We’ve been studying Job and wanted to share what we've learned in Job 37 today with you. If you recall, Job had had some really awful things happen to him suddenly. Quite literally, his whole life fell apart. His friends come to comfort him and do a terrible job and Job finds himself having to defend himself to them as they've decided that the only possible reason for these things to have happened is if Job had been knowingly sinning, (which he hadn't) and God was judging Him. Then a bystander named Elihu joins in. Needless to say, Job was feeling pretty frustrated by then. Here, Elihu is at the end of his speech. A mighty storm has begun and Elihu has been describing how he views God in the storm to the listeners.
One of the main points of the scriptures describing the storm is to show that God is sovereign, that nothing happens by chance, because God is in control. While Elihu is using the weather and seasons to illustrate this, it's true about everything that happens in our lives. No, that doesn't mean that God causes every bad thing that happens to us, but it does mean that He at least allows it to happen, and when He does, it's always for His glory and our good. It is never to harm us. Verse 7 especially points out that people instinctively know that the weather is God's Work. Interestingly, even the unbelieving world calls the weather, "acts of God" showing how true this is.
The problem is that although Job was upright and blameless when the tragedies struck, as time went on, and he dwelled on what had happened to him and all he'd lost, he became more and more negative. Before long, it seemed like everything he saw was negative and bad, quite the reverse of the way he'd been before. This is an example of another thing the Lord tells us in His Word. That when we dwell on negative things, then we'll start seeing the negative in everyone and everything else around us, but if we dwell on the Truth, or on good things, then we'll see the good in everyone and everything around us. We see the Truth of this all the time in ourselves or others when we get down or depressed about something.
In verses 11-13 we are told that sometimes God does send storms (trials) into our lives as discipline, but mainly they're sent because of His love and mercy. Although Job didn't have this knowledge yet, we know that even God's discipline is due to His love and is something we should cherish, as He only disciplines His children, so if in fact that's the cause of our trial, it's a sure sign that we're saved and being made more like Jesus all the time!
Starting in verse 14, Elihu asks Job to "listen to this." He's painted a picture of a storm raging outside as they talk, and he's obviously so totally overwhelmed by the wonder and awe of seeing God's power and majesty in it, that he wants Job to see God's wonders in it too (as well as us). He then asks, can Job explain them or control the clouds or lightening? Of course the answer is no; only God can.
Then Elihu makes his other point in verse 20: if Job can't explain it or control it, then how in the world can he think that he's capable of preparing a court case to defend himself before God! If a man were to try to do so, surely they'd wind up under God's judgment for being so presumptuous! Because if we can't comprehend the things of God that we can actually see, like the weather, then how can we possibly comprehend things we can't see? (like why something is happening to us) Elihu was sure that God wasn't trying to oppress or oppose Job, even thought that's how Job had been seeing it all this time (verse 23)
So even though Elihu had gotten pretty full of pride in himself earlier and had gotten some things wrong, most of what he had to say to Job were things that Job really needed to hear and remember. They're things we all need to hear and remember.
Things like, God is just and merciful, and good. That's what Job had forgotten. The Holy Spirit kept slipping it in once in awhile to try and remind Him, but Job kept ignoring it and instead dwelling on the bad things that had happened to him. He was looking for bad, and therefore that's exactly what he found. Now Elihu comes along and finally gets him to see the good in God again; reminds him of God's love and mercy and that He's not out to get us, but instead wants to help us. Exactly the opposite of what Job's 3 friends had been saying, because they too had been focusing on the negative since they were so sure that Job was being judged as a sinner.
Elihu was quite right in how he viewed Job's problem by this point. He was saying that Job's actions may have been right, that he wasn't the sinner that his friends kept saying he was, but that his attitude was wrong. Because he got involved defending himself as not being a sinner, he wound up pretty much considering himself a "saint", as he continued to explain to his friends how good he'd been all his life. He conveniently refused to think of all the times he'd failed, even if they were small failures. So, listening and then replying to his 3 friends, Job's attitude slowly but surely became a know it all attitude; an attitude of defiant self righteousness, saying he was right and everyone else, including God, was wrong.
Whenever we start thinking we're right and everyone else is wrong, it should be a red flag warning us to look a little deeper into our hearts with the Lord's help. For those are often times we're deceiving ourselves and refusing to look at things honestly.
This is why Elihu's last remark was that Job should fear God (or revere Him, depending on the translation). In order to fear or revere God, we must first do away with our own self righteousness and conceit or pride; or thinking of our self as wise in heart, because to fear God we have to first recognize that we're very much inferior to Him. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Once we or Job realize that, then we also can realize that God's ways are beyond our understanding, because He is God. If we could understand Him and His ways, then He'd be no wiser then we are and wouldn't be God.
However, Elihu went further then that. He insisted that even though God's ways were beyond our understanding, that we shouldn't question or challenge Him or His ways. First, because we already know that God is good, loving, and full of mercy and compassion, therefore although we may not understand what's happening or why, we can be sure it's because of those things and not worry about it. Secondly, the very act of challenging or questioning them was the same thing as saying that we don't believe that God is good, loving, righteous, merciful and full of compassion. We're calling Him a liar! And that's not a good place to be! Besides all of that, Elihu insisted that tragedies and trials served to remove pride and protect people from even worse problems. So he reminds Job to worship God, instead of challenging Him. That's very, very good advice for us as well!
We need to remember that complaining is a sin and it's one that God hates. Actually, I think most of us do remember that part. The part we tend to forget is that when we complain about the weather, or about how someone is treating us, our physical illness or pain, or anything else at all, that we're actually complaining about how God is treating us. We're saying we don't like or appreciate what He's allowing to go on in our lives, that we think his judgment is a bit off and that he's made a mistake somewhere down the line, because surely we don't deserve this! At times like this, we generally start to feel angry and hateful toward whatever it is that's happening. We fight it, because we don't think it should be happening; we think it's wrong. We think God is wrong to allow it. That's exactly what Job did too and we're seeing where it's gotten him and just how wrong he was to do this. So what is our attitude to be? We're told it's to be the same as our Lord's was, which is to say to entrust ourselves to God who judges justly, knowing that good will come from whatever we're going through. He didn't retaliate or try to stop his torture or impending death, he allowed it all to happen, leaving it in God's hands. This is what Job forgot as he dwelled on the bad things that had happened to him. And that was the start of his downhill slide, allowing those kind of thoughts to stay in his mind instead of taking them captive (stopping them) and replacing them with the Truth. If he'd done that at the start, he never would have gotten to this point or gone through the emotional pain he put himself through because of it. This too is one of our biggest downfalls today. We don't take God's Word seriously and do what it says, even though we know it's for our own good!
Some relevant scriptures:
Philippians 2:3-5; 1 Peter 2:23; Ephesians 4:31–5:2; John 3:27; Exodus 16:8; 2 Corinthians 10:5 & Philippians 4:8
Bible Studies, Friends and Fellowship
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
When you don't know what to pray
I’ve had a number of people ask me what to do when they don’t know what to pray. First, many people don’t seem to understand what prayer is. It’s really just talking to the Lord. I usually tell people to talk to Him the same way they’d talk to anyone else they love. You don’t need to use “thee’s and thou’s” when you pray, in fact, I’m sure the Lord would prefer you didn’t – unless of course that’s how you normally talk. What He wants is to hear what’s in our hearts.
Some people are also in the habit of just reading prayers others have written. While there’s nothing wrong with that at times, it’s not what the Lord really wants to hear. Think, how would you feel if your loved one always read something they’d written out beforehand or that someone else had written to you, every time they came to talk to you? It would sure hurt my feelings if my kids did something like that, because it would show me that they were either afraid to talk to me, or didn’t care enough about me to want to talk to me and tell me what was going on in their lives and in their hearts. So forget about formulas and everything else and just talk to the Lord. Tell Him what’s going on with you; how you feel, what you think about things. Ask Him questions (and be sure to pay attention when you read the bible, because He will answer your questions LOL)
There is one thing that many people do like to do when they pray, especially as they come to know God’s Word better and better, and that’s to pray His Word back to Him. You can pray just about any scripture. Just change the “you's” to "me" and so forth. It often happens automatically, as the person is studying His Word with Him… they’ll simply find themselves turning the verse into a prayer. Or they may read the verse and find that the reading of it starts a prayer. Like this verse:
Psalm 27:8 —My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. *
often when I read that I find myself continuing and telling the Lord, “O Lord, I love to seek You and I long for You every day” and so forth. For those unsure of where to begin as far as praying scriptures go, here’s a few of my favorites:
Psalm 84:1–2 —How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! *My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. *
Psalm 63:1–8 —O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. *I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. *Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. *I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. *My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. *On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. *Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. *My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. *
Psalm 42:1–8 —As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. *My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? *My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” *These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. *Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and *my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. *Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. *By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. *
Isaiah 26:8–9 —Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. *My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. *
Psalm 18:35 —You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. *
Psalm 51:1–17 —Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. *Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. *For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. *Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. *Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. *Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. *Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. *Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. *Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. *Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. *Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. *Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. *Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. *Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. *O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. *You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. *The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. *
Psalm 19:12–14 —Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. *Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. *May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. *
Psalm 25:4–5 —Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; *guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. *
Psalm 103:1–13 —Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. *Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— *who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, *who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, *who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. *The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. *He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: *The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. *He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; *he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. *For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; *as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. *As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; *
Psalm 86:11–12 —Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. *I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. *
Make Paul's prayers your own:
Philippians 1:9–11 —And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, *so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, *filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. *
Ephesians 1:17–21 —I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. *I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, *and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, *which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, *far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. *
Colossians 1:9–14 —For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. *And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, *being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully *giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. *For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, *in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. *
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 —May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. *The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. *
2 Thessalonians 3:16 —Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. *
2 Thessalonians 3:5 —May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. *
Let's say you come to a verse like this one:
Psalm 147:11 —the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. *
You could pray it as it is and then add, "Lord teach me to fear You and to put my hope in Your unfailing love." Or: Ephesians 4:1–2 —As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. *Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. * You can change it to a prayer by praying, "Lord, help me (or "I want to") to be completely humble, gentle, and patient and to bear with others in love. Help me to live a life worthy of your calling."
Come, let us praise the Lord and glorify Him together!
The psalm I read this morning was Psalm 34 and I wanted to share it with you guys:
Psalm 34:1–3 — I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
To "extol" means to "praise highly" and this psalm says they will do that all the time and that they'll boast in the Lord too. Boasting in the Lord is what we do when we share a praise report and tell all that the Lord has done for us lately or what He's done at an earlier time.
He says that the afflicted will hear him and rejoice though. Why would they rejoice? First, someone who is afflicted, is a person who is suffering for some reason. It might be due to circumstances or due to physical pain or whatever. So why would they rejoice when they hear him praising the Lord and boasting about Him?
Well, remember my posts where I shared how the Lord had helped us pay our bills and all the outright miracles He performed to save my husbands life and the other awesome things He's done for us since? Anyone who knows and loves the Lord, should read that and get excited about what the Lord had done for me, because they'd know that if the Lord did those things for me, He could and would do something just as wonderful for them. So here, David is talking about a person who has a close relationship with the Lord themselves even though they're suffering. They're not wallowing in self pity, although they may get down at times. They hear him rejoicing and praising and boasting in the Lord and it reminds them that they have no reason to be downcast, that no matter what, the Lord is in control and they have nothing to fear or worry about. So by him praising God, he also lifts up other believers who are suffering! Isn't that awesome?
Then David tells them, "Come on, glorify the Lord with me!" "Let's exalt His Name together!" There's power in praise when we praise the Lord! Did you know that? When we're down and feeling sorry for ourselves, or when we're worried or fearful or anxious, (obviously we should be taking our thoughts captive then too, but doing so doesn't always bring back the joy of the Lord for us right away) if we begin to honestly praise the Lord for all He's done for us, and begin bragging about Him and how great He is, it lifts our souls up because it changes our focus from ourselves to God and once our focus is on Him, we begin to be filled with His joy! (and as we know, the Joy of the Lord is our strength!)
Psalm 34:4–7 — I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
David continues to extol the Lord telling us that he sought the Lord and the Lord what? The Lord answered him. I know, you're probably thinking, "yeah, so what?" Have you heard of many people of other religions who's God hears their prayers and answers them? I haven't! We are so very privileged! God isn't under any obligation to us and He certainly doesn't have to listen to us much less answer us, but He does!
Then David says that God delivered him from all his fears. David had been fearful that Saul was going to kill him and he panicked and ran away. Then he pulled himself together and remembered the Truth about God and prayed asking for His help and God did indeed deliver him from certain death. We don't generally have to ask God to deliver us from something like that, instead we tend to ask for other types of things, and yet, the Lord always answers us. Depending on our request, His answer might be yes, no, maybe, or later, but answer He does!
David had a legitimate reason to be afraid. He knew without a doubt that Saul was trying to kill him (again) and it looked like he would succeed this time. Like I said, most of the time when we pray about a fear it's not that kind of one. Yet the Lord still answers us, because He loves us. That's why David says that when we look to the Lord for our answers, we're never put to shame because He will always answer us. Better then that though, David says that all who look to the Lord are radiant!
Have you ever been told you're radiant? Maybe not in those exact words, but those of us who love the Lord really do have a radiance about us! I remember the first couple of years after I was saved, when I'd run into people I hadn't seen in awhile, they almost always remarked that there was something different about me...and would define it saying that I "glowed" with happiness or joy. How could I not glow with joy??? I was saved!!!!! If God never did another thing ever for me, I'd glow with that joy forever!
I just love how David describes himself as "this poor man" it reminds me so much of myself and really of all of us. David would have never guessed at that point in his life that people would look up to him as one of the great saints of God. So basically he was saying, "look, I'm a nobody and God did this for me...if He did it for me, then obviously He will do it for you too" and isn't that just how we feel when we tell about something great the Lord did for us?
Lastly David affirms that the Angel of the Lord, who we know as Jesus, encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Wow! Encamps is a military term for making a camp around something/someone to protect them and Jesus our Savior does that for us!
Psalm 34:8–10 — Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Now David figures that some folks aren't going to believe him that God is so good that He would do all this for us, so he basically is telling them, "give Him a try and you'll find out just how good He is." He explains that those who take refuge in the Lord are blessed. The term translated "refuge" means to flee to for protection, or have hope in, or to trust in. So all who put their hope, their trust, in the Lord instead of themselves, or the world or things and who go to Him when they're in trouble instead of trying to fix it themselves or getting some other person to do so are blessed-happy. They're happy because the Lord always takes care of His own!
David tells everyone that they should fear the Lord, meaning that they should have a reverential awe of the Lord which causes them to obey Him. Those who really do fear Him will lack nothing, just like Jesus told us, because the Lord really will supply all their needs. That doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us...they obviously do since David is boasting about how God got him out of a very bad circumstance; it just means that the Lord will help us and deliver us from our problems IF we will trust Him and obey Him. (just like that great hymn..."Trust and Obey" and we will have all we need! Wait a minute...where did "obey" come into this? Well for confirmation just look at the next lines:
Psalm 34:11–16 — Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
See how David explains that we need to obey the Lord, not just say we love Him and trust Him? It's like what Peter, Paul, James, and Jesus, says too, we need to really study His Word so it can dwell in us richly, which means that we look at it intently and then apply it to our lives so that we are doers of the Word and not just hearers of it. Only then can we say we have the fear of the Lord.
David assures us though that for those who do that, the Lord watches over them constantly and He is always listening to them and answering them. He assures us that one day all who are evil will be gone and thee won't even be a memory of them!
Psalm 34:17–22 — The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
Again David agrees that we will have many problems here, but it's ok because the Lord will deliver us. Not only that but the worse the problem is, the closer the Lord will be to us and He will always rescue us and protect us. I know...if He's protecting us, then why would we need rescuing? Well David says He protects all our bones so they won't be broken. This is also a prophecy about our Lord as you know, but here David is letting us know something that Paul repeats later, that although we may be hard pressed at times, we will never be broken or completely crushed. We may fall down, but He will always help us back up. That's one of my favorite scriptures and I like to read it in the different versions so I can get the full meaning of it:
NIV | 2 Corinthians 4:8–— We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
ESV | 2 Co 4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
KJV 1900 | 2 Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
NASB95 | 2 Co 4:8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
NLT | 2 Co 4:8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
So we will never be destroyed because God Himself is protecting us, listening to us, and He will deliver and rescue us. He always puts a limit on our trials, there's always an end to them and there's always a reason for them. Because He's a good God, a loving God, and a just and righteous God, we can trust Him and know that any trial we are going through will turn out both for His glory and our good because those two things are interconnected the moment we're saved! He assures us through David that not one of us will ever be condemned or face judgment because we have put our trust and faith in Him! What exactly does that mean? It means that those of us who are saved never have to worry about losing our salvation. There is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus! Nothing and no one, not even ourselves, can separate us from Him!
Now if all that doesn't put a glow on your face, I don't know what will! Come, let us praise the Lord and glorify Him together!
Psalm 34:1–3 — I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
To "extol" means to "praise highly" and this psalm says they will do that all the time and that they'll boast in the Lord too. Boasting in the Lord is what we do when we share a praise report and tell all that the Lord has done for us lately or what He's done at an earlier time.
He says that the afflicted will hear him and rejoice though. Why would they rejoice? First, someone who is afflicted, is a person who is suffering for some reason. It might be due to circumstances or due to physical pain or whatever. So why would they rejoice when they hear him praising the Lord and boasting about Him?
Well, remember my posts where I shared how the Lord had helped us pay our bills and all the outright miracles He performed to save my husbands life and the other awesome things He's done for us since? Anyone who knows and loves the Lord, should read that and get excited about what the Lord had done for me, because they'd know that if the Lord did those things for me, He could and would do something just as wonderful for them. So here, David is talking about a person who has a close relationship with the Lord themselves even though they're suffering. They're not wallowing in self pity, although they may get down at times. They hear him rejoicing and praising and boasting in the Lord and it reminds them that they have no reason to be downcast, that no matter what, the Lord is in control and they have nothing to fear or worry about. So by him praising God, he also lifts up other believers who are suffering! Isn't that awesome?
Then David tells them, "Come on, glorify the Lord with me!" "Let's exalt His Name together!" There's power in praise when we praise the Lord! Did you know that? When we're down and feeling sorry for ourselves, or when we're worried or fearful or anxious, (obviously we should be taking our thoughts captive then too, but doing so doesn't always bring back the joy of the Lord for us right away) if we begin to honestly praise the Lord for all He's done for us, and begin bragging about Him and how great He is, it lifts our souls up because it changes our focus from ourselves to God and once our focus is on Him, we begin to be filled with His joy! (and as we know, the Joy of the Lord is our strength!)
Psalm 34:4–7 — I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
David continues to extol the Lord telling us that he sought the Lord and the Lord what? The Lord answered him. I know, you're probably thinking, "yeah, so what?" Have you heard of many people of other religions who's God hears their prayers and answers them? I haven't! We are so very privileged! God isn't under any obligation to us and He certainly doesn't have to listen to us much less answer us, but He does!
Then David says that God delivered him from all his fears. David had been fearful that Saul was going to kill him and he panicked and ran away. Then he pulled himself together and remembered the Truth about God and prayed asking for His help and God did indeed deliver him from certain death. We don't generally have to ask God to deliver us from something like that, instead we tend to ask for other types of things, and yet, the Lord always answers us. Depending on our request, His answer might be yes, no, maybe, or later, but answer He does!
David had a legitimate reason to be afraid. He knew without a doubt that Saul was trying to kill him (again) and it looked like he would succeed this time. Like I said, most of the time when we pray about a fear it's not that kind of one. Yet the Lord still answers us, because He loves us. That's why David says that when we look to the Lord for our answers, we're never put to shame because He will always answer us. Better then that though, David says that all who look to the Lord are radiant!
Have you ever been told you're radiant? Maybe not in those exact words, but those of us who love the Lord really do have a radiance about us! I remember the first couple of years after I was saved, when I'd run into people I hadn't seen in awhile, they almost always remarked that there was something different about me...and would define it saying that I "glowed" with happiness or joy. How could I not glow with joy??? I was saved!!!!! If God never did another thing ever for me, I'd glow with that joy forever!
I just love how David describes himself as "this poor man" it reminds me so much of myself and really of all of us. David would have never guessed at that point in his life that people would look up to him as one of the great saints of God. So basically he was saying, "look, I'm a nobody and God did this for me...if He did it for me, then obviously He will do it for you too" and isn't that just how we feel when we tell about something great the Lord did for us?
Lastly David affirms that the Angel of the Lord, who we know as Jesus, encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Wow! Encamps is a military term for making a camp around something/someone to protect them and Jesus our Savior does that for us!
Psalm 34:8–10 — Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Now David figures that some folks aren't going to believe him that God is so good that He would do all this for us, so he basically is telling them, "give Him a try and you'll find out just how good He is." He explains that those who take refuge in the Lord are blessed. The term translated "refuge" means to flee to for protection, or have hope in, or to trust in. So all who put their hope, their trust, in the Lord instead of themselves, or the world or things and who go to Him when they're in trouble instead of trying to fix it themselves or getting some other person to do so are blessed-happy. They're happy because the Lord always takes care of His own!
David tells everyone that they should fear the Lord, meaning that they should have a reverential awe of the Lord which causes them to obey Him. Those who really do fear Him will lack nothing, just like Jesus told us, because the Lord really will supply all their needs. That doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us...they obviously do since David is boasting about how God got him out of a very bad circumstance; it just means that the Lord will help us and deliver us from our problems IF we will trust Him and obey Him. (just like that great hymn..."Trust and Obey" and we will have all we need! Wait a minute...where did "obey" come into this? Well for confirmation just look at the next lines:
Psalm 34:11–16 — Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
See how David explains that we need to obey the Lord, not just say we love Him and trust Him? It's like what Peter, Paul, James, and Jesus, says too, we need to really study His Word so it can dwell in us richly, which means that we look at it intently and then apply it to our lives so that we are doers of the Word and not just hearers of it. Only then can we say we have the fear of the Lord.
David assures us though that for those who do that, the Lord watches over them constantly and He is always listening to them and answering them. He assures us that one day all who are evil will be gone and thee won't even be a memory of them!
Psalm 34:17–22 — The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
Again David agrees that we will have many problems here, but it's ok because the Lord will deliver us. Not only that but the worse the problem is, the closer the Lord will be to us and He will always rescue us and protect us. I know...if He's protecting us, then why would we need rescuing? Well David says He protects all our bones so they won't be broken. This is also a prophecy about our Lord as you know, but here David is letting us know something that Paul repeats later, that although we may be hard pressed at times, we will never be broken or completely crushed. We may fall down, but He will always help us back up. That's one of my favorite scriptures and I like to read it in the different versions so I can get the full meaning of it:
NIV | 2 Corinthians 4:8–— We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
ESV | 2 Co 4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
KJV 1900 | 2 Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
NASB95 | 2 Co 4:8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
NLT | 2 Co 4:8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
So we will never be destroyed because God Himself is protecting us, listening to us, and He will deliver and rescue us. He always puts a limit on our trials, there's always an end to them and there's always a reason for them. Because He's a good God, a loving God, and a just and righteous God, we can trust Him and know that any trial we are going through will turn out both for His glory and our good because those two things are interconnected the moment we're saved! He assures us through David that not one of us will ever be condemned or face judgment because we have put our trust and faith in Him! What exactly does that mean? It means that those of us who are saved never have to worry about losing our salvation. There is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus! Nothing and no one, not even ourselves, can separate us from Him!
Now if all that doesn't put a glow on your face, I don't know what will! Come, let us praise the Lord and glorify Him together!
Monday, March 30, 2015
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Part 2 of: What are your false gods, your idols?
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Psalm 106:13–14 —But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. *In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. *
To me, the above two verses sum up what we read over and over again in the Old Testament regarding how the behavior of the Jew's toward God. Over and over again He would rescue them and set them up to have a great life, bu as soon as a little problem came up, they'd totally forget about Him and instead turn to the false God's for help and comfort. Or, sometimes it was because of the abundant life He gave them. They'd be enjoying it, and after awhile, would forget why they had such a good life, and because of greed would decide they wanted yet more or something different, and again would turn to their false gods in order to get it.
I used to read those stories and wonder how in the world anyone could do the things they did...how anyone could forget the wonderful things God had done for them and try to get something from a false god instead. It wasn't until I realized that the stories weren't just the history of the Jew's but were also a history of my own life that I began to understand how they could do such a thing. I began to understand because I realized that I'd done exactly the same things they had! My false gods had different names then theirs did, but I went running to them for the same reasons.
These verses give us a big clue as to "why" we run to our false gods and about the state of our hearts when we're most tempted to run to idols. Notice that it often happens in the desert, wasteland, or wilderness. It's generally not when life is going smoothly, but when we're struggling to get through something and have been struggling for awhile. We're not talking about a day trip into the desert as a tourist, but rather an unwanted detour that's happened and we feel unable to find our way back out. These words describe a large desolate, uninhabited place with little or nothing available for sustenance. They're usually described as lonely places with little or no water. It's when we're in a place like this that we'll be "craving" relief.
It's when we're feeling lonely, or alone. We don't have to really be alone to feel that way. We may be surrounded by friends and family and yet still feel alone. It can be because we feel no one understands us for whatever reason. Ironically, it could be because no one else in our circle knows the Lord, and so we feel "alone". There are probably as many reasons for feeling alone as there are people, but regardless of the reason, it's a time when we feel cut off from others.
We've often hear Christians talk about "the desert experience" meaning that they're going through a time when the Lord seems distant or not there at all, even though they know He really is. Because of that, again, they feel lonely, as though they've been abandoned by God. It feels like He doesn't hear our prayers much less answer them when this happens, and this can really shake us up, especially if we aren't familiar with His Word which tells us that He really is there, does hear our prayers, He does love us and that He always will.
One of the reasons Christian's call that kind of experience a desert experience is because there's a lack of water and food in the desert, and those are synonyms for God's Word. So being in a dry place, a desert, would also be a time when we feel that we're not being fed from His Word. Of course we can and often do put ourselves in a desert and simply refuse to eat what's offered.
It's when we feel that we're unable to survive on our own or when our survival is threatened. By that I don't mean that our lives are necessarily threatened, though that too would be a reason, but when we think our way of life is threatened. When something we hold dear is being threatened. It could be the loss or possible loss of our home, or our job, or an important relationship. (like a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, child, parent, etc) It could be having to decide between buying medication or food or between those and paying the bills. It could be the loss or threatened loss of a dream, such as a desire to send our children to college or to buy a better house, or move to a better neighborhood. It could be chronic sickness or pain that causes us to feel this way.
Looking at all of that, it's pretty easy to see that the desert is a place where we have very strong feelings of need and for relief. These are the times when we're most likely to turn to our idols for that relief, just as the Jew's did. We may turn to our own wisdom and intellect, to try and figure out how to solve the situation and get what we want, instead of praying and seeking the Lord about it. This was one of Hezekiah's mistakes when he got sick and became terminally ill. Instead of turning to the Lord, he immediately turned to doctors. Now the Lord doesn't have a problem with us going to doctors and makes that clear in His Word. But He does have a problem with us putting all our trust in them instead of in Him. Especially in our country today, most of us rarely even consider going to the Lord about it when we don't feel well. We just call the doctor, get our prescription, take it and get better. (just like Hezekiah tried to do) Or we may do the opposite and simply try and tough it out, perhaps using home or over the counter remedies, hoping we'll eventually get better on our own. I know that's what I used to do. Like I said, God doesn't mind us going to doctors or taking medicine, but He wants us to recognize that He's in control and that He's the one we should turn to first and continuously all through the experience.
Turning to the idol of self is something we do all to frequently. We also frequently make others into idols. Likely candidates are those people who are most important to us. Another person becomes an idol, a false god, when they become the ultimate thing in our lives. For example when a woman feels as though her life would be over if her boyfriend left her, or if she didn't get a boyfriend (even an idea or ideal can become an idol!) No one but God should hold that kind of power over us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be hurt or feel badly over a loss like that, but to feel that strongly about it shows that we've given God's place to a human being. We need to remember that God isn't just "A God" or even "the God", He's "my God" to each of us and wants to be first in our lives.
When our pain, hurt, or desire is so strong it will always cause us to run somewhere - either to God or to our idol. Our idol could be illegal drugs, prescribed drugs, alcohol, work, overeating, TV, a particular person like a boyfriend/girlfriend, a spouse, our children, or even a pet. These days it could even be a counselor or doctor, or self help books, or even just any books if reading is our refuge. An idol is anything we run to and or cling to that we think will dull or take away our pain, hurt, confusion, anxiety or fear. It's whatever we run to to make us feel better, even if it's only for a an hour or two. It's where we go when we're feeling desperate. (although we certainly don't have to physically "go" anywhere to find many of our idols)
It was when I finally understood this that I really realized why these things were idols and false gods. The Lord wants to be our one and only help; our only refuge in the storm; the only one we go to when we're desperate. The first one we think of. Again Hezekiah comes to mind, this time because he did what was right. When Israel was under siege and about to fall, the commander of the enemy army sent him a letter telling him to surrender or else. Hezekiah immediately took the letter to the temple, laid it before the Lord and cried "Help!" And of course the Lord came through for them. Jesus wants us to come to Him when we're weary and burdened, because He knows that He's the only one who can really help us. He desperately wants to gather us under His wings like a hen does her chicks, and keep us safe, but we keep running off to our false gods instead. Jesus is the one who truly loves us and has nothing but good intentions toward us. He calls us His bride, which is why when we go running off to our false gods, it's spiritual adultery. Thankfully He shows us how to identify our false gods and when we're most likely to run to them, so with His help, we can stop and remember to run to Him instead.
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Psalm 106:13–14 —But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. *In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. *
To me, the above two verses sum up what we read over and over again in the Old Testament regarding how the behavior of the Jew's toward God. Over and over again He would rescue them and set them up to have a great life, bu as soon as a little problem came up, they'd totally forget about Him and instead turn to the false God's for help and comfort. Or, sometimes it was because of the abundant life He gave them. They'd be enjoying it, and after awhile, would forget why they had such a good life, and because of greed would decide they wanted yet more or something different, and again would turn to their false gods in order to get it.
I used to read those stories and wonder how in the world anyone could do the things they did...how anyone could forget the wonderful things God had done for them and try to get something from a false god instead. It wasn't until I realized that the stories weren't just the history of the Jew's but were also a history of my own life that I began to understand how they could do such a thing. I began to understand because I realized that I'd done exactly the same things they had! My false gods had different names then theirs did, but I went running to them for the same reasons.
These verses give us a big clue as to "why" we run to our false gods and about the state of our hearts when we're most tempted to run to idols. Notice that it often happens in the desert, wasteland, or wilderness. It's generally not when life is going smoothly, but when we're struggling to get through something and have been struggling for awhile. We're not talking about a day trip into the desert as a tourist, but rather an unwanted detour that's happened and we feel unable to find our way back out. These words describe a large desolate, uninhabited place with little or nothing available for sustenance. They're usually described as lonely places with little or no water. It's when we're in a place like this that we'll be "craving" relief.
It's when we're feeling lonely, or alone. We don't have to really be alone to feel that way. We may be surrounded by friends and family and yet still feel alone. It can be because we feel no one understands us for whatever reason. Ironically, it could be because no one else in our circle knows the Lord, and so we feel "alone". There are probably as many reasons for feeling alone as there are people, but regardless of the reason, it's a time when we feel cut off from others.
We've often hear Christians talk about "the desert experience" meaning that they're going through a time when the Lord seems distant or not there at all, even though they know He really is. Because of that, again, they feel lonely, as though they've been abandoned by God. It feels like He doesn't hear our prayers much less answer them when this happens, and this can really shake us up, especially if we aren't familiar with His Word which tells us that He really is there, does hear our prayers, He does love us and that He always will.
One of the reasons Christian's call that kind of experience a desert experience is because there's a lack of water and food in the desert, and those are synonyms for God's Word. So being in a dry place, a desert, would also be a time when we feel that we're not being fed from His Word. Of course we can and often do put ourselves in a desert and simply refuse to eat what's offered.
It's when we feel that we're unable to survive on our own or when our survival is threatened. By that I don't mean that our lives are necessarily threatened, though that too would be a reason, but when we think our way of life is threatened. When something we hold dear is being threatened. It could be the loss or possible loss of our home, or our job, or an important relationship. (like a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, child, parent, etc) It could be having to decide between buying medication or food or between those and paying the bills. It could be the loss or threatened loss of a dream, such as a desire to send our children to college or to buy a better house, or move to a better neighborhood. It could be chronic sickness or pain that causes us to feel this way.
Looking at all of that, it's pretty easy to see that the desert is a place where we have very strong feelings of need and for relief. These are the times when we're most likely to turn to our idols for that relief, just as the Jew's did. We may turn to our own wisdom and intellect, to try and figure out how to solve the situation and get what we want, instead of praying and seeking the Lord about it. This was one of Hezekiah's mistakes when he got sick and became terminally ill. Instead of turning to the Lord, he immediately turned to doctors. Now the Lord doesn't have a problem with us going to doctors and makes that clear in His Word. But He does have a problem with us putting all our trust in them instead of in Him. Especially in our country today, most of us rarely even consider going to the Lord about it when we don't feel well. We just call the doctor, get our prescription, take it and get better. (just like Hezekiah tried to do) Or we may do the opposite and simply try and tough it out, perhaps using home or over the counter remedies, hoping we'll eventually get better on our own. I know that's what I used to do. Like I said, God doesn't mind us going to doctors or taking medicine, but He wants us to recognize that He's in control and that He's the one we should turn to first and continuously all through the experience.
Turning to the idol of self is something we do all to frequently. We also frequently make others into idols. Likely candidates are those people who are most important to us. Another person becomes an idol, a false god, when they become the ultimate thing in our lives. For example when a woman feels as though her life would be over if her boyfriend left her, or if she didn't get a boyfriend (even an idea or ideal can become an idol!) No one but God should hold that kind of power over us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be hurt or feel badly over a loss like that, but to feel that strongly about it shows that we've given God's place to a human being. We need to remember that God isn't just "A God" or even "the God", He's "my God" to each of us and wants to be first in our lives.
When our pain, hurt, or desire is so strong it will always cause us to run somewhere - either to God or to our idol. Our idol could be illegal drugs, prescribed drugs, alcohol, work, overeating, TV, a particular person like a boyfriend/girlfriend, a spouse, our children, or even a pet. These days it could even be a counselor or doctor, or self help books, or even just any books if reading is our refuge. An idol is anything we run to and or cling to that we think will dull or take away our pain, hurt, confusion, anxiety or fear. It's whatever we run to to make us feel better, even if it's only for a an hour or two. It's where we go when we're feeling desperate. (although we certainly don't have to physically "go" anywhere to find many of our idols)
It was when I finally understood this that I really realized why these things were idols and false gods. The Lord wants to be our one and only help; our only refuge in the storm; the only one we go to when we're desperate. The first one we think of. Again Hezekiah comes to mind, this time because he did what was right. When Israel was under siege and about to fall, the commander of the enemy army sent him a letter telling him to surrender or else. Hezekiah immediately took the letter to the temple, laid it before the Lord and cried "Help!" And of course the Lord came through for them. Jesus wants us to come to Him when we're weary and burdened, because He knows that He's the only one who can really help us. He desperately wants to gather us under His wings like a hen does her chicks, and keep us safe, but we keep running off to our false gods instead. Jesus is the one who truly loves us and has nothing but good intentions toward us. He calls us His bride, which is why when we go running off to our false gods, it's spiritual adultery. Thankfully He shows us how to identify our false gods and when we're most likely to run to them, so with His help, we can stop and remember to run to Him instead.
Brownies with a Difference
Brownies with a Difference
Many parents are hard pressed to explain to their youth why some music, movies, books, and magazines are not acceptable material for them to bring into the home or to listen to or see.
One parent came up with an original idea that is hard to refute. The father listened to all the reasons his children gave for wanting to see a particular PG-13 movie. It had their favorite actors. Everyone else was seeing it. Even church members said it was great. It was only rated PG-13 because of the suggestion of sex-they never really showed it. The language was pretty good-the Lord's name was only used in vain three times in the whole movie. The teens did admit there was a scene where a building and a bunch of people were blown up, but the violence was just the normal stuff. It wasn't too bad. And, even if there were a few minor things, the special effects were fabulous and the plot was action packed.
However, even with all the justifications the teens made for the 13' rating, the father still wouldn't give in. He didn't even give his children a satisfactory explanation for saying, "No." He just said, "No!"
A little later on that evening the father asked his teens if they would like some brownies he had baked. He explained that he'd taken the family's favorite recipe and added a little something new. The children asked what it was. The father calmly replied that he had added dog poop. However, he quickly assured them, it was only a little bit. All other ingredients were gourmet quality and he had taken great care to bake the brownies at the precise temperature for the exact time. He was sure the brownies would be superb.
Even with their father's promise that the brownies were of almost perfect quality, the teens would not take any. The father acted surprised. After all, it was only one small part that was causing them to be so stubborn. He was certain they would hardly notice it. Still the teens held firm and would not try the brownies. The father then told his children how the movie they wanted to see was just like the brownies. Our minds trick us into believing that just a little bit of evil won't matter. But, the truth is even a little bit of poop makes the difference between a great treat and something disgusting and totally unacceptable.
The father went on to explain that even though the movie industry would have us believe that most of today's movies are acceptable fare for adults and youth, they are not. Now, when this father's children want to see something that is of questionable material, the father merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies.
posted with permission
http://lordsgrace.com/humor/laugh43.shtml
My big downfall was reading. I especially have always loved science fiction and fantasy books. Many of those have a great deal of sex in them, and it's usually quite perverted too. Of course they often have other things in them as well that aren't good for us....but to go so far as to commit myself to not reading them was more then I could do for a long time. To be honest, for a long time I had no desire or intention to stop reading them. I've always studied the bible with the Lord every day and constantly talk to Him. I even mentioned this thing about reading those books to Him early one, but then just put it out of my mind because, like I said, I really wasn't committed to it.
Then, something happened to me. One night, after finishing reading a great Christian fiction book, I was, as usual, trying to decide what to read next. (I have a huge library of my own lol) As I considered my books, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I felt "different" when I was reading a good Christian book, and when I finished it, then I did with one of the secular ones. And it was a big difference too! It's hard to explain, because the feeling isn't normally something we notice or think about. I know that it was the Lord who caused me to notice it at that time. Anyway, when reading and finishing a good Christian fiction book, on top of feeling satisfied, I felt good; I felt "clean", and it always left me in a good mood too. However, when reading or finishing a good secular book, those feelings were all missing! At the time, I really couldn't define the "feelings" very well, and trying to explain them is next to impossible. What I did though was just kind of kept an eye on myself over the next month and paid attention to how I felt when I was reading and afterward. (I read almost every night for a couple of hours at least)
At the end of about 6 weeks of really paying close attention to myself, I realized that when I read secular books, regardless of how much I liked them or that they were my "favorites"; regardless of how I had a long time habit of always being careful to take my thoughts captive whenever I noticed anything that wasn't a godly thought; they never left me in a really good mood. While they didn't leave me in a bad mood, I noticed that both during and after reading them, it was always very easy for me to begin to feel angry if someone did or said anything that hit me the wrong way; become selfish, sarcastic, expected more of others in general, and was quick to snap at people for no particular reason. In general I was just in a kind of sour mood, although it wasn't something that really stood out -more deep inside, but it had a definite feel to it.
I was totally shocked! Really I was! Here I'd been reading these books all my life and had never noticed that before!
But, when I read a Christian Fiction book (I've always made sure that even my fiction books tell the truth about what God's Word says) that during and afterward, I was much more likely to be and act selfless, to be more loving and was always more aware and in control of my thoughts and feelings too. I found that I laughed a lot more then as well. So, in general, as I said before, I was just in a better mood all the way around, and it had a definite feel to it.
When I had this realization, I knew it was all from the Lord and that He was showing me something important. This happened a couple of years ago now, and since then, I've read very few secular books at all, and the ones I have read, I read with the idea of proving it to myself and once I'd read the book one last time, getting rid of it so I could eventually replace it with a Christian one. Now, whenever I even consider reading a secular book, just thinking about how it's going to leave me feeling is enough to give me the creeps! I saw quite clearly during that experiment how they stunted my growth in the Lord when I read them and how the Christian books actually helped me grow! Lastly, it showed me that when we want to please the Lord, that He will go out of His way to show us what we need to do to come even closer to Him.
Many parents are hard pressed to explain to their youth why some music, movies, books, and magazines are not acceptable material for them to bring into the home or to listen to or see.
One parent came up with an original idea that is hard to refute. The father listened to all the reasons his children gave for wanting to see a particular PG-13 movie. It had their favorite actors. Everyone else was seeing it. Even church members said it was great. It was only rated PG-13 because of the suggestion of sex-they never really showed it. The language was pretty good-the Lord's name was only used in vain three times in the whole movie. The teens did admit there was a scene where a building and a bunch of people were blown up, but the violence was just the normal stuff. It wasn't too bad. And, even if there were a few minor things, the special effects were fabulous and the plot was action packed.
However, even with all the justifications the teens made for the 13' rating, the father still wouldn't give in. He didn't even give his children a satisfactory explanation for saying, "No." He just said, "No!"
A little later on that evening the father asked his teens if they would like some brownies he had baked. He explained that he'd taken the family's favorite recipe and added a little something new. The children asked what it was. The father calmly replied that he had added dog poop. However, he quickly assured them, it was only a little bit. All other ingredients were gourmet quality and he had taken great care to bake the brownies at the precise temperature for the exact time. He was sure the brownies would be superb.
Even with their father's promise that the brownies were of almost perfect quality, the teens would not take any. The father acted surprised. After all, it was only one small part that was causing them to be so stubborn. He was certain they would hardly notice it. Still the teens held firm and would not try the brownies. The father then told his children how the movie they wanted to see was just like the brownies. Our minds trick us into believing that just a little bit of evil won't matter. But, the truth is even a little bit of poop makes the difference between a great treat and something disgusting and totally unacceptable.
The father went on to explain that even though the movie industry would have us believe that most of today's movies are acceptable fare for adults and youth, they are not. Now, when this father's children want to see something that is of questionable material, the father merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies.
posted with permission
http://lordsgrace.com/humor/laugh43.shtml
My big downfall was reading. I especially have always loved science fiction and fantasy books. Many of those have a great deal of sex in them, and it's usually quite perverted too. Of course they often have other things in them as well that aren't good for us....but to go so far as to commit myself to not reading them was more then I could do for a long time. To be honest, for a long time I had no desire or intention to stop reading them. I've always studied the bible with the Lord every day and constantly talk to Him. I even mentioned this thing about reading those books to Him early one, but then just put it out of my mind because, like I said, I really wasn't committed to it.
Then, something happened to me. One night, after finishing reading a great Christian fiction book, I was, as usual, trying to decide what to read next. (I have a huge library of my own lol) As I considered my books, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I felt "different" when I was reading a good Christian book, and when I finished it, then I did with one of the secular ones. And it was a big difference too! It's hard to explain, because the feeling isn't normally something we notice or think about. I know that it was the Lord who caused me to notice it at that time. Anyway, when reading and finishing a good Christian fiction book, on top of feeling satisfied, I felt good; I felt "clean", and it always left me in a good mood too. However, when reading or finishing a good secular book, those feelings were all missing! At the time, I really couldn't define the "feelings" very well, and trying to explain them is next to impossible. What I did though was just kind of kept an eye on myself over the next month and paid attention to how I felt when I was reading and afterward. (I read almost every night for a couple of hours at least)
At the end of about 6 weeks of really paying close attention to myself, I realized that when I read secular books, regardless of how much I liked them or that they were my "favorites"; regardless of how I had a long time habit of always being careful to take my thoughts captive whenever I noticed anything that wasn't a godly thought; they never left me in a really good mood. While they didn't leave me in a bad mood, I noticed that both during and after reading them, it was always very easy for me to begin to feel angry if someone did or said anything that hit me the wrong way; become selfish, sarcastic, expected more of others in general, and was quick to snap at people for no particular reason. In general I was just in a kind of sour mood, although it wasn't something that really stood out -more deep inside, but it had a definite feel to it.
I was totally shocked! Really I was! Here I'd been reading these books all my life and had never noticed that before!
But, when I read a Christian Fiction book (I've always made sure that even my fiction books tell the truth about what God's Word says) that during and afterward, I was much more likely to be and act selfless, to be more loving and was always more aware and in control of my thoughts and feelings too. I found that I laughed a lot more then as well. So, in general, as I said before, I was just in a better mood all the way around, and it had a definite feel to it.
When I had this realization, I knew it was all from the Lord and that He was showing me something important. This happened a couple of years ago now, and since then, I've read very few secular books at all, and the ones I have read, I read with the idea of proving it to myself and once I'd read the book one last time, getting rid of it so I could eventually replace it with a Christian one. Now, whenever I even consider reading a secular book, just thinking about how it's going to leave me feeling is enough to give me the creeps! I saw quite clearly during that experiment how they stunted my growth in the Lord when I read them and how the Christian books actually helped me grow! Lastly, it showed me that when we want to please the Lord, that He will go out of His way to show us what we need to do to come even closer to Him.
Christian Accountability
It's sad, but I've found that most Christians want absolutely nothing to do with accountability. Instead of accepting reproof and correction as the Bible says we're too, they get angry and stomp off. (either literally if it's in person or by becoming angry and defensive and leaving the site if it's on line) Instead of realizing that the person cares about them and is trying to help them, they take it as an attack. Let me share a story of how I came to understand about this and maybe it'll help someone. I posted this in the sins forum so I'll just copy it from there:
After I was saved, the Lord gave me a wonderful woman to disciple me and I asked her to tell me every time she saw me sin. At first she wouldn't so I asked her why. She told me that she'd had many people ask her that very thing but every time she followed through and told them about it, they'd just get angry, which of course compounded the sin. I have to admit that I was totally shocked by that. I just couldn't even imagine someone getting angry because another believer had shown them that they were sinning. It just didn't make any sense at all to me!
Well I finally convinced her that I really meant it and wouldn't get angry. And so she began to tell me each time she'd see me sin. We set aside time at the end of the work day so it wouldn't interfere with work. She did a wonderful job of showing me my sins gently, just the way the Lord does. She never just dumped them on me but would point out one thing and then help me pray and work on it, looking at scripture that talked about that issue. Then we'd go onto the next thing etc. It was really wonderful and I grew SO MUCH during that time.
To me it was like having a spiritual mother. (or father I guess) As a child, I could count on my mother to always tell me the truth about myself, even if it was going to hurt, and then she'd help me do something to change it. And that's what we were doing now with her telling me about my sins. It's always much easier to see someone else's sins then to see your own. So it was a big help having her do that for me.
When I had to quit working due to an injury that made me disabled, I was no longer able to see her regularly and had to continue on my own. I really miss having someone that I can count on to tell me the Truth about me though. I've discovered for myself however that she was very right about most people not wanting to know what their sins are. I guess it goes back to pride or something. But I've seen more people get angry because they've been told they've done something wrong/they sinned, then anything else in the last 10 years. It still always takes me by surprise too.
How in the world can we conquer the sin in our lives if we don't realize it's there? Obviously the way to know about it is to know God's Word, but still, we're all experts at fooling ourselves. Well, at least I am. Since I am so good at it, I know I need help. I need to listen when others suggest I might be sinning, when others say I've done something I shouldn't have or that I have the wrong attitude about something or someone etc. So, that's what I try to do on my own now. Well, not really on my own, because the Lord always finds a way, a person, a situation or something to bring sin to my attention so I can deal with it.
Each Christian is called to help, stimulate, reprove, correct, and encourage one another within the body of Christ, and we're called to do that by using scripture, not by using worldly "wisdom" or anything else but scripture. In today's world, with it's focus on psychology and self help, and being told we're all basically good. tolerance of sin, etc, it's very hard to find Christians who honestly and truly WANT to know when they've sinned and aren't going to turn on you in anger (adding to their sin) when they're told so. Much to my dismay, I've found that my mentor was right. Most people don't want to know when they're wrong about something, when they've sinned, all they really want is a pat on the back and a "atta boy" or "you're doing great!". Thankfully there are a few, but not many at all. The reason that's so very sad to me is because it should be the other way around. Every Christian should first realize that they are a sinner, even though they're saved and they should realize that they need to be shown their sins and be grateful when someone does so.
James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another. That's not talking about telling some priest so he can forgive you, because forgiveness comes from God alone. We're to talk to each other about our sins though for several reasons. One reason is that when we hide our sins from each other, it gives that sin more power over us. Sin and Satan love darkness and grow in the darkness. God loves the light and tells us to bring everything out into the light so it can't have anymore power over us.
Another reason for this is that when we don't talk to others about it, we tend to let it fester inside us so that to us, it just seems bigger and nastier all the time. When we talk about it with other Christians, it brings the sin down to a manageable size because we're able to be reminded that God is bigger then our sin.
Yet another reason is because when we don't talk about it, there's the danger or forgetting it or even minimizing it to ourselves and thinking, "oh it's not so bad". Isn't it amazing how we'll go to either extreme when we hide our sins? We'll either allow them to become huge monsters that stop us or we'll turn them into playful little mice that don't really bother us, and both are sinful ways of dealing with our sin.
As members of one body, we should all want to help each other and we should all want help ourselves.
I've just got to share something with you from a book I'm reading as it surprised me by addressing this subject too:
How are we to deal with such people? Scripture says to admonish the wayward. The Greek term employed (nouthe-teō) means “to put sense into in light of the consequences.” If you know believers who are not doing their duty—not using their gifts, not being supportive of the team effort—come alongside and put some sense into their heads. One way to do that is to speak softly and say, “I’ve been noticing you haven’t been faithful in your attendance, you’re not involved in a ministry, and you tend to criticize the church. You realize, don’t you, that if you continue in that path, there are spiritual consequences, and I don’t think you want those consequences, nor do I want you to experience them.”
It’s to be a gentle, loving warning, yet also have some passion in it. That’s how the Apostle Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church: “with tears” (Acts 20:31). There’s a hurt in it that says, “I don’t want you to keep going in that direction because God will chasten apathy and rebellion.” When you truly love someone, you don’t hesitate to warn him or her. I don’t hesitate to do that with my wife and children and others who are close to me. It’s not because of some agenda I’ve got, but because I don’t want them to have to deal with the inevitable consequences of being spiritually aloof. I want them and everyone else in the church to know the fullness of God’s blessing.
This confrontation is necessary. The point of coming to church isn’t sitting and staring at the back of someone’s head. It’s a fellowship; it’s being involved in the lives of fellow believers—including the troublesome ones.
MacArthur, J. Anxiety Attacked.
How are we to deal with such people? Scripture says to admonish the wayward. The Greek term employed (nouthe-teō) means “to put sense into in light of the consequences.” If you know believers who are not doing their duty—not using their gifts, not being supportive of the team effort—come alongside and put some sense into their heads. One way to do that is to speak softly and say, “I’ve been noticing you haven’t been faithful in your attendance, you’re not involved in a ministry, and you tend to criticize the church. You realize, don’t you, that if you continue in that path, there are spiritual consequences, and I don’t think you want those consequences, nor do I want you to experience them.”
It’s to be a gentle, loving warning, yet also have some passion in it. That’s how the Apostle Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church: “with tears” (Acts 20:31). There’s a hurt in it that says, “I don’t want you to keep going in that direction because God will chasten apathy and rebellion.” When you truly love someone, you don’t hesitate to warn him or her. I don’t hesitate to do that with my wife and children and others who are close to me. It’s not because of some agenda I’ve got, but because I don’t want them to have to deal with the inevitable consequences of being spiritually aloof. I want them and everyone else in the church to know the fullness of God’s blessing.
This confrontation is necessary. The point of coming to church isn’t sitting and staring at the back of someone’s head. It’s a fellowship; it’s being involved in the lives of fellow believers—including the troublesome ones.
MacArthur, J. Anxiety Attacked.
SPIRIT–FILLED SUBMISSION
SPIRIT–FILLED SUBMISSION
“Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
EPHESIANS 5:21
✧✧✧
Spirit–filled believers will submit to one another.
To the world, submission implies personal weakness or the coercive dominance of one person by another stronger, more intimidating individual. Such perspectives, however, are unbiblical. The noted expositor Martyn Lloyd–Jones describes submission’s original meaning in a military context, which helps us understand its scriptural definition:
It is the picture of soldiers in a regiment, soldiers in a line under an officer … and if he [the soldier] begins to act on his own, and independently of the others, he is guilty of insubordination and will be punished accordingly. Such is the word the Apostle uses; so what he is saying amounts to this—that we who are filled with the Spirit are to behave voluntarily in that way with respect to one another. We are members of the same regiment, we are units in this same great army. We are to do that voluntarily which the soldier is “forced” to do.
In addition to Ephesians 5:21, the New Testament repeatedly expresses the importance of submitting to one another. Philippians 2:3–4 tell us how mutual submission ought to operate: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” And Hebrews 13:17 commands us to submit to our spiritual leaders: “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
The only way we can possess any of those traits or exhibit any of that behavior is to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. Then we will be able to voluntarily and joyfully submit to the Lord and one another in love, just as the apostle John urges: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
✧✧✧
Suggestions for Prayer: Examine your heart and see if your attitude has been a biblically submissive one. ✧ Ask God’s Spirit to reveal and correct any sinful shortcomings you’ve had in that regard.
For Further Study: Read Romans 12:10; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Timothy 5:21; James 2:1. List comparisons and contrasts between these verses and what Philippians 2:3–4 says about mutual submission.
Romans 12:10 —Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. *
1 Corinthians 4:7 —For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? *
1 Timothy 5:21 —I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism. *
James 2:1 —My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. *
Philippians 2:3–4 —Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. *Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. *
MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Sharing Our Love
As a human body has connected tissues, muscles, bones, ligaments, and organs, the body of Christ is comprised of members who are responsible to one another. No member exists detached from the rest of the body any more than lungs can lie on the floor in the next room and keep a person breathing. The health of the body, its witness, and its testimony are dependent on all members faithfully ministering to one another.
The church was never intended to be only a building—a place where lonely people walk in, listen, and walk out still alone—but a place of fellowship. In his book Dare to Live Now! Bruce Larson says:
The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His Church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality. But it is a permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable, it is democratic. You can tell people secrets and they usually don’t tell others, or want to. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love, and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers ([Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965], p. 110).
This need for fellowship is not met simply by attending the Sunday services, whether they be small groups where everyone is known or large congregations where that is not the case. A desperate need for personal, intimate fellowship exists in the church today. And this fellowship, like the ministering of the gifts, is intrinsic to manifesting practical unity. Finding a good church fellowship is no small matter in our onslaught against anxiety.
In true fellowship Christians don’t judge one another; they don’t bite and devour each other; they don’t provoke, envy, lie to one another, speak evil, or grumble about one another. Since true fellowship builds up, the godly will receive one another, and be kind and tenderhearted toward one another. They will forbear and forgive one another, serve one another, practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another, admonish, instruct, submit to one another, and comfort one another. That is the true fellowship of Christ’s body—life touching life to bring blessing and spiritual growth.
Too often Christians place themselves inside little glass bubbles and try to look like supersaints, as if they hadn’t a problem or worry in the world. They aren’t willing to share openly and expose their sins to a fellow believer. They don’t know what it is to have another believer say, “That’s the same thing I’m going through. Lets pray for each other.”
A brother in Christ confessed a sin to me and promised to tell me each time he committed it. Later he told me that promise prevented him from committing the sin again because he didn’t want to endure the shame of telling me about it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote powerfully of this privilege of
confessing our sins to one another:
Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community. In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted. But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (Ps. 107:16; Life Together [New York: Harper & Row, 1954], p. 112).
Confessing our sins to one another results in a purer fellowship of people who know and love one another—who understand one another’s needs, anxieties, and temptations. What strength resides in such a community!
Here is a key principle that all Christian communities should operate by: “If a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong” (Gal. 6:1, TLB). Pick him or her up and say, “Let me show you from the Word of God what is going on. Let’s pray together. Let’s walk on the right track together.” That is restorative care. We as Christians haven’t done our duty if we only rebuke. We need to come alongside and restore—in love.
That verse is perhaps the clearest example from Scripture of how we as believers are to look out for one another. In attacking anxiety, be encouraged to know that angels are looking out for you, but also make a point of knowing and being known by mature believers in a context of mutual ministry. The responsibility of finding such a fellowship is yours. Never underestimate the power of godly fellowship in bearing the burden of your anxieties.
MacArthur, J. (1993). Anxiety Attacked. MacArthur Study Series (72–73). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
“Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
EPHESIANS 5:21
✧✧✧
Spirit–filled believers will submit to one another.
To the world, submission implies personal weakness or the coercive dominance of one person by another stronger, more intimidating individual. Such perspectives, however, are unbiblical. The noted expositor Martyn Lloyd–Jones describes submission’s original meaning in a military context, which helps us understand its scriptural definition:
It is the picture of soldiers in a regiment, soldiers in a line under an officer … and if he [the soldier] begins to act on his own, and independently of the others, he is guilty of insubordination and will be punished accordingly. Such is the word the Apostle uses; so what he is saying amounts to this—that we who are filled with the Spirit are to behave voluntarily in that way with respect to one another. We are members of the same regiment, we are units in this same great army. We are to do that voluntarily which the soldier is “forced” to do.
In addition to Ephesians 5:21, the New Testament repeatedly expresses the importance of submitting to one another. Philippians 2:3–4 tell us how mutual submission ought to operate: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” And Hebrews 13:17 commands us to submit to our spiritual leaders: “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
The only way we can possess any of those traits or exhibit any of that behavior is to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. Then we will be able to voluntarily and joyfully submit to the Lord and one another in love, just as the apostle John urges: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
✧✧✧
Suggestions for Prayer: Examine your heart and see if your attitude has been a biblically submissive one. ✧ Ask God’s Spirit to reveal and correct any sinful shortcomings you’ve had in that regard.
For Further Study: Read Romans 12:10; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Timothy 5:21; James 2:1. List comparisons and contrasts between these verses and what Philippians 2:3–4 says about mutual submission.
Romans 12:10 —Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. *
1 Corinthians 4:7 —For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? *
1 Timothy 5:21 —I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism. *
James 2:1 —My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. *
Philippians 2:3–4 —Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. *Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. *
MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Sharing Our Love
As a human body has connected tissues, muscles, bones, ligaments, and organs, the body of Christ is comprised of members who are responsible to one another. No member exists detached from the rest of the body any more than lungs can lie on the floor in the next room and keep a person breathing. The health of the body, its witness, and its testimony are dependent on all members faithfully ministering to one another.
The church was never intended to be only a building—a place where lonely people walk in, listen, and walk out still alone—but a place of fellowship. In his book Dare to Live Now! Bruce Larson says:
The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His Church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality. But it is a permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable, it is democratic. You can tell people secrets and they usually don’t tell others, or want to. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love, and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers ([Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965], p. 110).
This need for fellowship is not met simply by attending the Sunday services, whether they be small groups where everyone is known or large congregations where that is not the case. A desperate need for personal, intimate fellowship exists in the church today. And this fellowship, like the ministering of the gifts, is intrinsic to manifesting practical unity. Finding a good church fellowship is no small matter in our onslaught against anxiety.
In true fellowship Christians don’t judge one another; they don’t bite and devour each other; they don’t provoke, envy, lie to one another, speak evil, or grumble about one another. Since true fellowship builds up, the godly will receive one another, and be kind and tenderhearted toward one another. They will forbear and forgive one another, serve one another, practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another, admonish, instruct, submit to one another, and comfort one another. That is the true fellowship of Christ’s body—life touching life to bring blessing and spiritual growth.
Too often Christians place themselves inside little glass bubbles and try to look like supersaints, as if they hadn’t a problem or worry in the world. They aren’t willing to share openly and expose their sins to a fellow believer. They don’t know what it is to have another believer say, “That’s the same thing I’m going through. Lets pray for each other.”
A brother in Christ confessed a sin to me and promised to tell me each time he committed it. Later he told me that promise prevented him from committing the sin again because he didn’t want to endure the shame of telling me about it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote powerfully of this privilege of
confessing our sins to one another:
Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community. In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted. But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (Ps. 107:16; Life Together [New York: Harper & Row, 1954], p. 112).
Confessing our sins to one another results in a purer fellowship of people who know and love one another—who understand one another’s needs, anxieties, and temptations. What strength resides in such a community!
Here is a key principle that all Christian communities should operate by: “If a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong” (Gal. 6:1, TLB). Pick him or her up and say, “Let me show you from the Word of God what is going on. Let’s pray together. Let’s walk on the right track together.” That is restorative care. We as Christians haven’t done our duty if we only rebuke. We need to come alongside and restore—in love.
That verse is perhaps the clearest example from Scripture of how we as believers are to look out for one another. In attacking anxiety, be encouraged to know that angels are looking out for you, but also make a point of knowing and being known by mature believers in a context of mutual ministry. The responsibility of finding such a fellowship is yours. Never underestimate the power of godly fellowship in bearing the burden of your anxieties.
MacArthur, J. (1993). Anxiety Attacked. MacArthur Study Series (72–73). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Do you curse the darkness or light candles for your husband?
I was so touched by this story, that I wanted to share it with you guys. This is the kind of wife I want to be.
Proverbs 31:12 — She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. *
Early in his marriage, the Reverend E. V. Hill and his wife, Jane, faced financial difficulty. He had foolishly invested in a service station, and the business had failed. Money was very tight. Shortly after the fiasco with the service station, E. V. came home one night and found the house dark. When he opened the door, he saw that Jane had prepared a candlelight dinner for two.“What meaneth thou this?” he said with characteristic humor. “Well,” said Jane, “we’re going to eat by candlelight tonight.” E. V. thought that was a great idea and went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He tried unsuccessfully to turn on the light. Then he felt his way into the bedroom and flipped another switch. Darkness prevailed.
The young pastor went back to the dining room and asked Jane why the electricity was off. She began to cry. “You work so hard, and we’re trying,” said Jane, “but it’s pretty rough. I didn’t have quite enough money to pay the light bill. I didn’t want you to know about it, so I thought we would just eat by candlelight.” Dr. Hill described his wife’s words with intense emotion: “She could have said, ‘I’ve never been in this situation before. I was reared in the home of Dr. Caruthers, and we never had our lights cut off.’ She could have broken my spirit; she could have ruined me; she could have demoralized me. But instead she said, ‘Somehow or another we’ll get these lights on. But let’s eat tonight by candlelight.’
Tears come to my eyes every time I read this story. Mrs. Hill’s optimism and readiness to walk through tough times with her husband exemplify the two qualities I desire in my own life and pray for most in a wife. I’m looking for someone who will light candles, not just curse the darkness.
I kissed dating goodbye
Proverbs 31:12 — She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. *
Early in his marriage, the Reverend E. V. Hill and his wife, Jane, faced financial difficulty. He had foolishly invested in a service station, and the business had failed. Money was very tight. Shortly after the fiasco with the service station, E. V. came home one night and found the house dark. When he opened the door, he saw that Jane had prepared a candlelight dinner for two.“What meaneth thou this?” he said with characteristic humor. “Well,” said Jane, “we’re going to eat by candlelight tonight.” E. V. thought that was a great idea and went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He tried unsuccessfully to turn on the light. Then he felt his way into the bedroom and flipped another switch. Darkness prevailed.
The young pastor went back to the dining room and asked Jane why the electricity was off. She began to cry. “You work so hard, and we’re trying,” said Jane, “but it’s pretty rough. I didn’t have quite enough money to pay the light bill. I didn’t want you to know about it, so I thought we would just eat by candlelight.” Dr. Hill described his wife’s words with intense emotion: “She could have said, ‘I’ve never been in this situation before. I was reared in the home of Dr. Caruthers, and we never had our lights cut off.’ She could have broken my spirit; she could have ruined me; she could have demoralized me. But instead she said, ‘Somehow or another we’ll get these lights on. But let’s eat tonight by candlelight.’
Tears come to my eyes every time I read this story. Mrs. Hill’s optimism and readiness to walk through tough times with her husband exemplify the two qualities I desire in my own life and pray for most in a wife. I’m looking for someone who will light candles, not just curse the darkness.
I kissed dating goodbye
Sunday, March 29, 2015
I can tell about a person when I first meet them...
I've gotta share something with everyone about sensing if someone is a brother or sister in Christ. As you all know, my mom was not saved....far from it...she seemed to hate God and anything and everything He stood for, and especially the Catholic church. But, she loved me and wanted to be a good mother and allow me to make my own choices. Since I chose to believe God, even though she didn't, she allowed me to go to church with friends, bought me a bible and would every once in awhile, if we were in the area, would take me to the Christian Book Store in town. I just loved going there since it covered my two biggest passions: God and books! 
What I'm about to describe actually happened more then once, with different people and always embarrassed me so much that I wanted to crawl in a hole when it happened. It made God look like a fool and the person look like an idiot, so I was not only embarrassed, but also angry when it would happen
Since she wasn't saved, my Mom wasn't at all interested in anything in the store when she'd take me, so she'd just stand inside near the check out counter to keep an eye on me, while I browsed through all the neat books, cards, games, etc. One time, when I'd found a book I wanted and was paying for it, another woman came up to the counter and engaged my Mom in conversation. The woman was just bubbling over with joy over her salvation, which is always nice to see. But then it happened. She came out with: "I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel the Spirit within you", and then continued on quckly talking about what the Lord was doing in her life. My mom just looked at me, and I wanted to just crawl in a hole. I had no idea what she'd do, but she didn't pop the ladies bubble. She just let her continue blabbing on and let her hang herself. I don't know who I felt worse for, my mom, the lady making a fool of herself, or myself, or even the Lord, and I had no idea what to do.
Finally the woman stopped talking, but she ended her little speech just as I'd finished paying for my book, by asking my mom something like "so what's the Lord doing in your life now?" Again my mom surprised me, because all she said was, "Oh, he's keeping me busy, but I have to go now as we have a lot to do today", at which point she grabbed my hand and led me out of the store. My mom didn't say much about it when we got in the car, but I knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought it was a great example for me that would show me what fools Christians really were to fall for that stuff. But outwardly she just rolled her eyes.
That whole episode really hurt me too because I'd been trying so hard to convince my Mom that God was real, and that He really loved and cared about her personally. I felt like that woman had just sabotaged years of work. If that wasn't bad enough, when my mom took me back to the same book store a few months later, it happened again! Even worse was that it happened with a different person! Looking back, I have to wonder if both of these people went to the came church and were being taught this garbage.
This different woman told my mom almost the exact same thing...."I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel God's love in you". I wanted to just scream! Then she went on to make it worse by saying, "I have the gift of discernment and that's why I know; I've always been able to just look at someone I meet and tell if they're saved or not. "
I felt sick to my stomach I was so upset, so that time, as I recall, I interrupted before the woman could say anything else and told my Mom I was ready to go. I just wanted to get away from her! I felt like crying when I got in the car and it was all I could do to keep from it till I was home in my room alone. I didn't go back to that store until I had my own car and could drive myself.
This is really another example of people who think that discernment is a feeling, and it's not. I wrote about this before in the thread: Why do we persist in thinking discernment is a feeling? The Lord specifically tells us not to trust our feelings and He doesn't add, "except when" to that statement. Plus, He tells us that over and over again. Now, I'm not saying that we don't get feelings as well, or that our feelings aren't sometimes or even often, right. What I am saying is that no matter what our feelings say, we need to check with God's Word to determine if what we're feeling is right or not. But how do we do that when we're saying we "feel" as though someone is a good person or is born again or that we feel as though we shouldn't trust someone, etc. We can't look up the person's name in the Bible and see what kind of person they are, after all. But we can look and see what God tells us to do to determine what kind of person someone is, and I can tell you right now that it has absolutely nothing to do with our feelings! Instead, He tells us to look at their lives. What kind of fruit has their life produced? Obviously, we can't tell that at a first meeting with someone, we have to get to know them first, which is exactly what the Lord intended.
In fact, the Lord says that if someone tells us that they're born again, that we're to accept that as a fact unless or until we discover fruit that shows that they may be deluded, mistaken or outright lying.. He tells us too that we're to love everyone and treat everyone with love regardless of whether or not they're saved, regardless of whether or not we like them, or trust them, and most especially, regardless of how we "feel" about them. We're to follow His example, and we're also to remember that no matter what we say or do to someone, that we're actually saying and doing it to the Lord.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that no matter how many times a person's been "right" in how they perceived what a person was like, what they're doing is not discernment. At least it's not biblical discernment. In fact, it can often be self fulfilled prophecy. We decide we don't like or can't trust someone based on our feelings, and after that, we begin looking for things to verify our feelings about them. The Lord tells us that we will find whatever we're looking for. If we're looking for trash, that's what we'll find. If we're looking for good, that's what we'll find. He then goes on to say that He wants us looking for the good in others, so when we look to find fault with someone, it's actually a sin. We usually don't see it as looking to find fault though. Instead, we simply "pick up on" negative things that are said about people, and we grab hold of anything bad they've done.
When we've already made a determination about what a person is like, we will twist what they say and do to make it conform with our preconceived ideas about them. Of course we don't realize that we're doing that, and we'd be horribly offended if someone told us that's what we were doing, but it's true none the less. I know it's true because it's what God says, and I've also experienced it myself, because I used to think I could tell about other people right away too, until the Lord taught me otherwise.
I felt I should share this with everyone because I'd sure hate to see what happened to me and my Mom happen to someone else. Unfortunately the ladies who said these things to my Mom, never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings". I feel badly for them too because I'm sure that the last thing they ever wanted to do was dishonor the Lord of mislead others about discernment.
Nor did she make it obvious at all that she wasn't interested in looking at anything in the store. She'd have been uncomfortable doing that. It was a very small store. (my kitchen is bigger then it was lol) It wasn't much bigger then a large walk in closet really, so there wasn't anywhere for my mom to go. No matter where you stood in the store, you were in front of products that we're for sale, posters etc. My mom was very good at acting and she made great use of her skills. How else could she have fooled a baptist preacher's 21 year old daughter into thinking she was her "friend" and then defiling her? Both times she told the women she'd already looked around and was just waiting for me. No, I'm sorry, but there was no way for those women to know whether or not my mother was a Christian or anything else. She always dressed like a lady and spoke like one too. (except when she was in a bar)
The Holy Spirit didn't give those women any feelings about my mother and He never would. He would never give anyone a "feeling" because that would go against God's Word. He doesn't tell us not to trust our feelings and then turn around and give us a feeling to trust.
I'm sure that if those women were born again and if they had a close relationship with the Lord and continued in it, and if read His Word regularly, that eventually He would teach them that He doesn't send or give us "feelings" and that we're to only trust His Word. (and that's a lot of "if's.") When I said they "never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings", I meant that they didn't learn it from me right away, when it happened. They walked out of that store quite pleased and proud of themselves and I'm quite sure that they told all their friends about how they "discerned" that this woman in the book store was a Christian. Worse, they would have added that experience to their list of that proves they're "right".. In other words, I was talking about then, not 40 years later. I'm well aware that we all start from nothing and have to learn from God's Word and didn't mean that they never would learn that they'd been wrong.
However, that being said, I also have to say that this is a false teaching as well as a misunderstanding. There are churches that absolutely believe in their "feelings" and "experiences" and they place those feelings and experiences above God's Word as far as determining what's right or true and what's not. That's why I said I'd be willing to bet they both went to the same church. Although like most false teaching, this is much more prevalent today, it was around back then too. So if those ladies were involved in this and continued in it, they could very well still believe every bit of it today.
It's one of those things that is "Natural" for us to fall for because it glorifies our flesh, and our selves, not God. (although we find ways to tell ourselves that it glorifies God) We want to believe in ourselves, our feelings and our experiences, regardless of what God's Word says. That's partly what the whole thing about the trips to heaven and hell is about (as well as many other things). "I had an experience, therefore it's true", instead of "God's Word says this and therefore it's false". This is just one of the many ways that Satan has devised to undermine our belief in the sufficiency of God's Word. First he gets us to add something to it, like feelings or experiences and then after awhile, he gets us to place those feelings and experiences above God's Word. This is what's behind the whole "contemplative" movement and the emergence movement and several others today.
I apologize for not going into more detail about the conversations, but I'm always trying to shorten posts, and for the other reasons too, left that part out. I guess I still figure you all can read my mind. 
What I'm about to describe actually happened more then once, with different people and always embarrassed me so much that I wanted to crawl in a hole when it happened. It made God look like a fool and the person look like an idiot, so I was not only embarrassed, but also angry when it would happen
Since she wasn't saved, my Mom wasn't at all interested in anything in the store when she'd take me, so she'd just stand inside near the check out counter to keep an eye on me, while I browsed through all the neat books, cards, games, etc. One time, when I'd found a book I wanted and was paying for it, another woman came up to the counter and engaged my Mom in conversation. The woman was just bubbling over with joy over her salvation, which is always nice to see. But then it happened. She came out with: "I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel the Spirit within you", and then continued on quckly talking about what the Lord was doing in her life. My mom just looked at me, and I wanted to just crawl in a hole. I had no idea what she'd do, but she didn't pop the ladies bubble. She just let her continue blabbing on and let her hang herself. I don't know who I felt worse for, my mom, the lady making a fool of herself, or myself, or even the Lord, and I had no idea what to do.
Finally the woman stopped talking, but she ended her little speech just as I'd finished paying for my book, by asking my mom something like "so what's the Lord doing in your life now?" Again my mom surprised me, because all she said was, "Oh, he's keeping me busy, but I have to go now as we have a lot to do today", at which point she grabbed my hand and led me out of the store. My mom didn't say much about it when we got in the car, but I knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought it was a great example for me that would show me what fools Christians really were to fall for that stuff. But outwardly she just rolled her eyes.
That whole episode really hurt me too because I'd been trying so hard to convince my Mom that God was real, and that He really loved and cared about her personally. I felt like that woman had just sabotaged years of work. If that wasn't bad enough, when my mom took me back to the same book store a few months later, it happened again! Even worse was that it happened with a different person! Looking back, I have to wonder if both of these people went to the came church and were being taught this garbage.
This different woman told my mom almost the exact same thing...."I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel God's love in you". I wanted to just scream! Then she went on to make it worse by saying, "I have the gift of discernment and that's why I know; I've always been able to just look at someone I meet and tell if they're saved or not. "
I felt sick to my stomach I was so upset, so that time, as I recall, I interrupted before the woman could say anything else and told my Mom I was ready to go. I just wanted to get away from her! I felt like crying when I got in the car and it was all I could do to keep from it till I was home in my room alone. I didn't go back to that store until I had my own car and could drive myself. This is really another example of people who think that discernment is a feeling, and it's not. I wrote about this before in the thread: Why do we persist in thinking discernment is a feeling? The Lord specifically tells us not to trust our feelings and He doesn't add, "except when" to that statement. Plus, He tells us that over and over again. Now, I'm not saying that we don't get feelings as well, or that our feelings aren't sometimes or even often, right. What I am saying is that no matter what our feelings say, we need to check with God's Word to determine if what we're feeling is right or not. But how do we do that when we're saying we "feel" as though someone is a good person or is born again or that we feel as though we shouldn't trust someone, etc. We can't look up the person's name in the Bible and see what kind of person they are, after all. But we can look and see what God tells us to do to determine what kind of person someone is, and I can tell you right now that it has absolutely nothing to do with our feelings! Instead, He tells us to look at their lives. What kind of fruit has their life produced? Obviously, we can't tell that at a first meeting with someone, we have to get to know them first, which is exactly what the Lord intended.
In fact, the Lord says that if someone tells us that they're born again, that we're to accept that as a fact unless or until we discover fruit that shows that they may be deluded, mistaken or outright lying.. He tells us too that we're to love everyone and treat everyone with love regardless of whether or not they're saved, regardless of whether or not we like them, or trust them, and most especially, regardless of how we "feel" about them. We're to follow His example, and we're also to remember that no matter what we say or do to someone, that we're actually saying and doing it to the Lord.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that no matter how many times a person's been "right" in how they perceived what a person was like, what they're doing is not discernment. At least it's not biblical discernment. In fact, it can often be self fulfilled prophecy. We decide we don't like or can't trust someone based on our feelings, and after that, we begin looking for things to verify our feelings about them. The Lord tells us that we will find whatever we're looking for. If we're looking for trash, that's what we'll find. If we're looking for good, that's what we'll find. He then goes on to say that He wants us looking for the good in others, so when we look to find fault with someone, it's actually a sin. We usually don't see it as looking to find fault though. Instead, we simply "pick up on" negative things that are said about people, and we grab hold of anything bad they've done.
When we've already made a determination about what a person is like, we will twist what they say and do to make it conform with our preconceived ideas about them. Of course we don't realize that we're doing that, and we'd be horribly offended if someone told us that's what we were doing, but it's true none the less. I know it's true because it's what God says, and I've also experienced it myself, because I used to think I could tell about other people right away too, until the Lord taught me otherwise.
I felt I should share this with everyone because I'd sure hate to see what happened to me and my Mom happen to someone else. Unfortunately the ladies who said these things to my Mom, never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings". I feel badly for them too because I'm sure that the last thing they ever wanted to do was dishonor the Lord of mislead others about discernment.
I just re-read what I wrote and realize that I made it sound like it was a one sided conversation with the other women doing the talking and my mom being silent for the most part, but that's not what happened. I just didn't want to write out the whole conversation because I don't remember it verbatim except those parts, I only remember the other parts "in general". But I should have at least said that my mother nodded her head and allowed her to think she was a Christian. As I said, to her it was a great way to teach me how stupid Christians are.
Nor did she make it obvious at all that she wasn't interested in looking at anything in the store. She'd have been uncomfortable doing that. It was a very small store. (my kitchen is bigger then it was lol) It wasn't much bigger then a large walk in closet really, so there wasn't anywhere for my mom to go. No matter where you stood in the store, you were in front of products that we're for sale, posters etc. My mom was very good at acting and she made great use of her skills. How else could she have fooled a baptist preacher's 21 year old daughter into thinking she was her "friend" and then defiling her? Both times she told the women she'd already looked around and was just waiting for me. No, I'm sorry, but there was no way for those women to know whether or not my mother was a Christian or anything else. She always dressed like a lady and spoke like one too. (except when she was in a bar)
The Holy Spirit didn't give those women any feelings about my mother and He never would. He would never give anyone a "feeling" because that would go against God's Word. He doesn't tell us not to trust our feelings and then turn around and give us a feeling to trust.
I'm sure that if those women were born again and if they had a close relationship with the Lord and continued in it, and if read His Word regularly, that eventually He would teach them that He doesn't send or give us "feelings" and that we're to only trust His Word. (and that's a lot of "if's.") When I said they "never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings", I meant that they didn't learn it from me right away, when it happened. They walked out of that store quite pleased and proud of themselves and I'm quite sure that they told all their friends about how they "discerned" that this woman in the book store was a Christian. Worse, they would have added that experience to their list of that proves they're "right".
. In other words, I was talking about then, not 40 years later. I'm well aware that we all start from nothing and have to learn from God's Word and didn't mean that they never would learn that they'd been wrong. However, that being said, I also have to say that this is a false teaching as well as a misunderstanding. There are churches that absolutely believe in their "feelings" and "experiences" and they place those feelings and experiences above God's Word as far as determining what's right or true and what's not. That's why I said I'd be willing to bet they both went to the same church. Although like most false teaching, this is much more prevalent today, it was around back then too. So if those ladies were involved in this and continued in it, they could very well still believe every bit of it today.
It's one of those things that is "Natural" for us to fall for because it glorifies our flesh, and our selves, not God. (although we find ways to tell ourselves that it glorifies God) We want to believe in ourselves, our feelings and our experiences, regardless of what God's Word says. That's partly what the whole thing about the trips to heaven and hell is about (as well as many other things). "I had an experience, therefore it's true", instead of "God's Word says this and therefore it's false". This is just one of the many ways that Satan has devised to undermine our belief in the sufficiency of God's Word. First he gets us to add something to it, like feelings or experiences and then after awhile, he gets us to place those feelings and experiences above God's Word. This is what's behind the whole "contemplative" movement and the emergence movement and several others today.
I apologize for not going into more detail about the conversations, but I'm always trying to shorten posts, and for the other reasons too, left that part out. I guess I still figure you all can read my mind
.
What are you looking forward to in heaven?
Most of all, being with our Lord and equally, finally seeing Him receive all the glory, honor and praise He's always been due!
Experiencing having my new body and increased mental capacities. Being able to be active again (physically I mean) without pain, without having to take breaks constantly etc. And at the same time, experiencing what it will be like to finally never sin again.
Getting to meet all the wonderful people I've studied about in God's Word for so long and get to talk to them and find out if they're really the way I've imagined that they are and just get to know them as another member of our family.
Finally, really getting to see New Jerusalem and finding out just what surprises the Lord has in store for us that He's told us are so wonderful that they're far beyond our ability to even imagine!
Getting to meet all of you guys and introduce you to my other earthly family members and getting to meet yours and getting to really know each other even better and enjoying each others company. 
The Bema judgment and finding out how much glory I've been able to bring to our Lord since I've been saved. (I sure hope it's lots and lots because He sure deserves it!) And getting to see each of you get your rewards and being able to cheer you on as we discover how much glory we've brought to the Lord while we were here. 
The wedding banquet!!!!! I can't wait to see what foods will be served! I bet the food is going to taste better then anything we've ever tasted before too! And imagine the dinner conversation between everyone, including our Lord! Imagine the size of the tables and the number of them
Speaking of time, I can't wait to see what it'll be like to not be tied down by time and space anymore. 
Finding out what job the Lord will have for me during the Millennium. I'm really hoping He'll allow me to help teach the children born during the Millennium and the women. But I know whatever job He gives me, it will be just perfect for me and I'll love it.
Getting to worship God together with everyone else there--what an amazing experience that's going to be!
To experience life in a world filled with other true believers and with our Lord, where there's no more sin or temptation, just love and trust....no more going around a corner only to see someone wearing a t-shirt with something disgusting on it; or searching for a Christian graphic and seeing something blasphemous; or hearing heretical teaching; or hearing about or seeing disasters or tragedies; no more heart aches, pain or sorrow; no more filthy TV shows or movies; never having to hear another lie again; never having to deal with people thinking that we're stupid for believing what we do, or having to deal with them putting us down or persecuting us for what we believe. To finally have people be able to truly know me, to know my heart and my love for them. For both friends and family to finally know all that was ever in my heart for them during this life. To never, ever, hear a lie again or gossip, slander, swearing, or foul language. To see a newspaper full of only good news because that's all there is. It's hard to even imagine life like that, but I like to try and can't wait till the day it's finally true! 
To get to see and even eat from the Tree of Life 
To get to see and talk to angels, the living creatures, etc. 
to have a garden with NO weeds!!! 
To see the Crystal Sea 
To be able to be around, see, touch, play with and love all God's animals, birds and fish, including all the pets I've had during my time here, and all those we consider "wild" animals now. 
Just being Home, and O so much more!!! 
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