The Reason for Everything ~ Day 7

The Lord has made everything for His own purpose. (Ps 16:4)

The reason that the universe is here ultimately is to glorify God.  He made everything for His purpose.  We must see God's glory in everything...even the little things!  God's glory is His very essence and the demonstration of His power.

His glory is all around us.  Everything that was created by Him reflects His glory.  (Ps 19:1)  We see God's glory throughout the Bible; a consuming fire, a cloud, thunder, smoke, and a brilliant light, for example.  (Ex 24:17; 40:34; Ps 29:3; Is 6:3-4; 60:1; Luke 2:9)  Heaven will have God's glory to light the way. (Rev 21:23)

Jesus illuminates God's nature, and therefore, His glory. (Hebs 1:3)  He passes God's inherent glory.

Since God created all things, we should give Him the glory and respect that He deserves.  He is worthy.  (Rev 4:11a)  In the whole universe, two of His creations do not give Him the glory; 1) fallen angels and 2) us.  That is because of sin.  Sin, simply put, is loving anything more than God.  Sin caused Satan's fall...and it caused our's, too! (Rom 3:23)

We need to realize that we are here to bring glory to God.  Our achievements are not our own, but God's; therefore, we should thank Him and give Him the glory.

How Can I Bring Glory to God?

Jesus said to the Father, "I brought glory to You here on earth by doing everything that You told me to do".  (Jn 17:4)  In this way, Jesus honored God.  We can, and should, honor Him the same way.  When we fulfill our purpose, we bring glory to God.

We have five purposes for our lives:

1) To worship God

Worship is our number one responsibility to God.  To worship Him means to enjoy Him, through love and thanksgiving, not an obligation.  It is a privileged to be able to openly spend time with Him.  We need to give ourselves wholly to Him to be used for His purposes. (Rom 6:13)

2) To love other believers

When we were accepted into God's family, one of our responsibilities was to love the whole family of God. (1 Jn 3:14)  When we do this, we glorify God. (Rom 15:7)  We are to love each other with agape, which is the kind of love that Jesus has for us. (Jn 13:34-35)

3) To become like Christ

Once we are born into His family, He wants us to grow spiritually.  We need to change the way we think, feel and act to be Christlike.  When we do this, we bring glory to God. (2 Cor 3:18)

4) To serve others with our gifts

God gave each of us talents and gifts.  The purpose was to help others with them. Do not hoard them, but develop and use them to benefit others. (1 Pet 4:10-11; 2 Cor 8:19b)

5) To tell others about Him

I, personally, think that this is one of the most important ways to bring glory to God.  To share what God has done and is doing in our lives is one of the best ways to bring glory to Him. (2 Cor 4:15)

What Will You Live for?

We need to change everything in our lives to live for God's glory.  We will sometimes have to choose the difficult path, instead of the easy one, as Jesus did. (Jn 12:27-28)  We are faced with the choice of a life of bringing glory to God, or a life of carnal pleasure that ultimately will end badly.  (Jn 12:25)  Who are you living for: God or yourself? (Jn 12:25)

Point to Ponder

It's all for Him

Verse to Remember

Roms 11:36

Question to Consider

Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?

Life is a Temporary Assignment ~ Day 6

Ps. 39.4

There are all sorts of metaphors in the Bible which describe life on earth as temporary; my favorite being, "life is as a mist".  We need to start looking at life as a brief encounter, a stepping stone to the real prize, which is an eternity with our Lord.  David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be.  Help me to know that I am here but for a moment." (Ps 39:4)

Christians should think of themselves as citizens of heaven, no matter where on earth they live.  (Phil 3:19-20)  There is far more to life than what we experience here on earth.  We need to think of heaven as being our home.  We need to stop coveting the things of this world, and begin to see our lives here as the "practice run" for the big show.

God tells of the dangers of living for the here and now; living with the standards of the world.  He calls it 'spiritual adultery'.  (James 4:4)  God knows that in order to live this life, we have to adopt certain customs of this world for a time.  But He does not want us to adopt the wrong things; the wrong attitudes.  We are always to be striving for our place in heaven.  As such, we are to be loyal to God.  (2 Cor 5:20)

Just as we live on earth now, we are to remember that it is God's property ~ we are only stewards or renters, if you will, for a time. (1 Pet 2:11)  Remember, we are preparing for something even better than this life.  It is not the end of the story.  It continues in eternity.

This side of eternity often seems empty.  We are not completely happy because we are not supposed to hold on to the things of this world. Remember we were created with eternity in mind, so we should live for the eternal prizes, and not for earthly "things". (2 Cor 4:18)

Point to Ponder

This world is not my home.

Verse to Remember

2 Cor 4:18

Question to Consider

How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

Seeing Life from God's View ~ Day 5

What is your life? (James 4:14b)

The way we see our lives, shapes our lives.  We define our lives by the way we spent our time; what our goals are; what we devote our energy on; even how we treat others.

People have different ways of seeing life: as a circus; as a carousel; as a game.  These are called life metaphors.  What is your metaphor for life?  Not so easy, is it?  Yet we live it every minute of every day. 

Mr. Warren says that "[our] life metaphors [influence] our [lives] more that [we] realize,"  These metaphors shape our life expectations and our values.  For instance, to use one of Mr. Warren's examples, if we think of life as a party, we most likely value having fun.

So again, what is your life metaphor, or to state it simple, your view of life?  Take a moment to analyze what is important to you.

Mr. Warren is using this study to change our life metaphors to be biblical.  Then we can start to fulfill the purpose of our lives according to God.  We need to change ourselves to God's standards, and stop living the standards of the world.  (Rom 12:2)

Three life metaphors that are taught in the Bible are: 1) life is a test; 2) life is a trust; and 3) life is a temporary assignment.  These are foundations of purpose-driven living.

Life is a Test

This is seen throughout the Bible.  God tested His children's faith, obedience, character, loyalty, etc. through different trials.  He was refining faith and character of His people through tests.

Just as He did in the Bible, He does today.  God is constantly refining and molding us into better Christians.  We are being tested everyday of our lives.  When we start to understand and accept that life is a test; that nothing happens by accident; and there are no coincidences, we begin to see God at work in our lives around every corner and in every facet.  It is exciting and humbling at the same time.

Some of the tests may seem insurmountable; but fear not, God will always provide the grace to pass them. (1 Cor 10:13)  When we pass a test here on earth, we will receive a reward in eternity. (James 1:12)

Life is a Trust

This metaphor says that all the gifts that God has entrusted to us (i.e. our intelligence, talents, opportunities, relationships, energy and resources), everything that we have, are given to us temporarily to manage for God.  In other words, God is the owner of everything, and we are stewards for Him. (Ps 24:1)  The things that we are surrounded by are on loan, so to speak (1 Cor 4:2)

At the end of our life, we will all be evaluated on how we have taken care of God's property.  If we do well, we will be given three awards: 1) God's affirmation; 2) greater responsibility in eternity; 3) and last, we will be honored with a celebration.

There is a direct correlation between "worldly wealth" (money) and "true riches" (spiritual blessings).  Gods tests our ability as stewards.  Good stewards are endowed with spiritual blessings.  God gives to us as much as we show that we can be responsible for; no more, no less. 

Point to Ponder

Life is a test and a trust.

Verse to Remember

Luke 16:10a

Question to Consider

What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God?  What are the greatest matters that God has entrusted to me?

Made to Last Forever ~ Day 4

God has planted eternity in the human heart. (Eccl 3:11)

This life is not all there is.  Eternity is awaiting us, and it will be a lot longer than this life.  As Mr. Warren says, "Earth is the staging area, the preschool, the tryout for [our lives] in eternity."  

We have inborn instinct, a survival instinct, if you will, for immortality because God has designed us with eternity in mind.  When our earthly bodies, or tents, stop, our spirits go on.  God has made a home in eternity for us (2 Cor 5:1).  We have only two choices ~ heaven or hell.  If we trust and accept His Son, we will be with God for eternity.  If we reject Him, hell is waiting and we will have to spend eternity away from our loving God.  That's a scary thought if we are doubtful about our salvation.  Remember, all  we need to do is accept Jesus into our hearts as our Savior.  Accept that He died for our sins and rose again on the third day.  That's it!  When we truly accept that, we have secured our place in heaven.

When of this all sinks in, we start to live differently; to handle our lives differently. Things that seemed so important will suddenly seem trivial.  All we will think about is how to serve our God.  Our values and priorities will change. (Phil 3:7)

There are consequences to how we live our lives.  Think about it.  With the promise of eternity, our lives take on a whole new meaning.  No longer should we just be concerned about "paying for our actions" here on earth; but we need to start thinking about how our actions affect our place in eternity.

We ask ourselves, "What is it going to be like with God for eternity."  Well, there is no way that we can fathom it. (1 Cor 2:9)  However, God has given us small pictures of heaven in the Bible.  We won't feel pain and suffering like we do in this life.  We will be with our loved ones who are believers.  More importantly, we will be with our loving Father and His Son forever.

We all have a purpose here on earth, but it doesn't end here. (Ps 33:11)  We need to face eternity, and think about where we want to spend it.  If we have a true and trusting relationship with the Lord, we should not be afraid of death; for death leads us to eternity with our Creator. (Heb 13:14)

Point to Ponder:

There is more to life than just here and now.

Verse to Remember:

1 Jn 2:14

Question to Consider:

Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing that I should start doing today?

What Drives Your Life ~ Part 2

These are the five benefits of living a purpose-driven life:

1. Knowing your purpose gives your life meaning

We were made to have meaning; with it we can tolerate anything; without meaning, we find it hard to bear life's struggles.  God gives new meaning to our lives. (Is 49:4)

If we have meaning or purpose in our lives, we have hope.  Hope is essential.  God tells us about our hopeful future in Jer 29:11.  God can do it all, even when we feel hopeless.  (Eph 3:20)

2. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

Purpose in our lives defines what we do, and what we don't do.  It becomes our moral standard.  The question to ask ourselves becomes, "Does this activity help to fulfill one of God's purposes for my life?"  A purpose gives us a foundation on which to base our decisions for our life.  Without it, we make the wrong choices based on peer pressure, our circumstances or our mood at the time.

Purpose-driven living slows down our lives, as we are just doing what God intends for us to do, and God gives us enough time to complete our intended tasks.  If our schedules are too packed, we possibly are trying to complete tasks that others expect and not the tasks that God has set for us.  Peace of mind comes from just completing God's tasks. (Is 26:3)

3. Knowing your purpose focuses your life

Purpose focuses our energy on the important things and lets the unimportant pass us by.  Without purpose, we will allow distractions in our lives.  We may allow one of these distractions to change our focus, looking for more happiness.  As we stated in earlier lessons, true happiness comes from God;  God gives purpose; and purpose gives peace.  Do not get distracted with all of the shiny things that come into our lives. (Eph 5:17)  We need to keep focused on what God wants, and we will ultimately be happy.  Think about what the apostle Paul did, almost single-handedly, all because he stayed focused.  (Phil 3:13)

4. Knowing your purpose motivates your life

Purpose produces passion.  When our work has purpose, we have energy; we have a passion that drives us forward.

5. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity

Instead of worrying about leaving a legacy here on earth, we need to focus on what God thinks of us. Things in this life are here one day, gone the next.  Whereas,things of God are eternal. (Rom 14:10 b, 12)

 God is concerned with only two things. 1) That we accept His Son as our Savior.  2) What we do with the things that He gives to us.  Do we hoard them for ourselves or use them how God intends them to be used?

Point to Ponder

Living on purpose is the path to peace.

Verse to Remember

Is 26:3

Question to Consider

What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life?  What do I want it to be?

What Drives Your Life ~ Day 3

This is the third day of our study.  It is a long lesson, so I have decided to break it up into two days.  I will give you verses throughout this lesson, and leave it to you to look them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

Everyone's life is controlled by something.  What is driving or controlling your life ~ a problem; a pressure: or a fear?

We will go through five of the most common driving forces in our lives today and tomorrow, we will go through the benefits of a purpose-driven life.

1. Guilt

People that are driven by guilt are living in the past, ashamed of their memories.  Their past controls their future and they wander through life with no purpose.  True, we are all products of our pasts, but we do not have to be prisoners of them.  God will give us a fresh start if we are willing to "let go, and let God".

Ps 32:1

2. Resentment and Anger

People that let these two qualities drive their lives hold grudges over past hurts.  We need to forgive and then release our pain, not old on to it.  We cannot have a God-filled life if we stew in our pain; stew in our past.

Job 5:2

3. Feat

Fear driven people often miss great opportunities because they are afraid to try new things.  Therefore, if we do not stretch ourselves, as God would have us do, we will not move forward.  We need to push on to the future with faith and love.

1Jn 4:18

4. Materialism

Some people are driven by greed.  We feel the need to acquire more things, with the misconception that having more will make us happy.  Not true ~ true happiness can only come from God.

5. Need for Approval

These people allow their lives to be controlled by other's expectations of them.  Being controlled by other's opinions is a sure-fired way to miss God's purposes for our life.

Matt 6:24

We will find our purpose through this study.  Without a purpose life has no meaning.

You Are Not an Accident ~ Day 2

                                               I am your Creator.
                                                  You were in my
                                               care even before
                                                          Is 44:2A (CEV)


We were in God's plan long before we were born.  He planned us and we are alive because He wanted to create us.
                                      
                                              The Lord will fulfill His 
                                                       purpose for me
                                                                Ps 138:8A (NIV)

God deliberately prescribed our every detail ~ from our gender to our eye color ~ He knew what we were to look like before we were conceived.  He custom-made our bodies.  He not only designed our physical qualities, but He created our unique personalities and then He gave us our natural talents.

                                              My frame was not hidden from
                                              you
                                              when I was made in the secret
                                              place,
                                              when I was woven together in the
                                              depths of the earth.
                                                                                       Ps 139:15 (NIV)

God made us for a specific reason.  I cannot stress that enough.  He decided when we were to be born and how long a lifespan we should have.  He decided what we should do with that life that He gave to us.  Nothing in our life is arbitrary.  God picked our parents; good or bad; to give us the right DNA ~ the DNA that God wanted us to have.  God's purpose took into account human error and sin.  Humans make mistake; but not God!  His design is perfect!  He has a reason for everything He creates and His motive for creating us was love.  He created the world for us.  He designed the environment with everything that we would need.

                                              He chose to give us birth
                                              through the word of truth,
                                              that we might be a kind of firstfruits
                                              of all He created.
                                                                                                          James 1:18 (NIV)

In other words, out of all of God's creations, we are the most valuable!  Isn't that exciting!

God's creation is made with exactness and precision, as it is scientist are learning.  This universe is suited for our existence.  It was designed "with life and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose" (Dr. Michael Denton; "Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe").  God's word says the same thing in Isaiah 45:18.

Why did God do this; to create this glorious universe?  Because He is a God of love.  He made us so that He could love us.  The Bible says in 1Jn 4:8 that God is love; not God has love.  He is love!  His very essence is love!

I there were no God, we would be "accidents" ~ results of random chance in the universe.  Life would have no purpose without God.  There would be no right or wrong; good or evil.  Life would just be.  That's it.  But there is a God ~ a truly loving God who wants the best for us.  He designed us the way that He wanted us to be ~ for Him.

Point to Ponder:                I am not an accident.

Verse to Remember:        Isaiah 44:2

Question to Consider:     I know that God uniquely created me.  What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept? 

It All Starts With God ~ Day 1

Col 1:16 tells us that everything starts with God.

It's not about us.  We were born, not for our purposes, but for God's design.  We are basically selfish, self-centered, shortsighted humans, who can only see our own hopes, dreams and passions for our lives.  But there is so much more.  We need to change our focus to what God wants for us.

                                               In His hand is the life of every creature
                                               and the breath of all mankind.
                                                                                           Job 12:10 NIV

He directs our path!  We need to stop focusing on us to discover our live's meaning.  We did not create ourselves nor we do have the "owners manual".  It is impossible to find our purpose, without first starting with God, for He is our Creator; He has the owner's manual!  In essence ~ we were made by God for God's purpose.  Now that we see this, we need to let ourselves be used for His purposes.  As Rom 8:6 tells us, if we our governed by the flesh, we are dead; but if we allow ourselves to be governed by God, we are alive in peace.

Self-help books may actually help us to reach personal goals; but do they tell us life's purpose?  Do we feel fully fulfilled?  No!  We may have more material things while on this earth, but do they tell us for what purpose we are here?

Matt 16:25 tells us that self-sacrifice, not self-help, is the way to find ourselves.

These are the points we need to take away from this lesson:

1. We can only find our true meaning through a relationship with Christ.

2. God controls us and has always done so, even before our conception.  That being said, He knows our purpose.

3. Our purpose fits God's "big picture" for eternity

Without God, life makes no sense.

Point to Ponder:            It's not about me.

Verse to Remember:    Col 1:16

Question to Consider:  In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about God, not myself?

The Journey of a Purpose Driven Life

As promised last week, we are starting a new study called "A Purpose Driven Life".  This study lasts 40 days( however, we will take more time with it) and it will be taken from Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For?".  There are several editions of this book (I just happen to have the ebook, IBSN 978-0-310-32933-6) but there is a hardcopy, IBSN 978-031-32906-0.  There are also books to accompany the main book, so please be careful when you buy it.  You want the one that is broken down into days.

Mr. Warren did not just arbitrarily pick forty days for our spiritual journey, when he wrote this book.  There is something special about this number.  God consider 40 days spiritually significant many times in the Bible.  For instance:

Noah
Moses
David and his fight with Goliath
Elijah
The city of Nineveh was transformed
Jesus in the wilderness
The disciples were with Jesus after His resurrection

So, the fact that this book is split up into 40-days, is no coincidence.  This book, if we allow it to, will spiritually transform us.  We will do only a chapter a day, as we need to meditate on each chapter and apply the knowledge that we have obtained to our lives.

After we go through each day, we need to memorize a verse to help to apply the lesson to our lives; answer a question regarding the reading; and we need to ponder the point of the lesson for that day.  I suggest that we all pick up a cheap composition book in which to keep notes, verses and thoughts.

The author suggests that we do not do this study alone, but to get partners to go through this journey together.  To commit to each other, if you will.  We will use the "comments" on the bottom of the daily blog to record exactly who is on the road of transformation with us, and what their thoughts are everyday.  This is our covenant; our promise to God and each other.

In this way, we can pray for each other.  Pray that we stay strong in the Lord, for as we all know, though Satan attacks those who are committed to God, God gives us strength to overcome.  We need to stay strong and not miss one single day of reading, journaling, memorizing and praying; for keeping our promises to God, to each other and to ourselves will transform us into better Christians.

If at all possible, please invest in the book, as it is an investment into your Christian lives.  Verses to look up:

Proverbs 11:28
Jer 17:7-8

We will see you all tomorrow for Day 1 of our journey.

Humility

This is another study that came from one of Pastor David Brock's messages, and it covers 1 Pet 5:5-11.  The book of 1 Peter is written to those who are going through trials; in other words, us!  We all know that if we are faithful to God, if we have accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ as our savior, Satan will do his best to bring us down.
In Chapter 5 of 1 Peter, he is telling the elders of the church to teach the children of God to practice humility toward others.  The reason for this is covered in the end of verse 5:

          "God opposes the proud
           but shows favor to the humble" (NIV).

In other words, God gives His sufficiency to the humble.

In verse 6, we are to humble ourselves before God and He will exalt, or lift us up in due time.  Again, He will bless us if we are humble.  For instance, if we feel slighted in a situation with another, instead of being offended, show humility.  Verse 7 tells us how to handle these situations.  "Cast all your anxiety on Him..." (NIV).  This is often called "let go and let God".  When we refuse to cast our troubles on Him, we are ultimately saying that we do not trust God to handle our lives.  Do we honestly think that we can handle our lives better than our creator?  How proud is that?!!

Verse 8 tells us to be alert for Satan and his bag of tricks.  We need to be God-controlled and not tempted by Satan's worldly sins, which come at us daily.  He will use anything to ruin our walk with the Lord, including the things that prove to be our worst temptations; (mine is the amount of time I spend watching the TV or on the computer), our relationships, our thought-processes, what we think are our rights, etc.  Think for a moment about the things that are your temptations.  Get them in line...talk to the Lord about them, and ask for His help with them.  It is silly pride when we say, "I am mature enough to handle this.  I know when to stop.  I do not need God's help."  As soon as we say this, watch out!  That is the first step down the slippery slope, and off the path to God.  Put up barriers to block these temptations.

Then, as verse 9 an 10 tell us, we are to stand firm in the faith and know that we are not alone.  God's grace will bring stability in our lives.  Grace is God's sufficiency in our insufficiency.  God restores, or fixes, that which is broken; then He us makes strong externally and firm internally.  Finally, He makes us steadfast, or unshakable.  Only God does this.  Our stability is found in God. God is glorified when we are weak and God's strength restores us for all to see.  We reveal who God is!

A New Study Starts Next Week

We are starting a new study new week.  It will be based on the book " The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" , by Rick Warren.  It will last for 40 days and it requires that you commit the next 40 days of your life to this study. If you would like to get this book before we start it, Amazon has it in ebooks for 12.74, paperback or hardcopy for 15.98.  If you chose to purchase this book, take care that you get the right one, as there are a few books that go with it.  (I bought the Daily Inspiration and found that was not the one that I wanted.)
I hope that you all chose to follow this study.

Is Your Prayer Life Rich Enough?

When you pray, how do you pray?  Well, Jesus tells us that we are to pattern our prayers after the Lord's Prayer; first praise God, then confess our sins, then give Him thanks, and finally, ask for our needs, which should include the needs of others.  I must confess to you that my prayer life is not as rich as it should be and, as a result, I was convicted by the following lesson.

In 2 Cor 1:8-11, when Paul speaks to the Corinthians, he is also speaking to us about the need of prayer everyday. He is referring to physical death in verse 9, however he says that they/we are to rely on God through prayer, and not on themselves/ourselves, for God has the ultimate power to "[raise] the dead" (2 Cor 1:9 NIV).  This is because we can do nothing without God; in fact, "[we] can do all things through Christ, which strengthens [us]" (Phil 4:13).  But, we first need to know how to pray, and then we are to pray without ceasing.

One of the most important things that we should ask for in our prayers is the salvation of others.  All believers have the responsibility to reach out to others for Christ.  In verse 11, Paul writes about things that will drive us to intercede for others. There are three things that are outlined in this verse.  

The first, is that God helps us through the prayers of others (or vice verse).  In Rom 8:26,it is stated "the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses" (NIV).  When we do not know what to pray for, or we are having trouble finding the words, Jesus intercedes for us.  He takes over, if you will, and He is our spokesperson. This  is not to say that we do not need to pray, on the contrary, we need to come to the Throne Room, drop to our knees, and show that we are willing to at least try.  But, as it states in 1 Jn 2:1, Jesus is our advocate with the Father.

The second thing that drives us to pray that is outlined in 2 Cor 1:11 is the purpose of prayer, which is so that "many will give thanks on our behalf" (NIV).  This gives us the opportunity to give glory to God.

The final reason is the "gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many" (2Cor 1:11 NIV).  This reminds us that God does His work through prayers.  He is all-powerful and, of course, He can do His work without prayer, but that would not be beneficial to His children. We need to show dependence on our God,  What better way than through prayer?!

2 Pet 1:5 ~ Part Three

Today is the third, and final, lesson of 2 Pet 1:5.  This verse is dependent on the first four verses of this chapter, which tell us about the five gifts that God gives to us when we open or hearts to Jesus.  In verse five, Peter tells us to build our spiritual life by adding to the God-given gift of faith, these seven elements: virtue - to make up one's mind and strive for excellence; knowledge - knowledge about Jesus; temperance - to crucify the flesh...in other words to have willpower; patience - endurance.  These four elements are internal and are not necessarily obvious to others.  However, without these, one cannot have the other three elements, which are external and show in one's testimony. 

The first of these external elements is godliness.  This element shows others how our testimony is like Jesus, which is our goal in life. 

That brings us to brotherly kindness, which obviously means, how we treat each other.

The last element is charity, or love.  This love is not romantic, but a mental decision to serve; to focus on what we can do for others and do it.

This verse, 2 Pet 1:5, is a summary of the entire Christian dynamic.  When we fellowship with other Christians, Peter tells us to remember these things and allow them to "stir [us] up" (2 Pet 1:13).

2 Pet 1:5 ~ Part Two

We are going through a lesson that deals with building our spiritual life.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God immediately gave to us five precious gifts, one of which was faith (2 Pet 1:1-4, lesson on 4/11/13).  Saturday, we studied the first part of  2 Pet 1:5 , in which we learned that faith was the foundation of our spiritual life.  Peter is telling us that, in order to grow in our walk with the Lord, we need to add to that gift of faith.  He is also saying that we need to be diligent, or eager, in our growth.  In other words, do not let one day go by without being in the Word; if we do, decay will likely set into our spiritual life.
With that being said, the first "element" to add to faith is virtue, which is excellence or above average moral character (lesson on 4/13/13).
To the first element, we add knowledge.  This is what we know about Jesus, which is always growing, as we are always, or should always be,  thirsting for more.
To virtue and knowledge, we add temperance.  Now temperance means to crucify or deny the flesh.  That is easier said than done, I know, but we must do this for the Holy Spirit, which lives within us.
The last element that we are going to add today is patience, which is endurance.  Endurance means simply, "do not quit...EVER!"

Please come back tomorrow for our third and final lesson on 2 Pet 1:5.  God bless!

Second Weekly Reading Assignment

The second reading assignment will be Gen 26 - 46.  Remember to break it down, so that you are in the word daily.  Also,write the answer to these questions in your journal.

What is God's message to me in this passage?
How do I apply what I am reading to my own life?
Are there any promises that God has made to me in this passage?
Does this passage bring to mind any personal sin for which I need to repent?

God Has Done His Part...

This lesson will cover, in part, 2 Pet 1:5.  We need to take this slow and easy, so we will break it up into phrases, then pull the phrases apart.  Because it has a lot of "meat" to it, we will study 2 Pet 1:5 over a number of days.  First, you need to make yourself acquainted with what we have just covered in 2 Pet 1:1-4 (covered on April 11, 2013).

So, let's begin.  The first phrase is "And beside this".  Peter is saying, "Because of the prior statement in 2 Pet 1:1-4, in which he states that we all were given five gifts when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, the following is true.  It is a natural cause and effect situation.

The second phrase is "giving all diligence".  In the original Greek, diligence here means to have an eagerness for or to get excited about.  In other words, "using all that you have eagerly".

The third phrase is "add to your faith".  This phrase coupled with the previous phrase, is telling us that we need immediate growth to our faith, stressing immediate.  Peter is tell us that we can never stop growing, not even for one day.  If we do, we give decay a foothold in our faith and, eventually, our walk with the Lord.  We cannot have spiritual decay and be Christ-like, which is our goal in this life.  Peter tells us that our faith, which is a gift from God (2 Pet 1:3), is the foundation of our spiritual growth so, naturally, we add to that.  This faith, in the original Greek, means a "firm conviction".

The last phrase (or word) that we are looking at today, is "virtue"; which, here, means worth; excellence; integrity; above-average moral character; and worthy of praise.  It is not the same virtue that we find in the fruit of the spirit, as that virtue is acts.  Let me explain.  This virtue in 2 Pet 1:5, is internal, or cause; whereas, the virtue found in fruit of the spirit is external, or effect.  In other words, if we have this virtue, it will cause the virtue found in the fruit of the spirit, which others will see in our actions.

So, Peter is saying that, when we accept Jesus, God gives us five gifts, of which faith is one.  Then our job starts.  We make our heart clean and holy.  We are starting anew.  First, like any building, we need a foundation.  We have a firm foundation, which is faith.  We need to add to this, seven layers of spiritual growth, beginning with virtue, which is a condition of the heart.  By starting fresh, and building with "new materials", we will have a pure place for the Holy Spirit to reside in our heart.

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We are All Incredibly Gifted

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God immediately bestows five gifts on us.  These gifts are listed in 2 Pet 1:1-4.  Let's go over them quickly.

1. Grace              ~ Most people think that grace is our salvation.  Not so; grace defined is "God's divine influence and enabling ability on our lives".  We are given grace, or faith in God's influence.  In verse 2, Peter is praying that our grace will grow throughout our lives.  If grace was just our salvation, it could not grow.

2. Peace              ~ Biblical peace is  the absence of conflict.  Now that we are saved, God is in control and we have an absence of conflict, as long as we keep God in control.

3. Knowledge     ~ Biblical knowledge is to know about something with experience.  If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, then we have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

4. Godly life        ~  In verse 4, the term godly life is used.  We will pull these two words apart, even though they are used together in the text.  First, we have life, which refers to our lives now, as we live for God and not ourselves.  Godly refers to godliness, which shows our testimony to others.

5. Divine nature ~ The last gift we receive is a divine nature, which refers to a Godlike nature and our desire to live like Jesus.

Although, we all receive these gifts upon our accept of Jesus as our Savior, we don't all have the same desires for Christ..  The difference being, some develop their gifts more that others.

We are Mentors ~ Titus 2

My lesson today covers mentoring.  Did you know that we are all mentors?  True.  But, even more surprising, no matter what stage of our lives we are in, we are always mentees (okay, not really a word, but you know what I mean).  To mentor is to have a deliberate personal relationship that has lifelong impact.
Titus 2 covers the seven principles of mentoring.

1st Principle

As I stated above, mentoring occurs at all stages of life. Verse 2 is speaking to old men; verse 3 to old women; verse 4 to young women, verse 6 to young men and verse 9 to employers - employees. 

2nd Principle

Mentoring should be reproducible.  For example, in verses 3 and 4, it states that the old women should learn to be "reverent in the way they live..., but to teach what is good.  Then they can urge the younger women to..." (Titus 2:3-4 NIV).  In this way, mentoring is multi-generational.  We are not only teaching our children, but our children's children, as well.

3rd Principle

Mentoring is need-specific.  If you will notice in verses 2-10, each stage or group has different needs that they address.

4th Principle

Mentoring primarily teaches character.  Character is the outworking of the heart in your life choices.  Notice there are that more character issues than knowledge which are talked about in Titus 2.  Basically, this teaches people how to use the fruit of the spirit in their lives.

5th Principle

Mentoring also teaches roll fulfillment.  For example, a young woman might look to an older woman for guidance in what her roll is in keeping a Christian home.

6th Principle

Mentoring teaches biblical principles.  Verses 11-14 shows how God's grace enables us to be strong to live right.  We are deficient without God's grace.  We need to put off the old man, put on the new, and to live for Jesus until He returns.

7th Principle  

Last, but certainly not least, mentoring produces biblical testimony.  Biblical mentoring produces biblical learning, which produces biblical living.

Seek Those Things That are Above

Today's lesson is about sin.  Okay, we do not like to talk about it, but we all are familiar with it; we are all fighting our own sins daily.  It's easy for us to look at our sins as someone else's responsibilities.  Take Adam.  When confronted by God with the first sin, he played the blame game.  First, he blamed Eve, then he blamed God for giving Eve to him as a helpmate.  

As we learn in James 1:13, God doesn't tempt anyone.  To tempt is Satan's domain, not God's.  We are tempted when we  "are dragged away by [our] own evil desire and enticed" (James 1:14 NIV).  Sin will hunt us down then, once sin is born within us, sin causes death. 

As we read in Col 3:1, we are to seek those things which are from above, "for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:3 NIV).  With Christ's resurrection, we also have experienced our own resurrection, when we accept the Lord as our Savior.  Then we are to put to death our earthly nature.

Key to a Good Home

We all want a good home.  You know, one where there is lots of love and compassion for one another.  To have this kind of home, we need to fear the Lord and delight in His commandments.  This is the key.  
Today, we will take a quick look at some households, starting with the very first one, Adam and Eve.  These two people had a perfect environment, the way that God intended it to be for all of us.  Perfect, that is, until the first sin.  As always with sin, Satan came to Eve and caused her to question God's word.  Then he accused God of being unkind and not looking out for their best interest.  Further, he talked Eve into disobeying  God. The result was a breakdown of commitment to God's only commandment: Do not eat of the Tree of Good and Evil.
The next household we look at is very different.  In Job 1:1, we learn that Job feared God and shunned evil.  He had the key to a good home.  His story goes on to say, in Job 1:5, that he sacrificed a burnt offering daily just in case his children cursed God in their hearts.  This showed his concern for his family's spiritual well-being.  All through the trials that God allowed, Job kept his integrity and was a Godly role model for those around him, though they tried to tell him to curse God.
Abraham had a home of obedience, and because of this, God's blessings were abundant.  Nothing shows Abraham's submissiveness to God's authority as much as when God ordered him to sacrificed Isaac, his son, in Gen 22.  Can you imagine being commanded by God to sacrifice your child who you love more than life itself?  But Abraham feared the Lord and delighted in His commandments   He had faith that God would provide, and so He did!
We are to teach our children and grand-children through our experiences, and have faith that God will provide for our every need.  We need to be Godly role models at all times.  Don't let temptation rule the day, but be like Joshua, when he said,"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15 NIV).

Sunday Reading

We all know that Sunday is a special day.  On my blog, I've decided that I will read the Bible.  I want to finish it in a year.  So, I will put the reading assignment for the whole week up on Sundays.  I urge you to join me on this journey.  If you do read, ask yourself the following questions:

What is God's message to me in this passage?
How do I apply what I am reading to my own life?
Are there any promises that God has made to me in this passage?
Does this passage bring to mind any personal sin for which I need to repent?

These questions and answers should be written down.  In this way, they will be the beginning of our journals.

Assignment:

Gen 1 - 25

Foundation of a Christian

I have been challenged recently about my Christianity.  Did you know that religion and Christianity aren't necessarily the same thing? Another no-brainer for most of us, but believe it or not, there are people out there that think because I am a Christian, I have to be a religious fanatic.  Furthermore, because I go to an Independent Fundamental Baptist church, I am a dangerous nut, who wants to blow up the world! (This happens when anybody hears the word 'fundamental' in connection with religion.)  Nothing could be further from the truth.  "Fundamental Baptists" are a group of people who teach from the Bible, without watering it down.  But I digress.
Our lesson today will take us to different books in the Bible, but our main passage is Acts 11:19-26.  The first question we must ask ourselves is: 
What is real Bible Christianity and a Christian Home?
This answer is very easy: It is centered around Jesus (vs 20).

There are two kinds of religions:
The first is man-made, which states that you can get to heaven based on works, or what you do.  This is a very easy trap in which to fall.  Usually, a person says, "I am a good person.  I do all kinds of work for the community.  Of course, I am going to heaven."  Especially, when this statement is followed by, "I don't need to go to church" or "I don't need to read the Bible, WATCH OUT!  The trap is set!!
Th second kind of religion states that you get to heaven based on what Christ did for mankind at the cross.  This is the simple truth; no more, no less.

Bible Christianity involves the principle of conversion.
What is the cause of conversion?  Paul said it when he preached "publicly and house to house" (Acts 20:20).  This caused repentance, which led to faith in God.  But what does it mean to be repentant?  First, you need do see yourself as God sees you.  Do not think that you can hide your actions or thoughts from God, because you are only cheating yourself.  We all are sinners, plain and simple.  You need to ask for God's mercy, and He will give it to you.  He is a great and merciful God.  As 2 Cor 5:17 states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (NIV)!  How exciting!  All you have to do is to confess and, repent in your heart, and you are free!  Free to love God as He would have you love Him; as He loves you!
After you are committed to Christ, it is not physically impossible to sin, for we all fall short, but God changes our desires, and we no longer want the things that the old man wanted in our lives.
Some verses to look up and meditate on:
1 JN 2:15-17
James 4:4

Jesus gave His all for us ~ should we spurn His love?

Prepare for the Future

We often hear the words, "prepare for the Golden Years", which, of course, is referring to your economical future.  However, what is much more more important, is our spiritual future.  It isn't enough to accept Christ as our savior, we need to "pass it forward".  Oh sure,  we accept that Christ came to die for our sins, that He paid the ultimate price;  and that He was raised on the third day and ascended into heaven.  That acceptance saves us from eternal damnation.  But there is so much more to being a Christian.
This is where preparing for our spiritual future starts.  We must trust that God will make known our talents, so that we can use them to reach others, preparing our ministry, our personal outreach, as Paul did.  In 2 TI 2, his ministry was coming to an end, but it was to go on through Timothy.  This is what each of us should do.  We must create our own outreach, using our God-given talents.
Our ultimate goal is to make disciples within our family and friends.  You may ask yourself, "How do I make disciples who can be disciple-makers?"  First thing's first; in order to teach God's Word, we must study God's Word.  Then we must live God's Word, as 2 TI 2:15 clearly states.
2 TI 2:16, says to avoid "godless chatter" (NIV), or vane teachings, as it will promote godlessness, which spreads like gangrene.  If we run into someone who argues against the truth, we are to teach with gentle instruction, and hopefully "God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of truth" (NIV).  We must "pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 TI 2:22).  In this way, we teach through our testimony, our lives.  Why do we do this?  To save souls, which is the most important job of a Christian!
So, we need to study God's Word to have sound doctrine, so that we can teach others sound doctrine  so that they can go on to teach still others, and on and on.  But it is not enough to teach with our mouths; we need to teach through our lives.  We need to live God's Word!
The only requirement to spread God's Word is to have faithfulness.  Faithfulness is the key, then look to Christ and God will use your faithfulness in mighty ways!