Conduct

Conduct

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…”   

Philippians 1:27

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”                                                                                                                 1 Cor. 6:9-11

            

     “I’m not perfect,” should be the new Christian moto.  Many Christians today use that excuse so that they can keep doing the sins they know they should not be doing.  There are many preachers out there teaching a type of faith that allows you to keep doing the things the scriptures teach that God hates.  Yet, the Bible makes it clear that we are to “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.” Phil. 1:27. When we don’t conduct ourselves in a worthy manner we do damage to our testimony.  Many have turned away from the faith because of the actions of other Christians who don’t even try to live a worthy life.  We need to look at walking in a worthy manner.

            In Corinthians we have a list of things that God hates. The list has what we call the “big sins” in it like the sexual sins, yet it has some of what we call “normal sins” like coveting, and drunkenness.  Sin is something we are all guilty of, as Romans chapter 3 tells us but some claim these sins as believers are ok because the blood of Christ has forgiven us. Some are so bold as to say all I must do is ask for forgiveness and I am ok.  Let me boldly ask you if you love Christ does doing what He hates show how much we love Christ?  To be called a Christian is to be like Christ are we like Him?  We have a battle that we all must face and that is a battle of the flesh.

            People today live in a more connected world, and when they see us doing things that they know aren’t right and we say its ok I’m saved because I’m a Christian, then why would they want to come to faith?  If faith isn’t any different than the world then what good is faith?  Some sins are hard to get out of ones’ life and when we make no effort to depend on Christ and fight the battle, then the message we send says I am no different than you.  We say Christians are to be in the world but not of the world, then show that by your actions and the choices  you make.

            The last part of 1Cor. 6:9-11 says “Such were some of you...”  It’s important for us to remember that we were all sinners and were at one-time part of the world.  But Jesus washed us sanctified us, justified us, and so does our conduct demonstrate that?  We need to stop making the excuse of not being prefect and start striving to live our lives for Jesus.  He knows we aren’t perfect, but He has given us all that we need through His word and His Spirit to live a worthy life.  When we spread the gospel, people will judge how we live our lives as well as what we say when making a choice as to whether to trust in Christ or not.  Take time to examine your own life and ask what sin are you holding on too that you need to confess and repent of.  

All Scripture is from The New American Standard Bible, copy write 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA

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Mary Treasured

Mary Treasured

“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

“And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.” Luke 2:33

“And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”  Luke 2:51

            One of the cable TV networks had a show on in recent years searching for a treasure that was believed to be buried somewhere on Oak Island.  Many have spent their life and what money they had, searching for this treasure, yet all have come up empty handed.  Matthew in his gospel tells us “…where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. There are even parables that relate the kingdom of God as a costly treasure that someone would do everything they could to attain that treasure.  Mary, she had something that she treasured as seen in the scripture above that was life changing for her.

Mary and Joseph were amazed at what all was being said about their child, Jesus.  The Life Application Study Bible note on Luke 2:33 says it best: “Joseph and Mary ‘marveled’ (were amazed) for three reasons; Simeon said that Jesus was a gift from God; Simeon recognized Jesus as the Messiah; and Simeon said Jesus would be a light to the entire world.  This was at least the second time that Mary had been greeted with a prophecy about her son.”  They were amazed at what was being said about Jesus and I can imagen that it would not get old to them.  Treasuring what others say about your child is important but treasuring what is said about Jesus is even bigger.

            After the visit from the shepherds the night that Jesus was born was the beginning of Mary treasuring and pondering what was happening around her Child.  Mary was a thinker and she knew from Gabriel that her child was going to be the savior and, yet I am sure her mind struggled to wrap around what this meant.  What was going on in Mary’s mind we aren’t told but that she was pondering all these things and that they were important to her.  When Jesus came back with Mary and Joseph when he was 12, after staying behind in temple, Mary treasured the events from that trip in heart even though they didn’t understand what Jesus said to them.

            What is our most important treasure?  We can’t take our wealth, our stuff, or anything physical with us to heaven.  Treasure the word of God and our relationship we have with Jesus.  How important is the Bible to you?  It was said one time to me, a Bible that is falling apart is a sign of a Christian who is not.  In some countries in the world a copy of the Bible is so important that to them it’s the most important treasure.  In those countries it is illegal to have a copy of it.  They know like we should know that it is the word of God!  Do we seek to know it?  Do we love it?  Do we try to hide in our hearts by memorizing and applying it to our lives?  Make your Bible an important treasure in your life and ponder its meanings as you obey and live by it.

The Life Application Study Bible, 1992, Tyndale House Publisher, Inc. Wheaton, IL 60189.

All Scripture is from, The New American Standard Bible, 1995, The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA

Photo by N. on Unsplash

God's Will For 2018

God’ Will For 2018

“We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.  Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

            It is now a new year, and many have made New Year’s resolutions to better themselves in some way.  I have been told that many of the resolutions we make will be broken and long done away with by the end of the month.  Many will also make spiritual resolutions that sadly fall by the wayside. This does not have to be the case if we determine to know what the will of God is for our lives.  We have a misunderstanding when we hear the question; “What is the will of God for my life?”  Today, I am going to show you the answer to this question that will transform your 2018 to the year of God’s will!

            We know that it is God’s will for us to avoid sin and be pure.  Scriptures like Eph. 5:15-20 make that abundantly clear.  Yet many, if honest with themselves, will say they struggle to some degree with issues of sin.  Everyone uses the famous excuse, “no one is perfect.” This excuse is fired off because we fail to get sin out of our lives and have given up the fight to be pure before God in our lives.  There is more to God’s will than just being pure. If we put these other wills of God into our lives we will find more success in being pure.

            The scripture above tells us some important things that are God’s will for your life.  Here is a list: admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient, don’t repay evil with evil, seek what is good, rejoice, pray, and give thanks.  You may be surprised by this list because they are common things the church should be about, yet many don’t follow these things.  Notice, most of these things are about putting God and others above self.  To truly be successful in overcoming sins we need all these other things in our lives to win the victory.

            Praying, rejoicing, and giving thanks are truly important and as the above scripture points out should be a constant in our lives.  Find joy in the small things of life not just the big things and you will be happier.  Pray about everything because God cares about you wants to have a relationship with you.  Become a thankful person because we could always be worse off than we are.  Jesus loves you and is always there for you and so, we have a lot to be thankful for.

            So much could be said about God’s will for your life and even the above scripture that books could be written about it.  Let me just ask you to take a moment to think about the above scripture and think about what life would be like if you followed what it says.  How could you apply each of these things in your life?  2018 can be an amazing year for you by living according to the will of God.  So I encourage you seek God’s will and follow it this year.  We have help through the Holy Spirit that indwells a believer’s life, so you don’t have to go it alone.

            Have a Happy New Year!

All Scriptures are from The New American Standard Bible, copywrite 1995 by the Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA

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