I can't help but feel. Don't you sometimes wish that you were numb to emotion, to circumstances, to trials; I mean I know that all the pain I feel is a result of sin and that one day I will live free from it, but there are often times I want so badly to just be free from feeling. I recently have been bombarded with what has seemed like heartache to the max. My hurt hasn't stemmed from a circumstance in my own life or the sin that so easily entangles me but rather from a distance as I watch people that I love and have invested so much in simply draw nearer to the world and further from Him. I can't express the pain, the physical pain I feel within as I watch these people blindly living a life so far from what they used to, and from what the Bible commands. Despite the countless prayers and tears and the fact that I know God is in control the pain doesn't dissipate even though I have peace. And to be honest sometimes I sit and wonder what God is doing. I don't want to sound judgmental or that in some way I am putting myself on some pedastool because that is far from the Truth, I am merely experiencing the hurt and heartache of the sin of life.
Since the Lord saved me I have seen many of my friends come to the knowledge of the Lord, I have gained new brothers and sisters and God has enabled me to run with some, disciple others and be encouraged by many. Throughout the past eight almost nine years I have seen countless lives changed and the power of the Gospel displayed (Romans 1:16). It has been both humbling and well, it has pretty much rocked my socks off :). It is so amazing to see the power of God at work in the lives of people; and it is even cooler when we get to be used in some way to make that happen! From missions trips to youth ministry, from Christian colleges to coffee shops; I have seen God work through planting seeds, softening hearts and saving souls. All the glory goes to Him alone! Yet, within that time a parable that Jesus spoke long ago , as recorded in Matthew 13, has become more and more real than ever.
Many of us are familiar with the parable of the sower and the seeds, but fail to realize that Jesus was explaining exactly what was going to happen throughout the rest of history future. Lets look at the verses 1-9 :
" 1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."
Here we see four types of seeds thrown out...
1) The seed that was thrown on the path and the birds snatched away
2) The seed that fell on rocky places with little soil that sprang up quickly but had no roots
3) The seed that was among the thorns and got choked
4) The seed that fell on good soil and produced a crop
And these four seeds describe four responses to the Gospel and four types of people...(V 18-21)
1) The people who reject the Gospel as the evil one snatches the Truth away
2) The people who look like Christians for a time but when hard times come they leave because there was no root
3) The people who hear the Gospel but the worries of life and the want of wealth choke it
4) The people who receive the Gospel and are saved and produces a crop
Throughout my life I have seen these four people and responses to the Gospel. The reality that the road is narrow and few will enter has become more and more real in my eyes. To say that my heart is burdened is an understatement; I look around at the people around me and I long for salvation to come to some and for fervor and passion to come for others. I desire so badly for people to receive the grace that God has afforded me and for God to move in radical ways for His glory. In the midst of my burden I am assured that God is working and that He is doing exactly what He has planned from before the foundation of time; and although it is not the way I may want it to be it is exactly how He wants it to be!
I have to face the cold hard fact that I am not going to understand it all. You know, someone once told me as I was discouraged by a seed that had fallen among the thorns that "Jesus had Judas". As funny as that might sound it brought me so much peace and encouragement because I realized that if the King of the universe had someone who betrayed Him, I too was going to have the same. Although these people may not have betrayed me they have betrayed my God and it breaks my heart! I so badly long for people to have a love for Christ that overwhelms them and a passion to run hard after Him, but what I realized is that I can't make it happen...only He can. Sounds simple enough, but how often I forget. I so often think I can change people, I can make them believe or turn from their sin or overcome something in their life, but I CAN'T...ONLY HE CAN! My job remains to speak Truth, to love and to get on my knees and pray, pray and pray some more!
As I sit here and remind myself of these precious Truths and find encouragement in His Words, I want to remind you who are fighting the good fight ( Philippians 3) and running the race to take heart, to press on and to endure through it all with your eyes fixed on Him; although you may not understand why God does what He does, why He hasn't saved the person you have prayed for for ten years or why your best friend is falling hard for the world; you can trust that God is working all things for His glory and His pleasure and that He is sovereign and in control. I want to leave you with one of my new favorite verses, please be encouraged and don't stop running. ""You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." -Isaiah 26:3
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
The Trials of Life
Let's face it, being a Christian isn't easy; in fact when you decide to repent of your sin and put your faith in God you are in for a life altering change that has now just put you against the world and the greatest enemy of all...satan himself. The tragedy we see today is that false hope of a perfect life is presented to people by many "evangelicals" when in reality that is not what Scripture teaches at all. In fact look at the following:
Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
John 15:20 "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."
2 Timothy 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"
These are just some of the verses we see in Scripture promising us that EVERYONE who is truly saved is going to face hardship, suffering, persuction AKA TRIALS of all kinds.
First of all lets think about what kind of trials the Christian faces...
1) God's Testing- This is a specific trial that God has put you through
2) The Enemies Persecution- Like Job, God allows Satan to test and try the faith of His beloved
3) Self Inflicted- Sin and the consequences of that cause you to go through trials
But what is the purpose of these? Why do we have to go through trial and suffering as a Christian? Why do we have to hurt and feel pain?
Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. "
1 Peter 1:6-9 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. "
Trials of the faith enable us to be refined like gold, they strip away the bad stuff and make us more like Jesus. The trials of our faith enable us to depend more wholly on the Lord, and give us confidence in our salvation. They refocus our minds on what is important...eternity and the hope of heaven. And they allow us to relate to Jesus in a whole new way because He suffered through the most heinous of trials.
So the question then becomes how are you doing on the tests of faith? Are you passing or are you failing? Evidence of your salvation lies in your response to trials in your life. Matthew talks about the parable of the sower and the seeds, and one seed in particular that grew a little or appeared to until the weeds choked it; that represented the person who followed Christ when times were good but deserted Him in the hard times. If you are failing I urge you to ask yourself where your heart is, where your hope is, and why...turn from your sin and put your faith in Christ. If you are struggling through the hard times, find hope and encouragement in the promise that Christ has already wont he victory and as you cling to Him and depend on Him in this tough time you will overcome through His strength, press on. And if you are passing the tests of faith be excited about the confidence you have in the promise of your salvation!!
And although the Christian life is not an easy one there is a peace that transcends understanding, an unexpressible joy, a confident hope and an assurance of what is to come that floods the Christian's heart daily!!
Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
John 15:20 "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."
2 Timothy 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"
These are just some of the verses we see in Scripture promising us that EVERYONE who is truly saved is going to face hardship, suffering, persuction AKA TRIALS of all kinds.
First of all lets think about what kind of trials the Christian faces...
1) God's Testing- This is a specific trial that God has put you through
2) The Enemies Persecution- Like Job, God allows Satan to test and try the faith of His beloved
3) Self Inflicted- Sin and the consequences of that cause you to go through trials
But what is the purpose of these? Why do we have to go through trial and suffering as a Christian? Why do we have to hurt and feel pain?
Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. "
1 Peter 1:6-9 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. "
Trials of the faith enable us to be refined like gold, they strip away the bad stuff and make us more like Jesus. The trials of our faith enable us to depend more wholly on the Lord, and give us confidence in our salvation. They refocus our minds on what is important...eternity and the hope of heaven. And they allow us to relate to Jesus in a whole new way because He suffered through the most heinous of trials.
So the question then becomes how are you doing on the tests of faith? Are you passing or are you failing? Evidence of your salvation lies in your response to trials in your life. Matthew talks about the parable of the sower and the seeds, and one seed in particular that grew a little or appeared to until the weeds choked it; that represented the person who followed Christ when times were good but deserted Him in the hard times. If you are failing I urge you to ask yourself where your heart is, where your hope is, and why...turn from your sin and put your faith in Christ. If you are struggling through the hard times, find hope and encouragement in the promise that Christ has already wont he victory and as you cling to Him and depend on Him in this tough time you will overcome through His strength, press on. And if you are passing the tests of faith be excited about the confidence you have in the promise of your salvation!!
And although the Christian life is not an easy one there is a peace that transcends understanding, an unexpressible joy, a confident hope and an assurance of what is to come that floods the Christian's heart daily!!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Real Conversion
Last night at small groups a very common question was posed, "What if I walked away from the Lord for a while and then came back...does that mean I wasn't a Christian to start?" This is one of the biggest questions that surrounds the evangelical movement today; this whole idea of rededication. Our HS pastor Bobby Blakey has a great blog on this specific topic (http://www.compasschurch.org/blogs/pastorbobby/rededicating-your-life-to-christ/) and after last night I couldn't help but touch on the issue myself because it has burdened my own heart and through God's grace I have come to realize that, brace yourself, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS REDEDICATION, it just isn't biblical!
It should be enough that that term "rededication" isn't even found in Scripture but I want to try and support it even more. Let's think about what happens during "conversion" and try to see if rededication makes sense logically. I think the best passage to go to is Ephesians 2:1-10:
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Lets break it down first as to what goes on in the conversion process...
Step One: You are dead in your transgressions and sins; You are living for yourself as you follow the ruler of the world (Satan) and your flesh and gratify the cravings of your sinful flesh. Wow that is pretty intense! So this person is dead and the "object of God's wrath". Now lets think about that logically for a minute, is it possible to be kind of dead, or sort of dead, or alive and then dead and alive and then dead? No, I'm pretty sure once you die physically you are dead. So the first thing we must understand biblically AND agree with is that pre conversion you are dead.
Step Two: Then what? Well because of God's great love for us, because of his mercy and grace, he has saved those whom He calls. Okay so something happens to make you go from being dead in sin to alive in Christ? This is typically called your "conversion point". So you weren't breathing, you wren't moving, nothign and then all of the sudden you came to life; that is radical! So how did you come to life? Well God in His love drew you to Himself and convicted you of sin and enabled you to repent (aka...turn away from your sin towards Him) and believe (aka actively trust in) in the Gospel message (Christ died for your sins and rose 3 days later, the penalty for sin was paid in full). Alright so the logical conclusion from this is that there is going to be a HUGE change in the person, I mean come'on if someone was dead and now they are alive I think you are going to notice!
Step Three: Lastly the rest of their life (whether that be one hour or one hundred years) is marked by "good works" which we were made to do. What are these good works also known as? Fruit; things like serving, fruits of the Spirit, spreading the Gospel, denying your flesh, giving up sin and putting on righteousness etc. Do these good works save? NO of course not, that already happened but they do do something very crucial, Paul said in Acts 26:20 that, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds"; in other words your fruit is going to be the living proof of the inward conversion.
Alright so now that we have that understood back to this whole idea of rededication. Christians always ask if it is possible to have a "period" a "season" in their life in which they "fell away". That is a tough question because each person and case is a little different, but I will do my best to try and clarify this biblically. Do Christians sin? Yes, until we meet the King we will sin. Do Christians struggle with sin? Yes, nonChristians don't because they constantly give in, the Christian battles. Do Christians have "seaons" of their life in which they are LIVING IN SIN? No! That is not biblical, no where in Scripture do we read of someone who lived in sin for some period of time. Now we do read of many who sinned, for example David, the man after God's own heart who committed adultery and murder, or Peter who denied Christ three times; these men sinned, but was it a lifestyle of that? Were their lives characterized by that sin? Absolutely not. In fact both were almost immediately repentent, turning from that sin and turning to God for forgiveness and restoration.
If you are alive how can you be dead again? You can't! There is no way that you can be a carnal Christian, you can't really be saved and yet live in sin; God promises us that we no longer walk in sin (Romans 6) but we walk in holiness as we have the ability to say no to sin and to say yes to righteousness.
So what does it mean to be "living in sin" or have a life characterized by sin? Well first, you are as the passage above says, satisfying the cravings of the flesh continually; that goes for anything from lust to lying, from coveting to selfishness; your entire life is consummed with sin and there is no active repentance in your life. Secondly your life looks just like a nonbeliever, there is nothing that sets you apart from even the "best" non-Christian. And lastly you are not pursuing the Lord at all, there is no personal fellowship in the form of prayer or reading the Word, no serving, no fruits, you are a dead tree so to speak.
I could go on with examples but I will leave it at that. Ultimately there is only one moment in time in which you are converted, it is instant and it changes your life! Not only that but once you are saved you are always saved; John 36:37 says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." That is such a precious promise and a precious Truth that I forever hold onto. I love that once we are His we are forever! I know that even on this earth I will still sin I have the ability through His strength to fight that battle daily and to become more like Him, I have the promise that I will be rescued from temptation and He will discipline and chasten me even when I try to run away so to speak, how sweet is the Father to us.
John 12:46 says, "“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”" Once you are in the light you are ALWAYS in the light, find hope and peace in that!!
It should be enough that that term "rededication" isn't even found in Scripture but I want to try and support it even more. Let's think about what happens during "conversion" and try to see if rededication makes sense logically. I think the best passage to go to is Ephesians 2:1-10:
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Lets break it down first as to what goes on in the conversion process...
Step One: You are dead in your transgressions and sins; You are living for yourself as you follow the ruler of the world (Satan) and your flesh and gratify the cravings of your sinful flesh. Wow that is pretty intense! So this person is dead and the "object of God's wrath". Now lets think about that logically for a minute, is it possible to be kind of dead, or sort of dead, or alive and then dead and alive and then dead? No, I'm pretty sure once you die physically you are dead. So the first thing we must understand biblically AND agree with is that pre conversion you are dead.
Step Two: Then what? Well because of God's great love for us, because of his mercy and grace, he has saved those whom He calls. Okay so something happens to make you go from being dead in sin to alive in Christ? This is typically called your "conversion point". So you weren't breathing, you wren't moving, nothign and then all of the sudden you came to life; that is radical! So how did you come to life? Well God in His love drew you to Himself and convicted you of sin and enabled you to repent (aka...turn away from your sin towards Him) and believe (aka actively trust in) in the Gospel message (Christ died for your sins and rose 3 days later, the penalty for sin was paid in full). Alright so the logical conclusion from this is that there is going to be a HUGE change in the person, I mean come'on if someone was dead and now they are alive I think you are going to notice!
Step Three: Lastly the rest of their life (whether that be one hour or one hundred years) is marked by "good works" which we were made to do. What are these good works also known as? Fruit; things like serving, fruits of the Spirit, spreading the Gospel, denying your flesh, giving up sin and putting on righteousness etc. Do these good works save? NO of course not, that already happened but they do do something very crucial, Paul said in Acts 26:20 that, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds"; in other words your fruit is going to be the living proof of the inward conversion.
Alright so now that we have that understood back to this whole idea of rededication. Christians always ask if it is possible to have a "period" a "season" in their life in which they "fell away". That is a tough question because each person and case is a little different, but I will do my best to try and clarify this biblically. Do Christians sin? Yes, until we meet the King we will sin. Do Christians struggle with sin? Yes, nonChristians don't because they constantly give in, the Christian battles. Do Christians have "seaons" of their life in which they are LIVING IN SIN? No! That is not biblical, no where in Scripture do we read of someone who lived in sin for some period of time. Now we do read of many who sinned, for example David, the man after God's own heart who committed adultery and murder, or Peter who denied Christ three times; these men sinned, but was it a lifestyle of that? Were their lives characterized by that sin? Absolutely not. In fact both were almost immediately repentent, turning from that sin and turning to God for forgiveness and restoration.
If you are alive how can you be dead again? You can't! There is no way that you can be a carnal Christian, you can't really be saved and yet live in sin; God promises us that we no longer walk in sin (Romans 6) but we walk in holiness as we have the ability to say no to sin and to say yes to righteousness.
So what does it mean to be "living in sin" or have a life characterized by sin? Well first, you are as the passage above says, satisfying the cravings of the flesh continually; that goes for anything from lust to lying, from coveting to selfishness; your entire life is consummed with sin and there is no active repentance in your life. Secondly your life looks just like a nonbeliever, there is nothing that sets you apart from even the "best" non-Christian. And lastly you are not pursuing the Lord at all, there is no personal fellowship in the form of prayer or reading the Word, no serving, no fruits, you are a dead tree so to speak.
I could go on with examples but I will leave it at that. Ultimately there is only one moment in time in which you are converted, it is instant and it changes your life! Not only that but once you are saved you are always saved; John 36:37 says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." That is such a precious promise and a precious Truth that I forever hold onto. I love that once we are His we are forever! I know that even on this earth I will still sin I have the ability through His strength to fight that battle daily and to become more like Him, I have the promise that I will be rescued from temptation and He will discipline and chasten me even when I try to run away so to speak, how sweet is the Father to us.
John 12:46 says, "“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”" Once you are in the light you are ALWAYS in the light, find hope and peace in that!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Daily Battle
"From behind the shadow of the still small voice – more awful than tempest or earthquake – more sure and persistent than day and night – is always sounding full of hope and strength to the weariest of us all, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”" -Thomas Hughes
Have you ever thought about the fact that you are in a war as a Christian? Literally, everyday we wake up we are going into the battlefield, in fact even when we are sleeping we are in the battlefield; until we enter into the kingdom of heaven one day we are going to face the harsh reality that we are not of this world and the attack is on. As I was thinking about the sins that I struggle with regularly recently I was discouraged by the fact that I so regularly fail. Although I know that Christ has victory over sin and has enabled me to be an overcomer the weakness of my flesh and the temptation and lures of the enemy and the world constantly wage war in my soul...and does it ever get tiring! Praying MARANATHA, Lord come quickly is definitely the ever present desire in my heart, but I know that God has left me here, He has numbered my days as the Psalmist said and has a specific plan and purpose for my life as well as yours if you are one of His (Eph 2:10); and that means that I need to prepare for battle everday until He comes and takes me home.
Any soldier will tell you that before they go into battle they prepare, rarely will a soldier go into battle unprepared. We need to do the same! We need to prepare our minds as 1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." So what are we preparing our minds for? What on earth is the believer's warfare? I did a little bit of examining what Scripture had to say about this battle:
First this battle is internal: Galatians 5:17 "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Isn't this the truth, how often have we wanted so desparately to not sin and yet we give in. We must realize that the battle begins within, it begins within the depravity of our flesh and we must be on guard.
Next the battle is with the world: Galatians 3:22 says, "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." The world is bombarding us with sinful temptations day in and day out, but take heart Jesus says in John 16:33, ""I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.""
And lastly the battle is with the enemy himself, Satan: Ephesians 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." This is intense, our struggle is an ongoing battle by a force that has a lot of God given granted power and is a master mind schemer.
So how do we fight it? We put on the armor of the Lord of course! In Ephesians 6:13-18 we read, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. "
Practically speaking what does this mean....
1. Belt of Truth- THINK TRUTH, BE BIBLICAL, PURSUE HIM
2. Breastplate of Righteousness- PUT OFF THE SINFUL WAYS AND PUT ON RIGHTEOUS/GODLY HABITS THEY WILL GUARD YOUR HEART
3. Feet with readiness to share the Gospel- THAT IS OUR MISSION
4. Shield of Faith- OUR CONFIDENCE IN HIM AND TRUST IN WHAT HE DID AND WILL DO WILL PROTECT US FROM THE LIES THAT ARE THROWN OUR WAY
5. Helmet of salvation- A HELMET PROTECTS YOUR HEAD, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR SALVATION IS WHAT PROTECTS YOU FROM DEATH AND GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO LIVE ETERNALLY
6. Sword of the Spirit- THE WORD OF GOD, THE SWORD LETS YOU FIGHT SUCCESSFULLY
And lastly it says PRAY! That is crucial in this all out battle. John Piper called prayer a "wartime walkie talkie".
We can hope in knowing that He has already overcome the world and that each day as we embark on this journey and go head on into battle we have a commander in chief who has already won!
Have you ever thought about the fact that you are in a war as a Christian? Literally, everyday we wake up we are going into the battlefield, in fact even when we are sleeping we are in the battlefield; until we enter into the kingdom of heaven one day we are going to face the harsh reality that we are not of this world and the attack is on. As I was thinking about the sins that I struggle with regularly recently I was discouraged by the fact that I so regularly fail. Although I know that Christ has victory over sin and has enabled me to be an overcomer the weakness of my flesh and the temptation and lures of the enemy and the world constantly wage war in my soul...and does it ever get tiring! Praying MARANATHA, Lord come quickly is definitely the ever present desire in my heart, but I know that God has left me here, He has numbered my days as the Psalmist said and has a specific plan and purpose for my life as well as yours if you are one of His (Eph 2:10); and that means that I need to prepare for battle everday until He comes and takes me home.
Any soldier will tell you that before they go into battle they prepare, rarely will a soldier go into battle unprepared. We need to do the same! We need to prepare our minds as 1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." So what are we preparing our minds for? What on earth is the believer's warfare? I did a little bit of examining what Scripture had to say about this battle:
First this battle is internal: Galatians 5:17 "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Isn't this the truth, how often have we wanted so desparately to not sin and yet we give in. We must realize that the battle begins within, it begins within the depravity of our flesh and we must be on guard.
Next the battle is with the world: Galatians 3:22 says, "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." The world is bombarding us with sinful temptations day in and day out, but take heart Jesus says in John 16:33, ""I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.""
And lastly the battle is with the enemy himself, Satan: Ephesians 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." This is intense, our struggle is an ongoing battle by a force that has a lot of God given granted power and is a master mind schemer.
So how do we fight it? We put on the armor of the Lord of course! In Ephesians 6:13-18 we read, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. "
Practically speaking what does this mean....
1. Belt of Truth- THINK TRUTH, BE BIBLICAL, PURSUE HIM
2. Breastplate of Righteousness- PUT OFF THE SINFUL WAYS AND PUT ON RIGHTEOUS/GODLY HABITS THEY WILL GUARD YOUR HEART
3. Feet with readiness to share the Gospel- THAT IS OUR MISSION
4. Shield of Faith- OUR CONFIDENCE IN HIM AND TRUST IN WHAT HE DID AND WILL DO WILL PROTECT US FROM THE LIES THAT ARE THROWN OUR WAY
5. Helmet of salvation- A HELMET PROTECTS YOUR HEAD, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR SALVATION IS WHAT PROTECTS YOU FROM DEATH AND GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO LIVE ETERNALLY
6. Sword of the Spirit- THE WORD OF GOD, THE SWORD LETS YOU FIGHT SUCCESSFULLY
And lastly it says PRAY! That is crucial in this all out battle. John Piper called prayer a "wartime walkie talkie".
We can hope in knowing that He has already overcome the world and that each day as we embark on this journey and go head on into battle we have a commander in chief who has already won!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Joyful No Matter What
It seems that throughout my life the Lord has been faithful to provide me with a verse for every season, both tragedy and triumph, a verse that encourages and spurs me on and keeps my heart and mind steadfast on Him. I love Isaiah 26:3 in which we read, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you" or Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God", and then there is Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him", or Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." or even Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful"...and I of course could go on, those are just a few of the verse that come to mind when I think of specific verses the Lord gave me during specific seasons in my life. I am sure that you too can think of a handful of verses that God has used to keep you steadfast during the ups and downs in your life.
I recently was having a conversation with a coworker and the topic of depression came up. This individual was explaining how they had been having a period in their life where they were always sad, hurting, and angry for what they believed to be "no reason"; not being saved, this person's immediate reaction was to make a phone call to the doctor and set up an appointment to get diagnosed with depression so they could get the pills to "balance" out. As I sat there thinking about what was going on I continued our discussion and soon realized a foundational truth of all humanity...happiness for humanity is circumstantial, not so profound I know but it definitely is something that is true for all of the human race. If life is going great then the person tends to be happy and joyous and the moment that life takes a turn for the worse so do the emotions, everything is based on the circumstances and situations surrounding that individual. And then as I am sitting there having this conversation with them I realize that I am blessed (happy) because God is my rock. Okay yeah I knew that all along but in that moment it really hit me, it hit me that no matter what I do in life, no matter what situations come my way, no matter how hard or how tough life gets I have a peace and a joy that never fade, and then God gave me a verse... Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."
This promise is something that I am so sure of, that no matter what befalls me in life I will always be secure and confident in my standing with Christ and bottom line that is all that matters, and there is happiness in that because we are truly blessed!! I love the prophets description here that despite the circumstances that befall, and the fact that there is really every reason "logically" or from a human perspective to be upset and depressed, yet despite that He will rejoice BECAUSE His hope and joy are found in God His Savior who strengthens and enables Him to find peace and perservere. As I continued to dwell on this precious promise I was so encouraged looking back over the seasons of my life and seeing how despite it all there was a consistency in my heart because God is and was my portion and although everything else failed HE WOULDN'T!
What a treasure we have as sons and daughters of the King, what a precious promise we have inherited and what a blessing it is to have the Truth of Scripture that the Spirit impresses on our hearts perfectly giving us specific verses to enable us to continue running!
I recently was having a conversation with a coworker and the topic of depression came up. This individual was explaining how they had been having a period in their life where they were always sad, hurting, and angry for what they believed to be "no reason"; not being saved, this person's immediate reaction was to make a phone call to the doctor and set up an appointment to get diagnosed with depression so they could get the pills to "balance" out. As I sat there thinking about what was going on I continued our discussion and soon realized a foundational truth of all humanity...happiness for humanity is circumstantial, not so profound I know but it definitely is something that is true for all of the human race. If life is going great then the person tends to be happy and joyous and the moment that life takes a turn for the worse so do the emotions, everything is based on the circumstances and situations surrounding that individual. And then as I am sitting there having this conversation with them I realize that I am blessed (happy) because God is my rock. Okay yeah I knew that all along but in that moment it really hit me, it hit me that no matter what I do in life, no matter what situations come my way, no matter how hard or how tough life gets I have a peace and a joy that never fade, and then God gave me a verse... Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."
This promise is something that I am so sure of, that no matter what befalls me in life I will always be secure and confident in my standing with Christ and bottom line that is all that matters, and there is happiness in that because we are truly blessed!! I love the prophets description here that despite the circumstances that befall, and the fact that there is really every reason "logically" or from a human perspective to be upset and depressed, yet despite that He will rejoice BECAUSE His hope and joy are found in God His Savior who strengthens and enables Him to find peace and perservere. As I continued to dwell on this precious promise I was so encouraged looking back over the seasons of my life and seeing how despite it all there was a consistency in my heart because God is and was my portion and although everything else failed HE WOULDN'T!
What a treasure we have as sons and daughters of the King, what a precious promise we have inherited and what a blessing it is to have the Truth of Scripture that the Spirit impresses on our hearts perfectly giving us specific verses to enable us to continue running!
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