Before your head hits the pillow

Who is Jesus?

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As Christians we are told that it should be our goal to live as Jesus lived, to act as He acted.  When my children were growing up it was all the rage to where bracelets that contained the letters WWJD, standing for What would Jesus Do?  But it is pretty hard to act as Jesus would act if we don’t even know what He was like as He walked this earth or who He still is today.

First and foremost we must understand that Jesus, the man who walked this earth some 2000 years ago was indeed God.  There are few people who deny that Jesus existed.  It is accepted in nearly every religion and among many non-believers that Jesus was indeed a real figure in history.  But this is where it stops for many people.  They want to say that Jesus was a great man, a kind and loving man, or maybe even a prophet but they don’t want to profess that He was God.

C.S. Lewis says this about this suggestion, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”

C.S. Lewis knew that our Lord Jesus Christ was and still is God!  People who try to say that Jesus was just a great teacher are certainly deluding themselves.

But if we are to follow Jesus, to emulate Him, to act as He acted, we need to know about who He was when he walked this earth. GotQuestions.org and some great insight into the question “What was Jesus like as a person?”

Jesus was not a good looking person like so many of the pictures we see of Him. Isaiah 53:2 says that he had “no beauty that we should desire Him…”  It wasn’t His good looks that drew people to Himself, it was His personality and His character.

Jesus was intensely compassionate.  His compassion found Him feeding 5000 hungry people.  It was His compassion that caused Him to intercede for the woman accused of adultery.

Jesus was serious and focused.  He knew what His mission on earth was.  He knew why it was that he came to earth and His whole ministry was centered on that day when He would die for our sins.  Jesus had a servant’s heart.  Mark 10:45 says that, “He did not come to be served, but to serve.”  Jesus was kind and selfless.  Jesus was constantly thinking about the feelings of others.  He cared about little children and their parents even when His disciples didn’t want the children bothering Him.

Jesus was submissive to the will of His Heavenly Father.  In His final hours, while in deep anguish Jesus asked His Father to “take this cup of suffering from Me: but let what you want be done, not what I want.”  Jesus was even submissive to His earthly parents.  Luke 2:51 says that “He continued in subjection to them…”

Jesus was full of mercy and forgiveness.  He asked His Heavenly Father to forgive those who put Him to death.  He called the disgusting tax-collector Matthew to be one of His disciples.  He showed mercy to the centurion when He healed his servant.

Jesus cared for the most wretched and despised of people.  He cared for the Samaritan woman at the well.  He cared for prostitutes and adulterers.  He cared for children and lepers.  Jesus was the epitome of caring and love.

Jesus was not afraid of confrontation but was most condemning of people who professed to know God but were more about religion than they were about love and service.  Jesus often confronted the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Jewish leaders of the day.  Jesus confronted the money changers in the temple who were defiling God’s sacred house. And Jesus even confronted his friend Peter when Peter tried to interfere with His mission. Matthew 16:23.

Jesus spent much time in prayer and fasting.  He fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights as He prepared for His ministry.  Jesus prayed at His baptism, He prayed before He selected His disciples, He prayed before feeding the 5000, He prayed before raising Lazarus from the dead, and He prayed many, many more times!

Jesus was honest and truthful.  He never told a lie, He never stretched the truth, but rather spoke the truth everywhere that he went.  Jesus was patient.  He was patient when His disciples failed to understand Him, He was patient when Peter all too often spoke before he thought, He was patient when they argued about who would sit at Jesus’ side in heaven.  Jesus was patient.

So there we have it.  If we want to live like Jesus lived, these are things to strive for: Compassion, serious focus, being submissive to God and those in authority, have mercy and forgiveness, be caring for those who appear to be unlovable, do not be afraid to confront when evil exists, spend time in prayer and fasting, be honest and truthful, and be patient.  That is our recipe for happiness and joy.  If we live in this way, completely surrendered to Christ, we will have great peace and immeasurable joy.

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Five Categories

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Written by Bill Federer of American Minute

Prior to the Civil War, America was divided into 5 categories:

1. Radical Northern Republicans said slavery is wrong – end it now. They believed all human lives, on or off the plantation, were equal, created in the image of God. This group even included the fringe John Brown who shot a slave owners.

2. Moderate Republicans said slavery is wrong but the country should transition out of it gradually over time.

3 Practical Neutral Voters only cared about jobs, wages, tariffs, taxes and the economy.

4. Moderate Southern Democrats said slavery is wrong but the nation should live with it – just treat your slaves nice.

5. Extreme Southern Democrats said slavery is good and should be expanded into new Territories and States. They wanted Northerners who were morally opposed to slavery to be forced to participate in supporting it through the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Interestingly, these are similar to the categories America is divided into today:

1. Pro-Life Republicans say abortion is wrong – end it now. They believed all human lives, in or out of the womb, are equal, created in the image of God.

2. Establishment Republicansreluctantly agree to gradual limitations on abortion.

3. Practical Neutral Voters avoid social issues – “It’s the economy, stupid.”

4. Pro-Choice Democrats want abortion to stay legal, just have it be safe, rare and few.

5. Extreme Democrats believe that abortion is good and want to expand it globally through United Nations’ initiatives, include it in nationalized healthcare, sell aborted baby body parts, and force those morally opposed to abortion to participate in supporting it, even suing the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Before your head hits the pillow

Are You a Pearl?

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For some reason I got thinking about pearls on my way to work this morning.  I think that God places what might seem like random thoughts into our heads to direct us to something He wants us to ponder.  I guess this morning that was pearls.

So how is a pearl made? A pearl is typically generated within an oyster but on rare occasions it can also take form from within clams and mussels.  An oyster has two halves or valves.  The valves are connected by an elastic ligament.  For the most part the oysters’ valves are open so that it can eat.  The oyster has an organ known as a mantle that develops into its shell.  The inside of the shell is lined by a substance known as nacre.

When a foreign object gets lodged in between the mantle and the shell it causes an irritation.  To combat the irritation, which I guess could be compared to a sliver or splinter in your finger, the mantle then begins to cover the foreign object with the same substance that makes up the shell, the nacre.  After years of being covered with nacre a pearl develops.

So what does this have to do with anything?  As I got thinking about the pearl and this irritant that develops within it, I began thinking about our lives in Christ.  Man was created perfect but when Adam sinned, we all inherited his sinful nature.  That sinful nature is like an irritant, a foreign substance that is contrary to the ways of God.

But God can begin covering us just like the oyster covers the irritant lodged inside of it.  That irritant must be uncomfortable for the oyster and that is why it begins its work.  The work God does in us can also be uncomfortable but we know that if we are steadfast, He will create something beautiful out of our broken lives.

The Bible says this about the trials that cover us:  “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” I Peter 5:10

James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Romans 8:18 blesses us with these words, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

And one of my favorite passages is Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Our trials and tribulations can also feel like irritants to us, but as Romans 5 tells us they begin to cover us with amazing beauty.  First those sufferings cover us with the beauty of perseverance, then the beauty of fine character, and finally they give us great hope.  And that hope assures us that we now stand before God in His grace being made righteous!

That irritant known as sin can be covered by God’s love over and over again.  That irritant known as suffering can teach us about God’s love, His grace, and His compassion.  Until one day we emerge as a beautiful pearl.  As we continue in our journey with the Lord, if we follow Him and let him cover those irritants in our lives, we become more and more beautiful until on that final day, we will be not just any pearl but a perfect pearl!  I like that thought!  But for now, I am just going to let God work on the irritants in my life so that I can become a more glorious pearl each day.

Before your head hits the pillow

Put on the Whole Armor of God

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Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

As Christians, we must always remember that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. It is not a war of physical bullets or missiles. It is a battle against the evils of the world. It is a battle against greed, against arrogance, a battle against lying, a battle against gossip, or a battle against spreading discontent among believers. It is a battle against the devil himself.

2 Corinthians 10:3,4 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2 Timothy 2:3&4 – You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

But Paul teaches us what we can do to prepare ourselves for the battle.

Each day, most of us get up and take a shower. Then we determine what cloths we will wear for the day, brush our teeth, tend to our hair and then we are ready for the day, but are we?

Do we take as much time dressing ourselves for the spiritual battles of the day?

Each day we should make sure that we equip ourselves with the BELT OF TRUTH.

In armor, the belt is needed to secure other pieces of armor. The rest of the armor does not function well without the belt being attached firmly in place. Just as God’s truth undergirds everything for our daily lives. If we did not have the truth, nothing in our arsenal would be effective. John 14:6 states that Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is our truth.

Next we need to take on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. In the suit of armor, the breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs. We are deemed righteous only through Christ, not by anything that we can do. Understanding that we are deemed righteous only through the grace of the Lord keeps us humble. It also reassures us that no matter what happens in our lives that we are His. Nothing can pierce our hearts and take his redemption away from us!

After we have fitted ourselves with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, next we must arm ourselves with the SHIELD OF FAITH.

The shield was the warrior’s first line of defense. It was strapped firmly to his arm as faith must be strapped firmly to us as we face the world. Faith is our first defense against doubt. When we go into battle, we cannot afford to have a tinfoil shield of faith. Our faith must be strong and thick, strong enough to take any arrow or accusation the devil throws at us.

Then we must put on the HELMET OF SALVATION. Salvation is the knowledge that we are sinners, that we must accept Jesus as our Savior and repent of our sins.

The helmet guards our head. Knowledge of salvation comes from our head. There are going to be times that we doubt, but we must rely on that shield of faith, and the knowledge of salvation to get through those times. The helmet of salvation protects our head from false teaching and those who would lead us astray.

The next part of our uniform is GOSPEL OF PEACE SHOES. During our struggles hear on earth, we are going to have to be sure footed. We are going to stand firm in order not to slip. These shoes will help us side-step the enemy and will allow us to bring the good news to all mankind. Sharing the gospel of salvation ultimately brings about peace between God and man.

And then we must pick up the SWORD OF GOD’S WORD. This is the only offensive weapon in our suit of armor. Hebrews 4:12 states: For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. An acute knowledge of the Word of God is our best defense AND offense in this world’s battles.

And the last of our armaments is PRAYER. Not just some prayer, but praying in the Spirit on all occasions.

Just as you wouldn’t go to work tomorrow morning minus your pants, or without your shoes, you cannot be prepared for the struggles of the day without placing on THE ENTIRE ARMOR.

You need TRUTH, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SALVATION, SHARING OF THE GOSPEL, THE WORD, and PRAYER! You need all of them to battle well!

God has given us everything we need to engage in this spiritual war, it is up to us to make sure that we get dressed every morning!

 

Before your head hits the pillow

Are You Vulnerable to Attack?

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No one wants to be vulnerable to attack.  We do a lot to keep ourselves safe.  Many people install security systems in their homes.  Our cars come with theft alarms.  Women carry mace on their key chains.  Each day hundreds of women, all across the country, take self-defense classes.  We are cautious about traveling alone and we no longer pick up hitch hikers.  Our world is just not safe.

So here is the question, if we take so many precautions to keep our bodies safe, why don’t we take as many if not more to keep both our body and soul safe?

Have you ever watched the nature channel and seen an episode that shows a lion on the prowl?  The lions surround their prey.  They look for a weak animal, one that is small or wounded.  Then they isolate that animal.  The separate the most vulnerable in the herd from the pack and then attack.

That is not much different than how the devil and his demons go about their attacks on us.  They look for any weakness they can exploit.  If a marriage isn’t going well, they introduce a third party to tempt.  If you are a new Christian the devil may surround you with your old friends, friends who do things that you have turned your back on.  The devil also wants to isolate you from the body of believers.  When you go to church you have the protection of the body of believers.  They are there to pray for you.

But the devil wants to isolate you.  He wants to take you away from anyone who can build you up or keep you strong so he isolates you from other believers.

The devil wants you to be weak so he certainly doesn’t want you to be aware of the armor of God. But we can learn how to strengthen ourselves for battle with the enemy by reading Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

So there you go, if you don’t want to be vulnerable to spiritual attack, be spiritually strong by placing on the full armor of God and by surrounding yourself with others who love the Lord.  Run in a pack of Christians! We are stronger when we are many.  We are more productive when we are praying together. We are a greater force when we gather together with other Christians.

You can make excuses for not gathering together with other Christians, but know this, you are making yourself vulnerable to spiritual attacks.  You can make excuses for not undergirding yourself with Scripture but you are making yourself as vulnerable as a weak antelope, isolated from the rest of the herd as the lions attack.

The devil’s attacks and schemes will always be out there, but so will that armor and the body of Christ!  Begin your battle preparation now, put on that armor and join the army of Christ’s fellow servants.

Tomorrow I will repost a piece on what the full armor of God really is.  Stay tuned.

Before your head hits the pillow

Is There Judgment for the Saved?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

There will come a day of judgment, of that you can be sure.  God will come to judge the living and the dead.  Acts 17:31 tells us, “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”  The person who will do the judging at the end of time is Jesus, the one who was raised from the dead.

Many are aware of final judgment.  They know that all those who have not believed in Jesus Christ will be condemned but those who have will live eternally with God.

I also believe that once you are saved, NOTHING can snatch you from God’s hands.  You may stray and you may wander, but you will never fall out of grace.  But what about the people who accept Jesus as their Savior but have little to show for that commitment?  Will they still enter heaven?  Don’t we need to do more than just say we believe?

The Bible says that there will be two separate judgments.  Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  Romans 14:12 tells us that everyone will give an account of himself to God. I Corinthians 3:11-15 speaks of giving account.  The works that we do on this earth will either be pure and good, they will be either gold and silver. Or what we do on this earth will be like hay or stubble.  The fine things we do are compared to gold and silver that could withstand a fire, these good deeds will withstand the fire and will show of the man or woman’s work on behalf of God.

Other’s works on earth will be like hay and stubble and will be consumed by the fire.  Their works were not good enough to endure the fire.  So why is this important?  It is important because it tells us that what we do here on earth DOES matter to our heavenly Father.  We can either work diligently for God each day or we can coast by.  But know this, if you coast by, you will not only be losing blessings here on earth, but you will be forfeiting heavenly rewards.

There will be judgment for the saved.  It will NOT be a judgment to determine salvation, for if you believe in Christ as you Savior, you will be saved.  But this will be a judgment of our deeds and our thoughts while living on this earth.  I Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”  Yes God will bring to light EVERYTHING we have said and done.  I don’t believe that God will bring our sins in front of everyone, but I do believe that He will make them all real in our own hearts so that we can fully understand the blessing of His sacrifice.

Then Jesus will look at those things we have done for Him.  He will look at our thoughts, at our words, at our actions.  He will look at everything that we have done for Him.  And then believers will be rewarded based on the good works they have done.

I will never do good works to achieve reward, but understanding that our good works are important enough for Jesus to judge at the end of time makes me want to please Him all the more.  It DOES matter what I do.  It DOES matter who I care for and how I spend my life.  It DOES matter if I take the time to visit the elderly woman at the nursing home who gets no visitors. It DOES matter if I try to make the Christmas of those in need a bit brighter.  It DOES matter if I remember to pray for those in need.

Each of these things matter not only to the person I am helping, but they matter to God.  He wants to see us in service.  He tells us in Matthew 25:37-40   “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Yes, the saved will be judged.  We will be judged on our obedience and service, and we will be rewarded accordingly.    Remember that while we are here we are laborers together with God.  We are actually His field and His building (I Corinthians 3:9).  We are not working alone, we are working WITH God.  What a great thought.  What we do here we don’t do alone, we do this WITH God.  He is our foreman!

Let’s spend our time here on earth faithfully serving Him.  Let’s be hard working laborers.   Let’s work so that what it is that we do will be like fine silver and gold.  Let us work to make sure that what we do has lasting impact!  And then let’s be eager to hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”