faced with the most painful situation he could have imagined. Here we find Job wrestling with all of the above.
While doubt and selfishness can certainly destroy our faith, we can learn from Job that questions don’t. God shows us time and time again that he is big enough to answer our questions. So the next time you feel like your faith is being tested, go to God and be real with him. Scream, yell, sing, or whisper your toughest questions to him. He can handle it. You just be ready for some answers.
May our faith grow when questions come.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A Tested Faith – Facing the Painful – Part II
Genesis 22:6-14
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Yesterday, we talked about the excruciating pain that Abraham must have felt as he was on his way to sacrifice his son to God. We saw that even though the situation was as painful as it could have been, Abraham trusted God. He placed his faith in God.
I think we all understand that it would be naïve of us, after studying God’s word, to think that serving God is easy. God promises us a great reward in Heaven but readily admits that the path to get there is hard and narrow and few ever find it. Furthermore, as we see time and time again, placing our faith in God ensures that it will be tested. Faced with these kinds of trials, many may find this life of faith less than compelling. Multitudes of people loved Jesus when he fed them and healed them but ultimately rejected the call He placed on their lives. They checked out when it got uncomfortable. They went back home when it got painful. Here in 2012, we have a tendency to do the same thing. Understand this:
The more we live for ourselves, the less capable we are of living for God.
If Abraham had let his own selfish desires sabotage his faith in this situation, God would not have used him as he did. As we’ve discussed before, he would have been trading his eternal reward for the temporary pleasures of life on earth.
It comes down to this: Abraham chose to obey God no matter the cost. Because of that, God used him to change the world. He can do the same with our lives if we can learn to trust Him and Him alone in our most painful moments.
May our faith grow as we face the painful.
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Yesterday, we talked about the excruciating pain that Abraham must have felt as he was on his way to sacrifice his son to God. We saw that even though the situation was as painful as it could have been, Abraham trusted God. He placed his faith in God.
I think we all understand that it would be naïve of us, after studying God’s word, to think that serving God is easy. God promises us a great reward in Heaven but readily admits that the path to get there is hard and narrow and few ever find it. Furthermore, as we see time and time again, placing our faith in God ensures that it will be tested. Faced with these kinds of trials, many may find this life of faith less than compelling. Multitudes of people loved Jesus when he fed them and healed them but ultimately rejected the call He placed on their lives. They checked out when it got uncomfortable. They went back home when it got painful. Here in 2012, we have a tendency to do the same thing. Understand this:
The more we live for ourselves, the less capable we are of living for God.
If Abraham had let his own selfish desires sabotage his faith in this situation, God would not have used him as he did. As we’ve discussed before, he would have been trading his eternal reward for the temporary pleasures of life on earth.
It comes down to this: Abraham chose to obey God no matter the cost. Because of that, God used him to change the world. He can do the same with our lives if we can learn to trust Him and Him alone in our most painful moments.
May our faith grow as we face the painful.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
A Tested Faith – Facing the Painful – Part I
Genesis 22:1-5
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
There is joy to be found in serving God. There is peace and there is comfort. But sometimes God will call us to do hard things. He will call us to step outside of the things we find comfort in. These times are harder than we ever imagine they will be. They are trying. Most of all, they can be painful.
Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes and imagine, for a moment, your reaction to God commanding this of you: Take your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Would you cry out in anger? Would you curse God? Would you be done with God? I know you’re thinking times have changed and this is a different world and in some ways you’re right but the tremendous pain of losing a child has been the same throughout history. Couple that with having to kill the child yourself and we’re talking about a pain that (I hope) none of us here in 2012 have ever encountered.
Now notice Abraham’s reaction when God asked him to carry out the seemingly unthinkable. Like with Noah, there’s a common theme here:
God spoke. Abraham listened.
Imagine for a moment how excruciatingly painful this trip must have been for Abraham. Enjoying the company of his one and only child Isaac knowing what he was to do. Even still, Abraham knew God and trusted God as he faced the most painful situation he would ever have to face.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
There is joy to be found in serving God. There is peace and there is comfort. But sometimes God will call us to do hard things. He will call us to step outside of the things we find comfort in. These times are harder than we ever imagine they will be. They are trying. Most of all, they can be painful.
Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes and imagine, for a moment, your reaction to God commanding this of you: Take your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Would you cry out in anger? Would you curse God? Would you be done with God? I know you’re thinking times have changed and this is a different world and in some ways you’re right but the tremendous pain of losing a child has been the same throughout history. Couple that with having to kill the child yourself and we’re talking about a pain that (I hope) none of us here in 2012 have ever encountered.
Now notice Abraham’s reaction when God asked him to carry out the seemingly unthinkable. Like with Noah, there’s a common theme here:
God spoke. Abraham listened.
Imagine for a moment how excruciatingly painful this trip must have been for Abraham. Enjoying the company of his one and only child Isaac knowing what he was to do. Even still, Abraham knew God and trusted God as he faced the most painful situation he would ever have to face.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Monday, June 9, 2014
A Tested Faith – Facing the Unknown
Genesis 6:22 (NLT)
Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 7:5 (NLT)
And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
Noah’s ark. The age-old story. You can find it in its entirety in the sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters of Genesis. There are many directions we could go with this story but I want to focus on one thing:
Noah’s faith when faced with the unknown.
Let’s get this straight: God told Noah he was going to destroy the world and everyone in it except for him and his family. God commanded Noah to build a large boat. I’m not talking about spending two hours building a raft. Noah spent decades building this boat. Then God commanded Noah to gather up pairs of every kind of animal and put them in the boat. Big or small. Friendly or mean. Flying or crawling. Every single species living on the earth. Then sit in the boat with those same (most likely very stinky) animals for most of a year waiting for the floodwaters to recede.
Then there’s us… Many of us won’t even get up out of our easy chair without a good explanation.
Noah was faithful to carry out God’s commands exactly as he was commanded to. He didn’t ask questions. He made no suggestions. He didn’t present God with an alternative point of view. Only two things happened:
God spoke. Noah listened.
May our faith grow as we face the unknown.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 7:5 (NLT)
And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
Noah’s ark. The age-old story. You can find it in its entirety in the sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters of Genesis. There are many directions we could go with this story but I want to focus on one thing:
Noah’s faith when faced with the unknown.
Let’s get this straight: God told Noah he was going to destroy the world and everyone in it except for him and his family. God commanded Noah to build a large boat. I’m not talking about spending two hours building a raft. Noah spent decades building this boat. Then God commanded Noah to gather up pairs of every kind of animal and put them in the boat. Big or small. Friendly or mean. Flying or crawling. Every single species living on the earth. Then sit in the boat with those same (most likely very stinky) animals for most of a year waiting for the floodwaters to recede.
Then there’s us… Many of us won’t even get up out of our easy chair without a good explanation.
Noah was faithful to carry out God’s commands exactly as he was commanded to. He didn’t ask questions. He made no suggestions. He didn’t present God with an alternative point of view. Only two things happened:
God spoke. Noah listened.
May our faith grow as we face the unknown.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
A Tested Faith - Introduction
James 1:3 (NLT)
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Matthew 17:20 (NLT)
"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
As Christians, we have a ton of things on our mind every day. We try to be kind. We try to be giving. We are continually weighing our words. We try to make the best of the many situations that life throws our way. We just don’t want to let anyone down. We don’t want to let God down! Amidst all of these things, I believe a Christian’s main priority, whether it’s realized or not, is simply keeping the faith. Choosing to believe even when it makes absolutely no sense.
Over the next few days, we’ll dive into the lives of some people who, through gut-wrenching pain and disappointment, had every logical reason to give up on God but refused to. We like to use the analogy (and rightly so) that measures the amount of our faith by how many mountains we’ve moved. Most of us would view a faith capable of moving mountains as the absolute pinnacle of faithfulness. While we should certainly aspire to have this kind of faith, Jesus taught us that not very much faith is actually required to move a mountain. Only that of a mustard seed (the smallest seed known to man).
Furthermore, I believe that spending dozens of years building a boat when you’ve never seen rain requires more faith than that. Trusting God when your child’s life is taken requires more faith than that. I believe that trusting God when you lose your entire family and livelihood for no good reason requires more faith than that.
The truth is this: Moving mountains is only the beginning. To give up our entire lives to serve Christ will take as much faith as we can muster.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Matthew 17:20 (NLT)
"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
As Christians, we have a ton of things on our mind every day. We try to be kind. We try to be giving. We are continually weighing our words. We try to make the best of the many situations that life throws our way. We just don’t want to let anyone down. We don’t want to let God down! Amidst all of these things, I believe a Christian’s main priority, whether it’s realized or not, is simply keeping the faith. Choosing to believe even when it makes absolutely no sense.
Over the next few days, we’ll dive into the lives of some people who, through gut-wrenching pain and disappointment, had every logical reason to give up on God but refused to. We like to use the analogy (and rightly so) that measures the amount of our faith by how many mountains we’ve moved. Most of us would view a faith capable of moving mountains as the absolute pinnacle of faithfulness. While we should certainly aspire to have this kind of faith, Jesus taught us that not very much faith is actually required to move a mountain. Only that of a mustard seed (the smallest seed known to man).
Furthermore, I believe that spending dozens of years building a boat when you’ve never seen rain requires more faith than that. Trusting God when your child’s life is taken requires more faith than that. I believe that trusting God when you lose your entire family and livelihood for no good reason requires more faith than that.
The truth is this: Moving mountains is only the beginning. To give up our entire lives to serve Christ will take as much faith as we can muster.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Psalm 23
How about some classic scripture today?
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Forget and Not Slow Down
Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
God is always giving us a choice. Some of these choices aren’t so serious. Things like: Do I wake up or do I go back to sleep? Do I talk to her or do I hide from her? Do I watch the basketball game or a rerun of Chopped? Do I buy low-fat yogurt or do I go all out and buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s? Paper or plastic? Like I said, some of these choices aren’t so serious. However, some choices are very serious. The one facing Paul in the passage above is particularly challenging because it’s a choice we have to make every single day:
Do we forget our past and look forward to what lies ahead or do we live in a world of regret and what-ifs?
Sure, you know the answer to this question... Of course we should forget our past and move forward... But but does your life reflect it? Are you actively pursuing Christ’s will for the REST of your life or are you still hung up on what could have been?
In a world of saving face and going through the motions, Paul’s humble plea in this passage is refreshing. His candidness and his honesty is energizing. His choice to move forward is exactly what we need to hear in our most difficult moments. I’m reminded of the words in a song by the band Relient K titled “Forget and Not Slow Down”:
I'd rather forget and not slow down than gather regret for the things I can't change now
If I become what I can't accept, resurrect the saint from within the wretch - Pour over me and wash my hands of it
It’s only through God’s grace and mercy that we can shake off our past and give our future to him. You should never try to do this on your own. Plug yourself into a genuine body of believers and ask God every morning to help you move forward.
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
God is always giving us a choice. Some of these choices aren’t so serious. Things like: Do I wake up or do I go back to sleep? Do I talk to her or do I hide from her? Do I watch the basketball game or a rerun of Chopped? Do I buy low-fat yogurt or do I go all out and buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s? Paper or plastic? Like I said, some of these choices aren’t so serious. However, some choices are very serious. The one facing Paul in the passage above is particularly challenging because it’s a choice we have to make every single day:
Do we forget our past and look forward to what lies ahead or do we live in a world of regret and what-ifs?
Sure, you know the answer to this question... Of course we should forget our past and move forward... But but does your life reflect it? Are you actively pursuing Christ’s will for the REST of your life or are you still hung up on what could have been?
In a world of saving face and going through the motions, Paul’s humble plea in this passage is refreshing. His candidness and his honesty is energizing. His choice to move forward is exactly what we need to hear in our most difficult moments. I’m reminded of the words in a song by the band Relient K titled “Forget and Not Slow Down”:
I'd rather forget and not slow down than gather regret for the things I can't change now
If I become what I can't accept, resurrect the saint from within the wretch - Pour over me and wash my hands of it
It’s only through God’s grace and mercy that we can shake off our past and give our future to him. You should never try to do this on your own. Plug yourself into a genuine body of believers and ask God every morning to help you move forward.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Don’t Live a Lie – Part II
1 Timothy 1:19 (NLT)
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
How do we keep our conscience clear?
I believe Oswald Chambers (My Utmost For His Highest, May 13) explains this better than I’m able to:
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed, His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? Ephesians 4:30 tells us “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” He does not speak with a voice like thunder - His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is - drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
How do we keep our conscience clear?
I believe Oswald Chambers (My Utmost For His Highest, May 13) explains this better than I’m able to:
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed, His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? Ephesians 4:30 tells us “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” He does not speak with a voice like thunder - His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is - drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Don’t Live a Lie – Part I
1 Timothy 1:19 (NLT)
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
There’s a popular phrase that we attribute to people that are content talking the talk with no regard to walking the walk. We say that they are “living a lie.” In the midst of a life completely devoted to this world, they are actually able to convince themselves that they are living the way they should. These people are more often than not consumed by their own selfish desires.
That being said, I want you to stop thinking about the person you’re thinking about and think about you. Do your life and the decisions you make on a daily basis reflect a living and active faith in Jesus Christ? Do they give testimony to the life-changing power of the Gospel? Do they tell a story about you becoming a new creation in Jesus Christ? Maybe they do. But maybe your life and the decisions you make on a daily basis tell a different story… A story of a faith that has been “shipwrecked.”
As the passage above states, we must cling to our faith in Christ. We must replace our doubts with the knowledge that while we were once lost, Jesus found us. We must replace our despair with the eternal hope that we’ve found in Jesus made evident in the way he turned our life around when we first accepted him. Most of all, we must replace this life of lies with a life of authenticity made visible by a clear conscience.
How do we keep our conscience clear?
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
There’s a popular phrase that we attribute to people that are content talking the talk with no regard to walking the walk. We say that they are “living a lie.” In the midst of a life completely devoted to this world, they are actually able to convince themselves that they are living the way they should. These people are more often than not consumed by their own selfish desires.
That being said, I want you to stop thinking about the person you’re thinking about and think about you. Do your life and the decisions you make on a daily basis reflect a living and active faith in Jesus Christ? Do they give testimony to the life-changing power of the Gospel? Do they tell a story about you becoming a new creation in Jesus Christ? Maybe they do. But maybe your life and the decisions you make on a daily basis tell a different story… A story of a faith that has been “shipwrecked.”
As the passage above states, we must cling to our faith in Christ. We must replace our doubts with the knowledge that while we were once lost, Jesus found us. We must replace our despair with the eternal hope that we’ve found in Jesus made evident in the way he turned our life around when we first accepted him. Most of all, we must replace this life of lies with a life of authenticity made visible by a clear conscience.
How do we keep our conscience clear?
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
We Need Help
Psalm 36:9 (NLT)
For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
Reading this passage of scripture reminded me of a quote by the great author and thinker C.S. Lewis:
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
This made me ask myself some very tough questions: Does my faith in Christ reside in only a very specific part of my life or does my faith in Christ define my life? Does my faith affect every situation I encounter or does it only show its face when I’m at church or when I’m around my church friends?
These tough questions sometimes come with tough answers.
As we’ve discussed before, we must hold every thought captive and examine it. Is it pleasing to God? Is it pointing the people around me to Christ or is it pulling them in the other direction?
If you think that asking these questions about every aspect of our lives sounds incredibly challenging, you are right. It is. It’s actually impossible without God’s help. If we try to live for Christ without spending time with him, we will always end up burnt-out, exhausted, and worst of all, defeated.
So as you begin your day, ask God for help. Ask him to help you see each situation as he sees it. Ask him to help you see every person as he sees them. If you ask these things with a genuine heart, you’ll begin to see that the impossible will become not only possible, but routine!
For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
Reading this passage of scripture reminded me of a quote by the great author and thinker C.S. Lewis:
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
This made me ask myself some very tough questions: Does my faith in Christ reside in only a very specific part of my life or does my faith in Christ define my life? Does my faith affect every situation I encounter or does it only show its face when I’m at church or when I’m around my church friends?
These tough questions sometimes come with tough answers.
As we’ve discussed before, we must hold every thought captive and examine it. Is it pleasing to God? Is it pointing the people around me to Christ or is it pulling them in the other direction?
If you think that asking these questions about every aspect of our lives sounds incredibly challenging, you are right. It is. It’s actually impossible without God’s help. If we try to live for Christ without spending time with him, we will always end up burnt-out, exhausted, and worst of all, defeated.
So as you begin your day, ask God for help. Ask him to help you see each situation as he sees it. Ask him to help you see every person as he sees them. If you ask these things with a genuine heart, you’ll begin to see that the impossible will become not only possible, but routine!
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