2020 February Review

Right now, I’m enjoying my 2nd time rereading a collection of C. S. Lewis’ writings for the Lent season in a book, Preparing for Easter, as well as a book, To Seek and To Save – Daily Reflections on the Road to the Cross, from Sinclair Ferguson.

This month has focused a lot on Wisdom. What is it? And, what am I going to do with it? There’s is always a call for our choice, our responsibility in this relationship with God!

WISDOM

I was delighted to run across some wonderful thoughts regarding wisdom this month.  First there is Job 28:20-28, beginning with “Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?” and ending with “And He said to the human race, ‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’”  He describes wisdom and then tells us how to measure our effectiveness in understanding it.

Am I ‘shunning evil’? Am I making a deliberate and intentional effort at ‘shunning evil’?

Then I ran across a line in Tony Evan’s commentary that restated this concept: “Knowledge (of God) is the acquisition of facts and memorization of scripture, but wisdom is gained through the application of this knowledge.”  It may not be enough to ‘know’ the Bible, but to put the imperatives into practice… be the ‘hands and feet’… that is where we grow in Godly wisdom. 

Jesus didn’t just reassure us that He would be with us always, Matthew 28:19-20, He also tells us to GO… MAKE disciples… TEACH them to obey… LOVE God… LOVE others… It appears I need to reread the Gospels with eyes open to the action verbs.  I don’t think Christianity was meant to be a self-reflective form of worshipping the Son with a sense of relief for what He’s done. Then, letting that relief inspire us to sit comfortably, unchanged.

SPIRIT vs. SOUL

Yes, there is a difference.  The story of The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reminds us we are Spiritual creatures having a temporary physical experience, not a physical being sometimes having a spiritual experience.  We were created in God’s image; we are Spirt, Soul, and Body, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – and whatever part you feed will grow.  Our souls are made up of our MIND, WILL, and EMOTIONS.  And there is a wealth of secular knowledge, worldly wisdom, advising you how to achieve peace in your soul.  Go ahead and try them, no, don’t… I did, for decades.  They’re lies.

We were made to worship God and to bring Him glory and we each get a limited time to turn to Him and call Him Lord of our lives. That is when He can begin to work in you.  That is when you can find the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Surrendering your will is difficult; it goes against every expert advise this world has to offer. But remember who rules this world until the return of Jesus. True faith in what took place at the cross changes you and knocks you off your own pedestal. Your ‘will’ tries to climb back up; it’s comfortable there.  And the devil will try the same five lies on you that he used in the garden. Genesis 3:1-7

1. The devil gets you to question God’s word.
2. The devil scoffs at the negative consequences of sin.
3. The devil accuses God of evil intent.
4. The devil advertises sin as beneficial.
5. The devil uses sin to create shame intended to destroy your future relationships.

You will hear many people talk about their search for God, but you only have to go to the next verse to see that it is man who is trying to hide from God. And it is the Lord God that calls to the man and asks, “Where are you?”  God is not hiding from us; He’s calling to us.  Genesis 3:8-9

Who are Your Five?

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.  How odd. 

Our church began a series this month, called “Lineup”, to coincide with the upcoming baseball season.  ⚾ We are asked to examine who is in the dugout with us. These are the people we do life with… not the spectators in the stands, but the people we bring close to us.  The people who will influence us – either negatively or positively. As Christians, we need other Christians to help us grow Spiritually. 

MODELS – people who inspire us, who are further along on their journey, people we want to emulate in different areas of our lives: marriage, finance, etc.  In the Old Testament, 2 Kings 2:8, 2 Kings 2:13, look at Elijah and Elisha.

MENTORS – our coaches – we all have blind spots.  These are the people who we allow to be honest with us.  Truth is never compromised, but it is delivered in love. (Exodus 18:17-19, Moses and Jethro, 1 Timothy 4: 12 Paul and Timothy).  Critics only criticize, speak death with their words, then walk away. People in your dugout are always concerned with (1) who God made you to be and (2) what God has called you to do. They speak truth and offer advise helping you with these aims in mind.

TEAMMATES – The people who are with you and don’t mind getting their nails dirty. They share the dream with you. They know that to be Godly is better than being right. (Matthew 3:11-12 John the Baptist and Jesus, Exodus 4:15 and Exodus 7:6-7 Moses and Aaron, 2 Peter 3:15-16 Peter and Paul.)

FRIENDS – Friends are always there to encourage.  They always move you back to where God called you when you start to stray – they create opportunities for you – they look out for you first.  (1 Samuel 19:4, 1 Samuel 20:4, 1 Samuel 23:16 Jonathan and David.)

I think part of the difficulty I had with the ‘believability’ of the Bible earlier in my life is that none of those relationships were present in my life nor did I have the personal character to offer that kind of relationship to anyone else.  None of those types of relationships seemed real or lasting to me.   And as long as I was focused on myself and what was best for me, I was not motivated to invest any time or energy into developing those sorts of relationships.  I was doing just fine without anyone else, thank you very much. Until I wasn’t. And so, this journey, without me on the throne continues 😊

The people you want to surround yourself with should have certain attributes:

• They possess a desire to Love and Serve God. This should show up in their language and behavior. The fruit! These people are reaching for the Tree of Life. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
• They are committed to growing in Character.
  • Integrity – what they say and do when no one is looking (Proverbs 10:9)
  • Humility – desiring God’s will not their own (Proverbs 3:34)
  • Generosity – they do what’s right, even when it is hard (Proverbs 22:9)
• They respond to criticism with godliness – Otherwise, if they take personal offense, they become cynics. Jesus tells His followers they are blessed when they are persecuted because of Him. (Matthew 5:10-12) It is the history of Man.  Read the bible!  A Christian should expect criticism; they cannot control what others say or what circumstances they find themselves in, but they CAN control their response.