Sanctification...a word that we Christians are oh so familiar with, yet whom very few really understand or pursue. Sanctification is the natural process of one who is genuinely found in Christ. At the moment of salvation we are justified before God through the blood of Christ and then we are sanctified throughout our life until we meet our Maker at which point we are then glorified. But what does it even mean to be sanctified? In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 we read, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." So if we know it is something that God "wills" for our life then we better make sure that we are desiring and not only that but pursuing it with our lives!
Sanctification is becoming more like Jesus. Isn't that our goal as Christians? To be like the one who saved us?? As we grow in our knowledge of who God is (through the Word and the enabling of the Spirit to understand that Word) we are going to grow in our Sanctification because it is going to motivate us to sin less and to glorify God more. When we pray we are being sanctified. When we fight temptation and have victory over that temptation through the Spirit we are being sanctified. When we go through trial we are being sanctified. When we are persecuted for our faith we are being sanctified. ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING That makes us more like Christ is part of our sanctification. Therefore our entire life from the moment of salvation until the day we die is all part of our sanctification process because we are being refashioned and reformed continually.
Sanctifcation is a process but it isn't something that just happens magically. It is something that happens ONLY by the Spirit but that we are responsible for as well...it takes HARD WORK. Anytime we hear the word "work" we shy away from whatever it is. We don't like working because as human beings and especially as American's we are lazy. We live in a society where everything comes easy to us and have had to work for very little for the most part in our lives. But becoming more like Jesus doesn't come easy. If we are going to grow we are going to have to be pruned. If the potter is going to mold His clay into a beautiful vessel for honor He is going to have to refashion it and form it...sanctification is painful at times...it is going to take hard work, perseverance, endurance, and effort increasing daily on our part for the rest of our entire lives. But oh the reward and benefits we will reap from that work...we will be more like Jesus and get to hear the words well-done in the Kingdom of heaven.
C.J. Mahaney said it well, " Sanctification is a process – the process of becoming more like Christ, of growing in holiness. This process begins the instant you are converted and will not end until you meet Jesus face-to-face. Sanctification is about our own choices and behavior. It involves work. Empowered by God’s Spirit, we strive. We fight sin. We study Scripture and pray, even when we don’t feel like it. We flee temptation. We press on; we run hard in the pursuit of holiness. And as we become more and more sanctified, the power of the gospel conforms us more and more closely, with ever-increasing clarity, to the image of Jesus Christ."
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
NO EXCUSES...Without Holiness No One Will See The Lord
How many times in our Christian life have we told what we would call a "little white lie" or maybe left out a few details of a story to make ourselves look better...maybe we made an excuse not to do something because we didn't really want to go, got impatient with a coworker or friend who was really getting on our nerves, or maybe we signed off that we had read something for a class when the reality was we hadn't really done that? As you think back over just the past few months of our life guaranteed you will be able to come up with multiple occassions in which you justified some sin or sinful behavior because of a situational circumstance or some other excuse? The truth is this is something that seems to so heavily identify Christians today. We are a bunch of people who say we are pursuing holiness when in actuality we have a misconception of what that even means and looks like in our daily lives. The more we compromise, the more we deviate from that pursuit of holiness.
When we hear the word "holy", or when the world hears the word holy we automatically think of perfection and something that is either impossible to achieve or arrogant if we claim to be pursuing it. But is that what God thinks? What we find in Scripture is quite the opposite...The word holy occurs over 600 times in the Bible. In Leviticus 11:44 we read, "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." There doesn't seem to be any exceptions or any stipulations on that command.
But what does it even mean to be holy? I know I have written blogs on this before but the more I learn about the holiness of God the more I realize I have far from achieved an accurate picture of what it means for me as a follower of Him to pursue this. Holiness has many misconceived notions such as "don't drink, don't do drugs, don't club etc."...although these things are actions that mark the life of someone pursuing holiness, this is not what encompasses one who is striving for holiness. Jerry Bridges defines it by saying, "To be holy is to be morally blameless. It is to be separated from sin, and therefore consecrated to God. The word signifies separation to God and the conduct befitting those so separated".
Wow! When I think about what that means I am quick to realize that holiness is something I will never achieve to perfection on this side of heaven. The problem is that DOES NOT MEAN that we don't pursue it on this side of heaven. That means we pursue it with our whole heart because God commands it. God is holy and therefore we too are to be holy as His kids. The reason however that most of us don't pursue holiness like we should is because our view of sin is not God's perspective. We excuse sin or don't view it is something detestable as God does. But why? Why do we think that sin is tolerable? We have to stop! We need to put on the lens of our God and realize that EVERY SIN is DETESTABLE in His eyes...not even a little tiny one is okay! Nothing! When we begin to see sin the way God sees sin we are going to begin to stop sinning more and more because we too will hate it the way God hates evil. "As we grow in holiness, we grow in hatred of sin; and God being infinitely holy has an INFINITE HATRED of sin" (Bridges). We need to get the idea that holiness is an option out of our heads and know that it is rather a command but even more a natural conforming to Christ-likeness that WILL HAPPEN in the life of one who is truly saved. Because God is infinitely holy He can't excuse any sin. "Sometimes we try to justify to God some action which our own conscience calls into question. But if we TRULY grasp the significance of God's perfect holiness, both in Himself and in His demands of us, we will readily see we can NEVER justify before Him even the slightest deviation from His perfect will. God doesn't accept any excuses! God's holiness DOES NOT make allowance for minor flaws or shortcomings in our personal character" (Bridges).
So if this is true...if God is perfectly holy and hates sin with a passion and CANNOT have any part of it, even the little things then this too needs to be our standard. We need to pursue holiness with our whole hearts even though we know that we will never achieve it fully in this life, there are NO excuses, there can't be! And we need to stop making them today!! "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
When we hear the word "holy", or when the world hears the word holy we automatically think of perfection and something that is either impossible to achieve or arrogant if we claim to be pursuing it. But is that what God thinks? What we find in Scripture is quite the opposite...The word holy occurs over 600 times in the Bible. In Leviticus 11:44 we read, "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." There doesn't seem to be any exceptions or any stipulations on that command.
But what does it even mean to be holy? I know I have written blogs on this before but the more I learn about the holiness of God the more I realize I have far from achieved an accurate picture of what it means for me as a follower of Him to pursue this. Holiness has many misconceived notions such as "don't drink, don't do drugs, don't club etc."...although these things are actions that mark the life of someone pursuing holiness, this is not what encompasses one who is striving for holiness. Jerry Bridges defines it by saying, "To be holy is to be morally blameless. It is to be separated from sin, and therefore consecrated to God. The word signifies separation to God and the conduct befitting those so separated".
Wow! When I think about what that means I am quick to realize that holiness is something I will never achieve to perfection on this side of heaven. The problem is that DOES NOT MEAN that we don't pursue it on this side of heaven. That means we pursue it with our whole heart because God commands it. God is holy and therefore we too are to be holy as His kids. The reason however that most of us don't pursue holiness like we should is because our view of sin is not God's perspective. We excuse sin or don't view it is something detestable as God does. But why? Why do we think that sin is tolerable? We have to stop! We need to put on the lens of our God and realize that EVERY SIN is DETESTABLE in His eyes...not even a little tiny one is okay! Nothing! When we begin to see sin the way God sees sin we are going to begin to stop sinning more and more because we too will hate it the way God hates evil. "As we grow in holiness, we grow in hatred of sin; and God being infinitely holy has an INFINITE HATRED of sin" (Bridges). We need to get the idea that holiness is an option out of our heads and know that it is rather a command but even more a natural conforming to Christ-likeness that WILL HAPPEN in the life of one who is truly saved. Because God is infinitely holy He can't excuse any sin. "Sometimes we try to justify to God some action which our own conscience calls into question. But if we TRULY grasp the significance of God's perfect holiness, both in Himself and in His demands of us, we will readily see we can NEVER justify before Him even the slightest deviation from His perfect will. God doesn't accept any excuses! God's holiness DOES NOT make allowance for minor flaws or shortcomings in our personal character" (Bridges).
So if this is true...if God is perfectly holy and hates sin with a passion and CANNOT have any part of it, even the little things then this too needs to be our standard. We need to pursue holiness with our whole hearts even though we know that we will never achieve it fully in this life, there are NO excuses, there can't be! And we need to stop making them today!! "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
Friday, February 13, 2009
Pursuing Love
from Jerry Bridge's Practice of Godliness
I figured with Valentine's day right around the corner the next characteristic of godliness I would encourage you with was that of love. Love is the foundational grace from which all others grow. "Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14). What we as Christians must realize is that our devotion to God is expressed outwardly in how we love one another. 1 John 4:20-21 explains that those who do not love their brother cannot possibly claim to love God or be one of His..that we can't truly love God without loving our brothers.
Devotion to God is the ultimate motivating factor for Christian character but it is "also true that love for our brother is the more proximate motivation for the exercise of Christian graces among another". If we look at the most famous chapter on love in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, we will see things that spur us on such as the following:
-I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
-I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
-I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
-I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
-I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
- I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings.
-I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs
- I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
- I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you and "love covers a multitude of sin" (1 Peter 4:8)
"Love is not so much a character trait as the inner disposition of the soul that produces them all." But how can we really understand what love is?? Well we have to start with the definition..."GOD IS LOVE"! God was love long before he ever made any creatures who were capable of love and being loved. He is who we should be looking to for our example. "We must make the cultivation and exercise of love in our hearts an urgent priority". As Christians we should be seeking holiness, humility and love. IF we love God we will seek to be hoy and if we seek to love others we will seek to be humble. How did God show His love? He gave even at great cost to himself. God's cost was infinite in giving Jesus Christ and oh he did not hesitate to pay the cost to meet our need. So we too are to put love into practice by meeting the needs of our brothers EVEN when it costs us something (money, time, energy). God also showed his love in his forgiveness. He forgave at great cost to himself. But what about when justice needs to be done you might ask? We need to remember that forgiveness cost God HIS SON...what does it really cost us to forgive one another?? It simply costs us our sense of justice. Within our souls we have this burning desire to satisfy most often our selfish desires of "justice" (how we would describe it) but we need to remember that JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE. "In order to forgive our brother, we must be satisfied with God's justice and forego the satisfaction of our own." Forgivness manifested in love enables us to be patient with one another and to live in peace with one another.
Love ALWAYS results in action! Love reaches out! True biblical love is not based on feelings, it is much more an action then it is an emotion. Although, there is emotion involved. We are to reach out and embrace our brothers with fervency in our spirits and we shouldn't settle for less (obviously it can't be a substitute for actions but it can accompany them). We must remember that love is much more than a mere act of the will, we should however not just 'decide' to do acts of love but we should DESIRE to do them. We are to seek the Lord and pray that He would give us that loving spirit that delights to reach out and "embrace our brother and to meet his need and or forgive his sin even if it costs us greatly".
We again with all godly virtues must remember that it involves both He who works in us and also our personal efforts. We must seek His Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to transform us and we must OBEY the things that love dictates. But all this must be done with full dependence upon the Holy Spirit who works within us to do good for His purpose. "As we do our part, we can count on God to perform His, not because our working obligates Him to work but because He is a gracious and loving God and He wants us to become gracious and loving children of His."
I figured with Valentine's day right around the corner the next characteristic of godliness I would encourage you with was that of love. Love is the foundational grace from which all others grow. "Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14). What we as Christians must realize is that our devotion to God is expressed outwardly in how we love one another. 1 John 4:20-21 explains that those who do not love their brother cannot possibly claim to love God or be one of His..that we can't truly love God without loving our brothers.
Devotion to God is the ultimate motivating factor for Christian character but it is "also true that love for our brother is the more proximate motivation for the exercise of Christian graces among another". If we look at the most famous chapter on love in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, we will see things that spur us on such as the following:
-I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
-I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
-I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
-I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
-I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
- I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings.
-I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs
- I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
- I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you and "love covers a multitude of sin" (1 Peter 4:8)
"Love is not so much a character trait as the inner disposition of the soul that produces them all." But how can we really understand what love is?? Well we have to start with the definition..."GOD IS LOVE"! God was love long before he ever made any creatures who were capable of love and being loved. He is who we should be looking to for our example. "We must make the cultivation and exercise of love in our hearts an urgent priority". As Christians we should be seeking holiness, humility and love. IF we love God we will seek to be hoy and if we seek to love others we will seek to be humble. How did God show His love? He gave even at great cost to himself. God's cost was infinite in giving Jesus Christ and oh he did not hesitate to pay the cost to meet our need. So we too are to put love into practice by meeting the needs of our brothers EVEN when it costs us something (money, time, energy). God also showed his love in his forgiveness. He forgave at great cost to himself. But what about when justice needs to be done you might ask? We need to remember that forgiveness cost God HIS SON...what does it really cost us to forgive one another?? It simply costs us our sense of justice. Within our souls we have this burning desire to satisfy most often our selfish desires of "justice" (how we would describe it) but we need to remember that JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE. "In order to forgive our brother, we must be satisfied with God's justice and forego the satisfaction of our own." Forgivness manifested in love enables us to be patient with one another and to live in peace with one another.
Love ALWAYS results in action! Love reaches out! True biblical love is not based on feelings, it is much more an action then it is an emotion. Although, there is emotion involved. We are to reach out and embrace our brothers with fervency in our spirits and we shouldn't settle for less (obviously it can't be a substitute for actions but it can accompany them). We must remember that love is much more than a mere act of the will, we should however not just 'decide' to do acts of love but we should DESIRE to do them. We are to seek the Lord and pray that He would give us that loving spirit that delights to reach out and "embrace our brother and to meet his need and or forgive his sin even if it costs us greatly".
We again with all godly virtues must remember that it involves both He who works in us and also our personal efforts. We must seek His Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to transform us and we must OBEY the things that love dictates. But all this must be done with full dependence upon the Holy Spirit who works within us to do good for His purpose. "As we do our part, we can count on God to perform His, not because our working obligates Him to work but because He is a gracious and loving God and He wants us to become gracious and loving children of His."
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Fighting for Joy
As I was reading Jerry Bridges Practice of Godliness, I came upon the chapter about the pursuit of joy in our practicing godliness and I realized that this is one of the fruits of the Spirit that we as Christians fail to practice in our daily lives and consistently, it is however one of the most crucial ways that we can be an example to the dying world around us, one of the ways that we appear set apart. Why you might ask? Because in a world where evil is prevalent, circumstances are constantly changing and failure is a constant in our lives we have a joy that is never failing and always present because of a hope that nobody and nothing can ever take away.
"The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peach and joy in the Holy Spirit" -Romans 14:17
We need to keep in mind that without joy marking our lives, we are not pleasing God. Do you realize that ONLY Christians have a reason to be joyful but there is much weight with that...because we are the only ones we should be joyful! We cannot live like the world and wait for our circumstances to make us joyful. We are COMMANDED to be joyful (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Joy should be constantly growing in our lives. John Sanderson once said this about a Christian who professes to be a child God and wears a gloomy countenance , "It is practical atheism, for it ignores God and His attributes."
So what is it that keeps us from bearing joy in our lives? There are many things that can hinder the joy in our lives...
1. SIN IN OUR LIVES- If we are in sin we are breaking the communion and enjoyment that we have with God in heaven. Remember what David said in Psalm 51:2 "Restore to me the joy of my salvation", after he confessed his heinous sin with Bathsheba. "All sin, be it an attitude or action, must be dealt with if we are to display the virtue of joy in our lives".
2. MISPLACED CONFIDENCE- The opposite of rejoicing in the Lord is putting our hope and our confidence in the flesh...somehow trusting in our own works or our own 'religious practices' to attain that joy. "Even success in the Lord's work is a broken reed if we lean on it for security". Our joy should not be in the success of our righteousness or our ministry etc...we must remember that the circumstances of this life are going to change but we are assured that Jesus Christ is ours and we are going to be with Him one day and that is what our joy needs to be grounded in. Do you realize that if you are a child of His your name is written in heaven?? That in and of itself should bring you so much joy.
3. CHASTENING/DISCIPLINE- The word discipline doesn't sound like something we want or are supposed to enjoy, and of course it is not a "joyful experience"...it was never meant to be. But if we loose sight of the intended results, it will lead to self-pity. "If we only knew how bad we are, we would welcome chastening because this is God's way of getting rid of sin and its habits. But chastening is resented because we cannot believe that we have done anything worthy of it". But remember the Lord disciplines those whom He loves.
4. TRIALS OF THE FAITH- Trials that come from discipline are to exercise our faith...not deal with sin in our lives. Remember trials and discipline are different. God allows trials in His kids life to develop perseverance and so that we would fix our hope on Him. They strengthen our character. Our faith grows in trial. "God's faithfulness should also e of comfort to us in times of trial".
We must remember that it is only by the Holy Spirit's power that we can rejoice in our salvation. God is the source and the Scripture are the means. "In order for Him to use the Scriptures, however, they must be in our hearts through regular exposure to and mediation upon them". However just reading the Truth in Scripture won't do anything apart from the Holy Spirit's application to our hearts. "We are both responsible an dependent. We are responsible to exhibit the fruit of joy and absolutely depend on the Spirit for the power to do it".
So how can we add joy in our life??? We MAIN purpose of joy in our life is to glorify God and show this world that we have a faithful constant Father in heaven.
1. CONFESS AND FORSAKE SIN- He is faithful and just to forgive and restore fellowship
2. TRUST IN GOD- God's Word is true and His promises stand firm. He will carry them out.
3. TAKE A LONG RAGE VIEW OF LIFE- We need to fix our hope on eternal things and nowt on the here and now but on the glory to come.
4. GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES- Not that we are thankful for the bad things but that we give thanks in the midst of it.
The fruits of joy result in a God who is well pleased with His servant and a child of God who is strengthened physically, emotionally and spiritually. "So the choice is ours. We can be joyless Christians or we can be joyful Christians. To be joyless is to dishonor God and to deny His love and His control over our lives. It is practical aetheism. To be joyful is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit within us and to say to a watching world, "Our God reigns".
"The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peach and joy in the Holy Spirit" -Romans 14:17
We need to keep in mind that without joy marking our lives, we are not pleasing God. Do you realize that ONLY Christians have a reason to be joyful but there is much weight with that...because we are the only ones we should be joyful! We cannot live like the world and wait for our circumstances to make us joyful. We are COMMANDED to be joyful (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Joy should be constantly growing in our lives. John Sanderson once said this about a Christian who professes to be a child God and wears a gloomy countenance , "It is practical atheism, for it ignores God and His attributes."
So what is it that keeps us from bearing joy in our lives? There are many things that can hinder the joy in our lives...
1. SIN IN OUR LIVES- If we are in sin we are breaking the communion and enjoyment that we have with God in heaven. Remember what David said in Psalm 51:2 "Restore to me the joy of my salvation", after he confessed his heinous sin with Bathsheba. "All sin, be it an attitude or action, must be dealt with if we are to display the virtue of joy in our lives".
2. MISPLACED CONFIDENCE- The opposite of rejoicing in the Lord is putting our hope and our confidence in the flesh...somehow trusting in our own works or our own 'religious practices' to attain that joy. "Even success in the Lord's work is a broken reed if we lean on it for security". Our joy should not be in the success of our righteousness or our ministry etc...we must remember that the circumstances of this life are going to change but we are assured that Jesus Christ is ours and we are going to be with Him one day and that is what our joy needs to be grounded in. Do you realize that if you are a child of His your name is written in heaven?? That in and of itself should bring you so much joy.
3. CHASTENING/DISCIPLINE- The word discipline doesn't sound like something we want or are supposed to enjoy, and of course it is not a "joyful experience"...it was never meant to be. But if we loose sight of the intended results, it will lead to self-pity. "If we only knew how bad we are, we would welcome chastening because this is God's way of getting rid of sin and its habits. But chastening is resented because we cannot believe that we have done anything worthy of it". But remember the Lord disciplines those whom He loves.
4. TRIALS OF THE FAITH- Trials that come from discipline are to exercise our faith...not deal with sin in our lives. Remember trials and discipline are different. God allows trials in His kids life to develop perseverance and so that we would fix our hope on Him. They strengthen our character. Our faith grows in trial. "God's faithfulness should also e of comfort to us in times of trial".
We must remember that it is only by the Holy Spirit's power that we can rejoice in our salvation. God is the source and the Scripture are the means. "In order for Him to use the Scriptures, however, they must be in our hearts through regular exposure to and mediation upon them". However just reading the Truth in Scripture won't do anything apart from the Holy Spirit's application to our hearts. "We are both responsible an dependent. We are responsible to exhibit the fruit of joy and absolutely depend on the Spirit for the power to do it".
So how can we add joy in our life??? We MAIN purpose of joy in our life is to glorify God and show this world that we have a faithful constant Father in heaven.
1. CONFESS AND FORSAKE SIN- He is faithful and just to forgive and restore fellowship
2. TRUST IN GOD- God's Word is true and His promises stand firm. He will carry them out.
3. TAKE A LONG RAGE VIEW OF LIFE- We need to fix our hope on eternal things and nowt on the here and now but on the glory to come.
4. GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES- Not that we are thankful for the bad things but that we give thanks in the midst of it.
The fruits of joy result in a God who is well pleased with His servant and a child of God who is strengthened physically, emotionally and spiritually. "So the choice is ours. We can be joyless Christians or we can be joyful Christians. To be joyless is to dishonor God and to deny His love and His control over our lives. It is practical aetheism. To be joyful is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit within us and to say to a watching world, "Our God reigns".
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Practices of Godliness Part 1: Humility, Contentment, Thankfulness
from Jerry Bridges...Pursuit of Godliness
HUMILITY:
"Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 18:14
God commands, commends and delights in humility. He doesn't only commend it but He gives us our picture perfect example in His Son. Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himself, and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" If we are questioning whether or not humility is technically a "God-like" trait we can't question that it is a "Christ-like" trait. And if we are to be imitators of Him then we too must possess it. "Humility opens the way to all other godly character traits. It is the soil in which the other traits of the fruit of the Spirit grow". We are to be humble towards God, His Word, in trials and blessings, in our ambitions and our achievements and towards other people.
Humility Before God
It begins here with a high view of who God is. "When we are conscious of our sinful creature relationship to an infinitely majestic and holy God we will not wish to selfishly compare ourselves with others. And to the extent that our awareness of our lovely place before God is an abiding one, we will avoid temptation of pride and competition."
In being humble before God it also encompasses a humility before His Word. As we are in the Word we must allow them to to search us as we sit in judgment upon our character and conduct. "The Bible was given not just to increase our knowledge but to guide our conduct. Far too often we approach the Bible just to increase our knowledge of the facts of the Bible. We do need to increase our spiritual knowledge, but it should be for the purpose of obeying God's will."
When we are truly humble before Him we are also humble about our gifts, abilities, and achievements/attainments. Paul never compared himself favorably against the unbelievers. "Our attitude of humility in regard to our salvation should carry over to a recognition that any of our abilities and achievements are equally a result of God's grace". Paul even credited His hard work to the grace of God!!
Humility is also expressed in our submission to others. When we submit to others we are teachable and humble when confronted with sin and corrected. This is obviously something that we as humans struggle with in our pride. But we must remember that the Spirit doesn't make us humble but enables us to humble ourselves. One great way to show humility to others is by serving them. We read in 1 Peter 4:11 that we are to draw from God's strength in serving others. We must also honor one another which means putting them in front of ourselves...in position, concerns and needs.
Humility is learned and we can remember that we get our enabling power from Him alone. We must start practicing humility by renewing our mind, memorizing and meditating on Scripture, confessing our prideful ways and taking specific steps in order to obey God's direction in humbling ourselves.
CONTENTMENT
"Godliness with contentment is great gain" -1 Timothy 6:6
Contentment is a rare character traits, but it is one that is unique to the Godly person because there heart is focused on God and nothing else. Contentment in our dictionary actually means "sufficiency". A person who is content experiences God's provision for His needs and His grace for ALL his circumstances.
Do you realize the very first temptation was to be discontent? Satan in the garden questioned God's goodness. Satan did the same thing with Jesus in the wilderness and how often does he do that to you? Does he make you question that because of your circumstances that God somehow is absent? Scripture compels us that we are to be content based solely on God's promise to provide for us and on nothing this world has to offer.
Loving the things of this world is something that God takes very seriously. In fact God's judgment was brought down many times throughout the course of history on those who loved the world more than Him. John says plainly that if anyone loves the world that the love of the Father isn't in him. "CONTENTMENT IS VITAL TO OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH". It is however only by the Spirit that we can gain this contentment. We need to pray for it (Psalm 119:36-37) and meditate on Scripture. We also need to..
1. Remember Your Focus Should be on the TRUE values of life- eternal life
2. Service to God through serving mankind is the only motivation acceptable to God for diligence and hardwork in our vocational calling.
3.All that we have comes from God and is a result of His grace.
4. God in His sovereign good pleasure has seen fit to give some people more wealth and possessions than others
5. For those whom God has blessed with wealth or an abundance of possessions...with privilege comes responsibility.
We need to concentrate on being content in ALL circumstances and remember that our goal is living lives that please God. Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned the secret of contentment. We live in a sin cursed world and therefore we bear the results of that often in our own lives. Yet as Christians we believe that all of our circumstances come not by chance by by the sovereign hand of a faithful and good God. Do you remember Paul's thorn in the flesh?? But after pleading three times for it to be removed God reminded Paul that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness". THAT WAS THE SECRET! God's grace is sufficient whatever the circumstance.
"So the secret to being content is to learn and accept that we live daily by God's unmerited favor given through Christ and that we can respond to any and every situation by His divine enablement through the Holy Spirit".
GOD IS
IM HIS
HE'S MINE
ALL'S FINE
THANKFULNESS
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100:4-5
Thankfulness is realizing and a recognition of who God is and that He has provided for us both spiritually and physically. Failing to give God thanks is a terrible sin!! But how often do we pray for something and never thank the Lord for it? We are quick to ask and anxious to receive but reluctant and forgetful to render thanks. And God is aware of us neglecting to do so. We should be overflowing with thanksgiving. "Thanksgiving is a normal result of a vital union with Christ and a direct measure of the extent to which we are experiencing the reality of that union in our daily lives."
But what is the purpose of giving thanks you might add? Well the most important purpose, the primary reason is TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS GOODNESS AND HONOR HIM! Psalm 50:23 says, "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God." He is SO worthy of all of our praise and our thanks because he has blessed us with EVERYTHING we need here on earth and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
1. Thanksgiving not only promotes the glory of God but humility within us.
2. Thanksgiving stimulates our faith.
3. Thanksgiving promotes contentment.
How do I even cultivate that kind of heart you might ask? Well, the foundation is a life that is lived in fellowship with Christ. We know that it is only through the enabling of the SPirit that we can have a thankful heart, but we must remember it takes effort on our part too. When we wake up in the morning we can thank God for His love which we have throughout the day and at the end of the day thank Him for specific demonstrations of His faithfulness throughout our day!
Sometimes it may help to write down our prayer requests and that way we can see over time how God has answered those looking back, another idea is a list of everything you have to be thankful for and go over that list a few days a week. We need to set aside a specific time when all we do is just give God thanks for who He is and all He has blessed us with!
"When we pray without giving thanks we impoverish our own souls and render our prayers ineffective. An ungrateful heart must be transformed by the renewal of the mind. This transformation in ts the work of the Spirit as we fill our minds with teh Word of God."
So three traits of godliness: humility, contentment and thankfulness, that we as believers need to practice in our lives. All will set us apart from this world which is our goal that we may be holy and set apart for Him and bring Him glory in all we do!!
HUMILITY:
"Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 18:14
God commands, commends and delights in humility. He doesn't only commend it but He gives us our picture perfect example in His Son. Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himself, and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" If we are questioning whether or not humility is technically a "God-like" trait we can't question that it is a "Christ-like" trait. And if we are to be imitators of Him then we too must possess it. "Humility opens the way to all other godly character traits. It is the soil in which the other traits of the fruit of the Spirit grow". We are to be humble towards God, His Word, in trials and blessings, in our ambitions and our achievements and towards other people.
Humility Before God
It begins here with a high view of who God is. "When we are conscious of our sinful creature relationship to an infinitely majestic and holy God we will not wish to selfishly compare ourselves with others. And to the extent that our awareness of our lovely place before God is an abiding one, we will avoid temptation of pride and competition."
In being humble before God it also encompasses a humility before His Word. As we are in the Word we must allow them to to search us as we sit in judgment upon our character and conduct. "The Bible was given not just to increase our knowledge but to guide our conduct. Far too often we approach the Bible just to increase our knowledge of the facts of the Bible. We do need to increase our spiritual knowledge, but it should be for the purpose of obeying God's will."
When we are truly humble before Him we are also humble about our gifts, abilities, and achievements/attainments. Paul never compared himself favorably against the unbelievers. "Our attitude of humility in regard to our salvation should carry over to a recognition that any of our abilities and achievements are equally a result of God's grace". Paul even credited His hard work to the grace of God!!
Humility is also expressed in our submission to others. When we submit to others we are teachable and humble when confronted with sin and corrected. This is obviously something that we as humans struggle with in our pride. But we must remember that the Spirit doesn't make us humble but enables us to humble ourselves. One great way to show humility to others is by serving them. We read in 1 Peter 4:11 that we are to draw from God's strength in serving others. We must also honor one another which means putting them in front of ourselves...in position, concerns and needs.
Humility is learned and we can remember that we get our enabling power from Him alone. We must start practicing humility by renewing our mind, memorizing and meditating on Scripture, confessing our prideful ways and taking specific steps in order to obey God's direction in humbling ourselves.
CONTENTMENT
"Godliness with contentment is great gain" -1 Timothy 6:6
Contentment is a rare character traits, but it is one that is unique to the Godly person because there heart is focused on God and nothing else. Contentment in our dictionary actually means "sufficiency". A person who is content experiences God's provision for His needs and His grace for ALL his circumstances.
Do you realize the very first temptation was to be discontent? Satan in the garden questioned God's goodness. Satan did the same thing with Jesus in the wilderness and how often does he do that to you? Does he make you question that because of your circumstances that God somehow is absent? Scripture compels us that we are to be content based solely on God's promise to provide for us and on nothing this world has to offer.
Loving the things of this world is something that God takes very seriously. In fact God's judgment was brought down many times throughout the course of history on those who loved the world more than Him. John says plainly that if anyone loves the world that the love of the Father isn't in him. "CONTENTMENT IS VITAL TO OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH". It is however only by the Spirit that we can gain this contentment. We need to pray for it (Psalm 119:36-37) and meditate on Scripture. We also need to..
1. Remember Your Focus Should be on the TRUE values of life- eternal life
2. Service to God through serving mankind is the only motivation acceptable to God for diligence and hardwork in our vocational calling.
3.All that we have comes from God and is a result of His grace.
4. God in His sovereign good pleasure has seen fit to give some people more wealth and possessions than others
5. For those whom God has blessed with wealth or an abundance of possessions...with privilege comes responsibility.
We need to concentrate on being content in ALL circumstances and remember that our goal is living lives that please God. Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned the secret of contentment. We live in a sin cursed world and therefore we bear the results of that often in our own lives. Yet as Christians we believe that all of our circumstances come not by chance by by the sovereign hand of a faithful and good God. Do you remember Paul's thorn in the flesh?? But after pleading three times for it to be removed God reminded Paul that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness". THAT WAS THE SECRET! God's grace is sufficient whatever the circumstance.
"So the secret to being content is to learn and accept that we live daily by God's unmerited favor given through Christ and that we can respond to any and every situation by His divine enablement through the Holy Spirit".
GOD IS
IM HIS
HE'S MINE
ALL'S FINE
THANKFULNESS
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100:4-5
Thankfulness is realizing and a recognition of who God is and that He has provided for us both spiritually and physically. Failing to give God thanks is a terrible sin!! But how often do we pray for something and never thank the Lord for it? We are quick to ask and anxious to receive but reluctant and forgetful to render thanks. And God is aware of us neglecting to do so. We should be overflowing with thanksgiving. "Thanksgiving is a normal result of a vital union with Christ and a direct measure of the extent to which we are experiencing the reality of that union in our daily lives."
But what is the purpose of giving thanks you might add? Well the most important purpose, the primary reason is TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS GOODNESS AND HONOR HIM! Psalm 50:23 says, "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God." He is SO worthy of all of our praise and our thanks because he has blessed us with EVERYTHING we need here on earth and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
1. Thanksgiving not only promotes the glory of God but humility within us.
2. Thanksgiving stimulates our faith.
3. Thanksgiving promotes contentment.
How do I even cultivate that kind of heart you might ask? Well, the foundation is a life that is lived in fellowship with Christ. We know that it is only through the enabling of the SPirit that we can have a thankful heart, but we must remember it takes effort on our part too. When we wake up in the morning we can thank God for His love which we have throughout the day and at the end of the day thank Him for specific demonstrations of His faithfulness throughout our day!
Sometimes it may help to write down our prayer requests and that way we can see over time how God has answered those looking back, another idea is a list of everything you have to be thankful for and go over that list a few days a week. We need to set aside a specific time when all we do is just give God thanks for who He is and all He has blessed us with!
"When we pray without giving thanks we impoverish our own souls and render our prayers ineffective. An ungrateful heart must be transformed by the renewal of the mind. This transformation in ts the work of the Spirit as we fill our minds with teh Word of God."
So three traits of godliness: humility, contentment and thankfulness, that we as believers need to practice in our lives. All will set us apart from this world which is our goal that we may be holy and set apart for Him and bring Him glory in all we do!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
