God is the God of all people whether they know Him or not. This phenomenon is called Common Grace. It is the good and undeserved kindness of God that He shows to all mankind – the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you think about it, every person on the earth at one time or another has been ill, injured, or in trouble…only to be healed, restored, or rescued in some secular sense, regardless if they know God or have never heard His name before. For as God says to us all in Isaiah 54:8, “But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you.”
Month: March 2020
Hebrews 13:1 ” Keep on loving each other as brothers.”
The kind of love spoken about here is Philadelphia, or brotherly love…a Christian love, one to another, born out of a common spiritual life. But let’s admit it…some fellow Christians are just plain hard to love! They rub us the wrong way, are argumentative, and are always seeing the glass half empty sort of people. But the Scripture here calls us to keep on loving, despite how we feel. By simply asking the Lord to see them through His eyes may give us insight into the why…but for many times, it will have to be our attitude that changes not theirs.
II Timothy 1:7 ” For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”
Fear of the unknown…it seems like the entire world is reacting. So how can we as Believers respond the most appropriately to it? First, let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Has the Lord suddenly lost control and climbed down off His throne? The answer is no, for Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Next, do we believe in the authority and sufficiency of God’s word? If the answer is yes, then we must believe this Scripture that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of strength, love, and a sound mind…a sound mind meaning wisdom, good judgment, and prudence. And if this is so, we must also believe Scriptures such as Hebrews 2:51 that exhort us to not give in and become a slave to fear. Finally, as Paul exhorted Timothy to lead by example, we must then apply our God-given sound mind to everyday actions, all the while praying Psalm 91 to counteract this fear of the unknown.
Job 1:9-10 ” Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. Have You not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?”
Satan accused Job before God by challenging Job’s motive. Satan claimed that Job lived as he did because he was blessed of God and had not suffered or paid the price for God’s continuing grace in his life. He questioned Job’s godliness as being just a means to financial gain, not true reverence. The Accuser ,Satan, is always lurking around, contesting, shaming, and heaping guilt… but remember this – he is powerless to penetrate that hedge of protection God has placed around us…unless we allow him.
I Corinthians 12:7 ” Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
The Holy Spirit not only sovereignly assigns Spiritual gifts to each Believer, but also empowers their use by providing the strength, skill, and means to exercise them. So you may ask yourself, “But I don’t know what my Spiritual gifts are.” It’s pretty simple. What areas are you talented in and what are you passionate about? Your gifts will always follow along those avenues. But more importantly, your Spiritual gifts are not for your personal edification alone…they were given to you to build up the body of Christ – the Church – as works of service for others.
Isaiah 9:16 ” Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.”
Elsewhere in Isaiah, God laments, “O My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.” (Isaiah 3:12) It’s almost like the blind leading the blind…with all of them wandering around in the dark. So how can we guard ourselves from this? The answer is discernment, wisdom, and sound judgment, based on personal knowledge of God’s word. No one will be able to lead you astray if you know the truth, and no one will be able to turn you from the correct way if you acknowledge that only Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’ “
This has to be one of the hardest verses in the Bible to do, and do well. This verse says that if we want to follow Jesus we must make a conscious decision to renounce our old self and instead follow the example of our crucified Christ. And no one, including Jesus, Himself, ever said it would be easy, for there is a tremendous cost to following the Lord. Considering it takes daily getting our priorities right and properly arranging our lives so that Jesus ranks supreme in everything we do, carrying our cross becomes a trial of faith and obedience.
II Samuel 22:31 ” As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.”
God’s way and word are without defect, faultless and entirely truthful. No part of the Bible is less important than another…for they are all God’s revelation for us. So why shouldn’t we seek spiritual protection and trust in the stronghold of God? For it tells us in Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” So consider this – God’s way and word may be the shelter and sanctuary your hurting soul is longing for today.
Acts 6:3-4 ” Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
You think you can do it all…but you can’t. Within the early Church the apostles found themselves in the same predicament. So they did a very wise thing…they delegated. Yes, delegation can be difficult, but it’s a necessary part of good, sound ministry. The apostles knew what their job was…prayer and preaching, so they appointed suitable candidates in areas they weren’t called to. That’s because they knew wise delegation could only strengthen the ministry as a whole.
I Peter 1:15-16 ” But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ “
We are to reflect God’s holiness in our lives daily, for it tells us in I Thessalonians 4:7, ” For God didn’t call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” But it’s when our will gets in the way that the inner conflict starts between holiness and selfishness. Let’s just admit it…sin grows in every human heart, and when what we want to do goes against living a pure life, we’ll do one of two things – either we’ll rationalize our sin away, or we’ll mentally soften God’s command. But regardless of what we do, His Word won’t change…”Be holy for I am holy.”
Safetypinlove 