Tag Archives: Paul

A cup of milk, Christian “toddlers”, and an active faith

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Comments Off on A cup of milk, Christian “toddlers”, and an active faith

eAs newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (I Peter 2:2)  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. (Hebrews 5:15).

As a father of an eighteen month old daughter, I am constantly amazed as her individuality begins to make itself visible.  She has her own favorite color, favorite toys, and favorite blankets.  She also has her own preferences when it comes to what she eats that can really be a challenge at times.  This morning, she let me know that she wanted a “dog dog” – what she calls a hot dog wiener that has been cut into quarters and grilled on a cast iron skillet.  Once the wiener was grilled and served, she pushed her plate away and drank her entire glass of milk – and with the final gulp, was finished with breakfast without even eating a bite of the hot dog!

Almost immediately the passage from Hebrews came to mind; I admit, I was frustrated with her at first knowing that she needs to eat food for her nutritional needs and not fill herself up on milk.  She needs proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to grow big and strong, yet this morning all she wanted was milk.  As I began cleaning up the breakfast dishes I realized that the Lord had given me the perfect picture of the life of many Christians through this morning’s breakfast with my daughter!

In our churches there are countless number of Christians that come Sunday morning and beyond that, there is no effort made by them to work out [their] own salvation (Philippians 2:12).  Not that our salvation requires work, for it is a free gift that is offered to us by God (Ephesians 2:8).  Our faith in God, just like my daughter, must be exercised and fed so that she (and our faith) may grow.  In other words, there is more to our Christian faith than just being pew sitters on Sunday morning.  It takes the feeding of our faith through studying the Bible, through service to others, and a dedicated prayer life to nourish our souls.  Without these things we will remain all that we were the day we came to accept Jesus Christ as our savior – a babe in Christ!

It is perfectly acceptable for a new believer in Christ to be spiritually content with considering attending church services, Sunday school, or even Bible studies as the extent of the Christian service.  However, as they begin to learn through the teachings about the things of God the Holy Spirit begins to work within them to shape and try their faith (Luke 12:48; II Peter 2:26).  Many Christians become uncomfortable and may even begin to fall away from the local church, instead seeking other congregations where they believe their anonymity is protected

They want to remain “Christian toddlers,” content that they are saved but no real desire for their faith in God to grow.  I wonder if the parable of the three men and the talents can be applied here – no, these Christians will not lose their salvation but will have no crowns and no heavenly rewards to cast at Christ’s feet.  They took the most miraculous gift that God has given man – salvation – and have done little to increase their faith or to reach others with the compassion that Christ has demonstrated to them.

Yet there are others that have a sincere desire to exercise their faith.  They recognize that as they begin to learn about God, to read the Bible, and to seek him in prayer they have an increased desire – a hunger – to learn more, to do more, and to reach more for Jesus.  It is not that they are any better than the other Christians, it is just they have understood the leading of the Holy Spirit and seek to live a life more pleasing to God.  They recognize the calling of the Holy Spirit and will answer Here am I…speak, for your servant listeneth (I Samuel 3:6-10).

This calling does not necessarily mean you will have to become a missionary in the darkest jungles of Asia or the pastor of a congregation in rural America.  God calls people who have an active faith and that strive to increase and strengthen their faith.  It may be that God has laid on your heart a desire to help the elderly, the disabled, or those in jail come to know the salvation and love that only God can provide.  Others may be led to serve in a supportive role for their local church, such as a nursery worker, Sunday school teacher, or church librarian.  Be sure that whatever God has laid on your heart or called you to do that it will be something that will use the abilities and gifts you have while furthering his kingdom.  God has not saved us to become a group of pew sitters, but to be active participants in our faith.

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Posted in Discipleship, Increasing Faith

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Empty victories, great wealth, and an empty life

Posted on March 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Empty victories, great wealth, and an empty life

So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.  And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11).

Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel that God had blessed with great wisdom, struggled with an issue that many of us deal with today.  In this passage, he eliquently describes his great accomplishments as a source of joy and happiness.  Between verses 10 and 11, something changes his perspective – his accomplishments and triumphs have become “empty” victories and have no real lasting value in his eyes.  He makes the stunning announcement that everything he has done has “no profit under the sun.”

We live in a world that demands results and success; although the definition of what the results and successes are changes with each generation, the pressures are the same.  At one time or another, we all have sacrificed, planned, and worked towards some goal with the idea that once we attain it, we will feel happy, content, and able to enjoy our success.  In reality, what many of us find is although we have accomplished our goal, whether it be an immediate or long term one, the feelings of contentment and joy only last for a moment before emptiness again takes hold.

The ultimate question we should begin to ask ourselves is what are our ultimate goals in life?  As we try to answer that question others soon appear, such as – what do I define as “success”? or can I set earthly goals without sacrificing my spiritual goals? – and there are tons more that go through our minds as we really begin to decide what is important in our lives.  The book of Proverbs clearly discusses the importance of future planning and the concept of preparing for the time when you cannot work (consider the ant, Proverbs 6:6).  Jesus taught, as recroded in the gospels, we are not supposed to seek earthly treasures and wealth, but instead, to set our goals and aims to Heaven (Matthew 6:20).  So how are these two very different and distinct teachings to be reconciled?

As Christians, Paul wrote that we need to learn to be content with what we have and remember that Christ is with us always;  Peter wrote it is Christ that should be the focus of our joy (Philippians 4:11; Hebrews 13:5; I Peter 1:8).  There is nothing wrong – in fact it is a Biblical precept – that we should plan financially for our future; however, we need to be sure that when we are blessed financially by God that the possession of wealth does not become our life’s focus.  Think about the rich man that told Jesus that he had kept the Ten Commandments since his childhood and wanted to know what else he had to do.  When Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow him, the young man walked away distraught (Luke 18:22).  I am sure if Jesus had told him to just follow him, there would be no issue and this man might even had become an apostle; however, this was not the case because his life had become centered upon the wealth that he possessed.

Apply this teaching of Jesus to the featured text.  Just like Solomon, this young man had inherited a great fortune and place of respect.  In many ways, he began to see his own accomplishments and wealth as being what gave his life definition – yet all his possessions, his position in the community, and all the power he posessed still did not bring him satisfaction and joy.  Why else would he ask Jesus what else did he need to do?  Why would Solomon state that everything he was, everything he possessed, and all his personal accomplishments were vanity?  They were seeking the joy that only Christ can bring.

When we determine we want our lives to become more Christ-centered, it is amazing what God will do through us and what joy that it brings.  Becoming more Christ-centered provides clarity in our lives.  It allows us to see what really is important, what really matters, and what is vanity.  It means letting go of whatever holds us back from fully embracing the joy of our salvation through Jesus Christ.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Contentment

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By whose standards do you measure your life?

Posted on March 16, 2012 by | Comments Off on By whose standards do you measure your life?

All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits (Proverbs 16:2).

As I was doing my morning reading out of the book of Proverbs today, this verse stuck in my head.  For the past few weeks I have been receiving Facebook instant messages from a former student of mine that has had some difficulties in adjusting to life beyond college.  During his college days, he partied a lot, failed a few classes, but came to see me as a mentor by the time of his junior year.  Now he is having to face problems that all started his freshman year.

I remember one particular meeting during a spring semester where he told me his parents had cut him off – there would be no additional money for college, he was going to have to pay his own car payment and insurance, and he would no longer receive monthly money for food.  His parents, according to him, had told him that they were not paying for him to play around, but to get a decent education and to behave himself.  He then went on telling me, “I think I am a pretty good person; I don’t drink too much, I don’t do drugs…”  What he did not understand was that he was using the wrong standards to measure his life; it was not his standards he should have been using, but those of his parents – the ones paying for his education.

Human nature – the nature of the flesh – does not allow us to see ourselves for what we are, but how we want others to see us.  All too often we will be quick to see others’ problems without any consideration of our own.  Even Jesus warned those who had gathered to hear him speak that they needed to consider their own lives before they began to point out the flaws of others (Luke 6:41-42).  Even the disciple Peter was not without this problem; after being brougt to the point of repentance by Jesus, he immediately focused the conversation on John; he earned a stiff rebuke from Jesus: “ If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22).

The apostle Paul even warned the early church about the results of the dangers of man setting his own moral standards.  He so eliquently states through his writings: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things…” (Romans 1:21-23).

We see the results of man’s moral standards in the world today.  Thre is an all out assault on Christians by society.  We see in the media that Christians are portrayed as angry, out of touch with reality, and trying others to adopt our way of life.  Christians children who are attending public schools are being taught that the homosexual lifestyle is just as acceptable as hetrosexuality.  Christian adults are often told that they must be tolerant as the world twists the sayings of Christ  “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1).  The question must be asked- whose acceptance are we worried about – the lost world or God’s?

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Posted in Christian Living

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