Today I'd like to talk about the last two devotionals I posted here. Let's look at them closely because they show again why it's so important for us to bring our thoughts and emotions under our control and that God expects us to do so. I'm hoping that by posting these tid bits here that you all will know that this whole bringing every thought into captivity isn't just something I made up, or that I'm the only one "preaching" it. (although I'll admit that I didn't know others did until I read them myself; but discovering that all the great teachers of old as well as those we hold in high regard now, all preach it, was a great confirmation to me.)
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
The above verse and bit of the devotional is telling us what we've said before. God is not going to magically turn you into something that you're not. Before we were saved, we formed habits and formed our characters by the things we thought about. It's a lot like a computer and that current saying, "If you input garbage, you're going to output garbage." Or as the Bible says:
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
When we are born again, God gives us a wonderful new nature. I remember the moment I was born again...I remember thinking that I felt "brand new" and so I was. It's like getting a fresh start. God wipes away all your past and says, "Ok, now you can start over and make something new that's good". So along with our eternal salvation, God gives us the chance to start over fresh and make our lives what they should be instead of what they were.
Like any good parent, He doesn't do the work for us though. Instead, He gives us the tools to use and the directions on how to use them. (they're all found in His Word, the Bible) Again, like a good parent, when He sees that we are not doing what He asks of us, then He disciplines us and He allows us to experience the consequences of our actions (or more likely, our"inaction" to use the tools He's given us.)
Over and over and over we are told to "abide" in Jesus, to "remain" in Him, to "hold to" His teachings. What does that mean? All of these are talking about our relationship with Him once we're saved. We need to nurture that relationship and grow it, and this is where so many of us fall down. Jesus is to be the focus of our lives, not something boxed away and pulled out when we think we need Him. Everything we think, do, and say should be focused on Him. There is only one way we can do that, and that's through constantly being in communion with Him.
Now please tell me how, if we are constantly in communion with Him, we can have thoughts of worry, doubt, fear, depression, etc? We can't! So it's really easy to see how much work we have to do on our relationship with Him, but how much of those kinds of thoughts and emotions we have to deal with on a day to day basis.
Now don't start to get down on yourself if you find your relationship with Him needs a lot of work. We've all been in that place at one time or another--every one of the apostles has been in that place at one time. This is where we learn to work out our salvation.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
No, that does not mean that we work "for" our salvation, but rather that we work as partners with God to change our lives into the kind of godly life He intended for us to have. God enables us to do this and He works with us to do it, but He will not do it for us. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary says, "Divine enablement and human responsibility are involved in doing God's work in us". It is our responsibility to obey God and use the tools He gives us. He enables us to do it, and then gives those tools divine power to change us and help us. But we first must obey and use them.
I'm going to end this here and finish this in my next post so that those who don't want to do it all at once will have a place to stop so they can absorb what's been said so far.
Read the whole study here
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Quote:
| The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by the Atonement, then I have to construct with patience the way of thinking that is exactly in accordance with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus, I have to do it myself; I have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. “Abide in Me”— in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. It is not a bandbox life. |
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
When we are born again, God gives us a wonderful new nature. I remember the moment I was born again...I remember thinking that I felt "brand new" and so I was. It's like getting a fresh start. God wipes away all your past and says, "Ok, now you can start over and make something new that's good". So along with our eternal salvation, God gives us the chance to start over fresh and make our lives what they should be instead of what they were.
Like any good parent, He doesn't do the work for us though. Instead, He gives us the tools to use and the directions on how to use them. (they're all found in His Word, the Bible) Again, like a good parent, when He sees that we are not doing what He asks of us, then He disciplines us and He allows us to experience the consequences of our actions (or more likely, our"inaction" to use the tools He's given us.)
Over and over and over we are told to "abide" in Jesus, to "remain" in Him, to "hold to" His teachings. What does that mean? All of these are talking about our relationship with Him once we're saved. We need to nurture that relationship and grow it, and this is where so many of us fall down. Jesus is to be the focus of our lives, not something boxed away and pulled out when we think we need Him. Everything we think, do, and say should be focused on Him. There is only one way we can do that, and that's through constantly being in communion with Him.
Now please tell me how, if we are constantly in communion with Him, we can have thoughts of worry, doubt, fear, depression, etc? We can't! So it's really easy to see how much work we have to do on our relationship with Him, but how much of those kinds of thoughts and emotions we have to deal with on a day to day basis.
Now don't start to get down on yourself if you find your relationship with Him needs a lot of work. We've all been in that place at one time or another--every one of the apostles has been in that place at one time. This is where we learn to work out our salvation.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
No, that does not mean that we work "for" our salvation, but rather that we work as partners with God to change our lives into the kind of godly life He intended for us to have. God enables us to do this and He works with us to do it, but He will not do it for us. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary says, "Divine enablement and human responsibility are involved in doing God's work in us". It is our responsibility to obey God and use the tools He gives us. He enables us to do it, and then gives those tools divine power to change us and help us. But we first must obey and use them.
I'm going to end this here and finish this in my next post so that those who don't want to do it all at once will have a place to stop so they can absorb what's been said so far.
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