Grow in the Word

Have you ever felt piercing cold that penetrates your flesh to the bone? Or, have you ever been in some sort of an accident in which you got cut deep and the bone was revealed in the wound? I have, on both accounts. I won't regal you with my experiences. Suffice it to say, the healing process can be more painful than the injury itself and that goes for the cold as well as the cut. When you warm up it feels like fire course through your skin. It burns as your flesh thaws out and is quite uncomfortable and your bones ache with a nagging pain that doesn't go away nearly as quickly as you would hope. With the cut, the muscle tissue begins a regenerative process of healing itself just as God designed it to do. But the process causing itching and irritation, a burning sensation, bruising and throbbing pains that stay with you even after the cut appears to be healed, at least for a time, if not permanently. I could go a lot of directions with this one but let me just point out, this is what it means to let the word of God into your heart and life. The Bible said that it is shaper than a two edged sword, capable of cutting even to bone and marrow. When the word of God is allowed to invade our soul it changes us and as we all know, change is difficult and sometimes painful. But with the change comes growth. Grow in God's word.

The Overflow of Our Heart

What is in you? What do you take in to your mind and heart? What you are full of is what you will pour out. If you are full of venom and anger then that is what will spill out when you are stressed. If you are filled with doubt and fear then when Satan presses you or this life becomes to much to bear you will have a mental and emotional meltdown. If you are full of jealousy and pride then arrogance and self-righteousness with exude from you. You will always act out what is deep inside when moments of tension or stress press you. In those critical moments of life that have great bearing in the direction you take, the world around you will see what you are really made of. That is why it is critical for christians to read the word of God and as King David, store God's word up in our hearts. If we are full of the goodness of God then only goodness can come from us. 

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn-bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:43-45

Thankful for Jesus

What are you thankful for? That sounds cliché to say, especially the week of Thanksgiving? But ask we do, as we should. It only sounds cliché or feels monotonous this time of year because, like the phrase, “WWJD (What Would Jesus Do,)” we as a culture have oversold it and lost the real emphasis on it. It is a valid question and one that needs answering but not just around a dinner table once per year. The reality of it all is that as Christians, we know the only source of love, the only source of grace, the only source of power over life's greatest obstacles and hardships. We, above all others, have more reason to be thankful. We have been given far more than any other. Our salvation is our greatest gift and it is truly the only gift that keeps on giving for all eternity. If we have not realized that truth then we have not failed to understand the weight and the breadth of what Jesus did for us on the cross. If we have lost sight of this truth then we have un-necessarily brought upon ourselves stress, shame, and regret that he has promised to carry for us and we are missing out on the freedom that comes as a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords. When we learn to live in the understanding of what God has done for us, the natural response is to live out our salvation, to live it out in such a way that the world around us takes notice and, it is born from our thankfulness that is expressed towards God.

Wait and Trust

Why is it so hard for to wait on God, to have patience, trusting God to what He promises He will do? Abram's wife Sarai, came up with what she thought was a great plan to fulfill God's word. One problem, it wasn't God's plan! The majority of my most painful lessons that I have learned in life have come when I tried to impose my plan on God and make things happen my way and in my time. I use to sell life insurance. I remember one of my coaches one time got flustered with me. I was new and anxious to get results. I began making suggestions on ways I thought might work better during a meeting with other sales reps and our coaches. He became sarcastic in his tone and made the remark that if I thought I could do this better then let me try and fail. He was right! Who was I to question the methods when what they did clearly worked. It would have been one thing had they not seen positive results but they had huge gains and I should've spent more time listening rather than speaking. They knew what they were talking about. God knows what he is doing. He doesn't need our help, and yet, we continue to try and give it to him. He wants us doing his work and fulfilling his will but only his way and in his time. The sooner we get that through our “thick skulls,” as my daddy used to say to us boys, the better off we will be. 

Pausing In His Presence

Pageants. Parties. Shopping. Baking. Wrapping. Travel. At every turn there are people to see, things to do, stuff to buy. The hustle and bustle of this supposed-to-be-happy season can knock the holly-jolly right out of our holidays and replace it with hurried-up headaches instead. As a result, our calendars become overloaded, crowding out the spiritual significance of the season. 

There was hurry present the night of Jesus birth as well. However, it wasn't to the mall or grocery store. The shepherds were working in the fields when suddenly an ensemble of angels told them the Christ Child had been born. Luke 2:16 says they “hurried off to find Him lying in a manger.” If I had been one of those shepherds, I would have been quiet and amazed once I got there. In the presence of Jesus I wonder if those men too were settled and silent. Maybe we could do the same today. In the midst of our holiday hustle, we could stop. We could put our activities on hold so we might quietly meet with our Lord.

As a result we just might discover an unhurried holiday: a season that will strengthen us spiritually instead of sapping our energy and joy. Will we pause and purpose to hurry into the presence of the one the holiday is really all about, instead of rushing from task to task? The tasks will wait while we do.

Being Mindful

We as Christians, nor as the church, to expect anyone else, that is outside of Christ, to look like, talk like, or act like Jesus. That is simple for us to understand. What is sometimes hard to understand and what we all to often fail to realize is that we do not have the right to expect them to even look, talk, or act like us either. They are outside the veil. They don't know what they don't know. Yet, we get caught in this trap when we encounter them and begin judging their character by our own when ours isn't even good enough when compared to Jesus. We also fail to see that when such people come into our doors, seeking something – that they are sinners just like we are. They are lost just as we are and sometimes are still. They need love just as we do. They need grace and forgiveness just as we do. They need Jesus just as we do. Our response to them coming into the church house should be one of a desire to see them comfortable, loved, welcomed, at ease, having their needs met. We should desire as Paul did, to do anything and everything, that by all means, some might be saved. Our response should never be, and shame on us if it is ever, to expect something of someone that doesn't know or understand. Paul understood this when he fought with Peter, James, and John concerning circumcision of non-Jews. Lets examine our hearts and minds towards those not like us. 

Controlling Interest

Does the “love of Christ” control you? Paul wrights in 2 Corinthians that Jesus died for us so that we could live, not for ourselves but for him. He goes on to say that it is because of this truth that we are to no longer regard anyone according to the flesh. He later states in that same passage that we, as Christians, are ambassadors for Jesus, making his appeal to all people through us. He makes this appeal in a couple of ways. First, we are to be an example to all people around us. How we conduct ourselves is to be an example of the righteousness of Jesus so as to cause others to questions what compels our choices. If this isn't you then you need to examine your heart and your life. The second way that God makes his appeal through us is through our mouths. Your faith is not your own. You don't get your own personal Jesus. You are obligated by your salvation, to share as the apostles did, what you have seen and heard. The “what” or reason for this compulsion is found in the way you regard people. Do you regard them according to the flesh and thus pass judgment, determining whether or not you want to fellowship with them or do you regard them according to the Spirit of God, thus looking at the soul of a person and seeing the eternal price that Jesus paid for that soul? In other words, do you love that person as Jesus loved them?