Growing up knowing who God was and what Christ did for me on the cross I had convinced myself consistently throughout my life that I was saved; I mean from the outside I appeared to be so I had to be. Everything within me however was fighting a battle of doubt and fear that was manifested in consistent questioning my own salvation and masking that fear through “good works” and “rededications”. As I got older I became more and more hardened to the possibility that maybe I wasn’t saved; I reflected back on my prayer as a young child and clinged to the false hope that somehow it was that prayer that had saved me; although I would have never said that, looking back it was that moment in time that I was holding so tightly too.
(I believe that the “ask Jesus into your heart” prayer is one of the greatest tools of deception from the Satan. It is through this “prayer” that hundreds of thousands if not more people have been swept into an eternity apart from Him because of false assurance that some prayer they prayed, most often at a young age or a huge event, saved them from the torments of God’s wrath; what a sad and disheartening lie that is. There is no magical prayer that saves you, it is a radical transformation from the inside out where by the grace of God draws you near through repentance (turning from self to God) and faith (betting your life on it) in His work on the cross. True salvation CHANGES your life. It is not merely external. You are extremely humbled as you realize your utter dependence on Him, but you are now capable through the Spirit to say no to sin and to press on towards holiness. True salvation changes your life!)
As I continued to grow up in the church my “love” for Jesus seemed to grow; I was involved in ministries, telling my friends about Jesus, and doing everything I could to be labeled the “good Christian girl”, but something was missing. My desire to please others was driving this external transformation that was only skin deep. Nobody could see the wickedness of my own heart, except for my parents who saw small glimpses of it as I would lash out in frustration at them regularly. I was playing a game with the Lord and deceiving myself. I wore a mask until I came into the comfort of my own home where I knew my family would accept me at which point I would remove that mask and become the true Vanessa; a selfishly depraved child who knew nothing of the radical transforming power of the grace of God. For ten years I lived the lie and yet for the grace of God I would have continued on. My heart only became more calloused to spiritual truths and numb to the Word, church and spiritual growth became routine in my life and there was emptiness within my heart that I couldn’t fill. What was worse was the pride within me would not allow myself to admit that I was lost and desperately in need of grace; I had checked off all the boxes: salvation, baptism, growth, etc.. I knew that you couldn’t loose your salvation but I always felt like I had, and I had no assurance that the day I died I would spend eternity with Him. C.H. Spurgeon once said, “If any man is not sure that he is in Christ, he ought not to be easy one moment until he is sure. Dear friend, without the fullest confidence as to your saved condition, you have no right to be at ease, and I pray you may never be so. This is a matter too important to be left undecided.” This was me; I was uneasy consistently and begging the Lord (in vain at many times) that he would please let me “go to heaven”.
And then one day, in May of 2001 God finally reached down and rescued me from an eternity apart from Him and showered me with His never-ending grace. I had known the Gospel and its power but I had never experienced it; I had known what it meant to be transformed and renewed but I had never had it; I had known what it meant that Jesus died on the cross for ME, but I had never trusted it; and I had known that you could find confidence in the hope of Calvary and the second coming but I had never possessed it. I was doing a Bible study with my mom when all of the sudden my heart seemed to be crushed. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” I was for the first time in my life truly repentant over my sin. I was broken by the fact that I could do NOTHING to earn my salvation and that all along I had been working for that entrance into heaven. I began to cry tears that I had never cried before and it was as if the heavy burden I had been carrying for years was finally lifted. Looking back I am so thankful for that moment in time, that clear picture in my mind that I can always reflect upon and thank the Lord for.
Since that moment I have been on what is a journey of sanctification that I am oh so thankful for. I love Jerry Bridges quote from Transforming Grace that says, “Progressive sanctification is subjective or experiential and is the work of the Holy Spirit within us imparting to us the life and power of Christ, enabling us to respond in obedience to Him.” And isn’t that the truth! I could have never fathomed the trials and blessings I have experienced 8 years almost ago when the Lord saved me; both enjoyable and painful. It seems as though His grace only becomes even clearer as I move on and I cannot even begin to thank the Lord enough for His transforming grace. I am very different then the girl I was 8 years ago and yet in spite of the growth and maturing the Lord has enabled me to do, I am still humbled daily as I reflect on who I am in regards to who Christ is. What is more, I am even more amazed by the fact that God uses me for His glory and kingdom!!
As I look forward to the years to come and all God has planned (Ephesians 2:10) in eternity past to accomplish through me I get more and more excited by the prospect of God’s glory continuing to be revealed through His working in all of creation!! I am so excited to see God transform lives for Him and to use me as part of it; it blows my mind. I don’t know where He will take me, but I know He has been preparing me, and will continue to do so, until He leads and that as I continue to seek Him, through His grace, He will make me more like Jesus until the day I get to meet Him face to face. “Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.” (Psalm 119:135)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A Sin Often Overlooked
I am currently reading Jerry Bridges book called RESPECTABLE SINS (ironic I know) and just got through the chapter on what I believe is a sin that is often overlooked: discontentment...below is a little about what he shared.
As we grow in our knowledge and hatred of sin we begin to see sins that we have overlooked for years because they seem so minute compared to the "heinous" and "outright" sins we used to commit on a daily basis; one of these is discontentment. I believe that the majority of Christians have, do, or will battle this sin throughout their life at some point or another. It is a natural tendency of our flesh to be dissatisfied with our circumstances and situations and wonder why a good and gracious God would allow them. Whether it is in a job or lack there of, a relationship or lack there of, great wealth or lack there of, and the list could go on, the Bible makes it explicitly clear that discontentment is sin and EVERY sin is reproachable in the eyes of our God. What we don't realize is how good everything may be even the smallest things seem to find us in a place of discontentment.
Discontentment can lead to resentment and bitterness towards both God and people. Psalm 139 reminds us that God ordained all our days and everything about them! Jerry Bridges said, "God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose, And His purposes however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good". You may at this point be thinking how is this possible, you don't understand my situation. It doesn't matter Do you really believe that we are who we are because God made us that way? Do you really believe that God ordains all? There comes a point where we need to realize that God knows better and it is not at a place of submission to God's will that we find peace but when we accept the Truth. "Acceptance means that you accept all your circumstances from God, trusting that He unerringly knows what is best for you and that in His love, He purposes only that which is best. Having then reached a state of acceptance, you can ask God to let you use your difficult circumstances to glorify Him. In this way you have moved from the attitude of a victim to an attitude of stewardship." (Bridges) Does that mean you don't pray for deliverance from a situation or the answer to a desire of your heart? No, not at all; but it does mean that you are willing to accept HIS answer.
It all comes back to you holding a firm belief in the fact that God is sovereign, WISER THAN YOU and good! That He is IN all the circumstances of your life (handicap, loss of a loved one or a child, loss of a job). That whether your particular situation is short term or long term you will CHOOSE to say blessed be the name of the Lord. That you will respond like Job did in 1:21 "Naked I come from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." That you will by faith believe the Bible's teaching about God and His sovereign working in our lives and that you will believe with all your heart it is for HIS glory and YOUR good! May we, through the Spirit's enablement, be able to "move from any negative attitudes of discontentment to a positive attitude of being stewards of the difficult and disappointing circumstances God has given us so that we may somehow glorify Him in all of life".
As we grow in our knowledge and hatred of sin we begin to see sins that we have overlooked for years because they seem so minute compared to the "heinous" and "outright" sins we used to commit on a daily basis; one of these is discontentment. I believe that the majority of Christians have, do, or will battle this sin throughout their life at some point or another. It is a natural tendency of our flesh to be dissatisfied with our circumstances and situations and wonder why a good and gracious God would allow them. Whether it is in a job or lack there of, a relationship or lack there of, great wealth or lack there of, and the list could go on, the Bible makes it explicitly clear that discontentment is sin and EVERY sin is reproachable in the eyes of our God. What we don't realize is how good everything may be even the smallest things seem to find us in a place of discontentment.
Discontentment can lead to resentment and bitterness towards both God and people. Psalm 139 reminds us that God ordained all our days and everything about them! Jerry Bridges said, "God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose, And His purposes however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good". You may at this point be thinking how is this possible, you don't understand my situation. It doesn't matter Do you really believe that we are who we are because God made us that way? Do you really believe that God ordains all? There comes a point where we need to realize that God knows better and it is not at a place of submission to God's will that we find peace but when we accept the Truth. "Acceptance means that you accept all your circumstances from God, trusting that He unerringly knows what is best for you and that in His love, He purposes only that which is best. Having then reached a state of acceptance, you can ask God to let you use your difficult circumstances to glorify Him. In this way you have moved from the attitude of a victim to an attitude of stewardship." (Bridges) Does that mean you don't pray for deliverance from a situation or the answer to a desire of your heart? No, not at all; but it does mean that you are willing to accept HIS answer.
It all comes back to you holding a firm belief in the fact that God is sovereign, WISER THAN YOU and good! That He is IN all the circumstances of your life (handicap, loss of a loved one or a child, loss of a job). That whether your particular situation is short term or long term you will CHOOSE to say blessed be the name of the Lord. That you will respond like Job did in 1:21 "Naked I come from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." That you will by faith believe the Bible's teaching about God and His sovereign working in our lives and that you will believe with all your heart it is for HIS glory and YOUR good! May we, through the Spirit's enablement, be able to "move from any negative attitudes of discontentment to a positive attitude of being stewards of the difficult and disappointing circumstances God has given us so that we may somehow glorify Him in all of life".
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Ephesians 2:10
There is so much of a tendency in today's society to "fit in with the mold"...but what is interesting, is that there seems to even be a "mold" so to speak Ewithin Christian circles. There seems to be this belief that if all of us aren't living the same "type" of life that the other believers we are in fellowship with then something must be wrong. But lets think about that for a moment...did the twelve all have the same lives? Did Moses and David live the same life? What about Job and the Apostle Paul? Or how about Esther and Rahab? Did they all come from the same backgrounds? Did they all sin the same way? Did they all stand for the Lord the same and did they all go to the grave the same? No! Well the same with us...God doesn't have the same plan for each of His kids, He has different plans, different trials, and different ways to refine and sharpen us for His glory and kingdom. There is no "mold" other than that of Jesus Christ and that is the one mold we should want to fit into. The thing is, it takes different refining processes to fit into that mold.
Recently I have become very fond of Ephesians 2:10 which says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. " God has SPECIFIC good works that He has created us to do while we are here on earth. The good works He has prepared for me to do are different then the good works that he has prepared for you, your pastor, your best friend, or your mom...God uses us in different ways and for different things. We have strengths, talents, and gifts that God has given us in order to make us more effective for His glory and the furthering of His kingdom. Thinking about this and meditating on this truth has brought me such joy and such encouragement...I am always remembering that as I have that Luke 14 (any place, anything, any time) attitude that He is going to use me in ways I could never have imagined. And how amazing that is; I am always blown away that God chooses to use me, little old me for His purposes!
I know I have wrote blogs about this before, but I really truly believe this is something that we need to consistently be meditating on as well as trusting in as not to get weighed down or discouraged not only by the world but also by other Christians. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." That means that when we look around at other believers and see God blessing them we need to rejoice with them and thank the Lord for the abundance of blessings He has showered upon them. Instead of being envious, or covetous, or wondering why God isn't giving you the same life that he is giving your brother or sister you should be praising and rejoicing the Lord alongside them for fulfilling His purpose and plan through their life; all the while keep reminding yourself that You are HIS workmanship and He has prepared good works for you to do too...your life may not look the same as the Christian's life next to you, in fact it won't but when you keep your eyes fixed on Him (Hebrews 12:2) it will be the most amazing thing you can fathom because God is working in you to make you more like Jesus!
All that to say, if you are one of His I can guarantee that the way your life has panned out is VERY different then what you may have expected. God has thrown in trials and blessings within the mix of our walk with Him to produce character and hope in Him (Romans 5). If you reflect on how you "planned" or "expected" things to go and think of how it has worked out I can also guarantee that it is 100x better than you could have imagined because you are more like Jesus today then you were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 years ago. We need to stop trying to fit into the "molds" that we make in our mind of what our lives are supposed to look like and instead live seeking Him alone and TRUSTING in His plans.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.." (Matthew 6:33)
Recently I have become very fond of Ephesians 2:10 which says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. " God has SPECIFIC good works that He has created us to do while we are here on earth. The good works He has prepared for me to do are different then the good works that he has prepared for you, your pastor, your best friend, or your mom...God uses us in different ways and for different things. We have strengths, talents, and gifts that God has given us in order to make us more effective for His glory and the furthering of His kingdom. Thinking about this and meditating on this truth has brought me such joy and such encouragement...I am always remembering that as I have that Luke 14 (any place, anything, any time) attitude that He is going to use me in ways I could never have imagined. And how amazing that is; I am always blown away that God chooses to use me, little old me for His purposes!
I know I have wrote blogs about this before, but I really truly believe this is something that we need to consistently be meditating on as well as trusting in as not to get weighed down or discouraged not only by the world but also by other Christians. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." That means that when we look around at other believers and see God blessing them we need to rejoice with them and thank the Lord for the abundance of blessings He has showered upon them. Instead of being envious, or covetous, or wondering why God isn't giving you the same life that he is giving your brother or sister you should be praising and rejoicing the Lord alongside them for fulfilling His purpose and plan through their life; all the while keep reminding yourself that You are HIS workmanship and He has prepared good works for you to do too...your life may not look the same as the Christian's life next to you, in fact it won't but when you keep your eyes fixed on Him (Hebrews 12:2) it will be the most amazing thing you can fathom because God is working in you to make you more like Jesus!
All that to say, if you are one of His I can guarantee that the way your life has panned out is VERY different then what you may have expected. God has thrown in trials and blessings within the mix of our walk with Him to produce character and hope in Him (Romans 5). If you reflect on how you "planned" or "expected" things to go and think of how it has worked out I can also guarantee that it is 100x better than you could have imagined because you are more like Jesus today then you were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 years ago. We need to stop trying to fit into the "molds" that we make in our mind of what our lives are supposed to look like and instead live seeking Him alone and TRUSTING in His plans.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.." (Matthew 6:33)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Talk it and Walk It!!
As I was reading my devotional this morning I came across this line ..."Show me your redeemed life and I might believe in your Redeemer." Isn't that the truth!?! I just recently started working in a secular environment and boy has it been oh so eye-opening for me. Not to say that I haven't been in the world all this time, but I have not been in the world in this way in quite a while and I had forgotten what it really was like to be day in and day out surrounded by people who are living for something completely contrary to everything I stand for and take my every breath for. I have to admit it is both discouraging yet strengthening. I have been reminded in the past month and a half of how lost this world is and how desperately in need of a Savior we all are. I have become so much more thankful for my own salvation and compassionate towards my fellow co-workers and customers who know nothing of Him, and many of whom know of Him and don't want to have anything to do with the Creator of the universe. It breaks my heart and yet at the same time makes me realize how many opportunities I have daily to spread the good news. I know that God has put me here in this specific place to be a light and a Truth bearer and to make sure that I am an effective witness for Him.
All that to say I have been realizing more than ever that I have to pray for "creative" opportunities to share the Truth with these people. I can't always use words and words can't be all that I use either, I have to as I mentioned above show my redeemed LIFE. That means the way I work, the way I speak, the things I do, everything about me is a reflection of Jesus Christ and because of that I have to depend on His strength to be a mirror that reflects Him in all ways. It has really got me thinking though how so often people who say they are redeemed don't reflect the Redeemer and because of that people don't want to have anything to do with Him. But is that how it should be?! Absolutely not!! We need to make sure that in actuality we are accurate examples of Him, which is only going to be done by His grace and strength alone through the Holy Spirit's working in our life, so that people want to know that Jesus we imitate! Jesus himself said in John 13:15 "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." Or in the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
What we need to realize is that the world is often looking at us as a mirror for Christ and they are saying without verbally communicating it to SHOW ME YOUR FAITH! We need to talk the talk and we also need to walk the talk! Let us be examples in ALL we do!!
All that to say I have been realizing more than ever that I have to pray for "creative" opportunities to share the Truth with these people. I can't always use words and words can't be all that I use either, I have to as I mentioned above show my redeemed LIFE. That means the way I work, the way I speak, the things I do, everything about me is a reflection of Jesus Christ and because of that I have to depend on His strength to be a mirror that reflects Him in all ways. It has really got me thinking though how so often people who say they are redeemed don't reflect the Redeemer and because of that people don't want to have anything to do with Him. But is that how it should be?! Absolutely not!! We need to make sure that in actuality we are accurate examples of Him, which is only going to be done by His grace and strength alone through the Holy Spirit's working in our life, so that people want to know that Jesus we imitate! Jesus himself said in John 13:15 "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." Or in the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
What we need to realize is that the world is often looking at us as a mirror for Christ and they are saying without verbally communicating it to SHOW ME YOUR FAITH! We need to talk the talk and we also need to walk the talk! Let us be examples in ALL we do!!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Mortification...It's Time to Kill Sin
As I continue on in my walk with the Lord I realize more than ever that this Christian life, this life of holiness is truly a battle and a hard one at that. It is a constant daily fight to live in the Spirit and deny the flesh...but the more that I am reminded through the Word of His grace and the strength that He provides in allowing us to say NO to sin and put on righteousness the more encouraged I become to run the race with endurance.
Recently I have come across the truth in putting sin to death, what that really means in light of the Word and more importantly how we as followers of the Lord are commanded to do that on a daily basis and throughout our lives here on earth. What one first must realize is that when we read in Colossians 3:5 that we are to put to DEATH the deeds of the flesh that we are called to MORTIFY them. That is actually what the Greek translation means to destory the strength or vitality of and literally put to death that deed. That means that it is no longer living...that is a powerful word and an even more powerful reality. We are to destory the viatlity of sin in our life and make sure that it no longer is reigining in our bodies, and we can be encouraged by remembering that through the blood of Christ sin has been conquered and we no longer are bound to it. But how is this mortification done?
Well Jerry Bridges said it well when he said, "Mortification must be done by the strength and under the direction of the Holy Spirit." It is through His power that we have the strength given to our abilities and efforts to mortify the flesh and sinful nature in our hearts. It begins with conviction. When we are persuaded by the Spirit to live that holy life for Christ, we begin being convicted that without holiness nobody will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). In this conviction of holiness, we also develop conviction in specific areas of obedience. These convictions are made through continued feeding on the Word of God. We, even as Christians have been so drenched by the world and its values; and it is only by the Word of God that our values can be remolded and sanctified in the Truth. We must remember that on our pursuit of holiness we must be growing in our obedience to Him and the only way we can obey Him is if we know His commands, and what He expects of us in that obedience. A very effective way is to memorize. That is where I believe most Christians neglect their spiritual walk and the discipline that is lacking most because it seems either monotonous or difficult, but if we are going to call ourselves Christians we must realize that it is VITAL! David said it best in Psalm 119:11 when he said, " I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Memorization's goal is application of the Word to our lives. But back to that whole idea of conviction...realize that our conviction demands action. It is pointless in our progress of holiness if we ignore it and harden our hearts time and time again. Our conviction must govern our actions. I have heard many Christians ask how we develop convictions about areas that are not SPECIFICALLY laid out in Scripture and I found Jerry Bridges system of developing convictions in those areas both biblical and helpful; the formula is four basic questions that are based on three verses in 1 Corinthians:
1. "Everything is permissible for me'--but not everything is beneficial" (1 Corinthians 6:12)-- Ask yourself, "Is it helpful---physically, spiritually and mentally?
2. "Everything is permissibl for me'---but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12)-- Ask yourself, "Does it bring me under its power?"
3. "Therefore if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall" (1 Corinthians 8:13)-- Ask yourself, "Does it hurt others?"
4. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)-- Ask yourself, "Does it glorify God?"
Asking yourself these things will help you in developing conviction in your life if you are willing to do it! Remember it may not be the activities in our lives themself that are sinful but maybe the responses to those. And a little sidebar on conviction for a moment based on Romans 14...Christians do differ in their convictions in certain issues (now I am not talking about areas where God's Will is CLEARLY laid out). We must remember a few simple principles in this area...We should make sure not to judge those who have different convictions from ours, we should make sure that whatever our convictions are that they are from the Lord and in obedience to Him and lastly that are convictions are developed to the Lord and that we stay true to them. "If we go against our convictions we are sinning, even though others may have perfect freedom in that particular thing" (Bridges). As we pursue holiness we need to make sure our attitude is to develop these convictions out of obedience.
The second thing that we must develop if we really want to put the misdeeds of the flesh to death is commitment. Luke 14 is a tough but honest chapter in Scripture in which we read about how we MUST be willing to give up ANYTHING to follow Christ. For some reason we have the tendency to say, "just one more time" to our sinful habits. Whether it be overindulging in something or lusting after something else, today must be the day we STOP saying "just once more" and commit to go all out in the battle. We have to make it our aim not to sin! Now if we make that our aim we must realize that we are going to be hit with temptation from all sides. Bridges says, "There is no point in praying for victory over temptation if we are not willing to make a commtiment to say no to it." We must learn to deny tempation to mortify these deeds...learning is a slow process and painful at times because our old habits are hard to break. But with persistence and endurance we can see the Lord begin to cultivate new habits to replace the old. How exciting it is to see the reward of obedience.
So if we are really going to get serious about holiness, we need to get serious about mortifying...killing the misdeeds of the body. We need to start saying NO to temptaiton and start today, we can't afford compromise anymore. And oh the reward we will reap as we are sanctificed and become more and more like Jesus Christ and what joy it will be when we see our Maker face and are made perfect in His sight!!
Recently I have come across the truth in putting sin to death, what that really means in light of the Word and more importantly how we as followers of the Lord are commanded to do that on a daily basis and throughout our lives here on earth. What one first must realize is that when we read in Colossians 3:5 that we are to put to DEATH the deeds of the flesh that we are called to MORTIFY them. That is actually what the Greek translation means to destory the strength or vitality of and literally put to death that deed. That means that it is no longer living...that is a powerful word and an even more powerful reality. We are to destory the viatlity of sin in our life and make sure that it no longer is reigining in our bodies, and we can be encouraged by remembering that through the blood of Christ sin has been conquered and we no longer are bound to it. But how is this mortification done?
Well Jerry Bridges said it well when he said, "Mortification must be done by the strength and under the direction of the Holy Spirit." It is through His power that we have the strength given to our abilities and efforts to mortify the flesh and sinful nature in our hearts. It begins with conviction. When we are persuaded by the Spirit to live that holy life for Christ, we begin being convicted that without holiness nobody will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). In this conviction of holiness, we also develop conviction in specific areas of obedience. These convictions are made through continued feeding on the Word of God. We, even as Christians have been so drenched by the world and its values; and it is only by the Word of God that our values can be remolded and sanctified in the Truth. We must remember that on our pursuit of holiness we must be growing in our obedience to Him and the only way we can obey Him is if we know His commands, and what He expects of us in that obedience. A very effective way is to memorize. That is where I believe most Christians neglect their spiritual walk and the discipline that is lacking most because it seems either monotonous or difficult, but if we are going to call ourselves Christians we must realize that it is VITAL! David said it best in Psalm 119:11 when he said, " I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Memorization's goal is application of the Word to our lives. But back to that whole idea of conviction...realize that our conviction demands action. It is pointless in our progress of holiness if we ignore it and harden our hearts time and time again. Our conviction must govern our actions. I have heard many Christians ask how we develop convictions about areas that are not SPECIFICALLY laid out in Scripture and I found Jerry Bridges system of developing convictions in those areas both biblical and helpful; the formula is four basic questions that are based on three verses in 1 Corinthians:
1. "Everything is permissible for me'--but not everything is beneficial" (1 Corinthians 6:12)-- Ask yourself, "Is it helpful---physically, spiritually and mentally?
2. "Everything is permissibl for me'---but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12)-- Ask yourself, "Does it bring me under its power?"
3. "Therefore if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall" (1 Corinthians 8:13)-- Ask yourself, "Does it hurt others?"
4. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)-- Ask yourself, "Does it glorify God?"
Asking yourself these things will help you in developing conviction in your life if you are willing to do it! Remember it may not be the activities in our lives themself that are sinful but maybe the responses to those. And a little sidebar on conviction for a moment based on Romans 14...Christians do differ in their convictions in certain issues (now I am not talking about areas where God's Will is CLEARLY laid out). We must remember a few simple principles in this area...We should make sure not to judge those who have different convictions from ours, we should make sure that whatever our convictions are that they are from the Lord and in obedience to Him and lastly that are convictions are developed to the Lord and that we stay true to them. "If we go against our convictions we are sinning, even though others may have perfect freedom in that particular thing" (Bridges). As we pursue holiness we need to make sure our attitude is to develop these convictions out of obedience.
The second thing that we must develop if we really want to put the misdeeds of the flesh to death is commitment. Luke 14 is a tough but honest chapter in Scripture in which we read about how we MUST be willing to give up ANYTHING to follow Christ. For some reason we have the tendency to say, "just one more time" to our sinful habits. Whether it be overindulging in something or lusting after something else, today must be the day we STOP saying "just once more" and commit to go all out in the battle. We have to make it our aim not to sin! Now if we make that our aim we must realize that we are going to be hit with temptation from all sides. Bridges says, "There is no point in praying for victory over temptation if we are not willing to make a commtiment to say no to it." We must learn to deny tempation to mortify these deeds...learning is a slow process and painful at times because our old habits are hard to break. But with persistence and endurance we can see the Lord begin to cultivate new habits to replace the old. How exciting it is to see the reward of obedience.
So if we are really going to get serious about holiness, we need to get serious about mortifying...killing the misdeeds of the body. We need to start saying NO to temptaiton and start today, we can't afford compromise anymore. And oh the reward we will reap as we are sanctificed and become more and more like Jesus Christ and what joy it will be when we see our Maker face and are made perfect in His sight!!
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