Reintroduce

I know that I shouldn’t be, but I’m still surprised, and even shocked, when I see headlines proving that our nation is going further and further away from God and his principles. Our moral and spiritual decline is moving so fast that it is almost as if we are on a rollercoaster heading down a track which is only picking up speed. It is as if we have completely forgotten the God on which many of our country’s principles where based. I find myself praying that our leaders, law makers and even some of our churches would do what Josiah did in second Chronicles when he was reintroduced to the scriptures that God originally placed before his people through Moses. Once Hilkiah, the priest, found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord, he showed it to king Josiah who said this in chapter 34, verse 21: 

“Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.” 

Today, we find ourselves in a similar situation as the Israelites of old. Our laws, culture, and our very society have all but abandoned God. We have become like the pagans; idolizing technology and cultural icons, glorifying sexual immorality and the gratification of our sinful desires, while teaching the next generation to do the same. Though some of us still hold fast to the Lord, our country, as a whole, needs to be reintroduced to God. We need to be reintroduced to the Holy scriptures. I pray that God does not leave us to our own devices; that he doesn’t abandon us like we’ve abandoned him. I encourage you to pray for our nation. Pray that America begins to inquire of the Lord again. Pray that we are reintroduced to God and his word.

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Like Josiah said in second Chronicles, “our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord”. Though this is true today, I believe there is hope. I believe that we can come back, just as Josiah and his people did. When they were reintroduced to the word of God they radically changed their ways. They read the scripture, renewed their covenant with God, and obeyed what was written. King Josiah removed the detestable idols, and all of Israel began serving the Lord their God.  We need to do the same. Our nation depends on it, our children depend on it, and our future depends on it. So I encourage you to pray that we, as a country, will turn back to God with all of our heart and with all of our soul.

Spirit Walk

There’s a treasure trove of Godly wisdom that Paul shares with the churches throughout the New Testament. He often expounds on the character of God, teaches us how to follow Jesus, and warns against potential pitfalls in our walk. He also encourages us with words that help us in our effort to live a Godly life in a fallen world. We need this kind of wisdom because whether we want to admit it or not, the flesh can be exceedingly weak. To battle the flesh, with it’s temptations and sinful desires, we should heed Paul’s words in Galatians chapter 5, verse 16, which says:  

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” 

Notice that he didn’t say that we will not desire the sinful nature. He says that if we live by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature - or fall into sin. He goes on to remind us that the flesh and the Spirit are always in conflict. If so, how can we insure that the Spirit will always win out? Well, in verse 18, he encourages us to be led by the Spirit. What does it mean to live by the Spirit or to be led by the Spirit? I believe that it is a conscious effort on our part to follow his prompting, to focus our thoughts on heavenly things, and to remember that since we belong to Jesus, the Bible tells us that we have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. If we walk in step with the Spirit we are able to bare the fruit of the Spirit, which is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is not by our willpower that we can accomplish this, but only if we are in step with the Spirit. And to be in step with the Spirit involves remaining close enough to him that we can feel, sense or hear his prompting - and when we do, to obey him.

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Paul says that we need to “live by the Spirit, so that we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” To overcome the flesh requires the aid of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Our nature is to sin, and our willpower, or flesh, is weak. We will fail more often than we will succeed on our own. So we need to walk in step with the Spirit. We need to daily connect with our God, focus our thoughts on him, continually pray to him, and trust his leading. He can break strongholds, protect us from the evil one, and be our strength when we are weak. Walking in step with the Spirit is a daily challenge. But the life of a Christian is to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. The good thing is that we don’t have to do it on our own. We have the Holy Spirit to help us.

Jesus Knew

Can you imagine having the power to know what was going to happen before it happened? If you had that power, and were wise enough to know how to best use it, you could perfectly plot out your life, avoiding pitfalls and making sure that you didn’t miss any opportunities. But, unfortunately, we are only human and we don’t possess that power. But Jesus did. He knew what was going to happen before it happened. He knew that he’d be crucified on a cross, and he even knew when it would happen. He also knew where he came from, and he knew that he’d be returning to God. It says in John chapter 13, verse 3:

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;”

It says that “the Father had put all things under his power”. So, even though Jesus knew that he had the power to change his destiny, he chose to obey the Father instead, dying in one of the worst ways imaginable. He did it for us. And he did it knowing the whole story before he even stepped foot on this earth. He knew the entire plan, and now that we have the benefit of the Holy Bible, we know it too. We know of God’s plan of salvation, how Jesus saved us, and we even know the future because parts of the Bible haven’t happened yet. So, now that you know, how do you choose to respond? If you aren’t sure, I encourage you to do what Jesus did… Obey the Father. Obey him in every way possible.

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Jesus knew that he had come from the Father and that he would be returning to the Father soon. He also knew the implications of that truth and what he’d have to endure before his return. We may not know all of the details of our future, but because of his word, and because of our faith in Jesus, it shouldn’t be a total mystery. Ask yourself; Will you choose to follow and trust Jesus? Will you choose to pattern your life according to what he teaches in the Bible? Will you ultimately give your life to Jesus and accept the gift of eternal life that he gave you? If you will, or if you have, you should certainly know your future; to serve God here on earth and to live with him for all eternity once you die. Just as the apostle Paul put it, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. That should be the future of every believer.

Without Faith

I want to share a verse that you probably already know by heart. In my opinion, it is one of the most impactful verses in the Bible. It is required reading for any new believer, and a good reminder for even the most mature believer. It is from Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, which says:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

It takes faith to believe that God exists. It takes faith to believe in the Bible. And it takes faith to believe that there will be eternal rewards for those who earnestly seek God. This is Christianity 101. The very first step is to believe, or have faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God. Impossible. How do we increase our faith? Well, Romans 10:17 reminds us that: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The more we read the Bible, the more our faith will grow. So, my question to you is, how is your faith? Does it falter? Does it change depending on your circumstance or what other people tell you about God? Faith is the foundation of every believer. Everything is built upon it. The Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. If we don’t believe in him and what he did for us, then the door to heaven is closed to us. So I encourage you to read the Bible daily to increase your faith. Build on the foundation that is the very cornerstone of being a believer in Christ.

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“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Do you have faith today? Do you believe that God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him? If you do, then are you earnestly seeking him? Are you praying continually? Are you thinking on heavenly things continually? Are you reading your Bible daily? And are you taking up your cross daily and following him? Our walk with God, and our faith in him, needs to be a daily relationship. Just like we need food for our body, we need food for our soul. And if we miss a meal, we should know it. We’ll become weak, disoriented, and uncomfortable. So I encourage you today to take your walk seriously and to earnestly seek the one you claim to believe in.

Self-Righteous

If you are a child of the Spirit, you see things differently than those who are a child of the world. Life encourages us to succeed, to compete and to be proud of our achievements. These things, in and of themselves may not be bad, but we respond differently depending on whether we’re behaving as children of the world or children of the Spirit. If our thoughts and aspirations aren’t filtered through the Bible and the Holy Spirit, they can become clouded by fleshly desires resulting in an unhealthy view of who we are. And when believers, even the strongest and most mature of us, begin to allow worldly aspirations in our heart, it could reveal itself in self-righteousness. We may find ourselves competing in the most holy of things, losing our path and becoming the very thing we are trying to avoid. Jesus warns us about that with the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It says in Luke 18, verse 9:

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:”

Jesus goes on to talk about a Pharisee, one assumed to be a man of God, approaching the temple proclaiming in his self-righteousness how happy he is that he is not like other sinners, and how proud he is of his righteous acts. Then a tax collector humbles himself before God with a broken spirit acknowledging that he is a sinner in need of mercy. Then Jesus proclaims that it was the tax collector who went home justified before God. Life teaches us to compare ourselves to others and to aspire to be the best. But Jesus reminds us that when we see things through his eyes, humility and a broken spirit are how we are to respond to the world and especially to a Holy God.

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True believers should never be self-righteous, because true believers know that even on our best day our righteousness is like filthy rags before the Father. Our flesh makes us prone to sin and predisposed to desires that are contrary to the Spirit. When we are honest with ourselves, we understand that because we are humans in a fallen world, we aren’t much different than anyone else. As followers of Christ our job isn’t to judge, to look down on others or to elevate ourselves. Our job is to keep our eyes on God, to act in love and humility, with grace and mercy towards others as we try to reflect God’s nature as opposed to our fleshly, self-righteous nature.