Today's culture constantly tells you that you have the freedom to become anyone you want to be if you just try hard enough. But no matter how much you may work to create the persona you want, you'll still end up frustrated and confused. The only way to discover who you really are is to seek a relationship with the One who made you: God. When you find your true identity in Him, you'll find that it's better than any other choice.
Here's how you can discover the person God made you to be:
Look beyond cultural images to the image of God in you. Don't settle for simply taking on a particular image that appeals to you - cool, sexy, glamorous, tough, bohemian, cosmopolitan, or something else. Realize that cultural images alone are superficial. Behind their appeal is a God-given longing to be everything God wants you to be. Recognize that the urge you feel take on a cultural certain image is really a desire to grow. You already have within you the best image of all, since God created you in His image. Focus on discovering more about what God's image looks like in you, and how you can express it more in your life.
Move beyond appearances to truth. Even though the culture tells you that it's enough to simply appear good, God calls you to actually be good. Going to church on a weekend and then going home and living an unfaithful life for the rest of the week isn't okay. Following God's guidance in some ways (such as giving to charity and being a good friend to others) but not in other ways (such as lying and gossiping) isn't enough. Invite God to take control of every area of your life - from your work to your romantic relationships - and to transform you from the inside out. Then you'll have the power to live with integrity and grow into a truly good person - not just someone who tries hard to act the part.
Break free of feelings. When you don't know who you really are, you become a slave to your feelings, constantly reacting to them and becoming confused when they change. Turning to God - rather than your feelings - for your sense of identity will give you a solid foundation that remains the same no matter how changing circumstances affect your feelings. When you trust God, you'll experience lasting peace that will guard your heart and mind in any situation.
Stop seeing church as a movie. Don't just consume your church's worship service like you would a movie, enjoying the emotional experience of it and then just moving on. Instead, invite God to encounter you in church and change your life as a result of that encounter. Open yourself up to all the possibilities of how God may choose to change you as you worship Him in church. Listen for God speaking to you, and act when He leads you.
View holiness accurately. Realize that holiness isn't about trying to achieve perfection, which is futile no matter how hard you may try. Holiness is about wholeness - growing into a relationship with God that allows you to be at peace with Him, yourself, and other people. Thanks to Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, that relationship is possible right now, with all of your imperfections. If you trust Jesus, He will help constantly transform you, empowering you to grow more into the person God intends you to become. So let the fact that you can count on God to help you become more holy give you the confidence you need to pursue holiness. Unlike the culture's message that holiness is beyond your grasp, the reality is that you can become more holy every day. Keep in mind that each step away from holiness will cause you to lose more of your sense of self, but each step toward holiness will bring you closer to becoming who you really are - the person God meant you to be.
Recognize that you become like whatever you worship. When you derive your sense of self from a cultural image communicated through the media, you're essentially worshipping it, and that image will come to control you - turning you into a poor imitation of who you were meant to be. But when you worship Jesus, you will grow more and more like Him, freeing you to discover the wonderful person God made you to become.
Deal wisely with your desires. Regularly confess the ways in which you let your desires pull you into sin that makes you walk away from your true self. Humbly ask God to help you avoid desires that don't reflect His will for you and strengthen your desires for what He wants for your life. When considering a particular desire, ask yourself: "Is this desire moving me toward greater commitment to Jesus or farther away from Him?" Test the worthiness of your desires by examining whether or not they reflect a respect of God's image in yourself and others. Test the fruitfulness of your desires by considering whether or not they will help you make the world a better place and bring glory to God in the process.
Keep growing. Even though you can't completely become the person God wants you to become until you're raised in glory with Jesus in His new creation, you can continue to grow each day you're alive. Rejoice when you notice how Jesus is helping you mature, and let your gratitude motivate you to keep learning and growing more each day.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
I Am Not An Accident
In Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” – he makes a profound statement. He says,
“You are not an accident. … Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.”
Jeremiah learns this fact first hand when he hears God say: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Now most of us may not be prophets – but the first part of this verse applies to all of us. God says, “I knew you before.....”. He has set us apart – He has made us special. You are not an accident.
The voice of God comes to announce our extraordinary worth. This worth is inseparably linked to the fact that we were made by God and for God. Our worth to God started before we were born. We have invaluable worth because we were born in the mind of God. We were valuable to God before the world began — because we were already on His mind and in His imagination. This fact is something that can never change or ever be taken away from us. It is the something we can never lose.
David wrote: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalms 139:14
God prescribed every single detail of my creation. He deliberately chose my race, my gender, the color of my hair, the color of my skin, the color of my eyes – but guess what – He has done the same for you. You see – I am not an accident – and neither are you.
Can you imagine what Jeremiah must have felt when he heard God say: "Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Here at this moment Jeremiah hears the voice of God – the Creator of the Universe – He who put the stars in place – He who formed the world and all that we know – from the telescopic to the microscopic – and God speaks to Jeremiah and says: “Jeremiah – you are special. You have been on my mind a long, long, long time.”
How would you feel to hear God say this? Maybe like the writer of Psalm 8: “I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Psalms 8:4 MSG
In other words – how important are we – that God should even pay attention to us? Yet He does! He says we are very important.
The theme of our value before God can be found throughout the Bible.
In Ephesians chapter two Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus and says: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10
Christians are God’s workmanship – created in Christ Jesus – for the purpose of performing good works – which God prepared for us from the foundation world. Not only has God created each and every one of us unique – He has a purpose for our lives. I am not an accident – I have infinite value – because of who I am in Christ.
Jesus taught on our value when He spoke three parables in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus spoke about a lost sheep – a lost coin –– and a lost son. Let’s look at these stories. Jesus said: "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ’Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.” Luke 15:4-7 (MSG)
Jesus went on to say: "Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ’Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." Luke 15:8-10 (MSG)
And in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son that ends with the father telling the older son: “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!”
In American we place great value on youth, beauty, athletic ability, intelligence, education, wealth and fame. But we need to notice that the Bible places more value is on relationship than anything else. The shepherd has lost HIS sheep. The woman had lost HER coin. The father has lost HIS son. The loss was great because of the relationship that existed. God says you have great value because: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”
God knows me – I have great value – I am not an accident.
Most of us have known someone that was developmentally disabled and mentally challenged. (I believe that ALL of us at CHBC knows someone like this!) People – who for the most part – would never be able to care for themselves. People that would never be able to contribute anything to society – they are totally dependent on others to take care of them. They would never have a relationship with other people except for their family and their caretakers. They will never earn an income. Of what value are they? According to the Scripture they are of immense value to God. The Bible says: "...every living soul belongs to me....” Ezekiel 18:4
They are as much a part of his creation as the teachers, doctors and nurses who take care for them. Their worth to society is the very fact that they dependent on society. They are God’s gift to us. God is teaching us the value of taking care of people who can never return the favor in any way. And yet, those who work with them can tell you that they receive a great deal from these people. God is showing us the value of human life when life is all these individuals have.
Today if you watch any of the CSI type TV shows, you know the importance of DNA. Do you ever wonder if there is such a thing as spiritual DNA? The Bible says: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
We have great value because we were created in the image of God. Each of us have been created in His image. Your life finds meaning only in a relationship with the God in whose image you were created. He has a purpose and plan for your life that is different from every other person who was ever created. God says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
You are so important to him that, as Jesus said, “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7
Do you beat yourself up because you are not pretty enough – tall enough – smart enough – thin enough? Do you cut yourself down because you feel you are lacking abilities? Remember what God said: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
God has made you – who you are. Before He formed you – in your mother’s womb – He knew you.
Folks – no matter what your situation is or was – you are not an accident – God has had you on His mind for a long, long, long time.
“You are not an accident. … Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.”
Jeremiah learns this fact first hand when he hears God say: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Now most of us may not be prophets – but the first part of this verse applies to all of us. God says, “I knew you before.....”. He has set us apart – He has made us special. You are not an accident.
The voice of God comes to announce our extraordinary worth. This worth is inseparably linked to the fact that we were made by God and for God. Our worth to God started before we were born. We have invaluable worth because we were born in the mind of God. We were valuable to God before the world began — because we were already on His mind and in His imagination. This fact is something that can never change or ever be taken away from us. It is the something we can never lose.
David wrote: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalms 139:14
God prescribed every single detail of my creation. He deliberately chose my race, my gender, the color of my hair, the color of my skin, the color of my eyes – but guess what – He has done the same for you. You see – I am not an accident – and neither are you.
Can you imagine what Jeremiah must have felt when he heard God say: "Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Here at this moment Jeremiah hears the voice of God – the Creator of the Universe – He who put the stars in place – He who formed the world and all that we know – from the telescopic to the microscopic – and God speaks to Jeremiah and says: “Jeremiah – you are special. You have been on my mind a long, long, long time.”
How would you feel to hear God say this? Maybe like the writer of Psalm 8: “I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Psalms 8:4 MSG
In other words – how important are we – that God should even pay attention to us? Yet He does! He says we are very important.
The theme of our value before God can be found throughout the Bible.
In Ephesians chapter two Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus and says: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10
Christians are God’s workmanship – created in Christ Jesus – for the purpose of performing good works – which God prepared for us from the foundation world. Not only has God created each and every one of us unique – He has a purpose for our lives. I am not an accident – I have infinite value – because of who I am in Christ.
Jesus taught on our value when He spoke three parables in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus spoke about a lost sheep – a lost coin –– and a lost son. Let’s look at these stories. Jesus said: "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ’Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.” Luke 15:4-7 (MSG)
Jesus went on to say: "Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ’Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." Luke 15:8-10 (MSG)
And in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son that ends with the father telling the older son: “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!”
In American we place great value on youth, beauty, athletic ability, intelligence, education, wealth and fame. But we need to notice that the Bible places more value is on relationship than anything else. The shepherd has lost HIS sheep. The woman had lost HER coin. The father has lost HIS son. The loss was great because of the relationship that existed. God says you have great value because: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”
God knows me – I have great value – I am not an accident.
Most of us have known someone that was developmentally disabled and mentally challenged. (I believe that ALL of us at CHBC knows someone like this!) People – who for the most part – would never be able to care for themselves. People that would never be able to contribute anything to society – they are totally dependent on others to take care of them. They would never have a relationship with other people except for their family and their caretakers. They will never earn an income. Of what value are they? According to the Scripture they are of immense value to God. The Bible says: "...every living soul belongs to me....” Ezekiel 18:4
They are as much a part of his creation as the teachers, doctors and nurses who take care for them. Their worth to society is the very fact that they dependent on society. They are God’s gift to us. God is teaching us the value of taking care of people who can never return the favor in any way. And yet, those who work with them can tell you that they receive a great deal from these people. God is showing us the value of human life when life is all these individuals have.
Today if you watch any of the CSI type TV shows, you know the importance of DNA. Do you ever wonder if there is such a thing as spiritual DNA? The Bible says: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
We have great value because we were created in the image of God. Each of us have been created in His image. Your life finds meaning only in a relationship with the God in whose image you were created. He has a purpose and plan for your life that is different from every other person who was ever created. God says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
You are so important to him that, as Jesus said, “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7
Do you beat yourself up because you are not pretty enough – tall enough – smart enough – thin enough? Do you cut yourself down because you feel you are lacking abilities? Remember what God said: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
God has made you – who you are. Before He formed you – in your mother’s womb – He knew you.
Folks – no matter what your situation is or was – you are not an accident – God has had you on His mind for a long, long, long time.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sawdust and Planks
If you're like most people, when you have a problem with someone else, you focus on what that person did wrong. You think the problem would get better if the other person would change. Yet read what Jesus said:
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
Jesus said we must first focus on our own shortcoming, on changes we need to make. This is not to say that those around us don't have faults, bad habits and sins. They do. But despite that, God wants us to focus first on our part.
Evaluate yourself: Do you use any of these excuses?
Do you use any of the following excuses for focusing on others? Rate yourself from 0 to 10 on each one. As you read, substitute "he," "she," "his" "her" or "their" where appropriate.
"0" means, "I never think (or say) this."
"10" means, "I think (or say) this a lot."
"It is all his/her/their fault." My score (0-10): ____
It probably is not! It is extremely rare that one person is all right and one person is all wrong. Honestly confront your own faults, even if you think you are only one percent wrong and the other person is ninety-nine percent wrong.
"Sure, I get angry, but it's only because of how he treats me." My score (0-10): ____
When you say this, you are excusing your own sins by blaming them on the other person. Adam blamed his wife when God confronted him for sinning (Genesis 3:11-12), but God did not accept his excuse (Genesis 3:17-19). Nor will God accept your excuses.
Regardless of what others do, you need to respond in a Christ-like manner. Paul wrote, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil" (Romans 12:17). He went on to write, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
"I am so angry that I could just___________." My score (0-10): ____
The Bible says that you must overcome your anger and not use it as an excuse to sin. Paul wrote, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians 4:26-27). If you do not accept your bad temper as a personal problem, you will always find reasons to be mad at others, since everyone is imperfect. You need to:
Confess that you have an anger problem.
Ask forgiveness from God and from others.
Learn how to react to aggravations or disappointments lovingly.
"I need to confront them about their sin." My score (0-10): ____
Yes, sometimes we need to confront others' sins. But this may be rarer than we think. Look again at Matthew 7:3-5 and you will see three elements:
First, you must take the plank out of your own eye.
Then you can see clearly.
Once you see clearly, you can lovingly help remove the speck from someone else's eye.
If you try to remove the speck from the other person's eye without first taking the plank out of your eye, you cannot see clearly and will hurt the other person. Paul made a similar point in Galatians 6:1 when he wrote, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently."
"She hurt me and I want her to suffer." My score (0-10): ____
You may feel that you have suffered grievous wounds and desire revenge. But the Bible warns that it is God who avenges, not us (Psalm 94:1). Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) and remember how much Jesus taught about forgiveness. Paul writes, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15. And Peter says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9.
"He will take advantage of me if I just focus on my own issues." My score (0-10): ____
That is possible, but it is not likely. The most common result is just the opposite: The changes you make usually inspire others to change too.
Hints to help you take the beam out of your own eye
Pray to change. Although we can easily see the other person's faults, we often are blind to our own role. For most of us, it is HARD to shift the focus from others to ourselves. Ask God to help you see clearly.
Ask, "Did I contribute to the problem?" Think about the last few days. Have your actions helped set the stage for the current problem? As you become aware of how your emotions, actions and words affect others, you likely will discover that you contribute to problems more than you realize.
Spend some quiet time with God, asking Him to show you your part of a problem.
You also could ask someone who seems upset, "Have I offended you?" Or, "You seem upset. Have I done something wrong?" If you do this, listen carefully without getting into an argument.
Ask yourself, "How can I help in this conversation?" Listen to the other person (You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19). Seek to truly understand his or her opinions and emotions. When you understand where the other person is coming from, look for ways to minister to him or her as you talk.
Speak courteously and respectfully. God wants us to speak with love and courtesy, whatever the circumstances. Our words should be chosen “prayerfully”!. Even if you need to take strong actions, control your anger. “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” (Proverbs 29:11).
Stay balanced
Although it's important to focus on changing yourself, it's possible to take this principle to unhealthy extremes.
Do not blame yourself for all the problems in a relationship. Even though you need to concentrate on changes you need to make, do not blame yourself for everything wrong in your relationships. Of course there are things you need to work on. On the other hand, you are not the only one with problems. It is reasonable to be aware that others have faults; just do not concentrate on them.
Sometimes you really need to talk about problems. You need to talk about problems from time to time. The key is to do it God's way--with courtesy and respect.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
Jesus said we must first focus on our own shortcoming, on changes we need to make. This is not to say that those around us don't have faults, bad habits and sins. They do. But despite that, God wants us to focus first on our part.
Evaluate yourself: Do you use any of these excuses?
Do you use any of the following excuses for focusing on others? Rate yourself from 0 to 10 on each one. As you read, substitute "he," "she," "his" "her" or "their" where appropriate.
"0" means, "I never think (or say) this."
"10" means, "I think (or say) this a lot."
"It is all his/her/their fault." My score (0-10): ____
It probably is not! It is extremely rare that one person is all right and one person is all wrong. Honestly confront your own faults, even if you think you are only one percent wrong and the other person is ninety-nine percent wrong.
"Sure, I get angry, but it's only because of how he treats me." My score (0-10): ____
When you say this, you are excusing your own sins by blaming them on the other person. Adam blamed his wife when God confronted him for sinning (Genesis 3:11-12), but God did not accept his excuse (Genesis 3:17-19). Nor will God accept your excuses.
Regardless of what others do, you need to respond in a Christ-like manner. Paul wrote, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil" (Romans 12:17). He went on to write, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
"I am so angry that I could just___________." My score (0-10): ____
The Bible says that you must overcome your anger and not use it as an excuse to sin. Paul wrote, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians 4:26-27). If you do not accept your bad temper as a personal problem, you will always find reasons to be mad at others, since everyone is imperfect. You need to:
Confess that you have an anger problem.
Ask forgiveness from God and from others.
Learn how to react to aggravations or disappointments lovingly.
"I need to confront them about their sin." My score (0-10): ____
Yes, sometimes we need to confront others' sins. But this may be rarer than we think. Look again at Matthew 7:3-5 and you will see three elements:
First, you must take the plank out of your own eye.
Then you can see clearly.
Once you see clearly, you can lovingly help remove the speck from someone else's eye.
If you try to remove the speck from the other person's eye without first taking the plank out of your eye, you cannot see clearly and will hurt the other person. Paul made a similar point in Galatians 6:1 when he wrote, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently."
"She hurt me and I want her to suffer." My score (0-10): ____
You may feel that you have suffered grievous wounds and desire revenge. But the Bible warns that it is God who avenges, not us (Psalm 94:1). Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) and remember how much Jesus taught about forgiveness. Paul writes, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15. And Peter says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9.
"He will take advantage of me if I just focus on my own issues." My score (0-10): ____
That is possible, but it is not likely. The most common result is just the opposite: The changes you make usually inspire others to change too.
Hints to help you take the beam out of your own eye
Pray to change. Although we can easily see the other person's faults, we often are blind to our own role. For most of us, it is HARD to shift the focus from others to ourselves. Ask God to help you see clearly.
Ask, "Did I contribute to the problem?" Think about the last few days. Have your actions helped set the stage for the current problem? As you become aware of how your emotions, actions and words affect others, you likely will discover that you contribute to problems more than you realize.
Spend some quiet time with God, asking Him to show you your part of a problem.
You also could ask someone who seems upset, "Have I offended you?" Or, "You seem upset. Have I done something wrong?" If you do this, listen carefully without getting into an argument.
Ask yourself, "How can I help in this conversation?" Listen to the other person (You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19). Seek to truly understand his or her opinions and emotions. When you understand where the other person is coming from, look for ways to minister to him or her as you talk.
Speak courteously and respectfully. God wants us to speak with love and courtesy, whatever the circumstances. Our words should be chosen “prayerfully”!. Even if you need to take strong actions, control your anger. “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” (Proverbs 29:11).
Stay balanced
Although it's important to focus on changing yourself, it's possible to take this principle to unhealthy extremes.
Do not blame yourself for all the problems in a relationship. Even though you need to concentrate on changes you need to make, do not blame yourself for everything wrong in your relationships. Of course there are things you need to work on. On the other hand, you are not the only one with problems. It is reasonable to be aware that others have faults; just do not concentrate on them.
Sometimes you really need to talk about problems. You need to talk about problems from time to time. The key is to do it God's way--with courtesy and respect.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
When Satan Comes Knocking (and he will)
When Satan comes against your mind with wrong thoughts, you don’t have to concede defeat. Let’s look today at what God’s Word says we can do to defeat them.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. Ephesians 6:13-14. NLT
The Message puts it this was : Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Ephesians 6:13-18 MSG
Action 1: Refuse to feel guilty for wrong thoughts
Imagine you are awakened at 3 a.m. by someone pounding on your front door. More than likely, before you open the door, you’ll look through the peephole to see who is causing the commotion. If it were a neighbor, a friend, or a family member, you would probably open the door and invite him in. However, if it were a stranger wearing a ski mask and carrying a pistol, you would hopefully refuse them entry.
If you were certain the person seeking entry into your home intended to harm you, would you feel guilty over his wanting to assault you? Would you lament to yourself, What is wrong with me that would cause this person to want to hurt me? No, you would call the police immediately to apprehend the would-be assailant.
We are not always responsible for the harmful thoughts that come knocking on the doors of our minds. Although allowing outside stimuli such as certain TV programs, reading material, or internet sites to fill our minds can incite thoughts of immorality or greed, we are not always to blame for the first assault of these ideas. If you were stranded on a deserted island, you would still battle against wrong thoughts.
How do we know this? Consider Jesus’ experience in the wilderness immediately following His baptism. For 40 days Christ was completely isolated. (Luke 4:1-13) No other people, no newspapers, no e-mail, no Facebook, and not EVEN a cell phone. Yet during those 40 days, Jesus was tempted with thoughts of discontent, greed, and pride.
“Since God hasn’t provided you with what you need to survive, turn these stones into bread.”
“You don’t need to wait to reign over the kingdoms of the world; they can be yours now if you are willing to worship me.”
“You don’t need to follow God’s timetable. Demonstrate you are the Messiah now! Put on a spiritual circus to demonstrate you are the Son of God.”
Where did these thoughts originate? “The devil said to Him” (Luke 4:3) — nowhere in the biblical account of Jesus’ temptation does Luke record that the devil appeared to Jesus. Possibly, Satan spoke to the Lord the same way he often communicates with us: through the mind.
Yet did these ungodly thoughts make Jesus a sinner? Of course not! He remained the perfect Lamb of God whose blamelessness qualified Him to be our Savior. If you and I are going to win the mind games, we need to first stop feeling guilty when evil thoughts invade our lives and, instead, learn how to deal with those unwelcome intrusions.
Action 2: Refuse to allow wrong thoughts to linger
If we entertain and embellish wrong thoughts for any period of time, those ideas have a way of transforming into obsessions. These, in turn, result in overt actions or attitudes of disobedience. Pastor and author Charles Stanley vividly demonstrates:
“The initial thoughts the devil sends to us may be just a toehold the first time we entertain those thoughts and dwell on them or fantasize about them. The longer we entertain the thoughts, however, the more likely we are to start making mental plans about how we might act on them.
“It is then the toehold of an idea becomes a foothold. The more we develop plans for acting on a sinful idea or temptation, the more we find that the foothold has become a stronghold. We come to the place where we feel compelled to try out the idea in our behavior. We come to the place where we want to act on that idea more than we want to banish the idea.”
When we reach that point, we are in trouble. How can we prevent our thoughts from turning into strongholds for the devil?
Action 3: Recognize and replace wrong thoughts with God’s thoughts
The analogy concerning a burglar attempting entry into your home is flawed in one respect. While we may be successful in preventing an intruder from coming into our home, we cannot keep unwanted thoughts out of our minds. The fact that we are thinking about something means that the alien idea has already gained entry.
Nevertheless, we do not need to allow the intruder to sit down in our favorite chair, engage us in an extended conversation, and announce that since he has been so welcomed, he is taking up residence in our spare bedroom! Instead, we need to follow the Apostle Paul’s advice for dealing with an undesirable guest:
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB).
Remembering the words recognize and replace will help you seize control over wrong thoughts. Use the questions we discussed previously to help recognize whether or not a thought could have satanic origin
Is this thought true? Does this thought motivate me to fear more or to trust God more? Does this thought contradict God’s Word?
But know that simply labeling a thought as harmful and attempting to dismiss it from your mind is not enough. In fact, the more you try to reject an unwanted thought, the more you will find yourself obsessing over it.
To dismiss Satan’s thoughts we must replace them with God’s thoughts, just as Jesus did.
When Satan attempted to plant seeds of discontent, Jesus responded by quoting a verse from the Old Testament. “People do not live by bread alone.” (Luke 4:4 NLT).
When Satan enticed the Lord with thoughts of power and riches, Jesus recited God’s greatest commandment: “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” (Luke 4:8 NLT).
When Satan tempted Jesus to act independently from God, the Lord quoted: “You must not test the Lord your God.” (Luke 4:12 NLT).
Jesus understood that the best way to dismiss an unwelcome thought is to replace it with another, more-powerful thought. The best way to dispel darkness is to confront it with light!
When fearful thoughts try to seize control of your life, you can replace those thoughts with, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
When you are tempted with thoughts of discontent, you can replace those thoughts with, “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” (1 Timothy 6:7-8 NLT).
And in closings let’s look at what Paul wrote to the church at Philippi:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
Any time Satan puts a thought (and all of these are bad) in your head replace it “immediately” with a thought from God AND the Bible is full of these. One that is always appropriate is “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NLT) So if you will let Him, the Holy Spirit in us can always ‘whip” the one who tempts us!
And another strong verse is from James 4:7 - "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
It is this process Paul has in mind when he encourages us to “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14). Our success in spiritual battle depends on confronting any “loose” thoughts with the truth of God’s Word.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. Ephesians 6:13-14. NLT
The Message puts it this was : Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Ephesians 6:13-18 MSG
Action 1: Refuse to feel guilty for wrong thoughts
Imagine you are awakened at 3 a.m. by someone pounding on your front door. More than likely, before you open the door, you’ll look through the peephole to see who is causing the commotion. If it were a neighbor, a friend, or a family member, you would probably open the door and invite him in. However, if it were a stranger wearing a ski mask and carrying a pistol, you would hopefully refuse them entry.
If you were certain the person seeking entry into your home intended to harm you, would you feel guilty over his wanting to assault you? Would you lament to yourself, What is wrong with me that would cause this person to want to hurt me? No, you would call the police immediately to apprehend the would-be assailant.
We are not always responsible for the harmful thoughts that come knocking on the doors of our minds. Although allowing outside stimuli such as certain TV programs, reading material, or internet sites to fill our minds can incite thoughts of immorality or greed, we are not always to blame for the first assault of these ideas. If you were stranded on a deserted island, you would still battle against wrong thoughts.
How do we know this? Consider Jesus’ experience in the wilderness immediately following His baptism. For 40 days Christ was completely isolated. (Luke 4:1-13) No other people, no newspapers, no e-mail, no Facebook, and not EVEN a cell phone. Yet during those 40 days, Jesus was tempted with thoughts of discontent, greed, and pride.
“Since God hasn’t provided you with what you need to survive, turn these stones into bread.”
“You don’t need to wait to reign over the kingdoms of the world; they can be yours now if you are willing to worship me.”
“You don’t need to follow God’s timetable. Demonstrate you are the Messiah now! Put on a spiritual circus to demonstrate you are the Son of God.”
Where did these thoughts originate? “The devil said to Him” (Luke 4:3) — nowhere in the biblical account of Jesus’ temptation does Luke record that the devil appeared to Jesus. Possibly, Satan spoke to the Lord the same way he often communicates with us: through the mind.
Yet did these ungodly thoughts make Jesus a sinner? Of course not! He remained the perfect Lamb of God whose blamelessness qualified Him to be our Savior. If you and I are going to win the mind games, we need to first stop feeling guilty when evil thoughts invade our lives and, instead, learn how to deal with those unwelcome intrusions.
Action 2: Refuse to allow wrong thoughts to linger
If we entertain and embellish wrong thoughts for any period of time, those ideas have a way of transforming into obsessions. These, in turn, result in overt actions or attitudes of disobedience. Pastor and author Charles Stanley vividly demonstrates:
“The initial thoughts the devil sends to us may be just a toehold the first time we entertain those thoughts and dwell on them or fantasize about them. The longer we entertain the thoughts, however, the more likely we are to start making mental plans about how we might act on them.
“It is then the toehold of an idea becomes a foothold. The more we develop plans for acting on a sinful idea or temptation, the more we find that the foothold has become a stronghold. We come to the place where we feel compelled to try out the idea in our behavior. We come to the place where we want to act on that idea more than we want to banish the idea.”
When we reach that point, we are in trouble. How can we prevent our thoughts from turning into strongholds for the devil?
Action 3: Recognize and replace wrong thoughts with God’s thoughts
The analogy concerning a burglar attempting entry into your home is flawed in one respect. While we may be successful in preventing an intruder from coming into our home, we cannot keep unwanted thoughts out of our minds. The fact that we are thinking about something means that the alien idea has already gained entry.
Nevertheless, we do not need to allow the intruder to sit down in our favorite chair, engage us in an extended conversation, and announce that since he has been so welcomed, he is taking up residence in our spare bedroom! Instead, we need to follow the Apostle Paul’s advice for dealing with an undesirable guest:
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB).
Remembering the words recognize and replace will help you seize control over wrong thoughts. Use the questions we discussed previously to help recognize whether or not a thought could have satanic origin
Is this thought true? Does this thought motivate me to fear more or to trust God more? Does this thought contradict God’s Word?
But know that simply labeling a thought as harmful and attempting to dismiss it from your mind is not enough. In fact, the more you try to reject an unwanted thought, the more you will find yourself obsessing over it.
To dismiss Satan’s thoughts we must replace them with God’s thoughts, just as Jesus did.
When Satan attempted to plant seeds of discontent, Jesus responded by quoting a verse from the Old Testament. “People do not live by bread alone.” (Luke 4:4 NLT).
When Satan enticed the Lord with thoughts of power and riches, Jesus recited God’s greatest commandment: “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” (Luke 4:8 NLT).
When Satan tempted Jesus to act independently from God, the Lord quoted: “You must not test the Lord your God.” (Luke 4:12 NLT).
Jesus understood that the best way to dismiss an unwelcome thought is to replace it with another, more-powerful thought. The best way to dispel darkness is to confront it with light!
When fearful thoughts try to seize control of your life, you can replace those thoughts with, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
When you are tempted with thoughts of discontent, you can replace those thoughts with, “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” (1 Timothy 6:7-8 NLT).
And in closings let’s look at what Paul wrote to the church at Philippi:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
Any time Satan puts a thought (and all of these are bad) in your head replace it “immediately” with a thought from God AND the Bible is full of these. One that is always appropriate is “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NLT) So if you will let Him, the Holy Spirit in us can always ‘whip” the one who tempts us!
And another strong verse is from James 4:7 - "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
It is this process Paul has in mind when he encourages us to “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14). Our success in spiritual battle depends on confronting any “loose” thoughts with the truth of God’s Word.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Faith of the Thief on the Cross
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43
Hanging on crosses at Jesus' right and left hand are two criminals. Based on scripture we don’t know exactly what they did merely that they were criminals. Matthew and Mark don’t go into as much detail as Dr. Luke. They just referred to these two as robbers. Other translation calls them revolutionaries and King James Version calls them simply - thieves. Whatever, they were criminals.
One of these bad dudes, dying on a cross on one side of Jesus, now takes up the cat-calling begun by the soldiers, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The thief is making fun of Jesus' seemingly inability to do anything despite the exalted title of "Christ/Messiah" that has been used concerning him. Where is this talk of "Messiah" now? he sneers. You're dying just like us. Death is the great equalizer.
But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.'
The second criminal must have had some type of faith, for he asks, "Don't you fear God?" To stand by and participate in such an unrighteous act as to execute an innocent man is a terrible, sinful act, and the second criminal refuses to desert his sense of right and wrong.
Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'
By any measure, this statement is astounding! Jesus' disciples have fled or, at best, hanging around the edge of the crowd hoping they are not recognized. Their hope is gone as their leader is crucified. Their hopelessness is also echoed by the men on the road to Emmaus, "... they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:20-21).
But here on the cross to one side, a fellow condemned man, dying, looks across and sees not another dying man, but the Messiah himself. Somehow, he understands that Jesus is not an impostor, and that he will still receive the Kingdom that belongs to the Messiah.
How can this quality of faith exist at such a dark time? Already the darkness is falling over the whole land, and yet a dying thief believes.
Did he confess his sins? Yes. "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve" (23:41). Does he repent? Not verbally, but we would think so. His repentance and hope prompt his plea for mercy, "Remember me...."
This thief would never be baptized, make restitution, attend church, take communion, sing a hymn or give an offering. He had nothing to offer Christ, no way to pay Him back. But you know what, neither do we.
The thief on the cross believes; his prayer to Jesus is bursting with faith. He has more faith that day than any other human observing this gruesome scene.
So how about deathbed conversions?
The example of the thief on the cross is often used as the example of deathbed conversions. And so it is. This thief could have had some sort of contact with Jesus – many heard Him speak. We certainly don’t know for sure. He may have come to some sort of faith there. And so have many who repent and confess Christ on their deathbeds. The difference between "some sort of faith" and "saving faith" is true repentance and the commitment to a relationship with Christ that repentance implies.
It is possible, I believe, to be saved at one's deathbed. But too many people say, "I'll follow Christ later. But now I want to have fun." And some of them don't get a chance to repent on their deathbeds. Some of them are taken in accidents or from heart attacks, and never have a chance to repent at the end of their days.
Okay, now back to the thief on the cross: "Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.' "
What a wonderful promise Jesus gives the believing thief: with Christ in paradise!
We know what an encouragement the account of the Thief on the Cross has been to Christians down through the ages. But how about Jesus, dying on the cross? What did it mean to him?
Maybe the Father blessed his Son with this strange companion during his last hours -- a believer, and a very strong believer at that. Jesus had often “fussed” at the unbelief he saw around him. His disciples themselves sometimes exhibit "little faith" (Luke 12:28) Remember the storm when the apostles were so scared? (Matthew 8:26) When Peter started to sink? (Matthew 14:31). When they were worried about feeding the crowd? (Matthew 16:8) When they couldn’t cast out demons? (Luke17:20). Each time Jesus commented about their “little faith”.
Jerusalem as a whole didn’t “recognize the time of God's coming...." (Luke 19:44). But occasionally, Jesus encounters someone with great faith. A Roman centurion tells him that he doesn't need to physically come to heal his servant; all he had to do was speak the word and he has authority to have it accomplished (Luke 7:2-10). Jesus is amazed at the man: "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel" (Luke 7:9).
If you've ever taught, you know how encouraging it is for a teacher to have a student who grasps what you are trying to communicate. Many may fail to understand your point but if least one understands, this brings great satisfaction. The centurion is one of those prize pupils; the thief on the cross is another. Neither of them is acceptable to the Jewish religious leaders -- one a Gentile, the other a criminal. But both have great faith, and both, surely, bring joy to Jesus' heart.
Jesus is forsaken, in a sense, even by the Father (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; quoting Psalm 22:1) as he takes on the sins of all of humanity - past, present and future - and takes on himself the wrath and punishment of God that saves us from it(Isaiah 53:5). But he does not die alone. The Father gives him a believer to be with him. A believer with mighty faith. A believer who can look past the raw wood and nails and blood to the heavenly kingdom that Jesus will inherit. And he is a believer who wants "in." Jesus answers him as his life on earth is ending, "Yes, you'll be with me there -- today in paradise. We'll go together, you and me."
Is God sending all humanity this message?
Believe in Me. I love you no matter what you have done.
What a promise! What a privilege!
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
Hanging on crosses at Jesus' right and left hand are two criminals. Based on scripture we don’t know exactly what they did merely that they were criminals. Matthew and Mark don’t go into as much detail as Dr. Luke. They just referred to these two as robbers. Other translation calls them revolutionaries and King James Version calls them simply - thieves. Whatever, they were criminals.
One of these bad dudes, dying on a cross on one side of Jesus, now takes up the cat-calling begun by the soldiers, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The thief is making fun of Jesus' seemingly inability to do anything despite the exalted title of "Christ/Messiah" that has been used concerning him. Where is this talk of "Messiah" now? he sneers. You're dying just like us. Death is the great equalizer.
But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.'
The second criminal must have had some type of faith, for he asks, "Don't you fear God?" To stand by and participate in such an unrighteous act as to execute an innocent man is a terrible, sinful act, and the second criminal refuses to desert his sense of right and wrong.
Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'
By any measure, this statement is astounding! Jesus' disciples have fled or, at best, hanging around the edge of the crowd hoping they are not recognized. Their hope is gone as their leader is crucified. Their hopelessness is also echoed by the men on the road to Emmaus, "... they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:20-21).
But here on the cross to one side, a fellow condemned man, dying, looks across and sees not another dying man, but the Messiah himself. Somehow, he understands that Jesus is not an impostor, and that he will still receive the Kingdom that belongs to the Messiah.
How can this quality of faith exist at such a dark time? Already the darkness is falling over the whole land, and yet a dying thief believes.
Did he confess his sins? Yes. "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve" (23:41). Does he repent? Not verbally, but we would think so. His repentance and hope prompt his plea for mercy, "Remember me...."
This thief would never be baptized, make restitution, attend church, take communion, sing a hymn or give an offering. He had nothing to offer Christ, no way to pay Him back. But you know what, neither do we.
The thief on the cross believes; his prayer to Jesus is bursting with faith. He has more faith that day than any other human observing this gruesome scene.
So how about deathbed conversions?
The example of the thief on the cross is often used as the example of deathbed conversions. And so it is. This thief could have had some sort of contact with Jesus – many heard Him speak. We certainly don’t know for sure. He may have come to some sort of faith there. And so have many who repent and confess Christ on their deathbeds. The difference between "some sort of faith" and "saving faith" is true repentance and the commitment to a relationship with Christ that repentance implies.
It is possible, I believe, to be saved at one's deathbed. But too many people say, "I'll follow Christ later. But now I want to have fun." And some of them don't get a chance to repent on their deathbeds. Some of them are taken in accidents or from heart attacks, and never have a chance to repent at the end of their days.
Okay, now back to the thief on the cross: "Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.' "
What a wonderful promise Jesus gives the believing thief: with Christ in paradise!
We know what an encouragement the account of the Thief on the Cross has been to Christians down through the ages. But how about Jesus, dying on the cross? What did it mean to him?
Maybe the Father blessed his Son with this strange companion during his last hours -- a believer, and a very strong believer at that. Jesus had often “fussed” at the unbelief he saw around him. His disciples themselves sometimes exhibit "little faith" (Luke 12:28) Remember the storm when the apostles were so scared? (Matthew 8:26) When Peter started to sink? (Matthew 14:31). When they were worried about feeding the crowd? (Matthew 16:8) When they couldn’t cast out demons? (Luke17:20). Each time Jesus commented about their “little faith”.
Jerusalem as a whole didn’t “recognize the time of God's coming...." (Luke 19:44). But occasionally, Jesus encounters someone with great faith. A Roman centurion tells him that he doesn't need to physically come to heal his servant; all he had to do was speak the word and he has authority to have it accomplished (Luke 7:2-10). Jesus is amazed at the man: "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel" (Luke 7:9).
If you've ever taught, you know how encouraging it is for a teacher to have a student who grasps what you are trying to communicate. Many may fail to understand your point but if least one understands, this brings great satisfaction. The centurion is one of those prize pupils; the thief on the cross is another. Neither of them is acceptable to the Jewish religious leaders -- one a Gentile, the other a criminal. But both have great faith, and both, surely, bring joy to Jesus' heart.
Jesus is forsaken, in a sense, even by the Father (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; quoting Psalm 22:1) as he takes on the sins of all of humanity - past, present and future - and takes on himself the wrath and punishment of God that saves us from it(Isaiah 53:5). But he does not die alone. The Father gives him a believer to be with him. A believer with mighty faith. A believer who can look past the raw wood and nails and blood to the heavenly kingdom that Jesus will inherit. And he is a believer who wants "in." Jesus answers him as his life on earth is ending, "Yes, you'll be with me there -- today in paradise. We'll go together, you and me."
Is God sending all humanity this message?
Believe in Me. I love you no matter what you have done.
What a promise! What a privilege!
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
The Faith of the Thief on the Cross
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43
Hanging on crosses at Jesus' right and left hand are two criminals. Based on scripture we don’t know exactly what they did merely that they were criminals. Matthew and Mark don’t go into as much detail as Dr. Luke. They just referred to these two as robbers. Other translation calls them revolutionaries and King James Version calls them simply - thieves. Whatever, they were criminals.
One of these bad dudes, dying on a cross on one side of Jesus, now takes up the cat-calling begun by the soldiers, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The thief is making fun of Jesus' seemingly inability to do anything despite the exalted title of "Christ/Messiah" that has been used concerning him. Where is this talk of "Messiah" now? he sneers. You're dying just like us. Death is the great equalizer.
Hanging on crosses at Jesus' right and left hand are two criminals. Based on scripture we don’t know exactly what they did merely that they were criminals. Matthew and Mark don’t go into as much detail as Dr. Luke. They just referred to these two as robbers. Other translation calls them revolutionaries and King James Version calls them simply - thieves. Whatever, they were criminals.
One of these bad dudes, dying on a cross on one side of Jesus, now takes up the cat-calling begun by the soldiers, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The thief is making fun of Jesus' seemingly inability to do anything despite the exalted title of "Christ/Messiah" that has been used concerning him. Where is this talk of "Messiah" now? he sneers. You're dying just like us. Death is the great equalizer.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
What Has God Promised Us?
Does God promise us good health? Fame and fortune? Some in this world would suggest that God does promise us these things. Others would suggest that God doesn't promise us anything and, rather, stands distantly from the circumstances of our lives. Last week, we learned that faith is believing that God will do what he promised. If that's true, if faith is attached to a promise, if walking by faith is living as if God will do what he promised, then we need to ask the question, "What has God really promised us?"
Here are some things that God hasn’t promised us:
To find out how real life fits with the promises of God is to read the story of Jesus and read the story of His followers. Their stories can be kinda’ of a downer. The men who had the greatest faith in God and in Jesus, most of them were martyred or put on an island or persecuted or stoned or beaten. Isn’t this real encouraging? They had great faith and bad things happened to them.
So from this we find that God had not promised to keep bad things from happening to people who believe in Him! So if something bad happens to you this doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. At least we haven’t been stoned or beaten within an inch of our life! So we are actually doing way better that some of His closest followers. And another thing, none of the people who were closest to Jesus became wealthy because of their faith. But having said this, most of us have a moment where God gave us what we hoped for, He gave us what we asked for, He answered our prayer. So this is hope – we can bring anything to God and we can ask for anything. And sometimes He answers our prayers and sometimes He doesn’t.
But the question today is, “What has He promised?” He hasn’t promised to make us rich. He hasn’t promised to keep bad things from happening to us. In fact there is a verse that most people don’t claim as their “life verse”. A life verse is like one or more verses that people like to memorize and “carry” around with them. (My personal verses are 1 Peter 5:6-7.) Okay, back to the verse most folks don’t claim - “In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33. Jesus promised this. So here is one promise from God! By the way, if any of you have trouble believing the Bible, hang on to this verse, ‘cause you can believe it is true! :) Jesus said this to His closest followers. He is saying that I am not promising you a lifetime with out troubles. So, any time a preacher, a speaker, a leader, a teacher, a book writer or whoever says that “if you do this, God will do this. You can say, “Well, that just not what Jesus modeled nor is this what He taught”.
But there is some great news! He did make an extraordinary promise.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses...... Hebrews 4:14-15a
The Message translates this scripture - “We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.”
When we picture Jesus in Heaven. When we pray to God and Jesus is our “great high priest”, He isn’t going to say “What? What do you mean? I don’t understand!” We are talking to our Savior, Who says, “I know! I know! I know, not just what is happening to you, I know what that is like! I know how that feels!”
“...but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are.....” Hebrews 4:14b. The Message says, “He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all...”
The scriptures teach that Jesus has been through what we have been through or will go through, what we felt! Jesus spent a night dreading an event that was about to happen the following day. Anybody here every spent a night dreading an event? (Don’t count exams!) For some it might have been a court case. For some a trip to the hospital. For some seeing some one you hadn’t seen in a long time and you knew they weren’t delivering good news. Most of us have or will experience such a night. Our savior spent a night knowing the next day He would be beaten, tortured, ridiculed and suffer a slow death! To us a crucifixion is something in a movie but he had grown up seeing this happen. He knew what to expect.
He experienced the rejection and betrayal of His closet friends. Some of us know what that is like. You married him/her because you were best friends. And maybe you thought you were still best friends until someone sat you down and said “I don’t know how to tell you this but _____”! And now you don’t even know how to pray. But the author of scriptures says, “Heads up! Jesus has been there!”
He experienced the rejection of a close family member. He saw everything He had lived for and worked for, crumble around Him. He faced ‘crushing’ temptation. Anyone ever had a temptation that you tried and tried and tried to overcome but just couldn’t? You prayed and prayed but you still gave in! You wonder if God is even listening? But our Heavenly Father says “I know! Because My Son faced the most powerful temptations imaginable. I know!”
You don’t have to even explain your circumstances to God because your Savior, your High Priest, knows! Before we even begin to pray He knows. He’s been there!
Let’s look at how the verse ends: “...yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15b NLT
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. Hebrews 4:16a NLT
Notice it reads “boldly”. Other translations say “with confidence”, There is nothing here about formality. Formality went out the door when the veil was torn from top to bottom.
Boldly and with confidence. Why? Because He knows!
“..so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16a NIV
When you come to God with sincerity, with all the emotion, with all the passion, with all the hope, with all the hurt, when we come to God boldly, with confidence, we can know that He is a God that understands! Because He allowed His Son to experience what we experience. So if we come boldly without the formality that some religions require, then every single time we will receive something from God!
What will we receive? First “mercy”. He is going to take our issues seriously not because they are serious issues but because they are our issues. And He knows how that feels! Sometimes mercy is something we can “put our hands on”. We can’t take it any more and someone calls and invites you to lunch and you have someone to talk to. Sometimes nothing externally changes but you have the peace of God. You pour out your heart to God and nothing on the outside changes but you just have peace. Or maybe you have changed. Mercy is “I know and I am not angry that you feel the way you do”. Mercy is a promise from God that you can count on.
The second thing he promises is we will “find grace to help us in our time of need”. Grace in this context is the strength or the ability or the energy to endure. God has not promised to deliver us from our circumstances; he has promised to deliver us through them. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “He (God) will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
Many of us can remember circumstances in our life where we didn’t think we could get through them, but somehow God just gave us the strength to endure. The memories are not pleasant but somehow we made it through the “fire”. And when we look back, we may not opt for easier circumstances because of what we learned from it and how we came out stronger because of the enduring grace of God.
Sometimes God will intervene in the circumstances and sometimes he may not. But this promise says “That your prodigal daughter may not come back, your spouse may not come back, you may not get that job, the deal you are working on may fall through, you may never have the financial situation that you would like, but you know what? I am going to give you the grace, the endurance “to help us in our time of need”. Sometimes I may deliver “from” your circumstances but I promise that every time I will deliver you “through” them!”
Jesus, himself, asked for the circumstances of his death to be changed, but ultimately yielded control to God's plan. A day will come when God will directly intervene to rid the world of sin, sorrow, and death. But in the meantime, how should we balance our prayers of, "God, please do this," and "God, I trust you"?
This week, ask God to change your circumstances, but trust him for the grace to endure in the meantime.
Lesson based on a sermon by Andy Stanley
Here are some things that God hasn’t promised us:
To find out how real life fits with the promises of God is to read the story of Jesus and read the story of His followers. Their stories can be kinda’ of a downer. The men who had the greatest faith in God and in Jesus, most of them were martyred or put on an island or persecuted or stoned or beaten. Isn’t this real encouraging? They had great faith and bad things happened to them.
So from this we find that God had not promised to keep bad things from happening to people who believe in Him! So if something bad happens to you this doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. At least we haven’t been stoned or beaten within an inch of our life! So we are actually doing way better that some of His closest followers. And another thing, none of the people who were closest to Jesus became wealthy because of their faith. But having said this, most of us have a moment where God gave us what we hoped for, He gave us what we asked for, He answered our prayer. So this is hope – we can bring anything to God and we can ask for anything. And sometimes He answers our prayers and sometimes He doesn’t.
But the question today is, “What has He promised?” He hasn’t promised to make us rich. He hasn’t promised to keep bad things from happening to us. In fact there is a verse that most people don’t claim as their “life verse”. A life verse is like one or more verses that people like to memorize and “carry” around with them. (My personal verses are 1 Peter 5:6-7.) Okay, back to the verse most folks don’t claim - “In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33. Jesus promised this. So here is one promise from God! By the way, if any of you have trouble believing the Bible, hang on to this verse, ‘cause you can believe it is true! :) Jesus said this to His closest followers. He is saying that I am not promising you a lifetime with out troubles. So, any time a preacher, a speaker, a leader, a teacher, a book writer or whoever says that “if you do this, God will do this. You can say, “Well, that just not what Jesus modeled nor is this what He taught”.
But there is some great news! He did make an extraordinary promise.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses...... Hebrews 4:14-15a
The Message translates this scripture - “We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.”
When we picture Jesus in Heaven. When we pray to God and Jesus is our “great high priest”, He isn’t going to say “What? What do you mean? I don’t understand!” We are talking to our Savior, Who says, “I know! I know! I know, not just what is happening to you, I know what that is like! I know how that feels!”
“...but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are.....” Hebrews 4:14b. The Message says, “He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all...”
The scriptures teach that Jesus has been through what we have been through or will go through, what we felt! Jesus spent a night dreading an event that was about to happen the following day. Anybody here every spent a night dreading an event? (Don’t count exams!) For some it might have been a court case. For some a trip to the hospital. For some seeing some one you hadn’t seen in a long time and you knew they weren’t delivering good news. Most of us have or will experience such a night. Our savior spent a night knowing the next day He would be beaten, tortured, ridiculed and suffer a slow death! To us a crucifixion is something in a movie but he had grown up seeing this happen. He knew what to expect.
He experienced the rejection and betrayal of His closet friends. Some of us know what that is like. You married him/her because you were best friends. And maybe you thought you were still best friends until someone sat you down and said “I don’t know how to tell you this but _____”! And now you don’t even know how to pray. But the author of scriptures says, “Heads up! Jesus has been there!”
He experienced the rejection of a close family member. He saw everything He had lived for and worked for, crumble around Him. He faced ‘crushing’ temptation. Anyone ever had a temptation that you tried and tried and tried to overcome but just couldn’t? You prayed and prayed but you still gave in! You wonder if God is even listening? But our Heavenly Father says “I know! Because My Son faced the most powerful temptations imaginable. I know!”
You don’t have to even explain your circumstances to God because your Savior, your High Priest, knows! Before we even begin to pray He knows. He’s been there!
Let’s look at how the verse ends: “...yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15b NLT
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. Hebrews 4:16a NLT
Notice it reads “boldly”. Other translations say “with confidence”, There is nothing here about formality. Formality went out the door when the veil was torn from top to bottom.
Boldly and with confidence. Why? Because He knows!
“..so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16a NIV
When you come to God with sincerity, with all the emotion, with all the passion, with all the hope, with all the hurt, when we come to God boldly, with confidence, we can know that He is a God that understands! Because He allowed His Son to experience what we experience. So if we come boldly without the formality that some religions require, then every single time we will receive something from God!
What will we receive? First “mercy”. He is going to take our issues seriously not because they are serious issues but because they are our issues. And He knows how that feels! Sometimes mercy is something we can “put our hands on”. We can’t take it any more and someone calls and invites you to lunch and you have someone to talk to. Sometimes nothing externally changes but you have the peace of God. You pour out your heart to God and nothing on the outside changes but you just have peace. Or maybe you have changed. Mercy is “I know and I am not angry that you feel the way you do”. Mercy is a promise from God that you can count on.
The second thing he promises is we will “find grace to help us in our time of need”. Grace in this context is the strength or the ability or the energy to endure. God has not promised to deliver us from our circumstances; he has promised to deliver us through them. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “He (God) will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
Many of us can remember circumstances in our life where we didn’t think we could get through them, but somehow God just gave us the strength to endure. The memories are not pleasant but somehow we made it through the “fire”. And when we look back, we may not opt for easier circumstances because of what we learned from it and how we came out stronger because of the enduring grace of God.
Sometimes God will intervene in the circumstances and sometimes he may not. But this promise says “That your prodigal daughter may not come back, your spouse may not come back, you may not get that job, the deal you are working on may fall through, you may never have the financial situation that you would like, but you know what? I am going to give you the grace, the endurance “to help us in our time of need”. Sometimes I may deliver “from” your circumstances but I promise that every time I will deliver you “through” them!”
Jesus, himself, asked for the circumstances of his death to be changed, but ultimately yielded control to God's plan. A day will come when God will directly intervene to rid the world of sin, sorrow, and death. But in the meantime, how should we balance our prayers of, "God, please do this," and "God, I trust you"?
This week, ask God to change your circumstances, but trust him for the grace to endure in the meantime.
Lesson based on a sermon by Andy Stanley
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