This ties in directly with the previous post.
"Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason" (Job 2:3).
Do you maintain your integrity in the face of troubles? Could a holy God describe you as "blameless and upright"? Could a fallen man even describe you (honestly) as "blameless and upright"? That's kind of a high standard.
Reach for it.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Are You Living It?
In 1 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul writes, "You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed."
Wow. That's pretty ballsy. I don't know too many Christians that are willing to actually say, "Hey, look at me, I'm living the way I've been telling you that you are supposed to live." That takes some guts, because we all have our moments and fall short of what we expect of ourselves and what God expects of us.
What if your goal today was to simply live today in such a way that you could speak like this about today? Can we live like that for one day? I think that's doable. And if we can do it for one day today, we can probably do the same tomorrow. One day at a time, and pretty soon it's a habit. Why don't we do this? It would be hard. Even more importantly, it would pretty much have to rank quite high on your priority list to do it. I guess that's why people don't.
Maybe that's why so many people think Christians are hypocrites. Maybe they're right.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Wow. That's pretty ballsy. I don't know too many Christians that are willing to actually say, "Hey, look at me, I'm living the way I've been telling you that you are supposed to live." That takes some guts, because we all have our moments and fall short of what we expect of ourselves and what God expects of us.
What if your goal today was to simply live today in such a way that you could speak like this about today? Can we live like that for one day? I think that's doable. And if we can do it for one day today, we can probably do the same tomorrow. One day at a time, and pretty soon it's a habit. Why don't we do this? It would be hard. Even more importantly, it would pretty much have to rank quite high on your priority list to do it. I guess that's why people don't.
Maybe that's why so many people think Christians are hypocrites. Maybe they're right.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Waiting For It
"The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"
Yup.
Yup.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Responding to Jesus
In Matthew 2, we read about the Magi and Herod, both searching for Jesus. Both believed, and both wanted to find the baby, but they went about it very differently and for very different reasons.
A truth that is demonstrated here is that anytime we are exposed to God in any way, we will always be changed in some way. How we are changed is largely up to us. We can either draw closer to God, or we can rebel against him. The Magi faced the truth, and devoted their time to finding Jesus to be closer to him. Herod, in response to the same truth, felt compelled to find Jesus to stop him from ever becoming king. Herod didn't want to himself be closer to Jesus--he just wanted to make sure no one else did, either. His response is paranoid, fearful, aggressive, and violent.
Herod was obviously a nasty guy. What kind of king orders all male babies under the age of two to be killed (verse 16)? Can you imagine how you would feel and how you would respond if a government leader sent that order out in your community? They don't have to--in this country, we murder our own babies when they are inconvenient, and no one has to force us to do so.
A truth that is demonstrated here is that anytime we are exposed to God in any way, we will always be changed in some way. How we are changed is largely up to us. We can either draw closer to God, or we can rebel against him. The Magi faced the truth, and devoted their time to finding Jesus to be closer to him. Herod, in response to the same truth, felt compelled to find Jesus to stop him from ever becoming king. Herod didn't want to himself be closer to Jesus--he just wanted to make sure no one else did, either. His response is paranoid, fearful, aggressive, and violent.
Herod was obviously a nasty guy. What kind of king orders all male babies under the age of two to be killed (verse 16)? Can you imagine how you would feel and how you would respond if a government leader sent that order out in your community? They don't have to--in this country, we murder our own babies when they are inconvenient, and no one has to force us to do so.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Be Strong and Courageous
It's not too many of who actually hear God speaking to us. Still, God doesn't change, and good advice is always good advice. When God put Joshua in charge of the nation of Israel, he gave Joshua some pretty clear instructions.
"Be strong and courageous...Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law...meditate on it...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:6-9).
Did you ever notice in school that if your instructor says something two or three times that it was going to be on the test? The same thing is true in Hebrew literature. Repetition indicates truth and importance. In these four verses, God tells Joshua to "be strong and courageous" three times. That's because it's important!
Too many of us just aren't courageous. We worry a lot. And, the habit of lacking courage actually makes us weak. God wants something far better for you and for me. Has he not commanded us? Be strong and courageous!
"Be strong and courageous...Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law...meditate on it...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:6-9).
Did you ever notice in school that if your instructor says something two or three times that it was going to be on the test? The same thing is true in Hebrew literature. Repetition indicates truth and importance. In these four verses, God tells Joshua to "be strong and courageous" three times. That's because it's important!
Too many of us just aren't courageous. We worry a lot. And, the habit of lacking courage actually makes us weak. God wants something far better for you and for me. Has he not commanded us? Be strong and courageous!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
A List of Nasty Traits
"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless" (Romans 1:28-31).
See that, kids? Disobeying your parents is on the same list as murder. Be good!
See that, kids? Disobeying your parents is on the same list as murder. Be good!
Job's Prayer
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:21).
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