When I was first diagnosed and told I couldn't work anymore, I was devastated. My whole life was suddenly gone. What made it worse for me too was that out of 5 kids, they had all grown up and I only had the last one still at home and she was just about ready to fly on her own. So I was dealing with that empty nest syndrome too.
I quickly discovered that I had defined myself by what I did: being a mom, working every day in health care and being the best in my field, taking karate and going for my black belt, being active at church, etc. The Lord quickly showed me that these things weren't "me". Took me a long time to buy it though. I felt like I was totally useless and might as well be dead. I was no good to anyone, so I thought. I wasn't needed as a "Mom" anymore; I couldn't do my job, in fact, I was more like my patients then like the aide I was, so that part of me was now dead too. I couldn't do karate anymore, which for me had been great fun. I never laughed so much or had such a good time doing anything as I did there, and I was pretty good at it too and now I couldn't do any of it. It felt like all the joy was gone from my life. I still had church, but found that I was either in so much pain that it made concentrating hard, or if I took my medicine, I was nodding off during the sermon which was really embarrassing.
I really wanted to work though, at something...anything! There was just no way we could pay our bills with only one paycheck coming in. My job was not only fulfilling to me, it was necessary as it helped considerably to pay the bills. Without my check, it couldn't be done. (or so I thought anyway) I was scared to death! We didn't have much, but I sure didn't want to lose what little we did have and I most certainly didn't want to have to live on the streets and that's exactly where I thought we were heading.
But, The Lord Himself told me He didn't want me working! I still tried a bunch of times though because I had to have that pay check & I needed to "do" something. Every time I tried to work though, I failed. The doctor was right...I simply wasn't able to work anymore.
Slowly all my so called friends dropped out of my life, so I didn't have anyone to talk to either. Their lives were simply much to busy to bother with me much anymore. Slowly, the Lord spoke to me and I came to realize that who I am in Christ was much more important then who I was in the world. The Lord pointed out to me that no matter how much pain I was in there was still two things I could do and do well: Pray and teach Bible Studies.
So I joined my churches prayer team and the emergency prayer chain. I made lists of people I knew that I could pray for every day and began to do just that. LOL My list was humongous LOL; As I saturated myself in the Bible and prayer I began to feel better about me and about life. Oh I was still depressed, (I'm very stubborn LOL) but it was getting better.
I still kept trying to find a job I could do though, with no success. I was very lonely. Then one day I decided I was just going to go to every place in town that listed a job opening and apply for them regardless of what the job was. And that's exactly what I did. I got hired!!! I couldn't believe it! It was at a garage of all places too LOL So the guy hired me, takes me in his office to discuss pay and exactly what I'd be doing etc. He told me I'd be working at the counter. I asked him if there was a stool or something I could sit on and he said "No". Well, I knew there was just no way I could stand up for even an hour much less for 8 hours straight. Even if I wasn't doing anything else at all, I'd be in the emergency room before my first day was a third of the way over! He was still talking to me about what all my job would entail and now was saying that he'd pay me even more then he'd said in the ad.
But all I could hear in my head was this kind of "dead silence" of disapproval. It wasn't a "mean" silence; in fact it felt kind of sad. I knew it was the Lord. I also knew that I had to make a choice. Right then and there. It couldn't be put off anymore. I was either going to disobey the Lord and take this job (which would probably also be letting down this really nice guy because I knew I really wouldn't be able to do the job no matter how hard I tried to) Or, I was going to obey Him and tell this man that I couldn't take the job after all. (talk about humiliating!) Faced with that choice, now that it was "real and physical" instead of just a thought in my head, it only took a second to choose.
The man was still talking while this all went on in my head, and I suddenly burst into tears. I'm not talking about crying a little bit. I was sobbing like it was the end of the world. (well, to me it was the end of my world). That nice man came over and put his arm around me, handing me some Kleenex and told me "It's going to be OK". I knew something was bothering you, so you just let it all out and then you can tell me about it". Of course, that just made me cry harder Poor guy! When I could talk, I explained to him that I'd been hurt at work and that I really couldn't work anymore but I really wanted to, even though the Lord had told me He didn't want me to either. And that when he'd been talking, I knew that I had to choose whether or not to obey the Lord or to try and do the job anyway, even though I knew there was no way I could stand up that long etc. He just nodded as though there was nothing at all unusual in what I'd said and encouraged me to continue, so I told him that I chosen to obey the Lord. And that the Lord had also shown me that if I'd tried to do the job, I'd only have hurt him (the man I was talking to) because I wouldn't be able to do the job.
I don't remember what all the man said after that, except that he was very kind and obviously seemed to be on familiar terms with the Lord himself. I left there and went home and confessed my sin of continuing to try to work to the Lord. Had a nice long talk with Him then, confessing my fears that we wouldn't be able to pay our bills and that we'd have no place to live etc.
So you can understand just how completely devastating this money issue was to me, let me just say that I had lost everything I own, except for the clothes on my back and the clothes my children were wearing 3 times in my life. And I really do mean "everything". That happened quite a bit in my past, but more recently, about 4 years before I got hurt, I had again lost my home although that time I'd at least managed to keep most of my belongings. Each time it had been due to bad financial decisions and poor work habits on the part of my ex husband. Since the last time about 4 years earlier, since I was saved then, I decided to handle my money God's Way according to His Word. Losing everything each time did teach me that "things" aren't so important, but at the same time, security became very important to me, including "financial security".
So I confessed all of this to the Lord that day and had another good old fashioned cry on His shoulder.
As you can see, I was in pretty bad shape emotionally and felt very stressed out, depressed and confused. God said "don't work" but how were we supposed to pay the bills??? This is when the Lord began to teach me some very important and very basic lessons about just who was really in charge of this world, of me and of my life. First He showed me who I really was and it had nothing to do with being a mother, a wife, a good worker, karate, or anything else in my life. It had to do with Him.
As He showed me who I really was now that I was saved, I began to feel much better. He showed me many scriptures about this and I read them every day, sometimes several times a day, just letting them soak into my mind, my heart and my spirit until they became a part of me.
If you look back on what I said that I was focusing on as the things that defined myself, I'm sure you'll say that's pretty normal. Look at what I discovered though, keeping in mind that everything that's being said here also includes our finances--actually it includes every aspect of our lives:
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Originally Posted by Cindy
I hear
people who seem to think that upon becoming a Christian their lives
should have suddenly gotten "better", that they shouldn't have to deal
with the regular every day problems, and trials like they were before.
So their "faith" weakens because they assume that Jesus isn't "doing
anything". The false teachers that preach the prosperity gospel and the
so called healing ministries that tell people that if you become a
Christian that God will heal your body and mind and you won't have
health problems anymore, only make this problem worse, because they're
not only teaching lies, they're telling people that it's all about
them, and it's not. It's about Him. When we become saved, we don't
suddenly embark on a life of recreation and ease; a life of just
happiness; no, when we sign up to be a Christian, we are signing up to
be soldiers in a war! The last time I checked, most soldiers in a war
zone, wouldn't consider their lives as lives of recreation and ease!
This is also very true of many people who live with pain, like me, or people who deal with chronic depression. (which many people who live with pain battle with as well.) The temptation is to make your life all about you, and as believers, we can not do that! It must be about God and about others! As humans tainted with sin, it's practically beat into us by the world to focus on ourselves. You hear it all the time out in the world: "take care of yourself" "take care of #1" along with the nice sounding line that if you don't take care of yourself, that you can't help others. But with God it doesn't work that way. He never tells us to to take care of ourselves first. He says just the opposite. He says that we are to make Him number 1 in our lives and all others should be number 2, with ourselves coming in last. Often because we are so indoctrinated with the worldview that we should put ourselves first, we just don't stop to think about if that's scriptural or not. I think that this was one of the biggest lessons I had to learn, as it's so much the opposite of what the world teaches, and it pervades everything! Think about it: the biggest thing that pervades worldly thinking has to do with what the world calls "self esteem". That's the basis of where they get that doctrine of "take care of yourself, put yourself first" etc. That core teaching is the core of just about everything else taught in this world and it grabs Christians too without them even knowing it's wrong. They even try to use the bible to teach it. How many people do you know that honestly think that the bible says, "God helps those that help themselves"? The vast majority of people think that's in the bible! But it's not! The bible teaches the opposite of that! God's Word says that we are not to rely on ourselves, but rather that we are to rely on Him! |
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Originally Posted by Cindy
A Biblical View of Self-Esteem
An Explanation of Key Verses Definitions from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Quote:
The attached Bible verse explanations detail how God views us and how we should view ourselves. Taken in proper context, the attached Biblical references clearly indicate that there is no Biblical basis for self-esteem, self-love, self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-forgiveness, self-assertion, "proper" self-image, self-actualization, or any of the other selfisms advocated by the worldly system of psychology. The Bible's answer for our emotional "problems": turn from self to Christ (and His all-sufficient Word).. |
This then was what the Lord began to teach me, drawing on my past experiences to show me His Truth in action and how it worked. I began to understand not only who I was, but who He was! I'd always thought I knew who He was and had often heard and said myself that "God is in control". Now I realized that I really hadn't believed it at all. I realized that much of what I thought I believed was only head knowledge and not heart knowledge. God is so good to us though because before I could let that start getting to me, He quickly showed me how to make it heart knowledge. I also realized that I was beginning to understand a lot more about sin as well. I mean, we all know about the 10 commandments, and I'd known of the sin of pride and a few of the other self sins as well, such as self righteousness etc. but now I was learning there were many other attitudes that were sinful and that I practiced all of them! Some of the self sins He showed me were: self sufficiencey, pride, being judgmental, self righteousness, self savior (this was a BIG one for me as I was always thinking that I could fix any problem all by myself and that no one could do it better then I could etc.); being self centered instead of God centered; self justification; being self reliant instead of relying on God; self indulgent; self serving; self seeking; self-interest; and self realization which says: I have the right to claim to my life for myself (instead of knowing that my life belongs to God). I'm sure you can see how they all kind of go hand in hand and one often leads to another or morphs into another. Boy did I have a LOT to work on! Again though the Lord quickly reminded me that I was already forgiven and that this was just another step toward growing in Christ; we'd take it one day at a time.
Now, I'm condensing my learning experience for the sake of getting this all across without making it longer then necessary. The Lord didn't show me all of this on one day, or even one week. Especially not the sins. He only showed me one of those at a time and when I'd gotten that one under control, He'd show me another etc. And He always showed me how to deal with the particular sin He'd shown me too. I'm only listing some of them here for you to give you an idea of what He was showing me.
Remember though that He was showing me all of this for two purposes. First to teach me who I was in Him and second to teach me who He was and by doing that, show me that He would take care of my finances, my home, my car, my husband, my children, the cats, and of course of me. He was teaching me to truly know Him and as I began to know Him better, I began to trust Him more. The more I trusted Him, the less anxiety and fear I had. That's putting it all in a nutshell of course and there's much more to it.
I know I've talked about a lot of this in
many of the other studies we've done here over the years so this is
kind of showing how it all started; or how I first began to learn about
these things. Like anything else we learn, the Lord would first show me
the basics of that thing and then work with me on building my
knowledge. When He thought I was ready, He would then help me take that
head knowledge and turn it into heart knowledge. That's the hard part
and I've found that often that's what His tests are all about. Head
knowledge doesn't really help us that much, although it's a necessary
first step. But when we take that knowledge and turn it into heart
knowledge, then, then it makes a big difference in our lives.
Sometimes I don't like the word "test" to describe what the Lord does, but I can't think of anything else to use to explain it. It is very much like a test. The problem with that is that for many people the word "test" has some very negative connotations to them. What I want everyone to know is that the Lord doesn't test us because we've been "bad" or disobedient. When we're being disobedient and won't pay attention to His attempts to get us back where we belong, then He will discipline us, but that is entirely different from when He gives us these tests. Discipline is for when we misbehave or are disobedient. The tests are to increase our faith and as I said, to take our knowledge and turn it into heart knowledge so that it changes our lives and how we relate to this life, other people and even ourselves and of course with Him too.
So tests are not a bad thing; although we often perceive them as such. But then as I recall from when I was in school, I didn't much care for the tests then either lol So it's really no different.
How can you tell if you're being tested or being disciplined? Well, that's really pretty easy. If you're being disciplined, then you haven't been being obedient to God and we generally know when we haven't been. As for tests, I've noticed that with many of the tests I've been through, it's been very obvious, because the test will obviously involve material that I've just been studying with Him about. So, for example, when I was studying about how we're to trust God and rely on Him for everything and that fear and worry are sins; that He is our provider and will take care of us etc and suddenly the bottom falls out in our lives and Bruce is laid off work... Well it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a test.
Or, when I was studying about love and forgiveness and our relationships with others and suddenly opportunities were present in my life where I needed to forgive; where I needed to love, to humble myself and put others wants and needs ahead of my own. Again, it didn't take much thought to realize that it was a test.
Sometimes God will also test us on things we've studied with Him in the past too, but I've noticed that He always does a quick review at least before He gives the test. And He gives all kinds of different tests, just like our teachers in school used to. It might be a quick pop quiz, or a regular scheduled test, or a dreaded semester exam. It all depends on what He knows you need to grow.
When we took tests in school, the teacher always graded us and we either passed, or failed, and if we passed, we either barely squeezed by, or did average or did really well and passed with flying colors. The bad part of our tests in school was that we often couldn't retake them if we didn't do well, so they affected our grade for the year. With the Lord though, that's not true. You WILL pass the test, no matter how many times He has to give it to you or how long it takes. It's pretty much up to you how long it takes because it's up to you how much you study and apply God's Word to your life. So if you're stuck in a test and you want out, the only way to do it is to study hard and apply what you learn.
How do I know that the Lord will get us through these tests and teach us? Because His Word says so.
Romans 14:4 (NIV) — 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
If this is true, then why are there Christians who are still so worldly? It's hard to speak in generalities, but there are several possible reasons. First, they may not be saved; Second, if they are saved, then they have chosen to be disobedient and remain that way. While God will make His children stand firm, He only does that for those children who are willing to be obedient to Him. Those who choose disobedience are disciplined but if they continue to to disobey Him and ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, eventually they will have hardened their hearts to the point where they won't be able to hear the Holy Spirit even if they suddenly decided they wanted to. God won't force us to obey Him or to do His Will even after we're saved. What He will do once we are saved, is constantly draw us toward a deeper relationship with Him and a deeper understanding of His Word and knowledge of His Will. It's till up to us however. Even after we're saved, we can turn away from Him. It will not affect our salvation, as we will still be saved, but it will affect whether or not He will be pleased with us or ashamed of us; it will affect our standing in eternity and what we will do during eternity in Heaven. He certainly is not going to have stubborn, spoiled children in charge of anything or doing anything with any importance at all! Some people don't care what they'll be doing in heaven and say it doesn't matter, but our Lord cares about what we'll be doing and has great and wondrous plans for our future there, and a great many gifts (rewards) for us too. If we refuse to listen to Him now and obey Him now though, we will lose all of that and more importantly, He will be ashamed of us, and we will be ashamed of ourselves.
1 John 2:28 (NIV) — 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) — 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) — 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Thankfully, if we don't wait too long, we can always turn from being disobedient and decide to obey Him. The reason i say "if we don't wait too long" is because we don't know when our life will be over, we could die in the next moment; and we don't know when the rapture will happen--it could occur at any second; and lastly, we have no way of knowing just how far we've tried his patience and when we will have passed that point of no return. So it's obviously much better for us to be obedient right away and not take any chances. I guess you could look at it like the child who refuses to do any work of their school work. It's not because they're stupid or incapable of doing the work, they could do it, but they just don't want to and they're stubborn, so they don't. (one of my kids tried that!) The school and teachers try all they can to get this child to do what needs doing, but when everything's been tried and nothing else can be done, there comes a point where it's time to give up and leave the child to the consequences of their decision, hoping that eventually those consequences will teach them a lesson and they'll start to cooperate. That's pretty much what Paul is talking about when he says to turn that man over to Satan:
1 Corinthians 5:5 (NIV) — 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
And that's pretty much what happens with those who are saved but refuse to leave their worldly life behind and grow in Christ.
Sometimes I don't like the word "test" to describe what the Lord does, but I can't think of anything else to use to explain it. It is very much like a test. The problem with that is that for many people the word "test" has some very negative connotations to them. What I want everyone to know is that the Lord doesn't test us because we've been "bad" or disobedient. When we're being disobedient and won't pay attention to His attempts to get us back where we belong, then He will discipline us, but that is entirely different from when He gives us these tests. Discipline is for when we misbehave or are disobedient. The tests are to increase our faith and as I said, to take our knowledge and turn it into heart knowledge so that it changes our lives and how we relate to this life, other people and even ourselves and of course with Him too.
So tests are not a bad thing; although we often perceive them as such. But then as I recall from when I was in school, I didn't much care for the tests then either lol So it's really no different.
How can you tell if you're being tested or being disciplined? Well, that's really pretty easy. If you're being disciplined, then you haven't been being obedient to God and we generally know when we haven't been. As for tests, I've noticed that with many of the tests I've been through, it's been very obvious, because the test will obviously involve material that I've just been studying with Him about. So, for example, when I was studying about how we're to trust God and rely on Him for everything and that fear and worry are sins; that He is our provider and will take care of us etc and suddenly the bottom falls out in our lives and Bruce is laid off work... Well it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a test.
Or, when I was studying about love and forgiveness and our relationships with others and suddenly opportunities were present in my life where I needed to forgive; where I needed to love, to humble myself and put others wants and needs ahead of my own. Again, it didn't take much thought to realize that it was a test.
Sometimes God will also test us on things we've studied with Him in the past too, but I've noticed that He always does a quick review at least before He gives the test. And He gives all kinds of different tests, just like our teachers in school used to. It might be a quick pop quiz, or a regular scheduled test, or a dreaded semester exam. It all depends on what He knows you need to grow.
When we took tests in school, the teacher always graded us and we either passed, or failed, and if we passed, we either barely squeezed by, or did average or did really well and passed with flying colors. The bad part of our tests in school was that we often couldn't retake them if we didn't do well, so they affected our grade for the year. With the Lord though, that's not true. You WILL pass the test, no matter how many times He has to give it to you or how long it takes. It's pretty much up to you how long it takes because it's up to you how much you study and apply God's Word to your life. So if you're stuck in a test and you want out, the only way to do it is to study hard and apply what you learn.
How do I know that the Lord will get us through these tests and teach us? Because His Word says so.
Romans 14:4 (NIV) — 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
If this is true, then why are there Christians who are still so worldly? It's hard to speak in generalities, but there are several possible reasons. First, they may not be saved; Second, if they are saved, then they have chosen to be disobedient and remain that way. While God will make His children stand firm, He only does that for those children who are willing to be obedient to Him. Those who choose disobedience are disciplined but if they continue to to disobey Him and ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, eventually they will have hardened their hearts to the point where they won't be able to hear the Holy Spirit even if they suddenly decided they wanted to. God won't force us to obey Him or to do His Will even after we're saved. What He will do once we are saved, is constantly draw us toward a deeper relationship with Him and a deeper understanding of His Word and knowledge of His Will. It's till up to us however. Even after we're saved, we can turn away from Him. It will not affect our salvation, as we will still be saved, but it will affect whether or not He will be pleased with us or ashamed of us; it will affect our standing in eternity and what we will do during eternity in Heaven. He certainly is not going to have stubborn, spoiled children in charge of anything or doing anything with any importance at all! Some people don't care what they'll be doing in heaven and say it doesn't matter, but our Lord cares about what we'll be doing and has great and wondrous plans for our future there, and a great many gifts (rewards) for us too. If we refuse to listen to Him now and obey Him now though, we will lose all of that and more importantly, He will be ashamed of us, and we will be ashamed of ourselves.
1 John 2:28 (NIV) — 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) — 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) — 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Thankfully, if we don't wait too long, we can always turn from being disobedient and decide to obey Him. The reason i say "if we don't wait too long" is because we don't know when our life will be over, we could die in the next moment; and we don't know when the rapture will happen--it could occur at any second; and lastly, we have no way of knowing just how far we've tried his patience and when we will have passed that point of no return. So it's obviously much better for us to be obedient right away and not take any chances. I guess you could look at it like the child who refuses to do any work of their school work. It's not because they're stupid or incapable of doing the work, they could do it, but they just don't want to and they're stubborn, so they don't. (one of my kids tried that!) The school and teachers try all they can to get this child to do what needs doing, but when everything's been tried and nothing else can be done, there comes a point where it's time to give up and leave the child to the consequences of their decision, hoping that eventually those consequences will teach them a lesson and they'll start to cooperate. That's pretty much what Paul is talking about when he says to turn that man over to Satan:
1 Corinthians 5:5 (NIV) — 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
And that's pretty much what happens with those who are saved but refuse to leave their worldly life behind and grow in Christ.
When we study the Bible, we find that there
are some things that are simply basic to everything else. From the very
start God has told us that He wants us to love and trust Him
completely. We see this all through the old and new testament. As Jesus
said, loving God (and trust is implied in that) and others fulfills all
the laws of the old testament. We are nothing without that love and
trust. Sadly, because of our sin nature, we cannot love and trust God
the way we're supposed to. God takes care of that problem by pouring
out His love into our hearts when we're saved. We are able to love (and
trust) Him, because He first loved us.
Yet now we come to another problem. While God does fill us with His love at salvation, it's up to us to access that love and use it. Often we use it for ourselves and forget about applying it to others as well. Nothing takes God by surprise though and he knew that would happen, which is why He gave us His Word. It is through studying His Word that we grow up to where we can feel and access that love of His and allow it to fill us to overflowing. I've told you all about this favorite quote of mine before, but I want to share it again here for it's so true. When we're saved, "The challenge is to change from living life as a painful test to prove you deserve to be loved, to living it as an unceasing "Yes!", to the truth of your belovedness."
Besides filling us with His love when we're saved, God also gives us His Holy Spirit and we are indwelt by Jesus Himself. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them and us His Spirit to take His place in their lives because He had to leave. So just as Jesus ordered the lives of His disciples when He was here, just as He protected them, made sure they had enough to eat, enough sleep, etc, taking care of all their earthly needs; and just as He changed them inwardly and empowered them to do His Father's Will when He was here, so the Holy Spirit did all of that for them after Jesus rose into Heaven and so the Holy Spirit does all of that for us now.
There's one big difference between us and the disciples though. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples, they were already pretty mature in their faith. They already loved Him and had already learned to trust Him. They were used to following His orders and doing whatever He said no matter how absurd it sounded, because they knew Him so well and knew that regardless of how silly His orders might sound, that He had a good reason for telling them to do whatever it was. So they received the Holy Spirit when they were already mature in their faith.
When we're saved though, we're like little babies. We're just like the disciples were when they first met Jesus. So when we're given the Holy Spirit, we generally don't respond the way the disciples did. The difference could be viewed like this: If someone had come to me 20 years ago and given me a computer, I wouldn't have had a clue how to use it and it wouldn't have done me any good whatsoever unless I first chose to study about how to turn it on and then all that could be done with it. But, if they came and gave me one now that I'm already fairly good at using computers, it would be a totally different story. I'd make great use of that computer and because I'd know that there were yet still more things that it could do, I'd always be alert and ready to learn more about it.
That's how it is with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who is saved has the Holy Spirit within them. However, just having the Holy Spirit within them isn't a whole lot of help because they don't have a clue what the Holy Spirit can do or will do or when or anything else about the subject. The only way the Holy Spirit is going to be able to help them is if they begin to study their bibles and keep studying them. That's our "owner's manual" so to speak. So one of the very first things that the Holy Spirit does for everyone who is saved is give them a desire to study their bibles. That's when Satan, the world and our flesh step in too though and try to prevent that from happening. Satan first wants to prevent us from being saved, but if we do get saved anyway, his next priority is to keep us away from our bibles at all costs. If He can't keep us away entirely, then his next priority is to keep us from studying the Bible--get us to just read it-we'll still get some good out of it that way, but we won't become mature in our faith and that's what Satan wants to prevent.
Now, before someone asks, God obviously uses other methods for those people who are born in areas where there are no bibles, no churches etc. But we don't live in a place like that. We live in a land where there are bibles available everywhere and you can borrow them for free from libraries or take them for free from many churches, and other places. It's far more likely here for people to have several bibles then for them not to have one at all, unless it's by choice. This is what the Lord says about those of us who've been saved:
Luke 12:48 (NIV) — ... From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
We each have a choice when we're saved and every day thereafter. We have to choose to obey God or not to obey Him and His first command is that we study His Word. He wants us to be able to make use of the gifts and the power that is now available to us. Yes, I said "power". Again, think back to the disciples when the Holy Spirit came on them "with power". God hasn't changed my friends. His power is still available to us, we just don't see it much because most people don't know how to get plugged in or even where to put the plug to start with!
That's what I want to share with you. The secret of how to take hold of this power and use it. (It's really not a secret, or at least it shouldn't be) Again, look back at the disciples. The first step as we study is to get to know the Lord, and know Him well. We need His Word to do that now because He's not walking on this earth any longer. The better we know Him, the more we will trust Him. As we learn to know Him better, we'll also learn to be obedient and do whatever He tells us to do, even if it doesn't make any sense to us. Each time we are obedient that way, it causes our faith, our trust and our love to grow yet more and we're more confident in Him.
I know. We can't hear His voice audibly the way the disciples could, but as we study, we can apply what we learn to our daily lives which is exactly what the disciples were doing anyway. We can hear His voice in His Word. So then during the day when we meet up with that clerk who's a real jerk and we just want to smack them, we hear His voice as we remember His Word that we studied. Then, instead of smacking that clerk and giving them a good talking too and letting them know how we feel, we instead suddenly feel God's love filling us for that person, and we smile at them and remain calm, perhaps praying for them in our hearts as we stand there. As time goes by, we learn though things that the Lord lets us see, that confirm we did right at that time. And this too increases our faith and trust in Him.
The bottom line is that the more time we put into studying His Word the way He tells us to, the closer our relationship with Him will become; and the closer we are to Him, the more we'll love Him and the more we love Him the more we'll trust Him and the more our faith will grow. This is why all the many verses in the Bible about worry, anxiety, fear, stress, etc tell us that all those things are sins. They're sins because they show that we are not trusting God, and if we don't trust Him, we're not loving Him, and our relationship with Him isn't very deep. So they can also be seen as sign posts on our walk with Him showing us what we need to work on. These things too are the areas that the Lord often tests us on to help us see how far we've come and what we need to work on next.
John 14:1 (NIV) — “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Yet now we come to another problem. While God does fill us with His love at salvation, it's up to us to access that love and use it. Often we use it for ourselves and forget about applying it to others as well. Nothing takes God by surprise though and he knew that would happen, which is why He gave us His Word. It is through studying His Word that we grow up to where we can feel and access that love of His and allow it to fill us to overflowing. I've told you all about this favorite quote of mine before, but I want to share it again here for it's so true. When we're saved, "The challenge is to change from living life as a painful test to prove you deserve to be loved, to living it as an unceasing "Yes!", to the truth of your belovedness."
Besides filling us with His love when we're saved, God also gives us His Holy Spirit and we are indwelt by Jesus Himself. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them and us His Spirit to take His place in their lives because He had to leave. So just as Jesus ordered the lives of His disciples when He was here, just as He protected them, made sure they had enough to eat, enough sleep, etc, taking care of all their earthly needs; and just as He changed them inwardly and empowered them to do His Father's Will when He was here, so the Holy Spirit did all of that for them after Jesus rose into Heaven and so the Holy Spirit does all of that for us now.
There's one big difference between us and the disciples though. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples, they were already pretty mature in their faith. They already loved Him and had already learned to trust Him. They were used to following His orders and doing whatever He said no matter how absurd it sounded, because they knew Him so well and knew that regardless of how silly His orders might sound, that He had a good reason for telling them to do whatever it was. So they received the Holy Spirit when they were already mature in their faith.
When we're saved though, we're like little babies. We're just like the disciples were when they first met Jesus. So when we're given the Holy Spirit, we generally don't respond the way the disciples did. The difference could be viewed like this: If someone had come to me 20 years ago and given me a computer, I wouldn't have had a clue how to use it and it wouldn't have done me any good whatsoever unless I first chose to study about how to turn it on and then all that could be done with it. But, if they came and gave me one now that I'm already fairly good at using computers, it would be a totally different story. I'd make great use of that computer and because I'd know that there were yet still more things that it could do, I'd always be alert and ready to learn more about it.
That's how it is with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who is saved has the Holy Spirit within them. However, just having the Holy Spirit within them isn't a whole lot of help because they don't have a clue what the Holy Spirit can do or will do or when or anything else about the subject. The only way the Holy Spirit is going to be able to help them is if they begin to study their bibles and keep studying them. That's our "owner's manual" so to speak. So one of the very first things that the Holy Spirit does for everyone who is saved is give them a desire to study their bibles. That's when Satan, the world and our flesh step in too though and try to prevent that from happening. Satan first wants to prevent us from being saved, but if we do get saved anyway, his next priority is to keep us away from our bibles at all costs. If He can't keep us away entirely, then his next priority is to keep us from studying the Bible--get us to just read it-we'll still get some good out of it that way, but we won't become mature in our faith and that's what Satan wants to prevent.
Now, before someone asks, God obviously uses other methods for those people who are born in areas where there are no bibles, no churches etc. But we don't live in a place like that. We live in a land where there are bibles available everywhere and you can borrow them for free from libraries or take them for free from many churches, and other places. It's far more likely here for people to have several bibles then for them not to have one at all, unless it's by choice. This is what the Lord says about those of us who've been saved:
Luke 12:48 (NIV) — ... From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
We each have a choice when we're saved and every day thereafter. We have to choose to obey God or not to obey Him and His first command is that we study His Word. He wants us to be able to make use of the gifts and the power that is now available to us. Yes, I said "power". Again, think back to the disciples when the Holy Spirit came on them "with power". God hasn't changed my friends. His power is still available to us, we just don't see it much because most people don't know how to get plugged in or even where to put the plug to start with!
That's what I want to share with you. The secret of how to take hold of this power and use it. (It's really not a secret, or at least it shouldn't be) Again, look back at the disciples. The first step as we study is to get to know the Lord, and know Him well. We need His Word to do that now because He's not walking on this earth any longer. The better we know Him, the more we will trust Him. As we learn to know Him better, we'll also learn to be obedient and do whatever He tells us to do, even if it doesn't make any sense to us. Each time we are obedient that way, it causes our faith, our trust and our love to grow yet more and we're more confident in Him.
I know. We can't hear His voice audibly the way the disciples could, but as we study, we can apply what we learn to our daily lives which is exactly what the disciples were doing anyway. We can hear His voice in His Word. So then during the day when we meet up with that clerk who's a real jerk and we just want to smack them, we hear His voice as we remember His Word that we studied. Then, instead of smacking that clerk and giving them a good talking too and letting them know how we feel, we instead suddenly feel God's love filling us for that person, and we smile at them and remain calm, perhaps praying for them in our hearts as we stand there. As time goes by, we learn though things that the Lord lets us see, that confirm we did right at that time. And this too increases our faith and trust in Him.
The bottom line is that the more time we put into studying His Word the way He tells us to, the closer our relationship with Him will become; and the closer we are to Him, the more we'll love Him and the more we love Him the more we'll trust Him and the more our faith will grow. This is why all the many verses in the Bible about worry, anxiety, fear, stress, etc tell us that all those things are sins. They're sins because they show that we are not trusting God, and if we don't trust Him, we're not loving Him, and our relationship with Him isn't very deep. So they can also be seen as sign posts on our walk with Him showing us what we need to work on. These things too are the areas that the Lord often tests us on to help us see how far we've come and what we need to work on next.
John 14:1 (NIV) — “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
I've already spent way too
long writing this so instead of explaining it myself, I'm going to just
share with you what this commentary say about this scripture. It's
really amazing and I hope it helps you as much as it has me. It's
long, but that's because it's so important!
Ephesians 3:14–21 (NIV) — For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The Petition (Eph. 3:16–19)
There are four requests in Paul’s prayer, but they must not be looked on as isolated, individual petitions. These four requests are more like four parts to a telescope. One request leads into the next one, and so on. He prays that the inner man might have spiritual strength, which will, in turn, lead to a deeper experience with Christ. This deeper experience will enable them to “apprehend” (get hold of) God’s great love, which will result in their being “filled unto all the fullness of God.” So, then, Paul is praying for strength, depth, apprehension, and fullness.
Strength (v. 16). The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life is evidence of salvation (Rom. 8:9); but the power of the Spirit is enablement for Christian living, and it is this power that Paul desires for his readers. “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8, literal translation). Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Acts 10:38), and this is the only resource we have for Christian living today. As you read the Book of Acts, you see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church, for there are some fifty-nine references to the Spirit in the book, or one fourth of the total references found in the New Testament. Someone has said, “If God took the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what we Christians are doing would go right on—and nobody would know the difference!” Sad, but true.
The power of the Spirit is given to us “according to the riches of His glory” (Eph. 3:16). Christ returned to glory and sent the Spirit from heaven to indwell and empower His people. It is not necessary for us to “work something up.” The power has to be sent down. How marvelous that God does not give the Spirit’s power to us “out of His riches” but “according to”—which is a far greater thing. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you according to my riches. The first is a portion; the second is a proportion.
This power is available for “the inner man.”This means the spiritual part of man where God dwells and works. The inner man of the lost sinner is dead (Eph. 2:1), but it becomes alive when Christ is invited in. The inner man can see (Psalm 119:18, hear (Matthew 13:9), taste (Psalm 34:8 ), and feel (Acts 17:27); and he must be “exercised” (1 Timothy 4:7–8 ). He also must be cleansed (Psalm 51:7) and fed (Matthew 4:4 (NIV) — Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ). The outer man is perishing, but the inner man can be renewed spiritually in spite of outward physical decay (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). It is this inner power that makes him succeed.
What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner man? It means that our spiritual faculties are controlled by God, and we are exercising them and growing in the Word (Hebrews 5:12–14 (NIV) — In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. ). It is only when we yield to the Spirit and let Him control the inner man that we succeed in living to the glory of God. This means feeding the inner man the Word of God, praying and worshiping, keeping clean, and exercising the senses by loving obedience.
Depth (v. 17). Paul uses three pictures here to convey this idea of spiritual depth, and the three pictures are hidden in the three verbs: “dwell,” “rooted,” and “grounded.” The verb dwell literally means “to settle down and feel at home.” Certainly Christ was already resident in the hearts of the Ephesians, or else Paul would not have addressed them as “saints” in Ephesians 1:1. What Paul is praying for is a deeper experience between Christ and His people. He yearns for Christ to settle down and feel at home in their hearts—not a surface relationship, but an ever-deepening fellowship.
Abraham’s life is an illustration of this truth. God was going to bless Abraham with a son, so the Lord Himself came down and visited Abraham’s tent, and He brought two angels with Him. They came to the tent, they talked with Abraham, and they even ate a meal with him. They felt very much at home, because Abraham was a man of faith and obedience. But the three guests had another task. They had to investigate the sins of Sodom because God planned to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, a believer, was living in Sodom, and God wanted to warn him to get out before the judgment could fall. But the Lord Himself did not go to Sodom. He sent the two angels (Gen. 18–19). The Lord did not feel at home in Lot’s house the way He felt at home in Abraham’s tent.
The verb rooted moves us into the plant world. The tree must get its roots deep into the soil if it is to have both nourishment and stability; and the Christian must have his spiritual roots deep into the love of God. Psalm 1:1–3 is a perfect description of this word, and Jeremiah 17:5–8 is a good commentary on it. One of the most important questions a Christian can ask himself is, “From what do I draw my nourishment and my stability?” If there is to be power in the Christian life, then there must be depth. The roots must go deeper and deeper into the love of Christ.
Grounded is an architectural term; it refers to the foundations on which we build. In the first two churches I pastored, we were privileged to construct new buildings, and in both projects it seemed we would never get out of the ground. In my second building program, we had to spend several thousand dollars taking soil tests because we were building over an old lake bed. For weeks, the men were laying out and pouring the footings. One day I complained to the architect, and he replied, “Pastor, the most important part of this building is the foundation. If you don’t go deep, you can’t go high.”That sentence has been a sermon to me ever since.
The trials of life test the depth of our experience. If two roommates in college have a falling out, they may seek new roommates, for after all, living with a roommate is a passing experience. But if a husband and wife, who love each other, have a disagreement, the trial only deepens their love as they seek to solve the problems. The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots. Jesus told the story about the two builders, one of whom did not go deep enough for his foundation (Matt. 7:24–29). Paul prayed that the believers might have a deeper experience with Christ, because only a deep experience could sustain them during the severe trials of life.
Apprehension (vv. 18–19a). The English words “comprehend” and “apprehend” both stem from the Latin word prehendere which means “to grasp.” We say that a monkey has a “prehensile tail.” That is, its tail is able to grasp a tree limb and hold on. Our word comprehend carries the idea of mentally grasping something; while apprehend suggests laying hold of it for yourself. In other words, it is possible to understand something but not really make it your own. Paul’s concern is that we lay hold of the vast expanses of the love of God. He wants us to live in four dimensions. When God gave the land to Abraham, He told him to “walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it” (Gen. 13:17). Abraham had to step out by faith and claim his inheritance. But we today have an inheritance in four dimensions: breadth, length, depth, and height. God’s fourth dimension is love!
But there is a paradox here. Paul wants us to know personally the love of Christ “which passeth knowledge.” There are dimensions, but they cannot be measured. “The love of Christ which passeth knowledge” parallels “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). We are so rich in Christ that our riches cannot be calculated even with the most sophisticated computer.
Perhaps you saw the cartoon that depicted a man chatting with a boat salesman. In the beautiful showroom were yachts and cabin cruisers that glittered with elegance. In the caption, the salesman is saying to the customer: “Sir, if you have to ask how much they are, they are too expensive for you!”
No Christian ever has to worry about having inadequate spiritual resources to meet the demands of life. If he prays for spiritual strength and spiritual depth, he will be able to apprehend—get his hands on—all the resources of God’s love and grace. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). And what is the result of all of this?
Fullness (v. 19b). It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. This explains why air or water will automatically flow into an empty place. The divine nature abhors a vacuum. God wants us to experience His fullness. “Filled unto all the fullness of God” is the more accurate translation. The means of our fullness is the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), and the measure of our fullness is God Himself (Eph. 4:11–16). It is tragic when Christians use the wrong measurements in examining their own spiritual lives. We like to measure ourselves by the weakest Christians that we know, and then boast, “Well, I’m better than they are.” Paul tells us that the measure is Christ, and that we cannot boast about anything (nor should we). When we have reached His fullness, then we have reached the limit.
In one sense, the Christian is already “made full in Christ” (Col. 2:9–10, where “complete” means “filled full”). Positionally, we are complete in Him, but practically, we enjoy only the grace that we apprehend by faith. The resources are there. All we need do is accept them and enjoy them. Paul will have more to say about this fullness (Eph. 5:18–21), so we will reserve further comment until we reach that section. The Bible exposition commentary
And that is what we get when we study the Bible--the ability to apprehend all those plentiful resources and power the Lord has given us to live victoriously now. That's also what the Lord's tests are about; teaching us what we have and what we need to work on so we can then access yet more.
Ephesians 3:14–21 (NIV) — For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The Petition (Eph. 3:16–19)
There are four requests in Paul’s prayer, but they must not be looked on as isolated, individual petitions. These four requests are more like four parts to a telescope. One request leads into the next one, and so on. He prays that the inner man might have spiritual strength, which will, in turn, lead to a deeper experience with Christ. This deeper experience will enable them to “apprehend” (get hold of) God’s great love, which will result in their being “filled unto all the fullness of God.” So, then, Paul is praying for strength, depth, apprehension, and fullness.
Strength (v. 16). The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life is evidence of salvation (Rom. 8:9); but the power of the Spirit is enablement for Christian living, and it is this power that Paul desires for his readers. “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8, literal translation). Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Acts 10:38), and this is the only resource we have for Christian living today. As you read the Book of Acts, you see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church, for there are some fifty-nine references to the Spirit in the book, or one fourth of the total references found in the New Testament. Someone has said, “If God took the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what we Christians are doing would go right on—and nobody would know the difference!” Sad, but true.
The power of the Spirit is given to us “according to the riches of His glory” (Eph. 3:16). Christ returned to glory and sent the Spirit from heaven to indwell and empower His people. It is not necessary for us to “work something up.” The power has to be sent down. How marvelous that God does not give the Spirit’s power to us “out of His riches” but “according to”—which is a far greater thing. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you according to my riches. The first is a portion; the second is a proportion.
This power is available for “the inner man.”This means the spiritual part of man where God dwells and works. The inner man of the lost sinner is dead (Eph. 2:1), but it becomes alive when Christ is invited in. The inner man can see (Psalm 119:18, hear (Matthew 13:9), taste (Psalm 34:8 ), and feel (Acts 17:27); and he must be “exercised” (1 Timothy 4:7–8 ). He also must be cleansed (Psalm 51:7) and fed (Matthew 4:4 (NIV) — Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ). The outer man is perishing, but the inner man can be renewed spiritually in spite of outward physical decay (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). It is this inner power that makes him succeed.
What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner man? It means that our spiritual faculties are controlled by God, and we are exercising them and growing in the Word (Hebrews 5:12–14 (NIV) — In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. ). It is only when we yield to the Spirit and let Him control the inner man that we succeed in living to the glory of God. This means feeding the inner man the Word of God, praying and worshiping, keeping clean, and exercising the senses by loving obedience.
Depth (v. 17). Paul uses three pictures here to convey this idea of spiritual depth, and the three pictures are hidden in the three verbs: “dwell,” “rooted,” and “grounded.” The verb dwell literally means “to settle down and feel at home.” Certainly Christ was already resident in the hearts of the Ephesians, or else Paul would not have addressed them as “saints” in Ephesians 1:1. What Paul is praying for is a deeper experience between Christ and His people. He yearns for Christ to settle down and feel at home in their hearts—not a surface relationship, but an ever-deepening fellowship.
Abraham’s life is an illustration of this truth. God was going to bless Abraham with a son, so the Lord Himself came down and visited Abraham’s tent, and He brought two angels with Him. They came to the tent, they talked with Abraham, and they even ate a meal with him. They felt very much at home, because Abraham was a man of faith and obedience. But the three guests had another task. They had to investigate the sins of Sodom because God planned to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, a believer, was living in Sodom, and God wanted to warn him to get out before the judgment could fall. But the Lord Himself did not go to Sodom. He sent the two angels (Gen. 18–19). The Lord did not feel at home in Lot’s house the way He felt at home in Abraham’s tent.
The verb rooted moves us into the plant world. The tree must get its roots deep into the soil if it is to have both nourishment and stability; and the Christian must have his spiritual roots deep into the love of God. Psalm 1:1–3 is a perfect description of this word, and Jeremiah 17:5–8 is a good commentary on it. One of the most important questions a Christian can ask himself is, “From what do I draw my nourishment and my stability?” If there is to be power in the Christian life, then there must be depth. The roots must go deeper and deeper into the love of Christ.
Grounded is an architectural term; it refers to the foundations on which we build. In the first two churches I pastored, we were privileged to construct new buildings, and in both projects it seemed we would never get out of the ground. In my second building program, we had to spend several thousand dollars taking soil tests because we were building over an old lake bed. For weeks, the men were laying out and pouring the footings. One day I complained to the architect, and he replied, “Pastor, the most important part of this building is the foundation. If you don’t go deep, you can’t go high.”That sentence has been a sermon to me ever since.
The trials of life test the depth of our experience. If two roommates in college have a falling out, they may seek new roommates, for after all, living with a roommate is a passing experience. But if a husband and wife, who love each other, have a disagreement, the trial only deepens their love as they seek to solve the problems. The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots. Jesus told the story about the two builders, one of whom did not go deep enough for his foundation (Matt. 7:24–29). Paul prayed that the believers might have a deeper experience with Christ, because only a deep experience could sustain them during the severe trials of life.
Apprehension (vv. 18–19a). The English words “comprehend” and “apprehend” both stem from the Latin word prehendere which means “to grasp.” We say that a monkey has a “prehensile tail.” That is, its tail is able to grasp a tree limb and hold on. Our word comprehend carries the idea of mentally grasping something; while apprehend suggests laying hold of it for yourself. In other words, it is possible to understand something but not really make it your own. Paul’s concern is that we lay hold of the vast expanses of the love of God. He wants us to live in four dimensions. When God gave the land to Abraham, He told him to “walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it” (Gen. 13:17). Abraham had to step out by faith and claim his inheritance. But we today have an inheritance in four dimensions: breadth, length, depth, and height. God’s fourth dimension is love!
But there is a paradox here. Paul wants us to know personally the love of Christ “which passeth knowledge.” There are dimensions, but they cannot be measured. “The love of Christ which passeth knowledge” parallels “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). We are so rich in Christ that our riches cannot be calculated even with the most sophisticated computer.
Perhaps you saw the cartoon that depicted a man chatting with a boat salesman. In the beautiful showroom were yachts and cabin cruisers that glittered with elegance. In the caption, the salesman is saying to the customer: “Sir, if you have to ask how much they are, they are too expensive for you!”
No Christian ever has to worry about having inadequate spiritual resources to meet the demands of life. If he prays for spiritual strength and spiritual depth, he will be able to apprehend—get his hands on—all the resources of God’s love and grace. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). And what is the result of all of this?
Fullness (v. 19b). It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. This explains why air or water will automatically flow into an empty place. The divine nature abhors a vacuum. God wants us to experience His fullness. “Filled unto all the fullness of God” is the more accurate translation. The means of our fullness is the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), and the measure of our fullness is God Himself (Eph. 4:11–16). It is tragic when Christians use the wrong measurements in examining their own spiritual lives. We like to measure ourselves by the weakest Christians that we know, and then boast, “Well, I’m better than they are.” Paul tells us that the measure is Christ, and that we cannot boast about anything (nor should we). When we have reached His fullness, then we have reached the limit.
In one sense, the Christian is already “made full in Christ” (Col. 2:9–10, where “complete” means “filled full”). Positionally, we are complete in Him, but practically, we enjoy only the grace that we apprehend by faith. The resources are there. All we need do is accept them and enjoy them. Paul will have more to say about this fullness (Eph. 5:18–21), so we will reserve further comment until we reach that section. The Bible exposition commentary
And that is what we get when we study the Bible--the ability to apprehend all those plentiful resources and power the Lord has given us to live victoriously now. That's also what the Lord's tests are about; teaching us what we have and what we need to work on so we can then access yet more.
The reason I talked so much about loving God
in my last post is because I've never met a Christian yet that said they
didn't love God. And yet there are millions of Christians that still
lead lives full of fear, anxiety and worry. If they truly loved God,
they would also trust Him. If they trusted Him, there would be no
worry, fear, stress, etc. Mind you, that was and is also true for me as
well.
I've learned in my life with the Lord, that the amount of worry etc in my life, is a very good indicator of just how much I trust Him. And how much I trust Him is a very good indicator of just how well I know Him and how close my relationship with Him really is.
So what do you do if worry and fear is still a big problem for you? You commit to be obedient and begin (or continue) to study His Word and spend time with Him. If you're already studying, then perhaps you should increase the amount of time you spend doing that. The more you study, the closer you'll get to Him so it's up to you how important that is.
For most of us, studying God's Word is something we squeeze into our day wherever we can make it fit. Actually, a great many don't bother studying it at all. They just read it. But even among those who study it, because our lives are so busy, we tend to limit the amount of time we spend doing so.
When I look back to the time before I became disabled when I was studying His Word and going to work, caring for my husband, children and home like most other people, I generally only spent an hour or two at the most in study, at least on week days. I was blessed however that I also got to study and pray at work so if you include that time you could add another couple of hours too, but that's fairly unusual in our world today. The thing is though, we tend to do things based on what their priority is in our lives. For me, getting to know the Lord who saved me was important and I therefore made that time to study. What I discovered as time went on, was that I wanted to spend more time in study and little by little, I made more time for it by giving up other things. My bible was always near by and I grabbed it whenever I had a spare moment. Other people noticed this too. I know that because when I got hurt, one of the first things my husband would do is bring me my bible once he got me settled onto the couch or into bed. I didn't ask for it, but he knew that I'd want it because he'd seen that I'd always had my nose in it.
There's one other thing I'd like to explain. I know I've also said this a million other times, or at least it seems that way lol, but it's so important it's worth saying again and again. When I say "study" I don't mean to use your own intelligence and judgment to study His Word. What I'm talking about is studying with Him. In other words, as you study, you're constantly talking to Him; asking Him questions about what you're studying, commenting on it to Him, etc. and of course following His lead as He answers those questions. Using commentaries is fine, as long as you remember that humans wrote them and they just might be wrong. Use them to give you ideas and more cross references etc, but most importantly, keep talking to the Lord. Two of my favorite commentaries that I've found to be very good and pretty reliable are: The Bible exposition commentary and The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Other good resources are Bible dictionaries. When you get to where you're ready to study what the words mean in the original languages, those dictionaries are very good too. But that's one of the things I like about the two commentaries I mentioned as they often will give you information about the words in the original language and what they meant.
For starters though, the very best bible study I've ever seen is the one I've been posting I found a treasure of incalculable worth! My Gift to YOU! and will continue to post until we get to the end or Jesus comes for us and I hope and pray that everyone will make the time to take advantage of it and study with us. This study is good for everyone regardless of where they are in their walk. It's great for the newly saved, wonderful for those ready to begin building on the foundation that's been laid, and fantastic for those who are mature, to take them deeper still into the Word. One of the great things this particular study does, is it teaches you "how to study"! It not only teaches you how to study but does it so subtly that you probably don't even realize you're learning that at first. But, by the time we're done with the whole book, the right way to study will be so ingrained in you , that you'll be doing it on your own by then! So, by the time I'm done posting this book, we'll all be ready to take off and fly on our own; able to find the answers and truth to any scripture anywhere in the bible.
Our whole society is into instant gratification. We want what we want and we want it right now and with the least possible amount of effort on our part. That's not how God works though. God's way takes time because He works on us from the inside out, which is also why when He changes us, we are truly changed and it's not something we're doing through any effort of our own. The thing is, it's not "magic" and it doesn't "just happen" for no apparent reason. God changes us through His Word, so the more we study, the more we will be changed. We pray and pray for God to take away our fears or help us so we won't worry; we pray, "I believe, help my unbelief!" and God wants to help us! But it's like that joke about the guy that prays that God will let him win the lottery and finally God gets frustrated with him and answers saying, "Well at least buy a lottery ticket so I can help you!" God's given us the answer to all those prayers. It's in His Word! All we have to do is pray, ask His help (which most already have) and then open those bibles and start studying!!! That's where people fall down. They don't pick up their bibles and study to get those answers about getting rid of their fear or worry etc. Or if they do, they do it only once in a while for short times not really expecting any help.
NIV Jn 17:17 — 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
God sanctifies us, (makes us holy; changes us) through His Word and it's those who abide (remain; stay in constantly) in His Word that are changed, and through this show that they are really His disciples.
ESV Jn 8:31 — 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
This is why we're commanded to crave His Word the way a baby craves it's milk so that we can grow up in our faith and be able to stand firm and strong and live victoriously.
NIV 1 Pe 2:2 — 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
It's kind of sad that the Lord has to go to such lengths to convince us to be obedient just so He can help us. I just love what this psalm says about it though:
NIV Ps 119:89–96 — 89 Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. 94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. 95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. 96 To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless.
If you trust God’s Word, you will have a solid foundation in a world that offers you no stability. The Word of God is settled; nothing can change it or destroy it (v. 152; Matt. 24:35). God is faithful and His Word can be trusted. The same Word that created the world (v. 90) and runs the world (v. 91) will also govern your life and make it secure.
With the word Bible commentary
It's really all about getting to know the Lord better and better. Making our relationship with Him closer and deeper every day. Learning to know Him so well that we can trust Him no matter what things "look like" in our lives. Then like Paul we can say we've learned to be content no matter our outward circumstances for we know we are in the palm of God's Hand and through Christ we can do all things.
I've learned in my life with the Lord, that the amount of worry etc in my life, is a very good indicator of just how much I trust Him. And how much I trust Him is a very good indicator of just how well I know Him and how close my relationship with Him really is.
So what do you do if worry and fear is still a big problem for you? You commit to be obedient and begin (or continue) to study His Word and spend time with Him. If you're already studying, then perhaps you should increase the amount of time you spend doing that. The more you study, the closer you'll get to Him so it's up to you how important that is.
For most of us, studying God's Word is something we squeeze into our day wherever we can make it fit. Actually, a great many don't bother studying it at all. They just read it. But even among those who study it, because our lives are so busy, we tend to limit the amount of time we spend doing so.
When I look back to the time before I became disabled when I was studying His Word and going to work, caring for my husband, children and home like most other people, I generally only spent an hour or two at the most in study, at least on week days. I was blessed however that I also got to study and pray at work so if you include that time you could add another couple of hours too, but that's fairly unusual in our world today. The thing is though, we tend to do things based on what their priority is in our lives. For me, getting to know the Lord who saved me was important and I therefore made that time to study. What I discovered as time went on, was that I wanted to spend more time in study and little by little, I made more time for it by giving up other things. My bible was always near by and I grabbed it whenever I had a spare moment. Other people noticed this too. I know that because when I got hurt, one of the first things my husband would do is bring me my bible once he got me settled onto the couch or into bed. I didn't ask for it, but he knew that I'd want it because he'd seen that I'd always had my nose in it.
There's one other thing I'd like to explain. I know I've also said this a million other times, or at least it seems that way lol, but it's so important it's worth saying again and again. When I say "study" I don't mean to use your own intelligence and judgment to study His Word. What I'm talking about is studying with Him. In other words, as you study, you're constantly talking to Him; asking Him questions about what you're studying, commenting on it to Him, etc. and of course following His lead as He answers those questions. Using commentaries is fine, as long as you remember that humans wrote them and they just might be wrong. Use them to give you ideas and more cross references etc, but most importantly, keep talking to the Lord. Two of my favorite commentaries that I've found to be very good and pretty reliable are: The Bible exposition commentary and The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Other good resources are Bible dictionaries. When you get to where you're ready to study what the words mean in the original languages, those dictionaries are very good too. But that's one of the things I like about the two commentaries I mentioned as they often will give you information about the words in the original language and what they meant.
For starters though, the very best bible study I've ever seen is the one I've been posting I found a treasure of incalculable worth! My Gift to YOU! and will continue to post until we get to the end or Jesus comes for us and I hope and pray that everyone will make the time to take advantage of it and study with us. This study is good for everyone regardless of where they are in their walk. It's great for the newly saved, wonderful for those ready to begin building on the foundation that's been laid, and fantastic for those who are mature, to take them deeper still into the Word. One of the great things this particular study does, is it teaches you "how to study"! It not only teaches you how to study but does it so subtly that you probably don't even realize you're learning that at first. But, by the time we're done with the whole book, the right way to study will be so ingrained in you , that you'll be doing it on your own by then! So, by the time I'm done posting this book, we'll all be ready to take off and fly on our own; able to find the answers and truth to any scripture anywhere in the bible.
Our whole society is into instant gratification. We want what we want and we want it right now and with the least possible amount of effort on our part. That's not how God works though. God's way takes time because He works on us from the inside out, which is also why when He changes us, we are truly changed and it's not something we're doing through any effort of our own. The thing is, it's not "magic" and it doesn't "just happen" for no apparent reason. God changes us through His Word, so the more we study, the more we will be changed. We pray and pray for God to take away our fears or help us so we won't worry; we pray, "I believe, help my unbelief!" and God wants to help us! But it's like that joke about the guy that prays that God will let him win the lottery and finally God gets frustrated with him and answers saying, "Well at least buy a lottery ticket so I can help you!" God's given us the answer to all those prayers. It's in His Word! All we have to do is pray, ask His help (which most already have) and then open those bibles and start studying!!! That's where people fall down. They don't pick up their bibles and study to get those answers about getting rid of their fear or worry etc. Or if they do, they do it only once in a while for short times not really expecting any help.
NIV Jn 17:17 — 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
God sanctifies us, (makes us holy; changes us) through His Word and it's those who abide (remain; stay in constantly) in His Word that are changed, and through this show that they are really His disciples.
ESV Jn 8:31 — 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
This is why we're commanded to crave His Word the way a baby craves it's milk so that we can grow up in our faith and be able to stand firm and strong and live victoriously.
NIV 1 Pe 2:2 — 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
It's kind of sad that the Lord has to go to such lengths to convince us to be obedient just so He can help us. I just love what this psalm says about it though:
NIV Ps 119:89–96 — 89 Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. 94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. 95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. 96 To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless.
If you trust God’s Word, you will have a solid foundation in a world that offers you no stability. The Word of God is settled; nothing can change it or destroy it (v. 152; Matt. 24:35). God is faithful and His Word can be trusted. The same Word that created the world (v. 90) and runs the world (v. 91) will also govern your life and make it secure.
With the word Bible commentary
It's really all about getting to know the Lord better and better. Making our relationship with Him closer and deeper every day. Learning to know Him so well that we can trust Him no matter what things "look like" in our lives. Then like Paul we can say we've learned to be content no matter our outward circumstances for we know we are in the palm of God's Hand and through Christ we can do all things.
The Lord has pointed out that there's
something else I need to add to this. It's implied in all that I've
already said, but not stated plainly, and it's about that nasty word,
obedience.
None of us like to learn obedience. We didn't like it as children and we especially don't like it as adults, at least I didn't. Our natural abhorrence to it is actually a part of our sin nature. We want to be self sufficient, and we don't want anyone telling us what to do. Just exactly like Satan if you think about it. He didn't want to submit himself to God and be obedient. Yep, there's that other nasty word we generally hate to hear: submit. So this next portion will be about submitting ourselves to God and being obedient to Him.
This for me was a very hard lesson as it affects every single area of our lives. The Lord first showed me that in order to have His peace and in order to have His joy, that I had to submit to Him and be obedient. He would throw things at me that to me sounded totally absurd and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why He'd want me to do them! So of course I questioned Him about them. I'd even put off obeying Him because I'd tell myself that I couldn't be sure it was from Him because it was so crazy. What I was really doing was lying to myself, and making excuses because I didn't want to do it. I knew quite well that it was from Him.
That's when my next lesson came. He taught me then that understanding comes after obedience, not before. Totally opposite of what the world would have us believe, isn't it? Yet it's true. The way I look at it now is that God has us operate on a "need to know" basis and we don't need to know the why's until after we've done as we were told. Why? Because if we knew ahead of time, there would be no test of faith involved. Not knowing the why's means that we have to take a step of faith and do as we're told simply because we were told to and for no other reason at all.
We can see this all through the bible. Think back to Abraham for starters. Remember when God told him to sacrifice his son? Abraham didn't question God. He didn't ask "why would you have me do such a thing??? It's crazy!" Instead, he simply determined to obey God and leave the reasons up to Him. Or how about Joseph? When his brothers threw him in the pit and then sold him as a slave, he didn't question God about it either. He simply accepted his circumstances as being something that God had allowed and knew that one way or another God would work it out how He wanted to. He understood that his job wasn't to ask questions, but was to simply listen for the Lord and be obedient to Him in whatever God told him to do.
If you think about it, it's also very much like any good parent would teach their child. I know I taught mine this way. I wanted my children to obey me without questions because if there was ever an emergency, I didn't want to have to waste time explaining why I wanted them to do something. As a young mother, this was brought home to me one day when my 2 year old started to run out into the street. That's when I knew that I had to make my children obey me instantly, without questions. Answers and explanations could come later if necessary. And that's what God wants with us too.
I was blessed in that this part of my education actually began before I was hurt and was something that my boss who was discipling me helped me learn. The way she taught me was pretty shocking too but I think the shock value is what helped me learn so quickly. She asked me what I did when I got up each morning. I told her truthfully that I got up, got dressed, had my coffee and made some to take with me and left for work. That I usually prayed throughout the half hour it took me to drive to work. Then she asked me how I knew I was supposed to go to work that day. Well, because I had a job and if I didn't, I'd get fired! Duh! (or so I thought lol) She then asked me, "what if God didn't want you to go to work one day because He had something else for you do? How would you even know if you hadn't asked Him what He had for you to do that day?" That certainly got me to thinking! So her assignment was that for the rest of the month I was to ask the Lord when I woke up what He wanted me to do that day and I was to specifically ask Him if I was to go to work.
I think that was one of the hardest assignments I ever had! I was still learning at that time about all this "talking to God" and "hearing from Him", so I wasn't all that accustomed to it yet. Of course she was aware of that, and I know now that was part of the reason she gave me the assignment, so that I could become used to it and comfortable with it. Let me tell you though, that month was probably the most uncomfortable month of my life!
I questioned everything I "heard" from the Lord, especially in the morning! If He told me to go to work, I wondered if I wasn't just hearing that because that's what I expected to hear and so I wouldn't be "sure" it was from Him. Maybe it was just my imagination. If He told me to stay home, oh boy did I question that! How could He say such a thing??? But what if Catherine had planned in advance so she wouldn't need me that day but rather then telling me was expecting me to hear it from Him??? (and yes, she would do something like that LOL) It was just plain torture!!!
But oh boy did I learn! Each day when I'd get to work (on the days I went), we'd have coffee and before prayer time she'd ask me what the Lord had said and we'd discuss it. She'd never come right out and tell me if I'd "gotten it right" but sometimes I'd catch a smile of victory and I'd know lol Then during prayer time we'd pray about what He'd said that morning and about my continuing to hear His voice directing me. On the days when I didn't go, I'd call and let her know of course and that was SO HARD! I'd never, ever, missed work before unless I was so sick I literally couldn't stand up or couldn't leave the bathroom! When I called, we'd go through the same routine of discussing it and then praying. Sometimes though I knew I'd gotten it right because she would let me know that she really hadn't needed me that day as she'd already made other plans. Those days were fantastic confirmation and really helped me see that I really was hearing from Him.
Little by little I got to where I became comfortable with hearing from the Lord, until finally it just became second nature. I don't think I even realized what else she'd taught me for a long time, and that was to remember that my life was no longer my own--it belonged to God to do with as He pleased, not as I pleased. And that lesson was just as important as learning to hear from Him and become comfortable doing so.
During that time, she also made sure that I realized that God usually speaks to us through His Word and made sure I was studying every day too. Some people seem to think that you can be obedient to God and not study His Word or even read it regularly, but that's wrong in so many ways! To start with, He commands us to study His Word, so when we don't do that we're being rebellious. You cannot be obedient and rebellious at the same time. Basically what you're doing then is serving two masters: yourself, and God. And we know what Jesus said about that!
NIV Mt 6:24 — 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other...
I don't think that's ever truer then when the masters you're trying to serve are yourself and God. Basically because we spent our entire lives pleasing ourselves and serving ourselves right up till the moment we were saved. It's very hard to give that up, and yet, that's exactly what the Lord says we have to do. We must serve Him alone. This is really our first step toward obedience. Once we're saved we're to give up our lives to the One who purchased them with His Blood.
NIV 1 Co 6:19–20 — 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
For me, learning to give up my life completely to God is something that I'm still learning. The Lord still finds areas of my life or my heart that I've withheld from Him. Usually it's unintentional, things I simply haven't thought about, and I suspect that this is something we all struggle with throughout our lives once we're saved.
All of this though is related: giving our lives over to God so that we're simply servants (slaves) following orders; obedience and submission. It reminds me of Jesus Himself when He was here: because the entire time He was here, He emptied Himself to do the will of the Father.
NIV Heb 5:8 — 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
You know, I can remember being taught that the sign of a good leader was that they would never ask anyone to do anything that they themselves hadn't already done. And that's so very true of our Lord! He gave up His life so we could have life and now, once we're saved, He asks us to give up our lives for Him. Just as He submitted to the Father and was obedient (even to death on the cross!) so He asks us to submit ourselves and be obedient to Him.
NIV Jn 15:10 — 10 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.
There's so much more I want to explain, but I'm afraid this is already becoming a book so I'll stop for now. (you can all rejoice that I've stopped LOL but think just how much longer this would have been if I hadn't stopped myself from adding a bunch of scriptures for everything I talked about! )
None of us like to learn obedience. We didn't like it as children and we especially don't like it as adults, at least I didn't. Our natural abhorrence to it is actually a part of our sin nature. We want to be self sufficient, and we don't want anyone telling us what to do. Just exactly like Satan if you think about it. He didn't want to submit himself to God and be obedient. Yep, there's that other nasty word we generally hate to hear: submit. So this next portion will be about submitting ourselves to God and being obedient to Him.
This for me was a very hard lesson as it affects every single area of our lives. The Lord first showed me that in order to have His peace and in order to have His joy, that I had to submit to Him and be obedient. He would throw things at me that to me sounded totally absurd and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why He'd want me to do them! So of course I questioned Him about them. I'd even put off obeying Him because I'd tell myself that I couldn't be sure it was from Him because it was so crazy. What I was really doing was lying to myself, and making excuses because I didn't want to do it. I knew quite well that it was from Him.
That's when my next lesson came. He taught me then that understanding comes after obedience, not before. Totally opposite of what the world would have us believe, isn't it? Yet it's true. The way I look at it now is that God has us operate on a "need to know" basis and we don't need to know the why's until after we've done as we were told. Why? Because if we knew ahead of time, there would be no test of faith involved. Not knowing the why's means that we have to take a step of faith and do as we're told simply because we were told to and for no other reason at all.
We can see this all through the bible. Think back to Abraham for starters. Remember when God told him to sacrifice his son? Abraham didn't question God. He didn't ask "why would you have me do such a thing??? It's crazy!" Instead, he simply determined to obey God and leave the reasons up to Him. Or how about Joseph? When his brothers threw him in the pit and then sold him as a slave, he didn't question God about it either. He simply accepted his circumstances as being something that God had allowed and knew that one way or another God would work it out how He wanted to. He understood that his job wasn't to ask questions, but was to simply listen for the Lord and be obedient to Him in whatever God told him to do.
If you think about it, it's also very much like any good parent would teach their child. I know I taught mine this way. I wanted my children to obey me without questions because if there was ever an emergency, I didn't want to have to waste time explaining why I wanted them to do something. As a young mother, this was brought home to me one day when my 2 year old started to run out into the street. That's when I knew that I had to make my children obey me instantly, without questions. Answers and explanations could come later if necessary. And that's what God wants with us too.
I was blessed in that this part of my education actually began before I was hurt and was something that my boss who was discipling me helped me learn. The way she taught me was pretty shocking too but I think the shock value is what helped me learn so quickly. She asked me what I did when I got up each morning. I told her truthfully that I got up, got dressed, had my coffee and made some to take with me and left for work. That I usually prayed throughout the half hour it took me to drive to work. Then she asked me how I knew I was supposed to go to work that day. Well, because I had a job and if I didn't, I'd get fired! Duh! (or so I thought lol) She then asked me, "what if God didn't want you to go to work one day because He had something else for you do? How would you even know if you hadn't asked Him what He had for you to do that day?" That certainly got me to thinking! So her assignment was that for the rest of the month I was to ask the Lord when I woke up what He wanted me to do that day and I was to specifically ask Him if I was to go to work.
I think that was one of the hardest assignments I ever had! I was still learning at that time about all this "talking to God" and "hearing from Him", so I wasn't all that accustomed to it yet. Of course she was aware of that, and I know now that was part of the reason she gave me the assignment, so that I could become used to it and comfortable with it. Let me tell you though, that month was probably the most uncomfortable month of my life!
I questioned everything I "heard" from the Lord, especially in the morning! If He told me to go to work, I wondered if I wasn't just hearing that because that's what I expected to hear and so I wouldn't be "sure" it was from Him. Maybe it was just my imagination. If He told me to stay home, oh boy did I question that! How could He say such a thing??? But what if Catherine had planned in advance so she wouldn't need me that day but rather then telling me was expecting me to hear it from Him??? (and yes, she would do something like that LOL) It was just plain torture!!!
But oh boy did I learn! Each day when I'd get to work (on the days I went), we'd have coffee and before prayer time she'd ask me what the Lord had said and we'd discuss it. She'd never come right out and tell me if I'd "gotten it right" but sometimes I'd catch a smile of victory and I'd know lol Then during prayer time we'd pray about what He'd said that morning and about my continuing to hear His voice directing me. On the days when I didn't go, I'd call and let her know of course and that was SO HARD! I'd never, ever, missed work before unless I was so sick I literally couldn't stand up or couldn't leave the bathroom! When I called, we'd go through the same routine of discussing it and then praying. Sometimes though I knew I'd gotten it right because she would let me know that she really hadn't needed me that day as she'd already made other plans. Those days were fantastic confirmation and really helped me see that I really was hearing from Him.
Little by little I got to where I became comfortable with hearing from the Lord, until finally it just became second nature. I don't think I even realized what else she'd taught me for a long time, and that was to remember that my life was no longer my own--it belonged to God to do with as He pleased, not as I pleased. And that lesson was just as important as learning to hear from Him and become comfortable doing so.
During that time, she also made sure that I realized that God usually speaks to us through His Word and made sure I was studying every day too. Some people seem to think that you can be obedient to God and not study His Word or even read it regularly, but that's wrong in so many ways! To start with, He commands us to study His Word, so when we don't do that we're being rebellious. You cannot be obedient and rebellious at the same time. Basically what you're doing then is serving two masters: yourself, and God. And we know what Jesus said about that!
NIV Mt 6:24 — 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other...
I don't think that's ever truer then when the masters you're trying to serve are yourself and God. Basically because we spent our entire lives pleasing ourselves and serving ourselves right up till the moment we were saved. It's very hard to give that up, and yet, that's exactly what the Lord says we have to do. We must serve Him alone. This is really our first step toward obedience. Once we're saved we're to give up our lives to the One who purchased them with His Blood.
NIV 1 Co 6:19–20 — 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
For me, learning to give up my life completely to God is something that I'm still learning. The Lord still finds areas of my life or my heart that I've withheld from Him. Usually it's unintentional, things I simply haven't thought about, and I suspect that this is something we all struggle with throughout our lives once we're saved.
All of this though is related: giving our lives over to God so that we're simply servants (slaves) following orders; obedience and submission. It reminds me of Jesus Himself when He was here: because the entire time He was here, He emptied Himself to do the will of the Father.
NIV Heb 5:8 — 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
You know, I can remember being taught that the sign of a good leader was that they would never ask anyone to do anything that they themselves hadn't already done. And that's so very true of our Lord! He gave up His life so we could have life and now, once we're saved, He asks us to give up our lives for Him. Just as He submitted to the Father and was obedient (even to death on the cross!) so He asks us to submit ourselves and be obedient to Him.
NIV Jn 15:10 — 10 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.
There's so much more I want to explain, but I'm afraid this is already becoming a book so I'll stop for now. (you can all rejoice that I've stopped LOL but think just how much longer this would have been if I hadn't stopped myself from adding a bunch of scriptures for everything I talked about! )
