But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:18 How can we have a Holy Spirit-filled home? By changing the direction of our vision. What we need to do as parents and as spouses is to focus on Christ. Not church activities, not learning a method of behavior. This passage pulls no punches on what we are to do, and also clearly lays out what will happen to us. Bible scholar David Guzik says: "As we behold the glory of God, we will be transformed. God will change our lives, and change us from the inside-out. Though the old covenant had its glory, it could never transform lives through the law. God uses the new covenant to make us transformed people, not just "nice" people." Bible scholar John MacArthur says: "...as you gaze at His glory, the Holy Spirit does His work of changing you into His image. Being filled with the Spirit then is being moved along in the progress of sanctification by the power of the Holy Spirit, because you are so focused on the revealed truth concerning Christ contained, of course, in Holy Scripture." So... what is the main focus in our home? Is it being nice, or is it beholding God's glory? Are our devotions learning about God's glory or merely memorizing passages? Let's make an effort to change our sight-lines toward the glory of Christ! It will change us.
0 Comments
"I wish I looked like her, she has such pretty hair..." "It doesn't seem fair! He wins all the trophies..." "Did you see their new car? It's a lot better than ours..." "Our house is never as clean as theirs..." Song of Solomon 8:6 - Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. 1 Corinthians 13:4 - Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant. Philippians 2:3 - Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. James 3:14-15 - But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. Psalm 37:1-3 - Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. James 3:16 - For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. Proverbs 14:30 - A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Parents, are we guarding against the danger of jealousy in our home? We're not doing a good job of showing Christ's love - and His patience! - if we or our children have an envious spirit. Are our kids jealous of some other child's athletic ability, appearance, or possessions? For that matter are we parents envious of someone else's looks, leadership position, or financial wealth? Our earthly ministry is not a game of one-upmanship! Jealousy will interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Two Texas farm boys were working on their farm and realized that the hill of stinging ants needed to be taken care of. Carefully laying a small circle of poison around a hill of stinging ants, they laid their trap. The stinging ants thought the tiny granules of poison were food, so they picked them up and carried them into the hill, which the boys knew would spread throughout the many tunnels of the colony. Satisfied that the ants were continually carrying the food in, the boys went back to work in the fields. After the lunch hour, the farm boys returned, and saw an amazing sight... Sure enough, multitudes of stinging ants were carrying the poison down into their colony, but there were other kinds of ants stealthily moving around at one side of the poison - smaller ants had found the poison "food" and were actually stealing it from their ant neighbors. Thinking that they were getting away with an easy cache of food, they were unknowingly poisoning themselves. The two Texans realized a message in church from their preacher, talking about the danger of covetousness, and how the desire to wrongly want other's possessions can poison a Christian spiritually. If we carry a spirit of jealousy, we hinder the Spirit of God in our lives. "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." - 1 Thess.5:6 As parents, we're often ready to explain something or remind about a rule. In an instant, we can instruct about table manners or within seconds we can hash out the virtues of the University of Tennessee football team or the upcoming sports game. Are we just as ready to explain truths about Jesus in day-to-day events? It will make a powerful impact upon our family. We should always be ready to show Jesus in small things as well as large. Red Barber was perhaps one of the greatest baseball broadcasters of all time. His attention to detail and insightful comments constantly stood him above the rest. When asked how he did so well, he simply answered that every game - no matter what time of year or what the significance - was taken seriously and with great preparation. Red Barber said, "You have to be as fully prepared for the dull game as you are for the great one, or else you won't be prepared for the great one." Do we share Jesus day-to-day? Christ's coming will instead be the greatest time in our history. But are we prepared for it, and do we demonstrate that readiness to our kids? Are our lives ready in actions as well as words, in small ways as well as big decisions? For that matter, what about extended family? There are friends and relatives who do not know the Savior, yet we avoid witnessing because it is either not exciting, or too difficult...or maybe even dull. Could we prepare and diligently work through the trenches so that when the "great game" time approaches, we will be ready? We read this verse but it's hard for us to grasp Romans 8:28. “God causes all things to work for our eternal glory to those who love God,to those who are called according to His purpose.” Seriously? The baby's colic? The unpaid bill? The errant child in rebellion? The leaky plumbing? The church member who left our assembly? These all work together? I studied on this passage and sought how we parents could best understand this. I found an excellent insightful look at this from John MacArthur's message Conforming to the Glory of God. Let me put it here so you can read the first part word for word. The next section will be in tomorrow's blog. The bold and italics are mine, put in for emphasis. Here is John MacArthur: "...in verse 28 it says, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good,” and that good, I told you last time, is our eternal good, our eternal glory. “God causes all things to work for our eternal glory to those who love God,” that being a designation of true believers, “to those who are called according to His purpose.” That verse is very, very important. All things, God causes to synergize – that’s the verb, synergize – for our eternal good. That means nothing can produce a negative outcome. Everything – good things, bad things, and indifferent things – God works together for our eternal good. Why? Why does He do that? And this is the key, and I want you to get that if nothing else this morning, and I’m going to come around this point a lot. The reason that happens is because that’s His purpose. End of the verse: God causes all things to work together for good, our eternal good, to those of us who love God – not for people who don’t; that’s a designation of true believers – to those who are loving God because they’ve been called to do so. This all works out because that’s according to His purpose. Salvation is what God purposed it to be. Can we start there? Salvation is what God purposed it to be, what He planned it to be based upon His own intention. We are secure because that’s how God designed salvation. Whatever it is at the end will match exactly what it was at the beginning. Whatever God intended for His salvation plan to be is what it will be. There are no variables in this. There are no loose ends in this. That is why Jesus says in John 6, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and him that comes to Me I will not turn away, and all that the Father gives to me will come to Me, and I will lose none of them, but raise them at the last day.” There’s no loss here. Whatever God purposes to happen is going to happen. So the end of salvation will be determined from the beginning of it. Let me show you this in a very important portion of Scripture that you should be familiar with. It’s in the 46th chapter of Isaiah, back into the Old Testament and the 46th chapter of Isaiah. Early in my study of the Word of God and endeavoring to understand all of these truths, this particular portion of Scripture really came across as a powerful and convincing statement with regard to the nature of salvation and the purpose of God. It was really a life-changing portion of Scripture to me. Verse 9 of Isaiah 46. And God, of course, is comparing Himself here to the idols of Babylon. “Remember the former things long passed, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like Me.” That’s monotheism, there is only one God. And here’s what distinguishes God as God in this passage, “Declaring the end from the beginning.” In other words, that statement means that at the beginning, God can tell you exactly what the ending is going to be. That is God’s omniscience, and His omniscience stretches through all the way to the end." I will post more tomorrow, but let me summarize: God allows the Christian to undergo unique, one-of-a-kind situations, good and bad, so that we can see Him more clearly and others can as well. If His purpose is not shown through the incidents that come into our lives, we may be blocking His ministry. Boy, does this hit home with me. When I've lost my temper or when I've spoken out of turn because something was beyond my control. Well, all of these are beyond my control! They are under God's control. I am moving in His will. How will I react? How will I minister? Jude 1:22- 23
And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. What is that phrase supposed to mean, and how does it apply to us? This is a passage that needs careful thought, and some of the best Bible teachers give us good insight on how the Believer may understand it. This phrase refers to someone who is at the brink of destruction, and how we should be willing to go to the "brink of the fire" to grab them and pull them to safety. Never give up while their is still hope, and that hope remains up until that person's last breath! John MacArthur says: "...those who are deeper in unbelief and urgently need to be pulled from the fire (Jude 1:23)" William Barclay says: :They have actually started out on the wrong way and have to be stopped, as it were, forcibly, and even against their will. It is all very well to say that we must leave a man his freedom and that he has a right to do what he likes. All these things are in one sense true, but there are times when a man must be even forcibly saved from himself." The key point is that we must be willing to get forceful in helping them, really energetic in our witness and compassion. In a sense, we Christians are firemen! James Denney : "Jesus came to make bad men good." ir John Seeley said: "When the power of reclaiming the lost dies out of the church, it ceases to be the church." Are we willing to face the fire to reach people for Jesus? Read 2 Corinthians 5:15-18 and start thinking. We may have a head full of knowledge about Christ, but if we are not letting Him take over, we're merely information pools. I heard a tale about a gentlemanly old pastor's wise advice to a young Christian that has some powerful truth in it. The pastor was walking down the street one day when one of his teen church members came strutting up to him with a self-satisfied smile. The pastor knew this young man had been quite proud of his own Scriptural accomplishments, and pride was beginning to be a danger in his life. The teen boasted, "Say, Pastor, I'm really getting to be quite a scholar, if you don't mind me saying so. The guys and girls in the youth group admit that I seem to be a leader! Did you know that I have now read the Bible all the way through three times this year?" To which the kind pastor quietly replied, "Todd, the important thing is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but whether the Bible has been through you." The young man was taken aback at this response. Todd stood and pondered this a moment, and slowly nodded. He thanked the pastor, and went on his way, promising himself to live the Bible he was learning. How about us? Is the Christ of the Bible someone we merely learn, or is He developing and changing us? When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. ~Abraham Heschel~ -------------------- We're supposed to imitate Christ, and that includes kindness. Where and how did Jesus show kindness? He forgave us. I am always amazed at the love people show when they forgive my faults and problems. For Jesus to show this huge forgiveness to me - amazing! Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to. one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. He was kind even to those who didn't like Him. I can get along with people who like me. I get pretty nasty to people who want to fight me or be hateful. Jesus gives me an amazing example of being kind to people who want to be enemies. Luke 6:35 - "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great..." If we are to follow Jesus, we are to imitate Him. One of the simplest things to imitate is His kindness. Review how each member of your family can show kindness both inside and outside your home. "Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." The above passage will be our key text on Sunday morning. Look at how important this is for us as a church. Note also that it is important for us as families. Do we have peace in the household? Do we deal with disruptive behavior, or do we shrink away from discipline. At the same time, so we encourage and help? Lots of responsibilities... we will walk through them on Sunday. Pastor Steve Malone shared this: I heard about a Little League coach who during a game, said to one of his players, “Do you understand what teamwork is?” The little boy nodded. “Do understand that what matters is whether we win as a team?” The boy said, “Yes.” The coach continued, “When a strike is called, or you are out at first, you don’t argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all of that?” The boy nodded. “Good,” the coach said, “Now go over and explain that to your mother!” Yes, we all must have teamwork as a family! Let's pray for teamwork and a Jesus-love power in our household! Psalm 9:1-2, "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." ESV What is exciting to the members of your family? Is it a trip to Dollywood? Oak Ridge's Fireworks display on the 4th of July? A family reunion at Thanksgiving? Those are all great, to be sure. But what about your talks and times with Jesus? Is there any excitement in your talk about Christ? Does your life show any real genuine joy in Jesus?" Warren Wiersbe brought up a great point that you can quote to your apathetic teens. In his book God Isn't in a Hurry, Wiersbe states, "Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everyone would stay up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don't bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings." Is this true with you and your family members? Are they getting "bored of God?" |
AuthorWe have numerous authors helping contribute to this section. The author's name will be included at the end of his or her devotional. Archives
January 2018
Categories |