How We Live Says a Lot About Who We Are

     In concluding a recent Bible study with a friend, a verse came to my attention that really stood out.  It comes from Hebrews 4:13:  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."  What a wake-up call this verse should be for us!  If God sees all my actions, knows all my thoughts and desires, then, how I live my life is of the utmost importance.  This requires some self-evaluation on our part since we are often the only Bible some people will ever see or hear.

     One of the first areas that comes to mind is our speech.  Do we build up others and encourage or do we spend time gossiping and tearing down?  Jesus said:  "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person" (Matthew 15:11).  This is where we have to do a "mouth check" on a daily basis.  Do we take the Lord's name in vain, do we curse or use vulgar language?  If we do, what does this say about our walk with Christ?  We have a new heart, a new worldview when we become a believer. The old has passed away....or rather, it is supposed to pass away.  This is a part of our sanctification process.  I know that in my own life I am challenged in this area when I am driving.  I talk a good deal about others who are going too slow, cutting me off or going faster than they should on the road.  However, God has called me out on this because I am not a perfect driver either.  James puts it bluntly in his epistle:  "...but no human being can tame the tongue, It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so" (James 5:8-10).  Since we cannot tame the tongue in our own strength, this is where we need the help of God's Holy Spirit.  Even when we stub our toe or hit our hand with a hammer, we need to watch what we say in response.  Not only are those around us listening, but more importantly, God hears us.  My daily prayer is:  "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight always, LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

     Another area that we need to examine is our thought life and our desires.  While we may not act out a murder or commit adultery overtly,  how we think about another person makes all the difference.   Do we wish someone would die so we can have our inheritance earlier?  Have we desired another man's wife or husband?  Even though, these are just thoughts and have not been acted upon, they are still sinful.  Jesus makes this clear in the Sermon on the Mount:  "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' (or Raca in Aramaic) will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:22).  He goes on to talk about adultery as well:  "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).  This is one reason the Bible tells us to be renewed by the transforming of our minds.  When we become a Christian, we are a new creation.  As we read the Bible, pray and fellowship with other believers, our words, our thoughts and our actions should all be different than when we are walking in this world.  It certainly doesn't happen overnight.  However, if it doesn't happen at all, then, we need to take a step back and evaluate whether we are a Christian.

     Certainly, on this earth, we will never reach perfection and there will be missteps, but our lives should be producing fruit if we belong to Christ.  The distinction is clearly made in the letter to the Galatians 5:19-22:  "Now the works of the flesh are evident; sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law."  Then Paul concludes this by saying in verse 25:  "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."  Indeed, this is what Christ has called us to do.

     People watch us every day and how we live before them speaks louder than words. Perhaps, this is a new thought for you as it has been for me.  I am reminded of the children's song "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See".  It goes on to mention ears, tongue, hands, feet, heart and mind.  Why should we be careful?  "For the Father up above is looking down in love...."  He is our audience of One who sees us and knows all our thoughts.  Let us live so we can be a light and salt to others here...not a hindrance.  This will glorify our Father in heaven.  Selah!

God's Timing is Perfect

      Two years ago, we planned to take a Caribbean cruise with our daughter and her family.  This would be the first big trip for three of our grandchildren out of the country and they were excited.  Unfortunately, the Pandemic hit and our plans were put on hold when the cruise ship industry closed down due to safety concerns.  No one knew what to expect, but happily, we received credit for another cruise in the future.  Finally, this past month, we got to enjoy a lovely week with our family.  The weather was beautiful and we were treated so kindly.  Truthfully, it was worth the wait.

     How often do we get busy making plans like this and then it falls through?  I would venture too say that this happens to most of us at least at some point in life.  The question always comes as to why things had to be put on hold.  Of course, in this situation, we were happy to wait since no one knew what to expect.  However, there are other occasions where we grumble and complain because it seemed that there was no good reason for our plans to be interrupted.  Yet, there may be more of a reason behind our interruptions in life than we know.  I am reminded of the story of Balaam and his donkey.

     In Numbers 22:21-39, the story is related in detail.  Balaam, a pagan prophet, was approached by King Balak to go and curse the nation of Israel for he feared them.  He offered his money if he would go and do this, but Balaam said that he could only say what God told him to say.  He initially declined the King's offer, but eventually, he was told he could go with them.  The lure of the money that was offered made him want to go along.  As he journeyed to meet the king, his donkey acted very strangely.  At first, the donkey took him into a field whereupon Balaam beat him back on the road.  Once again, as they were proceeding between two narrow walls, the donkey pushed Balaam's foot into a stone wall and refused to go on.  Again, Balaam beat the donkey wondering why he was so disobedient.  They went on a little further where there was a narrow place with no room to turn, and suddenly, the donkey lay down under Balaam.  This was too much for the man.  He beat his donkey with his staff.  Then, the donkey's mouth was opened by God and he said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" (Numbers 22:28b).  Instead of shock and dismay at his talking donkey, Balaam told him that if he had a sword, he would have killed him.  The donkey reminded this man of how faithful he had been, and after that response, God opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel standing in his way.  It was then that the angel told him that he came to oppose him because of his reckless path.  He further told him that if the donkey hadn't stopped those three times, the angel would certainly have killed Balaam.  What a wake up call!  Balaam admitted his sin in going and in beating his animal who had saved his life.  The angel told him he could continue his journey but could only say what God told him to say about the Children of Israel.

     When we look at this story, we see a man who was unaware of God's angel who went before him.  He had no idea why his donkey behaved as it did, and in utter irritation, beat the poor animal until God opened his eyes.  While this story is not a perfect parallel with our interrupted plans, it serves to remind us that there are often unseen things behind why our plans are stopped in mid course.  We don't have a full picture as God does of what lies ahead.  I have often thought to myself, "How many traffic accidents has God kept me from by delaying my travel?  Or what if I had gone ahead with a certain purchase which might have been a big mistake?"  This side of heaven, we may not know why things turn out as they do, but we can rest assured that God is sovereign and has our best interests at heart.  Personally, I have come to a place now where I try to step back and acknowledge that there must be a reason for things to go as they have, and I can have peace knowing that God is in control.

     All of us can rest in His timing because Jesus came into the world at just the right moment to bring salvation to those who are called by His name.  We also know on the basis of His Word that He will come again for His own as He promised.  Looking at our world situation and the difficulties everyone has faced during the Pandemic it is easy to be discouraged, but this is the time we need to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day drawing near for Him to come again (Hebrews 10:25).

     God's timing for our cruise was not our timing, but we were very blessed when we had the opportunity to go.  We must all remember "A man's heart plans his course but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).  Balaam had to learn this from his donkey, but we have God's Word to help us to wait on His timing.  Therefore let us rejoice in waiting upon the Lord!  Selah!

     

There is Only One Constant in our Lives

     Those of us who live in Florida jokingly say, "If you don't like the weather, wait fifteen minutes and it will change."  This is often true as it can rain for twenty minutes and be sunny the rest of the day.  I am, however, not complaining as we do not have to deal with snow and ice.

 While many things, like weather, change frequently, there is one constant in life that we can depend on and that is God.

     Malachi 3:6 tells us:  "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O Children of Jacob, are not consumed."  Throughout Scripture, God reminds us that He does not change when it comes to His character, His Word and His commandments.  Hebrews 13:8 declares, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever."  This means we can count on the LORD.  Furthermore, this is why the Apostle James wrote this about God:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."  What good news this is for those of us who walk through this fallen world where one minute culture says we must do this and the next minute it is completely changed.  I don't know about you, but walking on shifting sand each day wears me out!  Thank goodness for the rock that is higher than we are!

     Another word for God's total stability of character is immutability.  Unlike people whose mood swings can sometimes knock us off balance, God remains the same.  We can depend upon His steadfast love and promises.  One place we see this most clearly is in the Bible.  Throughout the pages of His Word, God demonstrates His holiness, righteousness, and sovereignty.  He is faithful to execute perfect justice but shows His people grace through the giving of His Son as a sacrifice for our sin.  Has any other leader ever done that in this world?  Can we find such reassurance in the newspaper we read each day?  The more time we spend in the Bible, the more we see His character and love for us.  Speaking for myself, every time I read the Word, I find something new that I did not realize before.  His Word is quick and powerful and living!

     Because the Lord cannot change, we can rest assured that what He says He will do.  Numbers 23:19 says:  "God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind.  Has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken,  and will He not fulfill it?"  Unlike friends or others who have let us down with a last minute change of mind, God is dependable.  I find this so comforting in the middle of our upside down world at this time.

     In my humble opinion, one of the biggest mistakes we can make is getting caught up in the ever changing controversies of this world  so much that we forget we have an anchor that will hold us firmly no matter what happens.  We allow circumstances, issues, and the ever changing cultural norms to blow us around like a piece of paper caught in the wind.  This can surely result in despair for us.  Leaders tell us to follow the science, and yet, the science keeps changing when it comes to the Pandemic.  However, the answers to our dilemmas and problems will not be found in the world system.  Man doesn't have all the answers, but God does.  Our citizenship as believers is in heaven and not in this world.  We are to be in the world but not of it.  God and His Word hold all we need for life and godliness.  More importantly,  when we begin to trust in the Lord's immutability, we will find peace as we travel through rough seas of life.

     We must all remind each other that the answers are not found in the box (this world system).  They are found in Jesus Christ....the giver of every good and perfect gift.  He is the one constant for our lives that will never change.  Selah!