Directing My Five Senses in Obedience

I was reading in Romans 6 this morning. Paul is trying to explain the motives for right living to the Christians in Rome. He says that we should 'count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus' (vs. 11).

We have died to sin when we count Christ as our Savior. We are to not allow sin to remain in our lives. This takes a LOT of discipline in todays world. I must always be on guard - on alert for sin that will tempt me. What I see, what I hear, what I taste, what I smell, and what I touch.

My senses can carry me towards God through obedience or away from Him towards satan. I am reminded of Jame's words (James 1:14-15). If I look once again at my five senses and how they can carry me towards satan, James notes the succession to be desire --> enticement --> sin (which is desire conceived). And sin ultimately leads to death and eternity away from God.

I CHOOSE this day... Obedience.

Knowledge or Wisdom?

I used to think that knowledge and wisdom were basically one and the same. If I ran into a really smart person, I would think that 'wow, they seem so wise. They have all of the answers'. As I study though I am seeing these two terms growing further apart.

Paul in Romans (and elsewhere) speaks constantly about the condition of the heart. He says that a person can be performing all kinds of rituals, be a member in the right organizations, or can come from a line of spiritual ancestry but if the heart is not devoted, it is all meaningless. How often do I see this today as people call themselves 'Christian' and are members of a church but their heart is worldly in nature. They may have all kinds of worldly knowledge but are they wise?

Solomon speaks about wisdom all the time in his Proverbs. In particular in Proverbs 4, verses 4 and 5, Solomon says "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them." Wisdom here is not earthly knowledge but learning God's Word and imprinting it in my mind and upon my heart.

Our conscience is a moral compass that has been placed in every human being. It is a moral sense of right and wrong that affects ones thoughts and behaviors. Knowledge does little to program the conscience. It is just worldly facts that have no eternal value. On the other hand, wisdom programs the conscience to obtain a true understanding of right and wrong. It has eternal value to the person obtaining the wisdom as well as those around him (or her) as their actions will be an example of moral balance and right living.

Are you striving to obtain Knowledge or Wisdom?

Is my Spirit in Control of My Body or Vice-Versa?

In reading Paul's first letter to the believers in Corinth, I have come upon some interesting information. 1 Corinthians 9:27 is a little strange in the NIV. It starts out by saying 'No, I beat my body and make it my slave...'. I have to admit that this did not make any sense to me 20 minutes ago.

Reading the same verse in the KJV makes more sense. 'But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection...'. NOW I am starting to see what this means. I keep my body under the control of my spirit. This is directly in opposition to how the world operates. Listen to most any conversation at work or on campus, you will hear the person speak primarily about his body - about his financial concerns and recreational pursuits, his occupational goals and physical needs. (This is from Jon Courson).

Now that I am a Christ Follower though all this is turned upside down. I am to constantly place the wants, needs and pursuits of my body (my flesh) under the control of my spirit that is one with Christ Jesus. This is something that I have really been striving for lately.

One way that I have found that works for me is a change of mindset. I have changed 'I have to...' in my mind to 'I get to...'! An example for me is that starting this past month, I have made it a practice to get up at 5:30 every morning to dive into God's Word and to just spend time with God. I started out with the mindset of having to get up and it was a drudge. Lately though, I have noticed that I jump up out of bed (mind you knowing that my automatic coffee maker already has the first cup ready). I GET to spend the first several hours of my day with the Creator of the universe! What an awesome opportunity! My body (who wants to keep on sleeping) is not in control or 'on top'. I have my spirit in control of this situation. It is not always easy and I have a LONG ways to go but this is a start.

I now see Matthew 6:16 more clearly when thinking about this. Jesus does not say "IF you fast (abstain from food)" but "WHEN you fast". He knows that part of keeping our bodies in cheque and under the control of our spirit requires discipline on our part. Taking time to abstain from eating to instead spend that time praying for others. Getting my tired body out of bed at 5:30 because the King of Kings and and the Lord of Lords wants to commune with me personally.

I will strive TODAY for my spirit (under God's authority) to be in control of my will, my personality, my emotions, my all. Tomorrow morning, I will strive for the same goal.

The End of a Christian Nation - Apathy

I feel that the end of the United States as we know it is close at hand. To read and hear quotes from the founding fathers of this nation is to understand how much our fathers were devoted Christ Followers. Oh yes, you can find the one here or there but they are very rare.

Today, we have a nation that is blurring the lines of morality for its own pleasure. It is interesting though that I do not feel that the end of this great nation is at hand due to satans work outside of the church in the hearts and minds of unbelievers. No, the end of this nation falls on the responsibility of those that are warming the church pews on Sunday but living like this world the rest of the 6 days and 23 hours. Apathy among Christians will be the ultimate downfall of this nation.

As I spend more time in the Bible (THE WORD OF GOD), I am more convinced that there are very few 'grey' areas that are open to interpretation. There are a few... but areas such as homosexuality vs. sex only between male and female, sex outside marriage, evolution vs. creationism, only ONE way to heaven vs. only believing in a god... these are very, VERY clear.

Christian people are you listening?!? This nation is heading towards hell as we sit back on our rears and do nothing! Stand and be a Christ Follower! From 2 Timothy 1:7-8 in the Holy Bible, Paul is saying to Timothy "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God (speaking of the Holy Spirit), which is in you though the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE "SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING???"

I am sick and tired of people telling me that my faith is a personal thing and I should keep it to myself. Yes, it is personal but that personal relationship to my God gives me an intense desire to see the lost with the love of God. I can't just sit back and watch them tumble towards hell. I must do SOMETHING. Please join me...

Sign Posts - Are We Listening?

I read about Christ's crucifixion in two of the gospels this morning. It was hard to read and yet I am awestruck with the love that God has for us. Over and over and over again, He is saying 'here I am'. He is pleading with us to follow Him for eternity but with the love that only He can have, He allows us to make the decision.

The Bible is chock full of prophesy ... sign posts of things to come. Many, many, many of the prophesies of the old testament come true in the new testament. Many more have yet to pass but I am assured that they will indeed happen. The Bible is the Word of God... all of it and God cannot lie. Therefore it will happen.

Am I Listening?

I have read all of one sentence in Matthew this morning and I am aware of God saying... "Are you listening to what I'm saying"? Jesus is talking to His disciples saying "As you know, the Passover is two days away - and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." (Matthew 26:1)

Here is Jesus speaking to His disciples and it could not be any more clear... at least to us. You see we know what happens. How often is God speaking to us just as clearly and yet we hear only what we want to hear. This is quite convicting to me this morning.

Will There Be A Tomorrow? TODAY IS THE DAY!

I was reading in Matthew 24 this morning about Christ's second coming. We are to be on our guard. to be vigilant in our watch. But not only that, we are to be tending to the responsibilities that God has placed in our care. I believe that that means that we are to be always tending to the the souls of the people that God has placed within our circle of influence. How will I minister to them today? How can I show God's love? How can I tell them that time is short and that He will come again SOON to collect His children unto Himself? We are told that as birth pains increase in intensity and come at closer intervals.... so will the signs showing the second coming of Christ. Wars, rumor of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters will increase. Godlessness will be rampant. The elect will have their eyes on Israel looking forward to His second coming.

I don't have time to mess up today. God has given me today to serve Him and I will do so with all of my heart and with all of my strength.