Re: Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

Today I'd like to look at this thing about "joy" a little more, picking up where we left off with the verse from 1 Peter. Even today's devotionals were about this subject so I'll start with a verse from them:

John 15:9-11 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

I know most of us really don't like looking at "commands" and we certainly don't like calling them commands either, yet there it is. You know, over the years I've noticed something about God's commands to us, even the ones we don't like. All of them are for our good, not His. Even this next command which has to do with joy:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

God doesn't "need" us to pray. he already knows what we have, what we need and what we want--better then we ourselves do! So our prayers don't help Him. He doesn't need us to be joyful or to give thanks either. Again, it's not going to do a thing for Him. So why does He say that? He commands us to do these things because these things will help us. Like any good father, He knows what's best for us, what will truly make us happy and healthy etc, so He has made rules for us to follow so we can be joyful and happy all the time.

We don't have to follow His rules. We will still be saved if we don't follow His rules, so our salvation isn't at stake here, but something very important IS at stake. Our relationship with Him. Think about it on an earthly level. As a parent I too made rules for my children to live by and I expected them to follow my rules because they loved me. Sometimes they didn't though. When that happened, I didn't stop loving them, and they didn't suddenly stop being my children. Even the child that seemed to constantly rebel against the rules didn't stop being my child. It did affect our relationship with each other when they didn't obey me though. I would get upset, they would get rebellious and defensive. Generally they would either avoid me as much as they could and when they couldn't avoid me, they'd attempt to avoid the subject of what was wrong.

It's the same way with our Heavenly Father after we're saved. When we don't obey His rules it affects our relationship with Him. We find that we're no longer "abiding in Him" or "remaining in Him", because we're trying to either avoid Him or avoid the subject of the area we're in rebellion about. Often if this isn't taken care of we'll start trying to do things on our own instead of relying on Him and so our relationship will deteriorate even more. Again, we're still saved, but our relationship with Him isn't healthy and full anymore. So let's go back and look at those verses again now that this is clear:

John 15:9-11 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

He has told us what so that our joy is complete? He has told us that the way to remain in His love is by obedience to His commands. Ouch! Now this Christian walk is starting to sound a little difficult! Now we have responsibilities. We are to obey His commands, but what do we get out of this? He says that if we do, His joy will be in us and our joy will be complete. Now that is quite a promise don't you think?

Does that word "complete" ring a bell? Remember where we heard it last?

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So here we again have joy and completion linked together again and Jesus and/or our faith in Him is also an integral part of both passages. If you think about it, that verse from 1 Peter has all these things as well because our goal is the completion of our salvation:

1 Peter 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So now we see that this joy is linked to Jesus and our faith in Him. Remember, this is a "living hope" a living faith, not just some head knowledge. We're talking heart knowledge if you will. We're talking about the joy from our relationship with Jesus, but not just from our side of that relationship, but from His side of it too. Now let's look at some other verses this time from Hebrews. First we learn something pretty amazing--

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered

Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered! If that's how Jesus learned while He was on earth, why do we think we're so different that we could learn some other way? We've already seen how important obedience is in our relationship with Him, so if it's that important, to keep our relationship to Him close and good, doesn't it stand to reason that obedience is going to be one of our big lessons to learn?

Let's see what else Hebrews says about this subject of obedience, trials, suffering, discipline etc, faith, completion (remember, we receive the completion of our salvation when He comes to get us at the rapture), perseverance, and joy:

Hebrews 10:35-38 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”

Hebrews 12:1-7 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

So once again we're right back at our relationship with the Lord. When we're saved we become His children. As His children He expects obedience and will discipline us to get it. He also will test us to refine our faith and encourage our growth to maturity. You see, we can't be "complete" if we're not mature. So all of this is entwined together. There's yet other words that are going to become part of this pattern too such as "peace", "holiness", "righteousness", and "our good". Let's look:

Hebrews 12:10-11 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

And how do we come by these things--righteousness, holiness and peace? We are trained by God's discipline and those trials we hate so much! Look again at what James says:

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Let's see what Paul said about being mature and complete:

Philippians 3:12-16 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Paul let's us know that even he knows he's not perfect yet, but he's doing his best to be obedient to God and so always presses onward. Then he says something very similar to what James says although we hadn't looked at that yet. he says that god will make this clear to us. Here's how James puts it:

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We usually take this verse out of context and think it means that God will give us wisdom about anything we ask. While God will do that, in the context this verse is in, James is saying that God will give us wisdom about the subject he's talking about. So let's read it in context:

James 1:2-5 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

So James and Paul are telling us that if we want God's wisdom about our trials and how they can and should be faced with pure joy, and what those trials will do for us, that we must ask God for wisdom about it.

This is a good place to end for today and I hope we'll all ask the Lord to give us His wisdom about this subject, that He will open our eyes and ears that we might see and hear what He has to say to us about this.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

Re: Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

Ok, let's start at the beginning then.

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Did you notice that James calls himself a servant of God and Jesus? The word translated servant means "bond slave". He is saying that he no longer owns his own life. Instead of determining his own future, he now belongs to God who bought him as His slave when He died for him on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So James doesn't just consider himself as God's slave. This isn't some special position that only the disciples and apostles filled. Instead, it's a position that all who have been saved are in. You and I are servants of God. Our lives are not our own. We hear that all the time and even say it, but do we really understand what that means??? This is the kind of attitude we're all to have every day, yet it's rare of any of us to even consider what God might want us to do that day. Most of us just continue to do whatever it was we normally do without giving it another thought. So this is for sure something we should reflect on and integrate into our daily lives.

James is writing this to his fellow Jews who have once again been scattered all over the world. This is still very relevant to us though because he's not writing it to just "regular Jews", he's writing it to Jew's who have been saved, just like him. These Jews are now Christians; they're "followers of the Way".

Acts 24:14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect.

So don't think this book isn't written to us, it is! Now comes his most astounding sentence:

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

This is just amazing! We are to consider it "pure joy" when we're going through trials! He had to have known that every person reading his letter was going to say, "What???" "How????" so that's what he deals with next. But first I want us to notice that he addresses this sentence to his "brothers". He doesn't put himself above them in any way nor is is talking down to them or even lecturing them. He's talking to them about a common experience they've all had and that he himself has had. Notice after he tells them that we should consider it pure joy, he says, "because you know". In other words, he's not telling them something new, he's just reminding them of what they've already learned through experience as has he.

So he tells them to consider it "pure joy", not partly joy and a bunch of hassle, not something to complain about, not something distasteful that we have to get through whether we like it or not, but instead, to consider it "pure joy". This is just about incomprehensible to most folks now I think. At least it sure was to me! I mean no matter how you look at it, like when you have to get a shot to protect you from a virus, you may have to do it, but you sure don't look forward to it with pure joy! So how in the world can we do that??? Why in the world would we do that???? Let's look and see.

James 1:3-4 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Ahhh! So that's it! We should consider it pure joy because we know that the trials will lead to our spiritual maturity, and as we become spiritually mature we become "complete, not lacking anything"! So we're not to see our trials as a calamity, or as something "bad" or as a punishment from God or curse of some kind etc. We're to see them instead as a test of our faith. One thing to keep in mind about this is that God doesn't test us to see if we'll fail, He tests us to help us succeed! One thing I have learned from experience with the Lord is that He will keep on testing you in an area over and over and over, until you DO succeed! He never gives up on us and He never leaves us.

If you'll recall when my husband first got laid off we were doing another study that had something to do with trials and I mentioned that I knew that it was a test for me and that I was determined to pass it because I didn't ever want to have to go through another test on that particular subject again!

At the time I said that, I knew that the trials we were going through was a test for me, but I didn't realize that all our trials are tests. So I'm just learning this too.

Most kids in school don't like tests and I think that hangs onto us even as adults. We often even view tests themselves as trials and now God's telling us to view the trials we're going through as a test, which reads "trial" to us, with pure joy!

But He tells us that when we've passed each trial we become more mature and when we have finally become spiritually mature we will lack nothing and be complete. Now THAT, I agree, is something to look forward to! And you know when we'll be totally "complete"? At the rapture!!!! The rapture is the completion of our salvation!

Peter mentions this too and compares our faith with gold:

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

So now we know that our trials will produce spiritual maturity in us by refining our faith, and that it will then bring praise, glory and honor at the rapture! Did you notice I underlined the words "proved genuine"? That's because the word that's translated that way actually means "to test for the purpose of approving"! So the Lord is going to keep testing us till we all come out with straight A's!

You see, we have a 'living hope". Our hope isn't in some dead words on paper, but rather in a living God who loves us and wants what's best for us. He has lots of plans for our time in eternity with Him and in order for us to enjoy it to the fullest extent, He needs to get us all through our schooling here. I've always looked at life on earth like a school, and the more I study God's word, the more I see that it really is! Because we have a living hope though, we are responsible to respond to the things that happen in our lives with faith. When we do that, we're basically putting our faith into practice. So a sound faith built on a firm foundation is going to result in sound practice. This is the kind of faith, or living hope if you will, that enables us to face our trials with joy because the trials refine our faith and prove it's reality, it's value.

1 John 5:3-4 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Then when the unsaved see us living our faith and facing our trials with joy, they want what we have, and so we bring others to Christ as well. It's all because the focus of our faith isn't in some abstract thing, but is instead in the person of Jesus, who is very much alive and who speaks to us through His Word, who guides us and never leaves us, who loves us, that we can have this "pure joy" even during trials.

Let's look again at how Peter puts it, but this time let's look at it in context:

1 Peter 1:3-9 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I wanted to share this with you again because I just love how one of my commentaries explains this and wanted you to see it too:

Believers can rejoice because they are (pres. tense) receiving (komizomenoi, “to receive as a reward”) what was promised, namely salvation, the goal or culmination (telos, “end”) of . . . faith. For those who love and believe in Jesus Christ, salvation is past (“He has given us new birth,” v. 3), present (“through faith are shielded by God’s power,” v. 5), and future (it is their “inheritance,” v. 4, which will “be revealed in the last time,” v. 5, and is “the goal of your faith,” v. 9). Since each day brings believers closer to that final day, they are now “receiving” it. All of this—in spite of persecution which deepens and demonstrates one’s faith—is certainly cause for “inexpressible and glorious joy”! (v. 8)

The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures

I really wanted to cover more today but I can see this is getting pretty long so I'll stop for now and pick it up again tomorrow.

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

  James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds

Did you do a double take when you saw the title of this study? I bet back when James wrote this that the folks he wrote it to did a double take too!

I know we've done studies about the subject of trials before, but it looks like the Lord isn't done with us yet. I've had a specific subject on my mind that I thought He wanted me to do a study on and was ready to start it today. However, I also was strongly feeling I should be doing a study on James. So I figured I'd go take a look at James first and pray and see if i could figure out which one the Lord wanted me to do first.

Well...guess what? The study I thought I was supposed to do and the study on James are actually going to be one and the same! I just love it when God does something like that!

I'm really excited about this study because I just know we're going to learn a lot from it! I hope you'll all join me in it too. What I'd like to suggest is that we all read the first chapter of James today and think about it and tomorrow I'll start the study. Although this is a short book and even the chapters aren't very long, there's a LOT of information packed into this little book and even into this short first chapter. So don't be surprised if it takes us a couple of days or more to cover each chapter. Even if it does though, I still think it's best if we start out by reading the whole first chapter ok?

For this I'll just give us a bit of background that I've learned today. The first thing which really shocked me is that James isn't James! Yep LOL that's right! I always assumed this was written by the apostle James, our Lord's half brother, and it was, but his name wasn't James. Let me share with you what the commentary says though:

The human author of this epistle is not easily identified. The New Testament mentions at least four men named James: (1) the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Mark 1:19), (2) the son of Alphaeus (Mark 3:18), (3) the father of Judas (not Iscariot; Luke 6:16), and (4) the half brother of the Lord (Gal. 1:19). Which one wrote the epistle?

James, the son of Zebedee, could not be the author since he suffered martyrdom under Herod Agrippa I before this epistle was written (Acts 12:2).

It is unlikely that the little-known son of Alphaeus was the author though some, especially Roman Catholics, equate the son of Alphaeus with the Lord’s brother. They claim that James was really Jesus’ cousin through Mary of Cleopas (Alphaeus), the Virgin Mary’s sister. This contention, however, violates a literal interpretation of “brother” and is clearly an attempt to support the invention of the perpetual virginity of Mary. It seems clear from Scripture that children were born to Joseph and Mary after the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is called “her firstborn” (Luke 2:7), implying that others were born thereafter. The Scriptures state that Joseph had no union with Mary, that is, no normal physical relationship, “until” (heōs) after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25). Repeated references are made to the Lord’s half brothers and half sisters and four of His brothers are named: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matt. 13:55).

James, the father of Judas (not Iscariot) did not figure as an important person in the early church. He could hardly be the author of this epistle.

It seems clear therefore that the author is James, the half brother of the Lord, who became the recognized leader in the Jerusalem church. This conclusion is supported by the authoritative tone of the letter and by the marked similarities in Greek between this epistle and the speech by James recorded in Acts 15.

Though James was reared in the same home with the Lord Jesus, he apparently did not become a believer until after Christ’s resurrection. John wrote, “For even His own brothers did not believe in Him” (John 7:5).

James’ encounter with the risen Lord may have brought him to saving faith. Christ “appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:7). Paul later listed James, Peter, and John as “those reputed to be pillars” of the church (Gal. 2:9).

The strongest evidence for the authorship of the Epistle of James clearly favors the half brother of Christ. Furthermore, Origen, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, Augustine, and many other early writers support this view. .....

....James was actually Jacob (Iakōbos). It is not certain why the English translators chose “James” rather than “Jacob.” “James,” “Jake,” and “Jacob” all come from the same root. Bible translations in other languages tend to utilize the transliterated name from the actual Hebrew “Jacob” (ya‘ăqōb). Could it be that King James desired to see his name in the English translation he authorized?

The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures

So, with that little tid bit of information, let's read the first chapter! I'll post it here, but of course you can read it in your own bibles too!

James 1:1-27 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials

Re: The Fear Of The Lord Is The Beginning of Wisdom

The Lord just keeps opening my eyes to more and more about the Fear of Lord every day. In the portion of the bible I was reading yesterday, He pointed out some interesting things about Job that I hadn't noticed before. Let me share them with you:

These verses tell about Satan's first attacks on Job:

Job 2:7-10 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Did you notice that part I underlined? Now if someone were to suggest today that the Lord was responsible in some way for our troubles, I hate to think what others would say! Yet here there is no debate about it. Job says in no uncertain terms that God gave him all the good things he had and that he knew that God had allowed them to be taken from him. We don't like to think such things though because to us now, it makes it seem that God isn't "good" because He let's bad things happen to us. Let's look at what happens to him next and how he reacts:

Job 1:13-19 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

Can you imagine if similar things had happened to any of us today how we would respond to them? Wars, raids, fire and hurricanes..no one today would suggest aloud that God had allowed those kind of things would they?

Now, notice the very next verse:

Job 1:20-22 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Once again there is no doubt in Job's mind that God is in control so He has therefore allowed this evil to befall him. Job doesn't sin because he doesn't try and say that God was wrong or bad to allow these things to happen.

What's interesting to me is that for the most part when people today suggest that God either caused something bad to happen or allowed it to happen, that they are labeled as being superstitious. Yet, if we really believe that God is in control, then how can we say that anything can happen without His knowledge and without Him at the very least allowing it? We can't. He either is in control or He's not. He either is all powerful or He isn't. It can't be both ways.

I think perhaps in trying to make God more palatable to the unsaved, the church stopped preaching about how God does discipline, punish, test and prunes us. Instead they focused on how God is love and left out the other part. So we forgot that while He does love us, He also has expectations of us and will discipline us when we don't meet those expectations. The world has taught us a very corrupted definition of love too which doesn't help either. We need to remember that God is not some mushy, tolerant, "give them anything they want" God. He is instead, just, righteous, holy, impartial, jealous, omnipresent, omniscient, powerful, mighty, glorious, majestic, merciful, loving, fearful, perfect and awesome God, that will not share His glory with anyone.

The more I study on the subject of the fear of God, the more certain I am that it's something we would all be wise to develop! Look at just this one verse and how it says that the fear of God will help us. (I'm going to show it in two different versions)

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Personally, I think using the "fear of God" has more impact then "reverence for God". Mainly because today, people really don't understand reverence very well either.

7:1 These promises that God will dwell among us, receive us, and be our Father (6:16-18) should motivate us to holiness, as should the proper fear of God. See 5:10, 11; 1 John 3:1-3.

Spirit filled life study Bible.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

1 John 3:1-3 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Some people are beginning to see that God is beginning to judge the earth even now, yet what makes us think that He ever stopped?
You know, it's easy to say that judgment has begun because of the evil people and the unsaved, but we forget that the bible says the judgment begins with us who are saved. That alone is enough for me to want to cultivate the fear of God in myself! I don't really think we can do it ourselves though. Oh we can certainly try and we should, but I think in order to fully know the fear of God, that it's something the Lord Himself has to help us with....

 

Join us on the board!

What the bible says about swearing & using vulgar words

I am so excited!!!! I wasn't sure even which thread to put this on, since we've currently got 4 of them that are so interrelated, but I think this is the most appropriate one so I'll put it here.

I've been studying all day on the theme of our thoughts, our words, our emotions, and the fear of the Lord. I have to confess that I've been having a really hard time at stopping swearing. Mainly because I haven't been allowing myself to "replace" the words. With nothing to replace them with, it's kind of left me floundering so I asked the Lord to help and show me what to do. He just showed me and I'm so excited! He used something that most would think is totally unrelated lol, but it's perfect!

I had read a devotional a while ago that dealt with how our Lord dealt with emotional pain when His heart was troubled and when He was crucified. It really hit home with me because I live with constant pain. When dealing with his emotional pain, he didn't lash out, he didn't complain, he didn't swear. He prayed and when He spoke, this is what He said:

John 12:28 Father, glorify your name!”

Well, I've been sitting here studying all this time and naturally the pain in my back had gotten worse. My cat came and insisted I take a break to give her her treats and when I stood up the pain shot through me like an arrow and I swore in my mind. I guess that's better then saying it out loud, but not to me, so I immediately told the Lord I was sorry and asked His forgiveness and He immediately reminded me of that devotional. That's when it hit me! I can use that for swearing as well as pain!

What's really strange and why I know this was from the Lord, is because I've honestly never used a swear word or replacement swear if you will because of the pain before! It's just never happened in the last 10 years. But for it to happen now when I've been studying so hard and praying for the Lord to help me learn how to conquer this with His help, was just too perfect to be a coincidence!

So now, instead of replacing swear words with more innocent words such as "shoot", I can simply say, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" and mean it! That not only prevents me from swearing or using any kind of vulgar or coarse words, but it totally changes my emotions and thoughts immediately!!! So that takes care of the problem of that list of "reasons" and things we're feeling too! What an awesome way to do it! Thank You Lord!!!

This is the list I'm talking about that I posted earlier in this thread for those who don't remember:

• anger
• frustration
• sudden and unexpected pain,
• sudden unexpected fright,
• fright in general
• hurt-hurt feelings
• habit
• for shock effect

Since you all haven't seen that devotional, just so you get a fuller meaning of what my thoughts were when He reminded me of it, I want to share it with you here too.

Receiving one’s self in the fires of sorrow

What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. John 12:27-29 (R.V.).

My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow, He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to receive ourselves in its fires. If we try and evade sorrow, refuse to lay our account with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life; it is no use saying sorrow ought not to be. Sin and sorrow and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness, but it does not always make a man better. Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self. You cannot receive your self in success, you lose your head; you cannot receive your self in monotony, you grouse. The way to find your self is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be so is another matter, but that it is so is true in the Scriptures and in human experience.

You always know the man who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, you are certain you can go to him in trouble and find that he has ample leisure for you. If a man has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, he has no time for you. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year

So it looks like I'm going to be both thinking and saying aloud, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" a lot now, and as far as I'm concerned, the more the better! What better thing to do or ask then to ask Him to glorify His Name in whatever pain, anger, hurt, or whatever, that I'm experiencing at the moment? What better way to change my attitude instantly too!

You know, thinking about all this made me realize something else. When our Lord was flogged, tortured and crucified, I would think that if there was ever in this world a legitimate cause for swearing, or using vulgar or coarse language, that would be it! But He didn't! Not one "bad" word came out of our Lord's mouth. In the gospels we can read every word He spoke from that evening at the last supper until the moment He died, and He did not utter any word that would be offensive to use in front of a little child at any time.

I am not by any means trying to be legalistic here or in any of the studies I do. I am very simply presenting what the Bible says as I try to learn from it what His Will is for how I should live, just as He tells us we are to do. I'm not talking about "rules" and "laws" here. Or at least not "only" about those. I don't know about others, but I want to live in such a way that my life here and now is pleasing to my Lord who gave His life for me. Like a little child, I want to please my Heavenly Father and I want Him to be pleased with me! Being obedient to my Lord brings me great joy! It's when I fail Him that I'm miserable and in tears!

It's kind of funny but most people are scared (and so was I) by the passages that tell us that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross, and that in order to find our lives we have to first lose them.

Mark 8:34-35 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

The reason I say it's kind of funny is because it wasn't until I did begin to give up "my" life, my "self" and live for Him, that I began to consistently experience real joy! It took quite awhile, but I finally realized that when we give up our lives and live for Him instead, that's when He gives us a more abundant life! So what He says really makes sense, because when we lose "our" lives for Him, we begin living more abundantly then we would have ever known was possible before!

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

I don't ask anyone to do the things I do, or believe what I believe. I only post my studies to help those who are also on this journey or who might be following behind us later and find this helpful. I try very hard not to post just what I think God's Word is saying, but instead try to post His Word and show people where and how I get what I do from my studies. Not so they'll know I'm "right", but so that others can learn "how to study" by following the same principals. I know some folks think I post too many scriptures and I have tried to post fewer, but that's why I post so many so people can see the context of them. Scripture must be read in context, not only with the passage and book it's from but with the entire bible for it to make sense.

Ok, enough of that! Time to go get at least something done around here LOL God bless you all and I hope this helps someone else too!

What the bible says about swearing & using vulgar words

Re: What the bible says about swearing & using vulgar words

I guess one way of determining for sure if you could or not, would be to imagine yourself standing face to face with Jesus, feeling and seeing His total amazing holiness and purity, both of which have been imputed to us and which we are to live by and act on, and imagine yourself using each of those words toward Him in exactly the same manner you would normally use them in your life now.

If you can do that without even flinching or cringing a little, then by all means continue to use them. As for me, I cringe just considering thinking about it! Remember, THIS is who you will be saying those things to:

Revelation 1:12-18 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Daniel 7:9-10 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Ezekiel 1:25-28 Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Exodus 15:11 “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

That God tells us:

Leviticus 20:7-8 “ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

Ephesians 4:22-5:7 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “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. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 

What the bible says about swearing & using vulgar words

Re: Complaining & How it all comes together

Is everyone caught up? Ok, the second thread I see running through all of these is what is commonly called "the fear of the Lord". In fact it's been on my mind so very much that I've asked the Lord to teach me that fear. I know we've discussed this before so I looked for the thread and bumped it up for us so any who want to review it can. It's The Fear Of The Lord Is The Beginning of Wisdom

I did a quick search in the Bible for the phrase "fear the Lord" and came up with 82 hits in 81 verses in the ESV Bible. (I used that one as it generally gives the most accurate information when looking for specific words) The KJV gave 75 hits in 74 verses. Then I tried the phrase "fear God" and got 34 hits in 34 verses.

Here's a couple of examples:

1 Peter 2:17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Revelation 14:7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

This verse from 2 Corinthians is often translated "terror of the Lord".

and of course the ones we're most familiar with:

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

What I'm afraid of is that we don't really know what it means to fear the Lord.... it's not REAL to us....or maybe it's just me.... Let's pray that the Lord in His mercy will teach us, guide us, and give us wisdom and discernment about "the fear of the Lord", that we can better serve Him.

Since I asked the Lord to teach me about this I've been noticing something in the bible as I read and study it daily. I noticed before too but I guess I just never related it to this before. All through the bible you see statements like this, very matter of fact, like they thought it was a plain as the nose on their face and needed no explanations:

2 Chronicles 24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 24:24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

2 Chronicles 26:19-20 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

Nehemiah 4:15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

Nehemiah 2:8 ...And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

Ezra 9:7 From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

Ezra 8:18 Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, ...

Ezra 6:22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 32:22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.

As you can probably tell lol all I did was quickly scroll back through the books I've been reading and copied a few of the verses from them. Did you notice anything similar about all those verses? Let's go back and read them again, only this time, let's imagine that these are things that are happening right now-today. You can even fill in the names with names from our current history if you want.

Are you starting to see what I am? They are describing every day events and major events in their lives, both good and bad and saying that the Lord was responsible for these things and the way things worked out. Can you imagine what that would look like today right here in America? Let's pretend for a moment what that might look like if it did happen here. We might here something like this:

Take the oil spill for example. When some people suggested that it was because of the hand of the Lord they were often ridiculed.

Or how about the weather that's been so crazy and even devastating all over the world this past year and more? Again when someone says that it's the hand of the Lord, people often ridicule them.

If someone suggests that a military win or defeat or stand off is because of the Lord they're ridiculed.

When a ruler actually does something right, who is given credit? Usually it's the people themselves that take the credit. You hear speeches about how "the people won" because "they stood up to the government" etc or other things like that. I don't recall ever hearing it suggested that the Lord changed the governments mind....or that He had any hand in it at all.

When lightening struck the building where the Lutherans were meeting when they decided it was OK to accept gay priests, people laughed at those who suggested God's hand might have had something to do with it.

I guess what I'm beginning to wonder is if just maybe we've become "too civilized". The things like those I mentioned above are always written off as ridiculous, coincidental, and superstitious now days.

Like last week when I went to the grocery store and after not finding something I really needed for 2 months, they finally had it, and I jumped up saying "Thank you Lord!" quite loudly lol There was no doubt in my mind that the Lord was behind the fact that the store had finally stocked that item again, yet I know that many people looked at me as though I'd lost what few wits I still had!

I have continued to ask the Lord to teach me to fear Him so that I can know the "fear of the Lord" so that I can please Him and plan to continue to ask for this.

I'd like to point out one other thing about this too. See how the fear of the Lord is linked here to not complaining and not arguing? (It's also linked in other places with not lying, not worrying, not swearing, etc.)

Philippians 2:12-16 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Those who fear the Lord are not going to swear, lie, worry, grumble, complain etc. They'd be to afraid to do so! You know who I think of when I think of the "fear of the Lord"? Abraham, when he obediently went to sacrifice his son to God. Now that to me is the perfect illustration of the fear of God. Would any of us have been obedient if we heard God telling us to do something like that? I wish with all my heart that I could say that I thought I would be, but I don't. I don't think I would have done it. Why? Don't I love Him enough? Don't I trust Him? I think it's because i don't fear Him enough. That's why I've asked Him to help me work on this.

I can't wait to hear what you all think about this!

Complaining & How it all comes together

Re: Complaining & How it all comes together

I just re-read what I posted yesterday and realize that I really didn't cover how complaining is a sin as thoroughly as I usually do. That's mostly because I'm pretty sure we've covered this before, but I honestly don't remember. It might be that I studied it before and didn't share it here. So if anyone has questions or wants more info about it please feel free to ask.

Now let's try and pull all of those studies together: the ones about taking our thoughts captive and how our thoughts can be sinful; the one about swearing and the one about lies, and finally this about complaining. There are actually several common threads I see running through them all.

The first thread I saw running through all this was that we are to be like little children. You might ask how this relates to the taking our thoughts captive, lies and swearing threads though so I'll try to explain. First let me share one of the verses where Jesus tells us to be like little children:

Matthew 18:3-4 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Let's look for a minute at what characteristics a little child has that the Lord is looking for in us. Here I'm talking about a child of about toddler age who has good loving parents obviously and not someone who's been abused.

First of course a little one loves their parents.

A little child is trusting of their parents. When they have a problem or when they get hurt, they automatically come to their parents, tell them about it and they not only believe that their parents will "fix" it, it doesn't even occur to them that their parents might not! When Mama tells her little one that the doctor is going to give them a shot and that even though it hurts it will help them get better, they trust that their Mama (or daddy) knows what they're talking about and is telling the truth.

A little child believes whatever their parents tell them. If Mama says something's going to happen the next day or whenever, then they expect that's going to happen. It doesn't occur to the little one that Mama might lie.

Little children fear their parents. No, I'm not talking about being fearful as though they think they might get hurt by them. I'm talking about the kind of fear that the bible says is good-godly fear. That kind of fear could translate into meaning having respect for them, love, feeling awe of them, a reverence, a desire to please them, a feeling that they are above them and deserve honor etc. However, there is, as my oldest daughter pointed out to me, an aspect of that fear that does mean "being scared". As she said, a little child wants to please their parents for all the above reasons, but when they don't obey, the do feel afraid because they know that their parent is going to punish them and rightly so.

A little one would never consider not revealing everything to their parents. In fact, they usually can't wait to tell them in every bit as much detail as their vocabularies will allow, all that they've experienced that day. (once they learn to talk, it's getting them to stop that's the problem LOL)

Little children want to please their parents so they mimic their parents and generally obey them too. That's how little ones learn to talk, to walk, to feed themselves etc. They copy their parents and do what their parents tell them to do. Not only that, but they do it joyfully! Can you picture a parent with their arms outstretched to their little one, saying, "come to mama, walk to mama!"; and the little one tries to take their first tentative steps, knowing mama and daddy won't let them get hurt. Notice that the "almost" toddler doesn't require long explanations from their parents about how they really can do this, and that they really should trust them, and they need to be obedient etc.

I'm sure there are more, but I'm running out of time here lol. These are the things our Lord was telling us that we need to go back to being once we're born again. These are the attributes we're to have toward Him and our Heavenly Father. I don't think it was any accident that our Lord told us to call our Heavenly Father, "daddy" either.

Romans 8:15-16 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

The word “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Father.” It is the diminutive form used by small children in addressing their fathers. It is appropriate to see its similarity to the English word “Daddy.” Used by Christ (cf. Mark 14:36), this familiar form indicates intimacy and trust as opposed to the formalism of legalism.

The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures

Ok, so now let's take those attributes of a child and see how they relate to us in our relationship with God. These attributes of how a little one is toward their parents are describing how our relationship with our heavenly Father should be.

• loves
• Trusts
• Believes
• fears
• reveals everything, doesn't try to hide things
  
• pleases
• mimics
• joyfully obeys

One thing is immediately clear and that's that an unsaved person cannot experience any of these things with God because they don't have a relationship with Him at all. This also shows that it is only through developing a close intimate relationship with Him that we can grow to maturity in Christ. It sounds backwards doesn't it? While the people in the world are striving to "grow up", be independent, be "on their own", etc.; here we are striving to be the opposite! We want to go back to that initial loving, trusting stage; we want to become more dependent, and the more dependent we become, the more "mature" we become LOL

I'm really running out of time today so I'll have to finish this part on Tuesday I'm afraid. Before I go though let me give you all some verses that show how we need these attributes in our relationship with God. That way we'll have something to reflect on till Tuesday anyway!

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.

Proverbs 28:13-14 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

Ephesians 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Complaining & How it all comes together

Complaining & How it all comes together

I've been thinking about this a lot lately since we've been writing about it and it amazes me how closely these studies are all tied together:

Stress,worry,fear etc & the Christian (condensed)

what is your take on swearing (bible study thread)

Little white lies.....

Thoughts that are sin

So I've been reflecting on this a lot as I said and decided to start a new thread to show some of the ways they all connect.

First let's review just a little.  We've learned so far that it's our thoughts that are the root of our attitudes, feelings and even actions.  We know that's why the Lord tells us we are to guard our hearts.  (the word translated hearts means both our thoughts/minds and our hearts/emotions).  We've learned too that thoughts themselves can be sinful and we've learned what to do with those kind of thoughts. (take them captive and replace them with the truth).  We've learned too that even our feelings can be sinful and since they're caused by our thoughts, we know how to deal with that as well now.  That's really great too because now instead of treating the symptoms of the disease of sin, we're getting to the root of it.

OK, with all that said, what I'd like to do is show you the next piece the Lord added to the puzzle for me which filled it in enough for me to finally see the pattern.

I had been talking to the Lord and realized that what I was really doing was complaining to Him about things.  That immediately reminded me of this verse among others:

Exodus 16:8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

I'm pretty sure that we've discussed this before too, but when we complain about things, even when we're complaining to other people, what we're really doing is complaining against God.  We're telling ourselves, other people and Him that we don't really trust Him, nor do we appreciate our circumstances or how He's arranged things in our lives.  Sounds pretty harsh doesn't it?  I know that I was pretty floored when I first realized that complaining was a sin.  I really really didn't want to accept that, but no matter how I tried to get around it, just like with the lying, swearing, fear and worry, I finally had to admit that His Word was true and that complaining was indeed a sin.

Let's look quickly at how complaining is a sin.

We know that God's Word is true and we know there are some very basic principals that we must believe.  We must believe that God is good and that He loves us; that He loved us enough to die for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could spend eternity with Him.  We know that we are to trust Him and believe what He tells us.  We know that God is omnipotent, omniscient, perfect, just, righteous, love, truth, merciful, faithful, longsuffering, powerful and wise.

Are you with me so far?  Ok, then let's look at this very familiar passage:

Romans 8:28-32 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

According to this passage, everything that happens to us God uses to work for our good.  It also says that He will do anything for us to help us conform to the image of His son, and that in fact we WILL be conformed to that image one way or another because it is predestined for us to be.  We also know that He hasn't withheld anything from us that we need for this life; It's all right here in His Word:

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

We know too that He actually has plans for us and that nothing happens to us or to anyone by random chance because He is in control.

This is very hard to incorporate into our daily lives though.  We're used to what the world has taught us which is basically that we're either lucky or not.  I remember when my husband got laid off.  We were devastated and it was so easy to complain, to cry and ask "why me Lord?"  In fact it was when I was in the very act of asking Him "why me" that I realized exactly what I was doing.  I wasn't trusting Him!  Remember when Jesus was on trial and what He said?

Matthew 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

And we have these verses and many others that show us that God is in control:

John 3:27 To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

Jeremiah 27:5-6 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.

Daniel 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”

Acts 4:27-28 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

So I had to ask myself, if God is in control, what do I have to fear or be upset about?  If God is in control, if He loves me and has plans for me that include a hopeful wonderful future and include me becoming conformed to be like Jesus, then there is nothing to worry about because whenever God says He will do something, it is done.  Period.  There are never any ands ifs or buts about it.  God's will is always done and in our cases, since we're born again, we know what His will for us is.

Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 46:11 ... What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.

Now, if we truly believe all this, then what do we have to complain about?  Nothing at all because everything is being used to work toward our good and the wonderful future He has planed for us. If we do complain or grumble about it though then we are saying that we really don't believe these things.  That God isn't trustworthy, that He really doesn't love us or care about the things we're going through, and that we really know better then He does what's good for us, etc.  That my friend is once again a sin.  We are literally calling God a liar and a cheat.  We are being idolatrous and prideful by saying that there are things and or people or even ourselves that are more powerful, more wise, more loving etc then God.  We are being hypocrites as well and I'm sure if we really sat here and thought about it, we could come up with a number of other sins as well.  One big one is that we are once again demanding that God prove to us (by doing whatever it is WE think is right) that He is good and loving and just.  We are insisting on living by sight rather then by faith.  Obviously none of these thoughts, feelings or the actions and words that come from them are from faith. 

Romans 14:23 ... and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Please know that I do not mean to imply that I have conquered this sin.  I wish I could say that I have, but I haven't.  Since I live with chronic pain daily, I've certainly have a lot of opportunities for practice though.  I've gotten to the point where I recognize it as sin, and confess and repent of it when I catch myself.  I've even gotten to the point now where I'm catching it more quickly then I used to, and am able to bring my thoughts back into alignment with His Word.  That's gratifying and I know it's only because of the Lord's help that I've gotten that far; but I still have a long way to go.  Just knowing that every time I start to complain, I have an opportunity to practice aligning myself with God's Will helps though because I can see that the more I apply His Word to my life, the more I slowly but surely become conformed to the likeness of His Son my Lord and what greater reward could there be then that?

Now that we've covered the complaining part, tomorrow we can look at how this last piece of the puzzle pulls it all together!

Complaining & How it all comes together