Working Examples

               How tempting it can be to feel that we have done enough.  We may think back on all that we have already done and feel satisfied that we have filled our spiritual quota.  Perhaps we feel that the struggle to live as a godly person in this wicked world is all we can be expected to do.  To live as a faithful Christian among people with questionable morals is hard!  Surely God won’t expect us to do more… right?  The answer to that lies within the Scriptures.

               Consider Noah.  In all the world, he was the only godly man (Genesis 6:5, 8).  He led his family to follow God’s ways.  Just imagine being the only Christian family in the world!  Not only that, but Noah spent time and effort preaching to those uncaring, unheeding people (2 Pet. 2:5).  How difficult and disheartening a task that must have been!  How lonely and insurmountable.  But he pressed on.

               But was all that enough for God?  Did the Father decide that Noah had done plenty and deserved a break?  No.  God further expected Noah to build a large conveyance never seen before in the world (Gen. 6:14), as well as organize and tend the many animals sent to him (Gen. 6:19-21).  Not only that, but he needed to do this without leaving the other things undone.  God believed he could accomplish these tasks.

               Living as we should does not give us the right to expect exemption from further duties to God.  Doing right all our lives doesn't entitle us to retirement from spiritual responsibilities.  Though Paul endured persecutions, imprisonments, beatings, and even mishaps in bad weather, it was never enough.  He knew God expected yet more of him, as well as those he taught.  “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12-13)  There is always more to do, more to accomplish for the sake of the gospel.  There are more souls to win, more knowledge to learn or teach, and more lengths to extend ourselves to in order to grow and blossom as a follower of Christ.

Three Actions

               In Deuteronomy 11:22 it says, “… do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him.”  I think there are valuable action words here to note and consider.

               Loving  -  We must love God (Matt. 22:37), putting him ahead of all else.  This is not a touchy-feely love, but a matter of priorities.  If God is first in our lives, it is never a question of whether we will attend services or not.  We serve him because of love.

               Walking  -  We must choose to act upon what our LORD has shown us.  This is not just a matter of doing what others can see, but a manner of life (Phil. 1:27).  It should be a conscious habit that we check and re-check often to ensure that we are still walking in his ways.

               Holding  -  We must recognize that God is our unmovable bulwark (1 Cor. 15:58).  When things are difficult or life turns on us, we must remember that he is there for us.  When living as a Christian is harder than ever before, we should go to God in order to stay strong, to find shelter, and to stay on the straight and narrow path.

               If we do these things, God will take care of us.  In the context of Deuteronomy 11:22, he promised his special people that he would give them the land they walked in if they did these things.  But for us, he has promised to help us through the storms of life, offering a blessed rest forever afterwards (2 Cor. 4:17-18).  Can you love, walk, and hold in order to obtain eternal life?

Rise to the Challenge

               Do you rise to the challenge?  I do not mean the challenges you set for yourself.  Those are important for us to create and accomplish, there is no question of that.  However, setting our own challenges usually means that the goals we set are already within the boundaries of what we think we can achieve.

               No, what I mean to ask is about how you meet the unwanted, unlooked for challenges thrust upon each of us through life.  How we meet these is much more telling of our character.  How devoted to God are we when life makes serving Him much less convenient?  Would we rise to the occasion and face such temptations with confidence in God and His plans and promises to us, in that we will be given ways to endure and withstand them?  (1 Cor. 10:13)  During our times of trouble, we have an important choice to make.  Do we despair and doubt God, demanding to know and understand why God has not protected and looked after us?  Or do we trust in God to see us through, seeking the peace He provides (Phil. 4:7) and choosing to do our best to serve him in whatever capacity we are able?  (Romans 12:4, 6-8)

               Trials and tribulations test our faith (Jam. 1:2-3) and tempt us to not fully believe that God cares for His children.  I encourage each of us as we face life’s challenges and difficulties to seek out the new opportunities these situations provide us, and pursue these chances to grow spiritually, benefiting as is described in Romans 5:3-5.  We will reap the rewards of endurance, character, hope, and ultimately, eternal salvation.  These benefits are reason enough to actively step outside of our personal comfort zone, are they not?

               Life can be unkind and unjust.  May God be thanked that we have the knowledge and hope of our Lord being the one who will judge us by our actions and the state of our hearts.  Entrust your fate to God, as Christ did “entrusting himself to Him who judges justly.”  (1 Peter 2:23)

Choice

     Choice.  There is so much complexity and potential in that single word.  It is related to the awesome power of the word “hope”.  Choice however, in its own way, has more power even than hope.  One cannot predictably control the outcome of hope, as opposed to choice.  Hope may be fulfilled by someone else.  Hope may be held indefinitely, waited upon and cherished.  Choice is utterly different.

     Choice can be fleeting, purely in the moment.  Choice can be long anticipated and planned for.  Ultimately, choice is solely determined by the one making it.  It is defined and affected by beliefs, feelings, and priorities.  There are large and small choices, even choices that are easy to relegate as being inconsequential.  However, every single one of them has an astonishing amount of influence on the outcome in our lives.  The choice to buy cheaper bread may save some money, but it may go stale faster.  Choosing to smile at a stranger may result in unexpected blessings, or may encourage inappropriate behavior.  Putting off the choice about whether to serve God or not might end with our soul being lost, or we might be given another chance to choose wisely.

     When one makes the choice to obey God, the attitude with which we make it, the motivations, and the convictions (or lack thereof) will undeniably affect how our Christianity continues after baptism.  If such a choice is made lightly, or done to placate someone else, or even because it an assumed choice, what remains to ensure that obedient choices are made thereafter?  To be a Christian is not a single choice, but a lifetime commitment that applies to every choice made after baptism, right up to death.  These are the choices we must make in order to obtain our heavenly reward.

     Thus we come back to the intertwining of choice and hope.  Our hope for our spiritual lives should be the driving force behind all our choices.  A desire to obey God, to please Him both for His sake as well as our own, should determine the kind of choices we make in this life.

     Are you aware of what your choices say about your motivations?  Can you be certain that what you choose shows your dedication to Christ, to our Father’s ways, to the examples and commands we have been given?  Even a choice we may consider inconsequential may be one that influences another and affects their relationship with God, for good or ill.  Therefore choose wisely, as it is not merely your own eternal life that you influence with your everyday choices, but possibly the spiritual life of another person. 

Daily Mindset

     As Christians, God provides for our physical needs.  We all have food, clothes, and shelter.  (Matt. 6:31-32)  However, this is not where our true blessings are.  As humans, we tend to focus on our physical wants, but this is not our purpose here, nor is it what God wants to extend to us.  We are not promised good health, comfortable living, or serene emotional well-being.  According to Ephesians 6:1, God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”  That is where our focus should be, and that is where our hope lies.

     As we experience the daily grind of working, commuting, doctor’s appointments, cleaning house, making dinner, and any number of other things that press upon our minds every day, it can be hard to keep in mind that we have other work we should be doing, and another place that we are planning to go.  Following Christ means more than worship, more than clean language.  It means prayer (“pray without ceasing,”1 Thess. 5:17), teaching (“preach the word,” 2 Tim. 4:2), being a godly example (“an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity,” 1 Tim. 4:12), and self-examination (“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Tim. 4:16).  These are the things that should be on our minds daily, always beneath the day-to-day surface.  By doing these things, we will achieve the true blessing that God has promised: eternal life.  “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.”  (John 5:27)

What Happens?

               What happens when a heart is pricked by God's Word, but does not change?   God has given us our consciences for a vital reason, one that affects the salvation of our souls.  If, by the hearing of God's Word, our hearts sharply remind us that we have done wrong, it is essential that we heed that warning, lest our hardness of heart grieve the Spirit of God.

               Ephesians 4:30 says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,", explaining in verses 31 and 32, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."  If we hold any of these things against our brother or sister... if we are angry with them, or feel bitter, or speak evil of them to others, we are in sin.  Verse 26 specifically says, "Be angry, and do not sin."  It's easy to pass it off as the other person's fault, that we are right to be angry.  However, if we are not seeking a solution, we are most definitely part of the problem, and therefore just as guilty as the other person.

               The Bible is very clear about forgiveness.  We all owe our spiritual lives to the abundant forgiveness of God.  Why is it then so hard for us to lay aside our pride, our hurt feelings, and seek resolution to problems with have with our brothers and sisters in Christ?  Please, I beg you... consider the state of your relationships with your fellow Christians.  Work to make things right, and seek to regain God's favor through forgiveness, both earthly and heavenly.

Blessings

     What are blessings?  According to Dictionary.com, two of the definitions of blessing are, "a special favor, mercy, or benefit," and, "a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness."  If asked to name something recent that you count as a blessing, it is likely that you would choose something that came as a welcome surprise or a great relief.  We like to think of blessings and positive occurrances, provided by God's providence.  This way of seeing blessings is entirely valid and true.

     But I would like to submit that we are more blessed than we often recognize, and in ways we would never think to count as blessings.   Admittedly there are an infinite amount of positive things about our lives that we could account for as blessings, and we should take such an account often.  However, it is not only the positive things that are blessings.

     In my life thus far I have had to face difficulties of many kinds.  Possessions have been taken from me and from my child.  Peace of mind and safety have been stolen from my family.  Physical ailments ranging from mild to frightening have struck my loved ones, and I myself have struggled with debilitating pain.  However, in each situation, I have learned the wisdom of God's word.  When Paul wrote, "For when I am weak, then I am strong," (2 Cor. 12:10) he was not referring to learning to bear up under his physical infirmities, to endure and rise above them.  Rather, God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

     It is not our ability to survive these challenges in life that makes us stronger, but the fact that God helps us through them.  Each and every time something unpleasant, frightening, painful, or unhappy occurs, it is a chance to see it as a blessing.  We know that God is there with us, that He will care for us, and that all will be well in a little while, even if that "little while" is longer than we would have chosen for ourselves.  Even in the darkest times, there are things to be thankful for, from little to big.  Even when I am slow and creaky going up the stairs, I can rejoice that I am doing so rather than sitting down.  When I am needing to stay sitting down, I rejoice that I have a son who looks after me with love.  God gives us so very many blessings, and we owe it to Him to recognize them, even when unpleasant or unwelcome.  Let us give Him the glory He deserves by acknowledging the wisdom through which we are provided for.