"I would rather play with forked lightning, or take in hand living wires with their fiery current, than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous darts which thousands of Christians are hurling on others, to the hurt of their own souls and bodies." -A.B. Simpson
I was reading through the book of James yesterday and came across one of the most convicting passages in all of Scripture, at least for me personally, specifically in James 3. The passage dealt with the topic of our words, our mouths and how important and yet how sinful they are. I am so often shocked at what comes out of my mouth; I can think of numerous times in which I wish that I could just suck back up the words I said or rewind the tape, but truth be told, words once they leave your mouth can never be taken back. The tongue however has great power, I think we underestimate the power of our words as the tongue can speak both positively and negatively and often times because of our sinful flesh the latter occurs. If you think about it for a moment I am sure you can think of times that you yourself have been hurt by words that someone carelessly or even purposely spoke towards you or even about you, and those words will never be erased (although forgiveness takes place the words were said). And on the flip time I am sure, just as I can, that you can think of a time when you have said something that you wished you would have never said.
In James 3:2-12 we read...
"We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Talk about convicting! The only person on this planet that ever spoke without a word of gossip, slander, lie, or anything not edifying to others or honoring to the Lord was the God-man Jesus Christ. But just because we know that on this side of heaven we are not going to be "perfect" does that mean that we just give up? Absolutely not! It does not leave us exempt from striving towards holiness for He commands it.
The anaolgies used here in chapter 3 are so interesting, James speaks of small things that have the power to control a lot and likens it to the fact that although the tongue is a very small part of the body, it has the ability to influence EVERYTHING in life. John MacArthur expounds on the fire analogy and explains, "like fire, the tongue's sinful words can spread destruction rapidly, or as its accompanying smoke, those words can permeate and ruin everything around it"; that my friend is the power of your words. In Proverbs 18:21 we read that, "The tongue has the power of life and death".
James goes on to explain that out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. How often have we went to church to worship the Lord and at church we have gossiped or slandered someone else name? How often have we said a prayer in the morning and on shortly after sent a text message to a friend talking badly about someone or something? The truth is brutal but we must see it and face the reality that we so often use our tongues in the most counter opposing ways. But when you logicaly think about it how is that even possible?? I am so often guilty of this and many times without it even phasing me will say something that should never have come out of my mouth because one it is not glorifying to God and secondly it doesn't edify anyone else. Many Christians think that this specific passage is only talking about foul language/cursing when in reality it is talking about ANY kind of language or ANY words that are not going to build up/encourage another or glorify Christ.
But how do we control this? How do we make sure that we are using our words in a way that would most honor the Lord and encourage others? How do we make sure that our words are not both of light and of dark or of good and evil? It all begins in the heart, whatever you are saturating and filling your heart/mind with is going to influence you the most. So if you are in the Word, meditating on Truths of Scripture and spending time in fellowship with those who will encourage and sharpen you you are going to be spill out what goes in, and that will be things that are lovely and pure and true(Philippians 4:8) as opposed to things that are unrighteous. So it begins there. We read in Luke 6:45, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." So what is in your heart is going to translate onto your lips...kind of a scary thought when you begin to think about what comes out of your mouth huh?!
But the comfort, encouragement, and hope in it all is that God gives us the ability to speak rightly, to use our words to encourage, to edify one another. We have power in our words.. When you start looking at it that way you may be more careful to choose what comes out of your mouth. Oh to be used by the Savior as a tool with your words! In Hebrews 3:13 we read, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Let us do that, lets be known for the good that comes out of our mouth so that those around us may look at us and glorify our Father in heaven! I urge you brothers and sisters, use your words as a source of life!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Do You Pray?
"MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY" -Luke 18:1
About a year and a half ago I was recommended a book by J.C. Ryle titled "A CALL TO PRAYER"; it looked like nothing more than a typical little pamphlet (in fact it was only 30 pages) on praying, what I soon discovered was that it was a rich exhoration from a Godly man. I remembered the book yet after reading it once failed to ever look at it again, I think I may have even written a blog after reading it a long while ago, but I recently stumbled upon it once more and what I found once again was more exhortation and more encouragement from Ryle that I couldn't help but share with each of you! My prayer is that you might be encouraged to pick the little book up, it is but a couple dollars, and find the deep treasures inside.
He starts off simple by begging the question DO YOU PRAY? Why would he ask such a question in a book that is intended for the "Christian" I remember thinking, I mean come'on obviously I pray. And yet he quickly reminds the reader that "it is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray"...that is where the conviction began. The following are reasons he begs the question, there are many included in the small book but I picked the four that stood out the most to me...
1. A HABIT of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian
"It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They cannot do otherwise than they do. They MUST pray."
Looking throughout Scripture at the lives of Godly men and women you find that they had a devotion to prayer, it was a big part of their lives; even present day missionaries, or men of the church were prayer warriors. If someone is not praying how is he communing with God? How can He be saved? How can he be feeling brokeness of sin? How can he be thanking God for His mercy and provision? A habit of prayer identifies a Christian!
2. There is no duty more NEGLECTED than prayer
"It is one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave undone."
Millions of people of all time have never uttered a word of prayer to the creator of all, they simply don't talk to Him and selfishly live their lives wrapped up completely in themselves. Yet for even those who claim to "pray" they are not really praying, it is but a form, repetition of words where no heart is involved. True prayer is not natural to anyone. It is impossible for sin and prayer to live in a man's heart.
3. Prayer is an act with great ENCOURAGEMENT
"There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw near to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice He made for us upon the cross."
Jesus is our intercessor, He is the one presenting our prayers to God! Our prayer is His delight! The Spirit is in our hearts, as believers, and giving us the words to say in that prayer, HE is giving us grace and supplication. Ryle explains that there are promises, precious promises for those who pray, look at Matthew 7 "Ask in prayer BELIEVING and you shall receive". And all throughout Scripture we see the power of that prayer, what a hope!
4. Diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent HOLINESS
"They are all fighting the same good fight; but how much more valiantly some fight than others. They are all doing the Lord's work; but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same reace; but how much faster some get on than others. They arll love the same Lord and Savior; but how much more some love Him than others."
Pursuing holiness involves prayer...and alot of it! We look around and see those that run hard and fast and we wonder what their secret of holiness may be, it begins at the throne room of God!
So for those of us who DO pray be encouraged and remember to...
*Come in reverence and humility- Ecclesiastes 5:2
*Pray spiritually- asking the Spirit to help
*Make it a regular part of life
*Have Perseverence- Colossians 4:2, 1 Thess 5:17
*Earnestness in Prayer- James 5:16
*Praying with Faith- Mark 11:42- "We should endeavor to believe that our prayers are heard and if asked according to God's will, will be answered!"
*Boldness- with a spirit of confidence
*With Fullness- we are not likely to err on praying too much, Ps 81:10- "Open they mouth wide and I will fill it"
*Specifically/Particularity- Be specific in what you pray for/about
*Intercede- don't be selfish in your prayer
*Be thankful- All of Scripture gives us the example of thankfulness going hand in hand with petition in prayer
*Watchful over prayers- It is the spiritual "pulse"
So let us pray, and pray, and pray some more and remember the God who holds it all in His hands hears your prayers!
About a year and a half ago I was recommended a book by J.C. Ryle titled "A CALL TO PRAYER"; it looked like nothing more than a typical little pamphlet (in fact it was only 30 pages) on praying, what I soon discovered was that it was a rich exhoration from a Godly man. I remembered the book yet after reading it once failed to ever look at it again, I think I may have even written a blog after reading it a long while ago, but I recently stumbled upon it once more and what I found once again was more exhortation and more encouragement from Ryle that I couldn't help but share with each of you! My prayer is that you might be encouraged to pick the little book up, it is but a couple dollars, and find the deep treasures inside.
He starts off simple by begging the question DO YOU PRAY? Why would he ask such a question in a book that is intended for the "Christian" I remember thinking, I mean come'on obviously I pray. And yet he quickly reminds the reader that "it is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray"...that is where the conviction began. The following are reasons he begs the question, there are many included in the small book but I picked the four that stood out the most to me...
1. A HABIT of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian
"It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They cannot do otherwise than they do. They MUST pray."
Looking throughout Scripture at the lives of Godly men and women you find that they had a devotion to prayer, it was a big part of their lives; even present day missionaries, or men of the church were prayer warriors. If someone is not praying how is he communing with God? How can He be saved? How can he be feeling brokeness of sin? How can he be thanking God for His mercy and provision? A habit of prayer identifies a Christian!
2. There is no duty more NEGLECTED than prayer
"It is one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave undone."
Millions of people of all time have never uttered a word of prayer to the creator of all, they simply don't talk to Him and selfishly live their lives wrapped up completely in themselves. Yet for even those who claim to "pray" they are not really praying, it is but a form, repetition of words where no heart is involved. True prayer is not natural to anyone. It is impossible for sin and prayer to live in a man's heart.
3. Prayer is an act with great ENCOURAGEMENT
"There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw near to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice He made for us upon the cross."
Jesus is our intercessor, He is the one presenting our prayers to God! Our prayer is His delight! The Spirit is in our hearts, as believers, and giving us the words to say in that prayer, HE is giving us grace and supplication. Ryle explains that there are promises, precious promises for those who pray, look at Matthew 7 "Ask in prayer BELIEVING and you shall receive". And all throughout Scripture we see the power of that prayer, what a hope!
4. Diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent HOLINESS
"They are all fighting the same good fight; but how much more valiantly some fight than others. They are all doing the Lord's work; but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same reace; but how much faster some get on than others. They arll love the same Lord and Savior; but how much more some love Him than others."
Pursuing holiness involves prayer...and alot of it! We look around and see those that run hard and fast and we wonder what their secret of holiness may be, it begins at the throne room of God!
So for those of us who DO pray be encouraged and remember to...
*Come in reverence and humility- Ecclesiastes 5:2
*Pray spiritually- asking the Spirit to help
*Make it a regular part of life
*Have Perseverence- Colossians 4:2, 1 Thess 5:17
*Earnestness in Prayer- James 5:16
*Praying with Faith- Mark 11:42- "We should endeavor to believe that our prayers are heard and if asked according to God's will, will be answered!"
*Boldness- with a spirit of confidence
*With Fullness- we are not likely to err on praying too much, Ps 81:10- "Open they mouth wide and I will fill it"
*Specifically/Particularity- Be specific in what you pray for/about
*Intercede- don't be selfish in your prayer
*Be thankful- All of Scripture gives us the example of thankfulness going hand in hand with petition in prayer
*Watchful over prayers- It is the spiritual "pulse"
So let us pray, and pray, and pray some more and remember the God who holds it all in His hands hears your prayers!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
God Given Desires?
**A Blog Just For Girls**
I am really excited to write this blog for many reasons, but probably the most because I believe that it will be a source of great encouragement and hope for many young ladies. What I am about to share with you is something that greatly encouraged me yesterday and provided me with what I believe is a more God-ward focus about a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. This is for my sisters in the Lord who are running hard after Him!
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a sister in the Lord who I both respect and admire in so many ways; there are very few Godly woman whom I aspire to be like and whom I see as role-models and examples within my sphere of influence and she is one of them. Anyways, during our conversation she posed a very real question that went something like this..."What do you want to see God do in your life in the next year?" Now of course, me being the girl who has been broken by the Lord for her control, I was a bit caught off guard and didn't know exactly how to respond because in my heart there are many desires I have but I have come to a place of knowing in any moment God can take those desires away or change them if they are not part of His plan. But at the same time there are desires, longings, and things that I yearn for deep within that don't fade away despite my pursuit of the Lord and of holiness, in fact, the closer I get to Him the more these desires seem to grow. So as I shared my heart with her and the desires I had for the upcoming year I had to begin with what was on the forefront of my mind, that being the desire to be married and to have a family, to be able to serve my husband, to serve alongside him and raise kids in the way they should go. Now as I was sharing this I couldn't help but ask her her wisdom/counsel/Godly adivce about the struggle I wrestle with so often. There are countless opinions and countless books all over the spectrum on exactly how a single girl is supposed to approach the desire they have for marriage. I myself have jumped all over the place wrestling in my own heart with what I am supposed to do with these desires and what the biblical and right way is to respond. So my question was, as a Godly young woman who longs for a spouse, where does my heart need to be, and how do I handle that desire. What she shared with me was so encouraging and so TRUE! I spent the rest of the day thinking through what she had said and studying more on my own and I pray that you will be encouraged by what God opened my eyes to.
Contentment...we are told constantly that we need to be content, whether it be content in your job, school, relationships, singleness, it doesn't matter, just be content. But what does it even mean to be content? I looked up the word content and it is described as, "satisfied, at ease, to be selfsufficient ". Jerry Bridges described contentment as, "This is the secret of being content: 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." And what does the Bible have to say about being content since we should drive our Truth from here? I believe that the best passage for this comes from Philippians and Paul's experience where we read, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13). So when God calls us to be content in our lives, in our circumstances, in our situations, and for me (and many of you reading this) in my current singleness situation what does He really desire? Does He want me to give up my desire to be a wife and a mom? Does He want me to get to a place of being "happy single" so that then He will know I am ready for that person? Does He want me to be happy and overjoyed single? I believe the answer, and biblically so, to all of those questions is No, not necessarily (and I say this because there are case-by case situations which we need to realize motivations and where we are with the Lord). No God does not want me to give up that desire. No God does not want me to be happy and not wanting a husband so then I am ready. No He doesn't want me to be overjoyed being single. No this is not what God wants. So then what on earth does He want when we are told to be content, or satisfied? He wants us to be content and satisfied IN HIM! That means that our joy, our delight, our satisfaction is driving from the source of it, God alone. That means that everyday I have the strength and ability to live because I find my strength in Him. I am content in who I am in Him. I am content and satisfied in what He did for me. I am content knowing He provides for me. Paul says that His secret to contentment is found in the fact that He finds His strength in the Lord through any situation. When I thought about that, read that and meditated on that I couldn't help but think WOW! My contentment merely means that I am sufficient IN HIM apart from this world...I don't need the things of this world, I don't desire sin, I can withstand the trials that come my way, I can be at peace no matter what. Being content has nothing to do with me trying to force myself to be okay by giving up what is a God-given desire. Let me give a quick example...if God had given you the desire to be a pastor, would you try and get rid of that desire? I think not.
**Now sidebar before I continue, please know that when we are seeking fulfillment or satisfaction or contentment in worldly things, then we can be sure that our desires are not coming from God. If our motivations are wrong, and if our pursuit is not of Him, then we are not content in Him. If your desires are not God-honoring or go against His commands then you can also be sure they aren't His!**
So being content must mean that I am satisfied in who He is for me, and once God has enabled you to find that satisfaction and contentment you begin developing within your heart HIS desires for you. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." To delight means Do you know that as you spend time with the Lord daily, meditating on His Truths and seekign Him through prayer He is going to cultivate within you HIS desires. And when you are delighting, or finding your contentment in Him He is going to give you those desires BECAUSE they are HIS! This is a radical thought my sisters, think about that for a moment...the God of the universe gives you specific desires, that are to fulfill His plan for you. Ephesians 2:10 says that, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Oh how I am so encouraged by this Truth!
Alright so IF we are content in the Lord then what does that mean I do with my desire for a husband, my desire to be married and to have a family if God doesn't have me in that place, if I am not dating someone, if I am not engaged, if I am not married? I think Jesus is our best model to go to for this. Well, what did Jesus do when He wanted the Father's will? When He wanted the desires of His heart to be completed? HE PRAYED. If the Jesus Christ, the divine one is praying to the Father how much more do we need to do this. Let's look at some examples:
1. Praying before His first preaching tour in Galilee- Mark 1:35-39
2. Praying after the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-16)
3. Praying before choosing the twelve disciples (Luke 6:12,13)
4. Praying after being rejected by certain cities in Galilee (Matthew 11:25)
5. Praying prior to the feeding of 5000 people (John 6:11)
6. Praying before teaching the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1; Matthew 6:9-13)
7. Praying at the grave site of Lazarus (John 11:41, 42)
8. Praying over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 19:41-44)
9. Praying in the upper room prior to His death (Matthew 26:26-28)
10. Praying in Gethsemane prior to His death (Mark 14:32-42; Matthew 26:39-46)
11. Praying at the Ascension (Luke 24:50-53)
12. Praying today for the believer (Romans 8:34; I John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24)
Here are just 12 examples of Jesus praying, interceeding on behalf of us, and crying out to His Father for strength and the fulfillment of desires/promises. And my sister, we need to do the same, it is crucial! If we have desires we need to be constantly, persisently, and patiently bringing them before the throne room of God EVERY DAY, all the time, telling the Lord our desires, telling the Lord our longings and deepest yearnings and asking Him to fulfill them! We also should be praying that God would prepare us, God would make us ready, He would make us "wife material" so to speak.
But there is one last crucial ingredient to all this praying and asking from the Lord, we MUST believe He can do it. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus Himself said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus is telling us today as well that we must have "Active Trust" so to speak; which means that we fulfill our faithfulness in prayer and pursuing holiness and finding our joy and contentment in Him through the working of the Spirit BUT we also have to have the faith or the trust that He will and can do what He has promised!
So all this to say, my dear dear sisters, please be encouraged by this foundational truth of contentedness. Remember that your joy, your hope, your satisfaction MUST be found in Him and Him alone no matter where life may have you. But please also remember that if you are there, if you are seeking Him with your whole heart, if you are fighting sin, being faithful with where He has you, and seeking Him first, then know that those desires and longings you are developing are from the Father above and He desires, despite the fact that He knows and has placed them there, for you to come to His feet and tell Him, to ask Him, and to believe with your whole heart that all things are possible through Him who strengthens you.
And remember, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" -Matthew 7:11
I am really excited to write this blog for many reasons, but probably the most because I believe that it will be a source of great encouragement and hope for many young ladies. What I am about to share with you is something that greatly encouraged me yesterday and provided me with what I believe is a more God-ward focus about a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. This is for my sisters in the Lord who are running hard after Him!
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a sister in the Lord who I both respect and admire in so many ways; there are very few Godly woman whom I aspire to be like and whom I see as role-models and examples within my sphere of influence and she is one of them. Anyways, during our conversation she posed a very real question that went something like this..."What do you want to see God do in your life in the next year?" Now of course, me being the girl who has been broken by the Lord for her control, I was a bit caught off guard and didn't know exactly how to respond because in my heart there are many desires I have but I have come to a place of knowing in any moment God can take those desires away or change them if they are not part of His plan. But at the same time there are desires, longings, and things that I yearn for deep within that don't fade away despite my pursuit of the Lord and of holiness, in fact, the closer I get to Him the more these desires seem to grow. So as I shared my heart with her and the desires I had for the upcoming year I had to begin with what was on the forefront of my mind, that being the desire to be married and to have a family, to be able to serve my husband, to serve alongside him and raise kids in the way they should go. Now as I was sharing this I couldn't help but ask her her wisdom/counsel/Godly adivce about the struggle I wrestle with so often. There are countless opinions and countless books all over the spectrum on exactly how a single girl is supposed to approach the desire they have for marriage. I myself have jumped all over the place wrestling in my own heart with what I am supposed to do with these desires and what the biblical and right way is to respond. So my question was, as a Godly young woman who longs for a spouse, where does my heart need to be, and how do I handle that desire. What she shared with me was so encouraging and so TRUE! I spent the rest of the day thinking through what she had said and studying more on my own and I pray that you will be encouraged by what God opened my eyes to.
Contentment...we are told constantly that we need to be content, whether it be content in your job, school, relationships, singleness, it doesn't matter, just be content. But what does it even mean to be content? I looked up the word content and it is described as, "satisfied, at ease, to be selfsufficient ". Jerry Bridges described contentment as, "This is the secret of being content: 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." And what does the Bible have to say about being content since we should drive our Truth from here? I believe that the best passage for this comes from Philippians and Paul's experience where we read, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13). So when God calls us to be content in our lives, in our circumstances, in our situations, and for me (and many of you reading this) in my current singleness situation what does He really desire? Does He want me to give up my desire to be a wife and a mom? Does He want me to get to a place of being "happy single" so that then He will know I am ready for that person? Does He want me to be happy and overjoyed single? I believe the answer, and biblically so, to all of those questions is No, not necessarily (and I say this because there are case-by case situations which we need to realize motivations and where we are with the Lord). No God does not want me to give up that desire. No God does not want me to be happy and not wanting a husband so then I am ready. No He doesn't want me to be overjoyed being single. No this is not what God wants. So then what on earth does He want when we are told to be content, or satisfied? He wants us to be content and satisfied IN HIM! That means that our joy, our delight, our satisfaction is driving from the source of it, God alone. That means that everyday I have the strength and ability to live because I find my strength in Him. I am content in who I am in Him. I am content and satisfied in what He did for me. I am content knowing He provides for me. Paul says that His secret to contentment is found in the fact that He finds His strength in the Lord through any situation. When I thought about that, read that and meditated on that I couldn't help but think WOW! My contentment merely means that I am sufficient IN HIM apart from this world...I don't need the things of this world, I don't desire sin, I can withstand the trials that come my way, I can be at peace no matter what. Being content has nothing to do with me trying to force myself to be okay by giving up what is a God-given desire. Let me give a quick example...if God had given you the desire to be a pastor, would you try and get rid of that desire? I think not.
**Now sidebar before I continue, please know that when we are seeking fulfillment or satisfaction or contentment in worldly things, then we can be sure that our desires are not coming from God. If our motivations are wrong, and if our pursuit is not of Him, then we are not content in Him. If your desires are not God-honoring or go against His commands then you can also be sure they aren't His!**
So being content must mean that I am satisfied in who He is for me, and once God has enabled you to find that satisfaction and contentment you begin developing within your heart HIS desires for you. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." To delight means Do you know that as you spend time with the Lord daily, meditating on His Truths and seekign Him through prayer He is going to cultivate within you HIS desires. And when you are delighting, or finding your contentment in Him He is going to give you those desires BECAUSE they are HIS! This is a radical thought my sisters, think about that for a moment...the God of the universe gives you specific desires, that are to fulfill His plan for you. Ephesians 2:10 says that, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Oh how I am so encouraged by this Truth!
Alright so IF we are content in the Lord then what does that mean I do with my desire for a husband, my desire to be married and to have a family if God doesn't have me in that place, if I am not dating someone, if I am not engaged, if I am not married? I think Jesus is our best model to go to for this. Well, what did Jesus do when He wanted the Father's will? When He wanted the desires of His heart to be completed? HE PRAYED. If the Jesus Christ, the divine one is praying to the Father how much more do we need to do this. Let's look at some examples:
1. Praying before His first preaching tour in Galilee- Mark 1:35-39
2. Praying after the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-16)
3. Praying before choosing the twelve disciples (Luke 6:12,13)
4. Praying after being rejected by certain cities in Galilee (Matthew 11:25)
5. Praying prior to the feeding of 5000 people (John 6:11)
6. Praying before teaching the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1; Matthew 6:9-13)
7. Praying at the grave site of Lazarus (John 11:41, 42)
8. Praying over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 19:41-44)
9. Praying in the upper room prior to His death (Matthew 26:26-28)
10. Praying in Gethsemane prior to His death (Mark 14:32-42; Matthew 26:39-46)
11. Praying at the Ascension (Luke 24:50-53)
12. Praying today for the believer (Romans 8:34; I John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24)
Here are just 12 examples of Jesus praying, interceeding on behalf of us, and crying out to His Father for strength and the fulfillment of desires/promises. And my sister, we need to do the same, it is crucial! If we have desires we need to be constantly, persisently, and patiently bringing them before the throne room of God EVERY DAY, all the time, telling the Lord our desires, telling the Lord our longings and deepest yearnings and asking Him to fulfill them! We also should be praying that God would prepare us, God would make us ready, He would make us "wife material" so to speak.
But there is one last crucial ingredient to all this praying and asking from the Lord, we MUST believe He can do it. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus Himself said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus is telling us today as well that we must have "Active Trust" so to speak; which means that we fulfill our faithfulness in prayer and pursuing holiness and finding our joy and contentment in Him through the working of the Spirit BUT we also have to have the faith or the trust that He will and can do what He has promised!
So all this to say, my dear dear sisters, please be encouraged by this foundational truth of contentedness. Remember that your joy, your hope, your satisfaction MUST be found in Him and Him alone no matter where life may have you. But please also remember that if you are there, if you are seeking Him with your whole heart, if you are fighting sin, being faithful with where He has you, and seeking Him first, then know that those desires and longings you are developing are from the Father above and He desires, despite the fact that He knows and has placed them there, for you to come to His feet and tell Him, to ask Him, and to believe with your whole heart that all things are possible through Him who strengthens you.
And remember, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" -Matthew 7:11
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Getting to the Heart Of It...Literally
We like to blame everything on everyone else...I mean ever since the beginning of time that has been the pattern; look back to Genesis 3 and notice how it was Adam who blamed Eve who blamed Satan. Even as Christians we like to minimize our sinfulness and magnify our godliness and somehow seem to think that there is "good" within us. What is so often the case among Christians today is to think that when we are tempted to sin or when we sin it is because some outside influence, or most commonly some scheme of the devil has "made us sin"...I once heard someone say when asked why they stole something, "the devil made me do it". Now, although this can be the case in many circumstances, this is only coupled with the fact that our hearts are where it starts, and that even as Christians they are wicked and deceitful, or as our high school pastor likes to say, "cesspools of wickedness" (Jeremiah 17:9).
I have been wrestling with why we, myself included, as chosen kids choose to sin! I mean I know that we are imperfect until the day of redemption but I guess my Spirit within me just doesn't get it. In Jerry Bridge's book he talks about how a Christian willingly sins because they are no longer in bondage but have been freed. Paul talks in Romans about how he does the very things he hates and doesn't do the things he knows he should do. So why, in light of the cross, in light of the insurmountable amounts of blessings we have, in light of who God is do we slip up all the time, but more importantly why do we CHOOSE to disobey?
I believe James 1:13-15 gives us good insight into this very idea, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. " So what do we see here? I think it is quite obvious from the passage that each one of us has certain "lusts" or evil desires in our hearts. With enticement these lusts stimulate our drive to sin. You can see that temptation in and of itself is not sin, it is when that temptation turns into a desire that sin is birthed. That means that there is a way to stop at the temptation and choose NOT to sin! And lets just get one thing down, nobody is ever going to understand their heart entirely. Jeremiah 17:9 says that only God can know the heart fully because of how wicked and evil it truly is. But that does not mean that we just give up and give into sin then. In fact, that should be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being.
Nobody has ever had to teach any child to love themselves, it just comes natural. People, whether boastful or full of self pity are all full of pride and love themselves far too much. Because of that love for oneself we tend to overlook the wickedness within our own hearts and we fool ourselves into thinking we Christians really aren't that bad. We even sometimes start to compare ourselves to so-and -so at church or those pagans down the street. Elyse Fitzpatrick once said, "Sin speaks to us in our hearts telling us that the wrongs that we are planning is right". That is a scary thought, how self-deceived we truly are! Now coupled with the fact that we are self-deceived is the fact that in our areas of weakensses, in those areas of temptation the enemy will prey and look to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." He is looking to ally with the wickedness of our own hearts and seek to cause us to fall.
So just because we can never know the fullness of our deceived heart doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive with all our might to purge ourselves from the uncleanliness of it. In fact God's holiness and our love for Him shoudl be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being. But how am I supposed to do this you might ask? Well here are three simple and practical ways that have helped me and that may enable each of us to better pursue holiness as we seek to understand our own sinfulness.
1. Be In The Word
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." -Hebrews 4:12
Only as we are in the Word will we be able to understand our hearts and more accurately be able to judge our thoughts and intentions. It is only here in the Bible that we can gain the wisdom we so desparately need. Paul himself in Romans 7:7 said that it was not until he was in the Word that he realized His covetous behavior was sinful. How are we to know what is right and wrong if we don't look to the one who commands it all? We must be saturating ourselves in the Word.
2. Pray, Pray and Pray Some More
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." -Matthew 26:41
We must humbly realize our dependence upon the Lord and ask God to teach us where our strong desires are (aka the ones that lead us into sin). We also want to pray that God would enable us to be alert so that when the time comes and our flesh is enticed we will resist that tempation.
3. Rely on the Spirit's Power
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." -John 14:26
Only the Holy Spirit can help you resist tempation. He is the most effective agent for change, it is by His power that we were made new in Christ and went from death to life. He is the one who convicts and convinces ous of sin and it is by His power that we are able to overcome sin in our lives. "You can be confident that as His Spirit trains you in truth you will grow in your ability to discern good and evil" (Elyse Fitzpatrick). Romans 8:13 tells us that by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body. And only He can bring about real and lasting change.
So our hearts are wicked and deceitful and really impossible to understand. We constantly deceive ourselves and yet we somehow think that there is good within...how discouraging can this get?! BUT GOD in His grace and mercy has redeemed us from the bondage of sin my brothers and sisters!!! He has freed us from the power of that bondage and has given us His Word to guide us, the ability to ask Him for the help we need and the Spirit's power to say NO to sin and willingly choose to obey our Father in heaven! How great the blessing it is to be a child of the most Holy One. May our hearts break for the very things that break His and may we truly desire to understand the heart that we have been given and by His grace choose to say no to the sin that so easily entangles it (our heart that is)!
I have been wrestling with why we, myself included, as chosen kids choose to sin! I mean I know that we are imperfect until the day of redemption but I guess my Spirit within me just doesn't get it. In Jerry Bridge's book he talks about how a Christian willingly sins because they are no longer in bondage but have been freed. Paul talks in Romans about how he does the very things he hates and doesn't do the things he knows he should do. So why, in light of the cross, in light of the insurmountable amounts of blessings we have, in light of who God is do we slip up all the time, but more importantly why do we CHOOSE to disobey?
I believe James 1:13-15 gives us good insight into this very idea, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. " So what do we see here? I think it is quite obvious from the passage that each one of us has certain "lusts" or evil desires in our hearts. With enticement these lusts stimulate our drive to sin. You can see that temptation in and of itself is not sin, it is when that temptation turns into a desire that sin is birthed. That means that there is a way to stop at the temptation and choose NOT to sin! And lets just get one thing down, nobody is ever going to understand their heart entirely. Jeremiah 17:9 says that only God can know the heart fully because of how wicked and evil it truly is. But that does not mean that we just give up and give into sin then. In fact, that should be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being.
Nobody has ever had to teach any child to love themselves, it just comes natural. People, whether boastful or full of self pity are all full of pride and love themselves far too much. Because of that love for oneself we tend to overlook the wickedness within our own hearts and we fool ourselves into thinking we Christians really aren't that bad. We even sometimes start to compare ourselves to so-and -so at church or those pagans down the street. Elyse Fitzpatrick once said, "Sin speaks to us in our hearts telling us that the wrongs that we are planning is right". That is a scary thought, how self-deceived we truly are! Now coupled with the fact that we are self-deceived is the fact that in our areas of weakensses, in those areas of temptation the enemy will prey and look to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." He is looking to ally with the wickedness of our own hearts and seek to cause us to fall.
So just because we can never know the fullness of our deceived heart doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive with all our might to purge ourselves from the uncleanliness of it. In fact God's holiness and our love for Him shoudl be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being. But how am I supposed to do this you might ask? Well here are three simple and practical ways that have helped me and that may enable each of us to better pursue holiness as we seek to understand our own sinfulness.
1. Be In The Word
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." -Hebrews 4:12
Only as we are in the Word will we be able to understand our hearts and more accurately be able to judge our thoughts and intentions. It is only here in the Bible that we can gain the wisdom we so desparately need. Paul himself in Romans 7:7 said that it was not until he was in the Word that he realized His covetous behavior was sinful. How are we to know what is right and wrong if we don't look to the one who commands it all? We must be saturating ourselves in the Word.
2. Pray, Pray and Pray Some More
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." -Matthew 26:41
We must humbly realize our dependence upon the Lord and ask God to teach us where our strong desires are (aka the ones that lead us into sin). We also want to pray that God would enable us to be alert so that when the time comes and our flesh is enticed we will resist that tempation.
3. Rely on the Spirit's Power
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." -John 14:26
Only the Holy Spirit can help you resist tempation. He is the most effective agent for change, it is by His power that we were made new in Christ and went from death to life. He is the one who convicts and convinces ous of sin and it is by His power that we are able to overcome sin in our lives. "You can be confident that as His Spirit trains you in truth you will grow in your ability to discern good and evil" (Elyse Fitzpatrick). Romans 8:13 tells us that by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body. And only He can bring about real and lasting change.
So our hearts are wicked and deceitful and really impossible to understand. We constantly deceive ourselves and yet we somehow think that there is good within...how discouraging can this get?! BUT GOD in His grace and mercy has redeemed us from the bondage of sin my brothers and sisters!!! He has freed us from the power of that bondage and has given us His Word to guide us, the ability to ask Him for the help we need and the Spirit's power to say NO to sin and willingly choose to obey our Father in heaven! How great the blessing it is to be a child of the most Holy One. May our hearts break for the very things that break His and may we truly desire to understand the heart that we have been given and by His grace choose to say no to the sin that so easily entangles it (our heart that is)!
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