"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith." Hebrews 12:2
On Sunday, we talked about keeping our eyes on Jesus and we likened it to a game of wiffle ball. What can we learn from wiffle ball that will help us with our faith? Here is the short version:
1) Keep your eyes on the ball. (Keep your eyes on Jesus.)
2) We must go after the ball. (Pursue Jesus.)
3) We must meet the ball. (Come to Jesus.)
4) Be sure to keep on swinging. (Don't give up.)
What are the distractions in your life that keep you from focusing on Jesus? Work? Recreation? Hobbies? Sports? Activities? When it comes to things like that, we must keep in mind our human nature that draws us away from pursuing God and His will. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, on His will, His word, His voice, we will find ourselves living a more abundant life and one that is more pleasing to Him.
If I am focused on God, I am less likely to sin, because Jesus conquered sin. (Romans 6)
If I am focused on God, I am less likely to be fearful, because Jesus is with me. (Matthew 28)
If I am focused on God, I am more likely to do His will, knowing He is in me. (Romans 8)
If I am focused on God, I am more likely to have peace, because Jesus is peace. (Ephesians 2:14)
If I am focused on God, I am less likely to be depressed. because Jesus is hope. (I Timothy 1:1)
What are the distractions in your life? What do you need to do in order to focus on Jesus more? Talk to me!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
What to Wear
Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
In Sunday's service, we talked about Paul's instructions to the church at Colossae in regards to holy living. It is important that he (in the passage right before verse 12) has been talking about "setting our hearts on things above" and putting to death the old things that come out of our human nature (impurity, lust, greed, rage, slander, and malice, to name a few). Then he goes from that into how we should clothe ourselves.
He tells us to clothe ourselves in a certain way because we are God's chosen people, and not only chosen but holy and dearly loved. So, he tells the Colossians, "dress the part!" Clothe yourselves with things that clearly come from the Holy Spirit within you. The Holy Spirit in on the INSIDE, so wear Him on the outside as well! So now we have the Holy Spirit inside and outside. Be who you are, or better yet, be who God sees you to be.
So let's review the character traits from this verse briefly:
Compassion - Compassion is love in action. You see a need and feel moved to help.
Kindness - Kindness is love that is sometimes undeserved. You are loving no matter what.
Humility - Humility is thinking of others as better than or above you. You love others more than yourself.
Gentleness - Gentleness is softness, kindness, or mildness. Whether it is correction or comfort that is needed, it is expressed in a kind and soft way.
Patience - Patience is being willing to wait. Love cannot be in a hurry!
Interesting that Paul goes on to say what binds it all together:
Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Love is what keeps it together. When I think about that, I think in practical terms. We can act in a compassionate way with a heart that feels resentment about helping. We can show kindness to a person while feeling angry on the inside. We can show humility while having a lot of pride in our hearts. We can act in a gentle way and at the same time feel frustrated and have a hard heart. We can be patient and be screaming "hurry up" on the inside.
When our good behavior isn't matched in our hearts, then at best we are demonstrating self-control. Not a bad thing, by the way. But how long can I really keep that up? If compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are not coming out of a loving heart, eventually the facade is going to crack and the "real deal" is going to come out.
So, yes, we must work on our behavior, but our real prayer should be that God fills us with love for Him that spills out into love for others. Our prayer should be that we are filled with the Holy Spirit so that the "clothes" of Colossians 3, are honest fruits of our relationship with God. Our desire should be that our love for others is so deep, that our clothing is an outcome of that love.
So what are you wearing this week? Talk to me!
In Sunday's service, we talked about Paul's instructions to the church at Colossae in regards to holy living. It is important that he (in the passage right before verse 12) has been talking about "setting our hearts on things above" and putting to death the old things that come out of our human nature (impurity, lust, greed, rage, slander, and malice, to name a few). Then he goes from that into how we should clothe ourselves.
He tells us to clothe ourselves in a certain way because we are God's chosen people, and not only chosen but holy and dearly loved. So, he tells the Colossians, "dress the part!" Clothe yourselves with things that clearly come from the Holy Spirit within you. The Holy Spirit in on the INSIDE, so wear Him on the outside as well! So now we have the Holy Spirit inside and outside. Be who you are, or better yet, be who God sees you to be.
So let's review the character traits from this verse briefly:
Compassion - Compassion is love in action. You see a need and feel moved to help.
Kindness - Kindness is love that is sometimes undeserved. You are loving no matter what.
Humility - Humility is thinking of others as better than or above you. You love others more than yourself.
Gentleness - Gentleness is softness, kindness, or mildness. Whether it is correction or comfort that is needed, it is expressed in a kind and soft way.
Patience - Patience is being willing to wait. Love cannot be in a hurry!
Interesting that Paul goes on to say what binds it all together:
Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Love is what keeps it together. When I think about that, I think in practical terms. We can act in a compassionate way with a heart that feels resentment about helping. We can show kindness to a person while feeling angry on the inside. We can show humility while having a lot of pride in our hearts. We can act in a gentle way and at the same time feel frustrated and have a hard heart. We can be patient and be screaming "hurry up" on the inside.
When our good behavior isn't matched in our hearts, then at best we are demonstrating self-control. Not a bad thing, by the way. But how long can I really keep that up? If compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are not coming out of a loving heart, eventually the facade is going to crack and the "real deal" is going to come out.
So, yes, we must work on our behavior, but our real prayer should be that God fills us with love for Him that spills out into love for others. Our prayer should be that we are filled with the Holy Spirit so that the "clothes" of Colossians 3, are honest fruits of our relationship with God. Our desire should be that our love for others is so deep, that our clothing is an outcome of that love.
So what are you wearing this week? Talk to me!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Just Do It!
Sunday we talked about obedience. Our verse for the day was "I will hasten and not delay to obey Your commands." (Psalm 119:60)
We briefly looked at the story of Jonah's disobedience. God told him to go to Nineveh, and Jonah had a "better" idea, or so he thought, and ended up running away on a ship going the opposite direction. God didn't stop him from going. He let him buy the ticket. He let him board the ship. He let him get part of the way, until he was in the middle of the sea with no possible chance of escape. Then God did what He does with all of us when we disobey--He disciplined Jonah.
We used three assertions that I want to remind you of as you go through this week and meditate on what you learned. Meditate and apply it as you "hasten to obey!" The first one is, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." The second is, "Obedience demonstrates our love." The third one is, "Just do it!"
Delayed obedience is disobedience. - This is a pretty practical assertion. Think about Jonah and what he did. After God gives him clear instructions of what to do and where to go, Jonah turns and runs the opposite direction of what God told him to do. He was walking in total disobedience to God. After landing in the belly of a big fish, he ends up doing what he absolutely should have done all along. So I suppose it could be said that after some period of time (we don't know how long, except we know he was in the big fish's belly for three days) he decides to obey God. But he kind of got backed into a corner, didn't he?
Now I don't know how God looks at it, but if I were God, I would have not counted that as obedience, but instead repentance. I would have said, "Hey man, this hardly puts a star in your crown. I gave you no choice on this one." Thankfully for Jonah, I'm not God. After the word of the Lord came to Jonah (again), "Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh." (Jonah 3:3) So apparently God did what He does, and gave Jonah a second chance and Jonah got that counted as obedience.
Obedience demonstrates our love. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." (John 14:15) We are demonstrating our love in choosing who we obey. If we give into our own will instead of doing what God says, we are demonstrating love of self more than love of God. If we give into the pressure of others who want us to do opposite of what God tells us to do, we are choosing love for others over love for God.
God wants us to obey Him, and if we love Him we will. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Jesus even went so far as to call that commandment "the greatest commandment." It is kind of interesting that not only does obeying God's commands demonstrate our love for Him, but also that by loving our God we are obeying His command. It is kind of a "what came first, the chicken or the egg" question. By obeying, we love God, and by loving God, we are obeying. I'm gonna have to think about that one!
Just do it! - When God tells you to do something or when you know of a command in the Bible, don't hesitate! Just do it! When you hear God's command (or read His command), don't take the time to decide if you want to, or if you will, or if it "feels" like the best thing for you and your plans and your will. Just do it!
Remember God never tells you to do anything that is not for your good. Just do it! God always provide the strength to do what He says. Just do it! When you obey God, you are avoiding unpleasant discipline. Just do it! When God commands you to do something it is because it fits with a larger plan that you might totally miss if you disobey. Just do it! If He tells you to do something, remember that He is asking you to demonstrate your love for Him. Just do it!
So what is it that causes you to hesitate to obey His commands? What are your thoughts about demonstrating your love for God by obeying Him? How would your life be different if you were to decide to obey God quickly and without delay?
Talk to me! I look forward to hearing what you think!
We briefly looked at the story of Jonah's disobedience. God told him to go to Nineveh, and Jonah had a "better" idea, or so he thought, and ended up running away on a ship going the opposite direction. God didn't stop him from going. He let him buy the ticket. He let him board the ship. He let him get part of the way, until he was in the middle of the sea with no possible chance of escape. Then God did what He does with all of us when we disobey--He disciplined Jonah.
We used three assertions that I want to remind you of as you go through this week and meditate on what you learned. Meditate and apply it as you "hasten to obey!" The first one is, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." The second is, "Obedience demonstrates our love." The third one is, "Just do it!"
Delayed obedience is disobedience. - This is a pretty practical assertion. Think about Jonah and what he did. After God gives him clear instructions of what to do and where to go, Jonah turns and runs the opposite direction of what God told him to do. He was walking in total disobedience to God. After landing in the belly of a big fish, he ends up doing what he absolutely should have done all along. So I suppose it could be said that after some period of time (we don't know how long, except we know he was in the big fish's belly for three days) he decides to obey God. But he kind of got backed into a corner, didn't he?
Now I don't know how God looks at it, but if I were God, I would have not counted that as obedience, but instead repentance. I would have said, "Hey man, this hardly puts a star in your crown. I gave you no choice on this one." Thankfully for Jonah, I'm not God. After the word of the Lord came to Jonah (again), "Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh." (Jonah 3:3) So apparently God did what He does, and gave Jonah a second chance and Jonah got that counted as obedience.
Obedience demonstrates our love. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." (John 14:15) We are demonstrating our love in choosing who we obey. If we give into our own will instead of doing what God says, we are demonstrating love of self more than love of God. If we give into the pressure of others who want us to do opposite of what God tells us to do, we are choosing love for others over love for God.
God wants us to obey Him, and if we love Him we will. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Jesus even went so far as to call that commandment "the greatest commandment." It is kind of interesting that not only does obeying God's commands demonstrate our love for Him, but also that by loving our God we are obeying His command. It is kind of a "what came first, the chicken or the egg" question. By obeying, we love God, and by loving God, we are obeying. I'm gonna have to think about that one!
Just do it! - When God tells you to do something or when you know of a command in the Bible, don't hesitate! Just do it! When you hear God's command (or read His command), don't take the time to decide if you want to, or if you will, or if it "feels" like the best thing for you and your plans and your will. Just do it!
Remember God never tells you to do anything that is not for your good. Just do it! God always provide the strength to do what He says. Just do it! When you obey God, you are avoiding unpleasant discipline. Just do it! When God commands you to do something it is because it fits with a larger plan that you might totally miss if you disobey. Just do it! If He tells you to do something, remember that He is asking you to demonstrate your love for Him. Just do it!
So what is it that causes you to hesitate to obey His commands? What are your thoughts about demonstrating your love for God by obeying Him? How would your life be different if you were to decide to obey God quickly and without delay?
Talk to me! I look forward to hearing what you think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
