2002-09-25
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
I am led to continue discussing EPH 4: 25-32, a passage that helps us to know God's will for how to prepare to witness to the Gospel message of salvation and peace. We can't help noticing how God instructs and guides us to make changes in ourselves to better conform to His will for us. That is because He knows what we must be like in order to be effective in joining Him in His work. We must remember that His loving goals are to bring as many people as possible to faith, so they can live with Him in eternal joy and fellowship. He also wants to further us in our sanctification, that process by which He perfects us and readies us to answer that all-important call to a meeting in the air with Christ [1 THESS 4: 13-16] prior to the wedding feast of the Lamb [REV 19: 5-10]. This also aligns beautifully with God's original intent, which is that we were created in His image [GN 1: 27]. The changes we must make don't always come at a convenient time and often take us out of our comfortable habit places. In other words, they may be difficult for us. However, they are always necessary and in our best long-term interests. That is because our God is always righteous in everything He decides and everything He does.
Yesterday, I shared a story in which God protected me from my propensity to act according to my natural self and punch a rude lady in the chops. Instead, I spoke calming words and walked away from any further confrontation with her. That's not because I'm such a paragon of virtue; it's because God is great and powerful enough to protect me from myself. We are told in EPH 4: 26-27, "If you become angry , do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Do not give the devil a chance." This is the same message we find in GA 5: 23 when a list of the fruits of the Spirit is given including self-control. The management of anger is a huge issue. It is normal for people to feel angry at times, even justifiable. However, there are destructive and constructive ways to deal with that anger. God wants us to find constructive ways to do that. The alternative is the work of the devil, who likes to see us do destruction to relationships and even physical destruction. We shouldn't ever give him a chance. The other facet to this is grudge-holding, an all-too-frequent human propensity that is never constructive. All it can do is to hurt the people the grudge-holder loves (including himself), and it is lost on the subject of his anger. PS 62: 5, "Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on Him," David wrote. Those are the words of a man who was tormented for years by his predecessor, King Saul, and who spent most of his life with his physical being in danger. That is an example of God's power. Remember Christ's own words in MK 10: 27, "This is impossible for a man, but not for God; everything is possible for God."
EPH 4: 28, "The man who used to rob must stop robbing and start working, in order to earn an honest living for himself and to be able to help the poor." When I looked at this verse, I saw in it a basic principle of Judaism. You'll remember me saying that three basic principles of Judaism are: 1) the adoration of God, making Him the center of one's life, 2) educating one's children to love learning and apply it to a godly life, and 3) the giving of alms to the poor. Another principle is hospitality. If we examine the lives of the apostles throughout Paul's epistles, we see these principles being lived out by all but Judas Iscariot. If we understand these Jewish principles, then one can see there is no room for laziness and refusal to take responsibility in one's life in the ideal Jewish lifestyle. That doesn't mean all Jews choose to live up to these principlec, but that's the ideal. Whether Jewish or not, there are many reasons in today's society why people choose a very unrighteous lifestyle involving theft. Sometimes it's drug or alcohol addition; sometimes it's a desire to skip out on child support payments; sometimes its general lack of ethics in the business place; there are a myriad of reasons why people steal from others. The believer preparing to witness must stop this practice and earn an honest living. If it means removing the impetus to steal from one's life, then that's what God asks us to do. Stealing doesn't always involve the taking of something physical from another. Sometimes it takes the form of plagiarism, identity theft, or theft of whatever would repair a relationship. We must be alert to the roaming about in our lives of that roaring lion who seeks to devour his prey (Satan) [1 PET 5: 8].
Whatever evil passions we have within us, we must recognize them and expunge them from our lives. That is not always easy to do. It is so easy to become obsessed with some alluring thing like a particular rock group or singer, the latest fashions which are bearing an increasing amount of skin, make up or other adornments that don't send a godly message, and the like. Our preteens and teens are particularly vulnerable to these things. Parents need to be watchful regarding lyrics, God's will for clothing [LV 19: 28, for example], and understand the unspoken messages that these things convey. My husband, Peter, wisely said, "You can tell a lot about a person from the friends he has." Parents can use that wisdom in observing who their children are with when they are not present. So many issues like an interest in pornography fall under this category. I pray that all of us will spend time in prayerful self-evaluation about how we manage our anger, whether or not we hold grudges (which prevent us from producing spiritual fruit), if there is anything that we are stealing from another, and if there are evil passions that must be extinguished in our lives to enable us to prepare to witness to the message of peace and salvation.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before You today as we live in an increasingly evil world, to ask for Your help in weathering the arrows that Satan directs at us. There are so many evil temptations from within, caused by our own human nature, and from without, caused by others in whom Satan has gained a stronghold. We recognize the poverty of our spirits without the influence and presence of Your Spirit to guide, inform, and enrich them. We offer You thanks that You answered Christ's request shared with us in JN 14: 16-17, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, Who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, Who reveals the truth about God. The world can not receive Him, because it cannot see Him or know Him. But You know Him, because He remains with You and is in You." Before we came to faith, Satan had us imprisoned to the negative consequences of the sin He placed on Adam and which we inherited through Adam [GN 3: 6]. You love us enough to have made the greatest sacrifice of all, the death of Your beloved Son on the cross, so that we could be saved from this prison. He bought us out of the market place of sin and gave us the opportunity for life everlasting [HE 10:10]. We recognize how crucial it is for us to stand firm against the enemy, no matter when or how he strikes. We thank You for providing Christ's shoulders, the only ones broad enough to carry our burdens, upon which we can place our troubles [MT 11: 28-30]. How blessed we are that You grant us salvation and carry our burdens, Dearest Abba. We confess our sins in humility and pledge You our eternal worship, adoration, diligence, loyalty, obedience, trust, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ's name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to continue discussing EPH 4: 25-32, taking a careful look at taking responsibility for one's own thoughts and actions and the issue of bitterness. It is never easy to face painful truths about sin in our lives. But, we are blessed in that our Lord and Savior helps us to do this by His gentle patience and compassion for us. When the time comes that we must get rid of an old well worn habit or grudge, He is there to guide us through the process leading to righteousness, forgiveness, and peace. I think His love extends to rooting for us in overcoming these sinful mountains to climb, because He can rejoice in our victory when we do. This kind of reminds me of a loving parent watching his Little Leaguer hit a home run. The team may play terrible baseball when compared to the pros, but this small victory brings the parent more joy than the child ever realizes. Our God is a very loving Parent Who wants nothing more than to see His children lead successful lives "in Christ" leading to eternal life with Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn