Wednesdays In The Word: Romans 12:9-13

Let love be genuine. 

Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection. 

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Romans 12:9-13

Set-Apart or Legalistic?

"Because there is a lot of legalism in the modern church, many of us have a distorted view of what it means to be set-apart for Christ. We often worry it means that we will become a stiff, somber, “holier-than-thou” type of woman who is far too concerned about following a set of rules to ever relax or enjoy life. But legalism and true set-apartness are two very different things. Legalism oppresses, but true set-apartness liberates. Legalism chokes life, but true set-apartness gives life. Legalism is based upon self-effort, but true set-apartness is based upon the supernatural enabling grace of God. Legalism is based upon rules, but true set-apartness is based upon a relationship with the King of all kings."

- Leslie Ludy -

Prayer As The Steering Wheel - Part #3

       What role does prayer play in your life? (When problems arise do you innately go to your knees in heartfelt prayer or do you try to fix the situation with your own wit and wisdom? ) On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your prayer life?  Think about it for a moment or even write down your answer.  Do you see it as absolutely crucial to your everyday existence or as an optional part of your life? 
     For many years prayer wasn't present in my life.  While trying to fight the inevitable sleep that would soon dawn on me in a matter of minutes,  I would  throw a couple requests God's way before dozing off to dream land.  After hearing some amazing stories of people of prayer and the mighty ways God answered, I became rather fond of the idea of praying and decided to try it for longer than 5 minutes.  I can recall several times where I would passionately get on my knees and....fall asleep:(  This is a lot harder than I thought, I said to myself.  But although prayer is hard work (it doesn't come naturally or with ease) I have come to see the imperative need to pray, not only in my life but also in the life of every believer.  It is through prayer that we come to know our Savior, gain His vision for our life, and lay it all at His feet in a desire to gain Him.  Prayer must become our steering wheel, it's not optional.

Prayer has become as essential to me as the heaving of my lungs, 

and the beating of  my pulse.

- Charles Spurgeon -

     Have you ever wished you could see the big picture of your life?  Instead of being restrained to the ant's
limited view of what lies ahead, there are times when I wish could see the eagle's view, knowing what will happen in my life.  But God has chosen a different way for His children.  It is the path of many unknowns partnered with a Father who is known and who knows every step of the way ahead.  While my finite mind cannot fully comprehend, I know that I have a Lord who knows the past, present and future, who, by His sovereign hand, already has my life planned out.  He holds my future in His hand.  Shouldn't I take the time to ask Him about it?  Can I not bring all my worries and concerns to Him and ask Him to lead me?  Is He not capable of doing so?   Let us pray as though the answers to these questions are true, for they are.  God sees what we cannot, let us learn to trust Him and pray to Him concerning our future.  There is comfort in knowing that the future is in the Father's hand and that we can hold on to that same hand for the wisdom and direction we need.
     That same hand that offers to lead and guide us also changes us.  The very promise of grace is not to leave us how God found us, but to conform us more into the image of Him son.  Believe me, there is much conforming that needs done in our lives if we are truly to walk in obedience to the Father's will.  That is why one of the main results of prayer is conformity of our desires and will to His.
I love the promise of Psalm 37:4.

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Yes! That means that if I pray and do all that Christian 'stuff' God is going to give me whatever I want, right?  Not quite.  You see, when we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, He changes our desires to be in line with His. It is in those quite moments of prayer where we catch a greater glimpse of the awesomeness of our God, gain a lesser view of yourself and ignite a passion to live for Him alone.  As we lay our lives on the altar in willing surrender, we loose our vision for our life and gain His.  If you want to know God's will, pray, for through much prayer God conforms our desires to His.

A soul silent to God is apt to be sullen rather than submissive.

 - Charles Spurgeon -

   The idea of listening for God has recently been popularized through pastors, books and many evangelical leaders.  By silencing ourselves and just sitting and listening for the Lord to speak to us is now the popular way to know what God wants.  However, I am afraid that this unbiblical approach to prayer has left many deceived and disillusioned.  Scripture clearly points out that we speak with God through prayer and God speaks to us through His Word.  (Check out Hebrews 1:1-4) Justin Peters puts it well when he says:

If you want to hear from God, read your Bible. 
If you want to hear from God audibly, 
read your Bible out loud.
(You can smile now)

     While we should all be seeking to know God's will, we do not do it through listening for a still small voice to suddenly speak to us, we go to God's Word.  So how does prayer fit into all of this?

    Unlike any other book, the Bible takes the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit for us to understand it's truth.  Any skeptic can read the Bible and walk away unchanged, but the Holy Spirit must work in the life of a believer, using God's Word as a tool to teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)
Every believer should prayerfully read God's Word, communing with the Savior and asking Him to use the Holy Spirit in her life to make God's Word effectual in her life.  

   Often times God direct us through His Word in our times of prayer.  The other night I was praying about a decisions I needed to make and was asking for God's wisdom when He brought a passage of scripture to mind.  God used His Word, through my prayer, to help me know what His will was in this situation.  It is in times of prayer, asking the Lord for wisdom that He will lead us back to His Word to know where/what He wants us to do.  Again, this should provide great motivation in our lives to learn God's Word.  The more we know God's word, the more He can use it in our lives to know His will.

     So let me ask you a different question.  Will you pray? 

Unmistakable Christianity

Wednesdays In The Word: Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand 

against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 

but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this

 present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand 

in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened 

on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  

and, as shoes for your feet,  having put on the readiness given by the gospel of 

peace.   In all circumstances take up the shield  of faith, with which you can extinguish

 all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword 

of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, 

with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, 

making supplication for all the saints.

Know God's Will by Knowing His Word - Part #2

      How do we know God's will?   Let me start off by listing some ways we do not find God's will.

• We do not find God's will by silently waiting for Him to audibly speak to us
• By waiting for miracles to happen  ( i.e. asking God to wet a sheep skin like Gideon did.)
• By doing whatever we want and hoping that somehow we are acting within His will
• By flipping a coin or some other superficial means

If this is what we do not do, what are the steps we take to discover God's will?  At a recent conference, one of the speakers used this order sensitive list for seeking God's will.

We can know God's will through:

1. His Word 
2. Prayer
3. Our own desires

Examining scripture, we will dive into the first one this week.

Knowing God's Will Through His Word 

     Have you ever had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night when it is pitch black and you can't see anything?   On multiple occasions, as I have blindly stumbled through the halls, I have been assaulted by little toys on the floor or even my half-open door which I accidentally walked into, leaving a welt on my forehead.  In the same way we can either stumble through this life being in danger of making the wrong step or we can run unhindered in the path of God's will with His Word as the light to our path! 

     As in Pilgrim's Progress, Christian uses the Word of God to direct Him on His journey, so we must choose to do the same.  Any tool is ineffective if it is not used.  Every day we must seek the Lord through His Word.   In Colossians 2 it says that, "in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge".   Paul reminds all believers of the purpose of God's Word in 2 Timothy 2:16:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,

 and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God's Word is the tool He has given us to equip and train us in a knowledge of His will.  

I have heard Romans 12:1-2 quoted many times.  But as I read it this time something stuck out to me. Let's look at verse two together.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

     We all know we aren't supposed to be conformed to this world, following it's patterns, but how does this verse say we avoid that?  By renewing our minds in God's Word, the only form of truth that transforms us more into the image of Christ and allows us to know God's will!  We can read many book on planning our lives, but in reality we only need the Word of God to discern what is the will of God.  If you want to know God's will, know His Word.  

"Cling to The Word as though your very life depended on it because... I can assure you, it does."

Paul Washer

     Now I want to ask you a question.  Let's say you and I are in the army.  Currently we are in training but in a short while we will face battle head on.  The commander gives us a book filled with instructions on how to fight, survive and be successful while we are on the battle field.  Handing it over, He warns us that our survival and success in battle is dependent on how well we know the instructions laid out in the book.  How much time would we spend reading, memorizing and pouring over this instruction book???  I would image any serious soldier would invest a lot of time in learning and applying these instructions.  Now let me ask you another question. How much time are we spending, doing the same thing over the pages of scripture???  We need to starting taking God's Word seriously and actively pour ourselves into the pursuit of a knowledge of it. 

     Every aspect of the Christian life is dependent on The Word of God.  In Romans 10:17 we see:

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Our salvation is dependent on hearing the Word.   In the same way we see that the source of our sanctification comes from God's Word in John 17:17:

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

And one day we will be glorified  when the Lord calls us home!  Every part of the Christian life is directly linked to God's Word. Don't believe the lie that being in God's Word is not essential to your life.   This couldn't be further from the truth.  
    However, we don't pursue knowledge just for the purpose of being smart or making our parents happy by the fact that you know what the definition of propitiation is.   Reading God's Word is a means to an end.  Paul Washer puts it well when he says:

The goal of the Christian life is the pursuit of an intimate knowledge of God that leads to a greater estimation of His worth, a greater satisfaction and joy in His person, and a greater giving of oneself for His glory.
-Paul Washer 

     The other day my mom wanted to make clam chowder.  After getting online, she finally found a recipe that looked good.  Scrolling through the reviews, one of them caught her eye.  Complaining that the soup didn't turn out well, the reviewer said that there must have been something wrong with the recipe.  However, the problem really wasn't the recipe but the fact that this person didn't follow it!!! Substituting water for clam juice (a key ingredient) and adding in or leaving out other key ingredients, the chef didn't get the desired result.  
     There are two things I think we can glean from this story when it comes to God's Word.  The first is this, we shouldn't just read God's Word, we need to apply it.  Just as the cook decided to read the recipe and then do her own thing, we need to read God's Word and submit ourselves to it.  There is a reason God's Word is called the Word of Truth for it is the source of truth, not of suggestions.  Every area of our life must come under the authority of Christ and His Word, that in everything He might have preeminence. (Colossians 1:18) If you want to know God's will for your future, follow in obedience to His Word now.  Oh the blessing that comes when we walk in obedience!
     Upon hearing this story, there is a second truth that we must be reminded of.  Following God's recipe for life, without substituting in our own wisdom, will always result in a successful life.  (But God's measure of successful is very different from the world's!  Check out God's Word to see what His success looks like:)  After reading the review my mom went ahead and decided to make the soup and you know what, it turned out great!!!!!  Trust the Lord, follow His Word, walk by faith and leave the results in His hands.  

So a quick summary? 
Read it, Live it! for we find God's will primarily in His Word. 

Find Part #1 by clicking Here

He Has Always and WIll Always Be Faithful!

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate 17 years of God's faithfulness!  My mind can not recall to memory all the times my loving Savior has been so good to me. I do not deserve His love and blessings, yet He freely lavishes them upon me each day.  So as I turn another year older I celebrate the Lord's faithfulness.  He has been faithful in the past, He will remain faithful in the future.  I can trust Him.

~

As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!

Psalms 40:11