“The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.” (Proverbs 11:18).
Most of us are familiar with the principle, you reap what you sow, but do we truly give much thought to the seeds we sow throughout the day? Do we think about what we are going to say and then filter the negative and harmful before we speak it? If people didn’t know we were Christians and could judge us based on our works, would they say we were followers of Christ? Are we sowing works of righteousness or unrighteousness? Are our works hot, cold or lukewarm? The rewards for deceitfulness and dishonesty are temporal; the rewards for righteousness are eternal. Even mature believers are too often fixated on the here and now. We have grown accustomed to instant gratification and we have incorporated a worldly value system into our spiritual lives. Hosea 10:12 commands in eloquent language to: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” Who among us does not desire to reap in mercy? Who does not long for God to rain righteousness upon them? We cannot receive the blessing of God when we continue to serve the world. We cannot sow unrighteousness and expect to reap righteousness. Men of God, sow seeds of righteousness, and not only will you begin to see God bring forth His fruit in your life, but you will also reap eternal awards.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Truth About Temptation
“These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations).” (Proverbs 6: 16-18a).
I was a Christian for several years before I realized that it was not a sin to be tempted. I assumed that every time I had a bad thought or was dared to do something out of character, that I had sinned. I would beat myself up every time these temptations occurred until God revealed to me that it was not the temptation that was sin, but the contemplation and act itself that made it a sin. After all, Jesus was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). When we understand the process of temptation, we will be better able to defend against it. James says that every man is tempted incrementally in five steps: 1) Man is drawn away by his own lust 2) enticed by the temptation 3) the lust is conceived 4) lust brings forth sin 5) sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Hence temptation only becomes sin when lust is conceived: birth must be given to the thought before it is sin. Satan throws fiery darts of temptation at us all day long. When those tempting thoughts come, we must cast them down (II Corinthians 10:5) and refuse to dwell on them. If we fail to do so, we will begin to visualize and fantasize about the temptation. Satan knows our weaknesses and exploits them, sending specific temptations tailored to our vulnerabilities. The Lord hates the heart that deviseth wicked imagination because He knows that whatever we dwell on in our heart- even imaginations- will eventually be acted upon. Like a developing baby, the more you feed the temptation, the bigger it will grow until it demands to be born. Similarly, when our hearts are allowed to continually devise wicked imaginations, sin will eventually be conceived and, ultimately, bring forth death.
I was a Christian for several years before I realized that it was not a sin to be tempted. I assumed that every time I had a bad thought or was dared to do something out of character, that I had sinned. I would beat myself up every time these temptations occurred until God revealed to me that it was not the temptation that was sin, but the contemplation and act itself that made it a sin. After all, Jesus was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). When we understand the process of temptation, we will be better able to defend against it. James says that every man is tempted incrementally in five steps: 1) Man is drawn away by his own lust 2) enticed by the temptation 3) the lust is conceived 4) lust brings forth sin 5) sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Hence temptation only becomes sin when lust is conceived: birth must be given to the thought before it is sin. Satan throws fiery darts of temptation at us all day long. When those tempting thoughts come, we must cast them down (II Corinthians 10:5) and refuse to dwell on them. If we fail to do so, we will begin to visualize and fantasize about the temptation. Satan knows our weaknesses and exploits them, sending specific temptations tailored to our vulnerabilities. The Lord hates the heart that deviseth wicked imagination because He knows that whatever we dwell on in our heart- even imaginations- will eventually be acted upon. Like a developing baby, the more you feed the temptation, the bigger it will grow until it demands to be born. Similarly, when our hearts are allowed to continually devise wicked imaginations, sin will eventually be conceived and, ultimately, bring forth death.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Spending Time with Your Father
“I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Proverbs 8:17).
One of the foundational pillars in a growing, healthy relationship with the Lord is having daily time for praying, listening to God and studying and meditating on His Word. On the mornings I neglect my time alone with God, I struggle spiritually the entire day. If I go several days without my quiet time, my spiritual life becomes stagnant, and I feel disconnected form God. Following a set formula is not as important as spending time alone with God. As we begin communicating with Him, we will become better listeners and hearers of His voice. “Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of scripture or any of that. It’s about connecting with God. We’ve got to keep those lines of communication open. Do use whatever helps… Do whatever brings you back to your heart and the heart of God. God is ultimately personal with us and He speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts- not just through the Bible but through the whole of creation.” (John Eldredge, Wild at Heart.) I don’t know about you, but I find it amazing that the God of the Universe, the creator of Heaven and Earth, wants to spend time with us. He desires that we love Him, call upon Him and honor Him. He stands apart from all other gods. He provided a way through the blood of Jesus so that we could enter into His presence and commune with Him. How could we not want to get to know a Father who has done so much for us?
One of the foundational pillars in a growing, healthy relationship with the Lord is having daily time for praying, listening to God and studying and meditating on His Word. On the mornings I neglect my time alone with God, I struggle spiritually the entire day. If I go several days without my quiet time, my spiritual life becomes stagnant, and I feel disconnected form God. Following a set formula is not as important as spending time alone with God. As we begin communicating with Him, we will become better listeners and hearers of His voice. “Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of scripture or any of that. It’s about connecting with God. We’ve got to keep those lines of communication open. Do use whatever helps… Do whatever brings you back to your heart and the heart of God. God is ultimately personal with us and He speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts- not just through the Bible but through the whole of creation.” (John Eldredge, Wild at Heart.) I don’t know about you, but I find it amazing that the God of the Universe, the creator of Heaven and Earth, wants to spend time with us. He desires that we love Him, call upon Him and honor Him. He stands apart from all other gods. He provided a way through the blood of Jesus so that we could enter into His presence and commune with Him. How could we not want to get to know a Father who has done so much for us?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
If You Can't Say Something Nice...
“Hear, for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.” (Proverbs 8:6, 7).
When I was a child, my mom told my siblings and me: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” I’m sure all of us heard this admonition at one time or another. As men, we’d probably get in less trouble if we heeded this advice. It is so easy to speak without thinking and allow our tongue to spew deadly poison. Our words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21) and all too often, we use our tongues to wound, kill and destroy. However, if we truly desire to become godly men, we must allow the Holy Spirit to have control over this beast that no man can tame. (James 3:8).
Solomon has set the standard for our manner of conversation. We are to speak: 1) excellent things 2) right things 3) truth. Our speech is to be seasoned with salt. (Colossians 4:6), and we must be prepared to speak a good word in season (II Timothy 4:2). Solomon got to the point where wickedness was an abomination to his lips. If we are to be godly men, we must come to the same place in our lives. We must speak the things that God would have us to speak. We are obligated to use our words and tongue to bring about healing, restoration, reconciliation, exhortation and edification. When we do issue a harsh word, it should be spoken in love with the intent of bringing that person to repentance.
When I was a child, my mom told my siblings and me: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” I’m sure all of us heard this admonition at one time or another. As men, we’d probably get in less trouble if we heeded this advice. It is so easy to speak without thinking and allow our tongue to spew deadly poison. Our words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21) and all too often, we use our tongues to wound, kill and destroy. However, if we truly desire to become godly men, we must allow the Holy Spirit to have control over this beast that no man can tame. (James 3:8).
Solomon has set the standard for our manner of conversation. We are to speak: 1) excellent things 2) right things 3) truth. Our speech is to be seasoned with salt. (Colossians 4:6), and we must be prepared to speak a good word in season (II Timothy 4:2). Solomon got to the point where wickedness was an abomination to his lips. If we are to be godly men, we must come to the same place in our lives. We must speak the things that God would have us to speak. We are obligated to use our words and tongue to bring about healing, restoration, reconciliation, exhortation and edification. When we do issue a harsh word, it should be spoken in love with the intent of bringing that person to repentance.
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Sexual Continuum
“Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.” (Proverbs 6: 25, 25).
Adultery begins when we lust for another woman in our heart. Adultery is not merely the act itself, because before the deed is committed, it has first been fantasized about, premeditated and lusted after. There is a sexual continuum that occurs once the temptation is presented. James 1:14, 15 expounds: “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when is finished bringeth forth death.” Many men attempt to blame their wives for their infidelities by claiming that their intimate needs were not met; however, the Word makes it clear that men are drawn away by their own lust. The underlying problem is often that we have unrealistic expectations of our spouses. No woman can meet every need and desire in a man’s heart; only Jesus can satisfy every longing of our heart. When we lose intimacy with Him, we place an undue stress on our wives. Dr. Neil T. Anderson said: “All sinful behavior [including adultery] is a wrong attempt at meeting basic needs. The essence of sin is man living independently of God, who has said that He will meet all our needs as we live out life in Christ.” Be wary, men of God, because it is easy to compromise our sexual purity. Remember that the vow we made to our wives is a life-time commitment to love, honor and cherish them for as long as we both shall live. When the adulteress tempts us, may we recognize that to give in means that we have broken our vow before God and men. This temptation has the potential to destroy our family. If we love our wives as we love ourselves, we will do all we can to protect them, love them and honor them.
Adultery begins when we lust for another woman in our heart. Adultery is not merely the act itself, because before the deed is committed, it has first been fantasized about, premeditated and lusted after. There is a sexual continuum that occurs once the temptation is presented. James 1:14, 15 expounds: “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when is finished bringeth forth death.” Many men attempt to blame their wives for their infidelities by claiming that their intimate needs were not met; however, the Word makes it clear that men are drawn away by their own lust. The underlying problem is often that we have unrealistic expectations of our spouses. No woman can meet every need and desire in a man’s heart; only Jesus can satisfy every longing of our heart. When we lose intimacy with Him, we place an undue stress on our wives. Dr. Neil T. Anderson said: “All sinful behavior [including adultery] is a wrong attempt at meeting basic needs. The essence of sin is man living independently of God, who has said that He will meet all our needs as we live out life in Christ.” Be wary, men of God, because it is easy to compromise our sexual purity. Remember that the vow we made to our wives is a life-time commitment to love, honor and cherish them for as long as we both shall live. When the adulteress tempts us, may we recognize that to give in means that we have broken our vow before God and men. This temptation has the potential to destroy our family. If we love our wives as we love ourselves, we will do all we can to protect them, love them and honor them.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Jesus Meets Our Every Need
“Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.” (Proverbs 8: 18, 19).
Everything we need can be found in our relationship with Jesus. He alone has the ability to meet our heart’s desires. He is the Bread of Life that nourishes our soul, and He is the Living Water that quenches our deepest longings. In Him is all wisdom, knowledge and truth. He owns all of creation: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” (Proverbs 50: 10-12). Valuable riches, honor and righteousness are His to bestow as He pleases. If we are without financially, He is able to meet our need. If we lack spiritually, He can open up His storehouses and bless us beyond measure. When we eat from His tree of holiness and purity, His fruit will fill the hunger of our hearts. Paul tells us to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11). The fruit that He gives us to eat is reproducible. What he sows in our hearts will begin to produce fruit of similar kind. Nevertheless, we must continue to go to Him to have the storehouse of our soul filled. If we do not use the fruit He gives or if we horde what He offers us instead of sharing it with others, the fruit will spoil and rot. May we never reach the point where we stop allowing Jesus to fulfill our needs.
Everything we need can be found in our relationship with Jesus. He alone has the ability to meet our heart’s desires. He is the Bread of Life that nourishes our soul, and He is the Living Water that quenches our deepest longings. In Him is all wisdom, knowledge and truth. He owns all of creation: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” (Proverbs 50: 10-12). Valuable riches, honor and righteousness are His to bestow as He pleases. If we are without financially, He is able to meet our need. If we lack spiritually, He can open up His storehouses and bless us beyond measure. When we eat from His tree of holiness and purity, His fruit will fill the hunger of our hearts. Paul tells us to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11). The fruit that He gives us to eat is reproducible. What he sows in our hearts will begin to produce fruit of similar kind. Nevertheless, we must continue to go to Him to have the storehouse of our soul filled. If we do not use the fruit He gives or if we horde what He offers us instead of sharing it with others, the fruit will spoil and rot. May we never reach the point where we stop allowing Jesus to fulfill our needs.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Fear of the Lord and Long Life
“The fear of the Lord prolongeth days.” (Proverbs 10:27a).
King Hezekiah is one of the best examples in the Bible of how the fear of the Lord prolongeth days. (Isaiah 38; II Kings 20). After King Hezekiah was told by the prophet Isaiah that he would soon die, he “turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus sayeth the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years…And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.” (Isaiah 38: 2-5, 7, 8). Hezekiah’s fear of the Lord caused him to walk before God with a perfect heart and to humbly petition God to remember his faithfulness. God sent word through Isaiah and also confirmed that He had heard Hezekiah’s prayer and seen his tears by a supernatural miracle. “For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” (Proverbs 9:11). Fear of the Lord will constrain us so that we can live to the fullest the number of days the Lord has allotted us. (Psalms 39:4).
King Hezekiah is one of the best examples in the Bible of how the fear of the Lord prolongeth days. (Isaiah 38; II Kings 20). After King Hezekiah was told by the prophet Isaiah that he would soon die, he “turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus sayeth the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years…And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.” (Isaiah 38: 2-5, 7, 8). Hezekiah’s fear of the Lord caused him to walk before God with a perfect heart and to humbly petition God to remember his faithfulness. God sent word through Isaiah and also confirmed that He had heard Hezekiah’s prayer and seen his tears by a supernatural miracle. “For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” (Proverbs 9:11). Fear of the Lord will constrain us so that we can live to the fullest the number of days the Lord has allotted us. (Psalms 39:4).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)