Playing Well With Others

Authority, everybody likes to have it and nobody likes to yield to it.

1 Peter 2:13-14 For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

1 Peter 2:18 You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

1 Peter 3:1-2 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.

1 Peter 3:7-9 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

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Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tempted us by questioning authority, he lied about God and Adam and Eve began to wonder about God's intentions and whether the rules that he gave them were fair. God's commandments have been questioned every moment of everyday ever since and we see the consequences all around us but we still want to live life our way.

Accepting authority and being submissive is required of every child of God, it is necessary in our relationships, starting with God and going down the line to every other relationship that we have. From government, the work place and our family, there is an order that God designed to help us live together in harmony.

We see the idea of submission demonstrated in the Trinity, all of them working together in unison, each of them fulfilling a role and each of them bringing glory to the other and doing what is beneficial to the Trinity.

✔ Jesus sought to bring glory to God the Father. (John 15:10)
✔ Jesus willingly died for us. (John 10:17-18)
✔ The Holy Spirit gives Jesus glory. (John 16:13-15)
✔ God the Father gave glory back to Jesus. (John 8:54, 17:24)
✔ The Holy Spirit didn't refuse when he was sent to us. (John 14:26, Acts 1:4-5)

Too bad we do not get to enjoy this oneness and cooperative spirit from the people that we relate to.

Philippians 2:3-8 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus is our ultimate example of submission and looking out for the needs of others. Deserving glory and honor yet he came to us selfless and humble to take care of us. We all need to follow Christ example and look for ways to bless others.

I need to yield to authority, give up my own authority and be submissive to others in my country, my workplace and with my family and friends. 

Related articles

• Pleasing God Even In Suffering (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)
• Privileges Of God's Children: Union With Christ (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)
• Father Of Lies (wisdomhunters.com)

Get Out Of The Milk

Selfish living dominates our life when God isn't allowed to be in control.

1 Peter 1:13-16 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

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If you received the good news and became a Christ follower like Peter has talking about in the previous verses of this chapter then there are some things that will naturally change in your life as a result. As followers of Christ we should be having an exciting time looking forward to the day when our salvation will be revealed to the world. Our salvation should be a great source of joy in the midst of this world full of tragedy and injustice.

Here is a word of warning for those that are trying to live to please God, you should beware because the old ways will try and take you back, Peter said that "living to satisfy your own desires" will creep back in the door if you are not careful. It's all about making choices, all day long we are constantly making choices, it is difficult to control ourselves and make the choices that please God, it requires us to take on the mind of Christ. The desire to please ourselves is a battle that we will fight until Jesus takes us out of this world. (Romans 7:15, 1 Corinthians 2:16)

Have you outgrown the milk diet?

Hebrews 5:12-14  You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.  13  For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right.  14  Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

You start out as a baby in God's family, just like you did in your human family, but you shouldn't stay at that stage of your spiritual life forever. You should have a good appetite, one that is anxious for more milk and then progressing to eating cereal and then moving on to solid food.

God wants us to be like him, his number one character trait is his holiness the moral excellence of God, sounds like a tall order that we can't possibly attain. It is an attribute that we are to strive for, God tells us to be holy just like he is, we need to look like a part of God's family. We will not fully achieve our goal but if you are a follower of Christ then you will start to look like him, it can't be any other way, following Christ will always have an outward expression, actions that can't be covered up. 

God has revealed himself, his character and his desires for his children through his word. We need to be students of his book and let him "teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives" so that we will know how to become more like him. (2 Timothy 3:16)

You Are The Treasure That I Seek

The world has a lot of cool treasure to distract you from what is priceless.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

Psalm 29:2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

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Have you ever dreamed of finding a treasure chest full of gold and jewelry? The world is full of stuff that we would like to get our hands on. It is so natural us to value new cars, fancy homes and a fat wallet, we can also see great value in the relationships that we have with our family and friends, but there is another treasure that is far above any of these.

It is good for us to examine our lives, take a look at ourselves and see how we are doing, take a quiz and ask yourself some important questions. While I listened to the Gaither Vocal Band sing the song "You Are My All In All" I thought of theses questions:

"What do I really value the most, is Jesus really the treasure that I am looking for?"

We have been told to love God, we know that he deserves to be loved to the highest level that a person can possibly love, but we let so much get in the way and rob us of our time with him or we take the time but we don't really love him fully.

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."

We can get lost in the empty pursuit of happiness, trying to get some more stuff, trying to have the perfect relationship, chasing down the stuff that the world says will make us happy. Finally when our day isn't going so well we decide to cry out to God to make it better. Is that true love?

I have to wonder how good of a job that we can do at loving God, since love comes from God and it is pure and without self seeking motives, how can we possibly love God adequately on this side of heaven? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 John 4:7) While researching this blog post, I found this old hymn that I have never seen before, it speaks of the love that we should have for God that goes beyond any selfish motivation.

My God, I love Thee--not because I hope for heaven thereby; Nor yet because,if I love not I must for ever die. Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me Upon the Cross embrace; For me didst bear the nails and spear, And manifold disgrace, And griefs and torments numberless, And sweat of agony, Yea, death itself; and all for me Who was Thine enemy.

Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ, Should I not love Thee well? Not for the hope of winning heaven, Of of escaping hell; Not with the hope of gaining aught, Not seeking a reward; But as Thyself hast loved me, O ever-loving Lord! So would I love Thee, dearest Lord, And in Thy praise will sing; Solely because Thou art my God, And my eternal King.

I have to continue to work towards loving God as he deserves, making him my most treasured possession, as I live in God's love he will teach me how to do a better job of loving him. (1 John 4:16-17)

Jesus Is First

I am second, hmm... no, actually maybe third.

Colossians 1:15-19  Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  16 for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see--such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.  17 He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything. 19 For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross.

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It is important to have the proper point of view of Jesus, he isn't somebody that God invented to help us out, we need to know that Jesus is God himself. Some modern day religions try to say that Jesus was an angel or that God birthed a Son through the virgin Mary but the Bible is clear that Jesus is God as part of the trinity and Jesus was always with God and even participated in creation.

Jesus is Lord of creation

Jesus told us that he is God, other people told us that Jesus is God, even the demons acknowledged that Jesus was God, but in case you didn't get it Paul tells us again about who Jesus is. The invisible God is made known to us through Jesus, the Bible is clear that Jesus is not an angelic being, he is part of the trinity.

Jesus was a part of creation, everything that we can see and even the things in the spirit world that are invisible to us, it was all made through him and for his glory. He is the source of everything and he is in control of everything seen and unseen.

Jesus is Lord of the new creation

Jesus is not only the source of the physical creation, because of his resurrection from the dead, he is also the beginning of a new creation, the church. The church is his body of believers that have peace with God through Christ payment for our sin debt. Jesus blood made our relationship with God right again and now I can live in perfect harmony with him forever.

Jesus is Lord of my life

Philippians 2:3-7  Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, He gave up His divine privileges.

It is amazing how we think that life is all about ourselves. Our culture tells us to look out for number one and get every good thing that you can get your hands on, after-all, you deserve it. That kind of attitude will keep us focused on ourselves which is something that the Bible doesn't allow us to do.

Since Jesus, who was God, was humble and took on the attitude of a servant, he never looked out for his rights, then how can I have a selfish attitude? How dare I say that I am too good to help somebody or how dare I say that I deserve to have this or that.

I have already been treated way better than I deserve, I need to follow God's example and put others ahead of myself, I need to love God first then others so that the spotlight isn't on me.

Help me to live by your example Lord.

Go Against The Flow

Living the unpopular life in obedience to God.

Genesis 6:5-12 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth.

It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.

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There are not too many stories in the Bible that are more popular than Noah and the ark, yet in Noah's day he was the least popular guy in town, he was consistently living a different lifestyle. Noah was probably made fun of for turning down party invites, he was probably approached by women that wanted a better man than what they had at home and he was the only guy in town that wasn't shopping at the idol store.

The story in Genesis tells us that God's heart was broken by mans behavior, Noah was the only man that pleased God, everybody in town wondered why this guy didn't join in and have a good time. (1 Peter 4:4) It didn't take long for us to leave the close fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden.

WWJD?

1 John 2:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 

I have to wonder how embarrassed we would be if our life story was included in the Bible. Would my life be a good story in the Bible or would people read my story and say "don't do what he did."

The Bible is filled with stories of people that took a stand and resisted the popular lifestyle but the ultimate example is our Savior. Jesus obedience to the Father shows us what it looks like to fully obey God and live each day for him.

Jesus warned us that the road to the Father is a narrow one and that there are few people on that road. (Matthew 7:13-14) We need to be obedient and follow Christ example, giving up a lifestyle that seeks to please ourselves and choosing to get on board the ark so that we can go against the tidal wave that is sweeping up most of the people around us.

I will not reach perfection until I reach my home in glory but I need to strive to live my life like Jesus did.

Help me Lord to go against the flow, I want to live to please you and have your favor like Noah did.

Deny Yourself

Even if you get the whole world it isn't worth the cost

Luke 9:22-25  "The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things," He said. "He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day He will be raised from the dead."

23 Then He said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.  24  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

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The most prevalent false doctrines that the world embraces is selfishness and greed. The world's motivation is to get everything that it can get at any cost, but that is the problem, they have been deceived and they haven't seen what the price tag is on what they are buying into.

We have before us the most extreme example of a person that lived for others, Jesus was not selfish, he suffered for the sake of others, he was wrongfully rejected when he could have been the most popular guy in town, he was killed instead of being judgmental and punishing the people all around him that he had the right to condemn.

Here is the reality of the situation, even if you get every piece of wealth that the world has to offer, every treasure that there is but if you didn't follow Jesus then you have lost it all.

I need to remember what the price tag was for my eternal destiny, I have been bought at a very high price, the debt of my sin has been paid and I need to show my gratitude for Jesus sacrifice by living each day for him.

Lord, help me to fight against the world's economic policy, the stakes are too high, I need to give up my life for Christ sake so that I will be saved. Lord help us to never forget how great a sacrifice that you made for us.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

Related articles

• Have you counted the cost? (thedailyspurgeon.com)

Deny Yourself

Jesus calls us to say no to ourselves so we can say yes to him. 

 
 Mark 8:34  Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me.

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"Hello people, over here, I just want to let you know that this isn't going to be easy" Jesus called out to the crowds that were following him and he let them know what it would look like to REALLY follow him. This isn't going to be something that you can do as a part time venture, this isn't like following any other Rabbi.

Without Christ in our lives it is a very selfish agenda that we live by, we want it all and we want it now. Don't we deserve to get out fair share?

I am just one individual with a selfish agenda, my plan is very small, Gods plan for the world is way bigger, it is so big that there is no way for me to embrace my plan and his plans at the same time.

Lord help me to throw aside my agenda and be your servant, I want to be a part of your plans for your glory.

Lord

Who is in control? I hope it isn't you.

 A study into the many names of God.

 Philippians 2:8-11  He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9  Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Acts 2:36  "So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!"


Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

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Lord - A master; a person possessing supreme power and authority; a ruler; a governor.

It is amazing that we call Jesus Lord yet when he came to earth he took on the role of a servant, he left the glory and riches of heaven, humbled himself and died as a criminal would on a cruel cross.

Paul says that because he did so much for us, God has given Jesus the place of highest honor, the only person that we should allow to control our life and the only person that is to be so highly honored that we would bow down. There is one person that has the right to be called Lord and have control of my life, that person is Jesus, he should be both "My Lord and my God" as Thomas called him (John 20:28). 

There are a lot of great people that have walked on this planet since the begining of time but not a one of them is worthy to be called Lord, I don't even have the right to think that highly of myself  and I certainly do not have the right to be in control of my own life.

Only you Lord are worthy of praise and are to be worshipped. I must always be sure to allow you to be in control of my life and to be the number one priority in life.

Live For Him

Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Matthew 10:38-39 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me, you are not worthy of being Mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.

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Jesus called everyone of his disciples selfish, at the same time I am pretty sure that he called me selfish too, it is something that we are all good at.

When he carried his cross to the place of execution Jesus showed us what it looks like to be completely selfless, the burden of the weight, the disgrace and torture, he put aside what was easy and convenient to do what was necessary to help me.

"I have to carry my cross" is a Christian catch phrase that probably gets over used, but do we realize what we are comparing our suffering to? Do we fully understand that Jesus suffered greatly for us and that we are supposed to give up our lives for him? How much burden do most of us really ever carry?

I need to always be aware of the price that was paid for me to have a relationship with God. He died for me, I should live for him, not for selfish worldly gain.

Thank you Lord for giving me a chance to have a relationship with you, help me to give up my idea of what life is all about and live for you.

Be Nice

Jesus showed us how extreme we could go to be nice. 

Matthew 7:12  “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.

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Sounds like a pretty simple rule, you probably don't need anybody to explain it to you, so why is it so hard to do?

I saw a bumper sticker not too long ago that asked the question:

"what if everybody were as nice as you are?"

Maybe that sticker should be placed on every motor vehicle on the road so that we would be reminded that we need to practice treating others better.

We usually prefer to get the best treatment and we usually think that we deserve it. the way we want to be treated, imagine how much safer the roads would be. That's exactly how we should be treating the people around us.

I am glad that the standard for love, kindness and how to treat others was set by Jesus and not by any of us. Even the nicest of us humans doesn't set a very high standard. We all fail to get rid of selfishness and treat our friends and enemies the way that Jesus forgave hos enemies.

Help me to be more like you as I deal with people around me, help me to show them Jesus.

Dust In The Wind

All we are is dust in the wind.

1 Peter 4:1  So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 2  You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.

3  You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

4  Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5  But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 6  That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.

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Dust in the wind, that was the title of the hit song by the group Kansas, and the year was 1977. The title of the song describes the way our earthly desires should look to the Christ follower.

Everybody is born with the desire to satisfy themselves, chasing after our own desires has a price tag, when I are so busy worrying about me then I tend to forget about what God wants me to do.

It is easy to say you are a Christ follower but if you look just like the rest of the world, throwing wild parties with drug and alcohol use, giving in to lust and immorality as a part of our everyday lives, then how will the world know that you are a Christ follower? Your old friends will not be able to understand what in the world happened to you but you can be sure that they will ask and then you will have an opportunity to share with them why you are different.

1 Peter 3:15  You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

Christ died to give me peace, hope and joy. All of these things can be found in him so why do we spend so much time looking for it in other places?

Jesus help me to always be satisfied in you, help me to rest in your peace, hope and joy instead of looking for it in the world.

Praise The Lord Always

Here I am to worship, not just a Sunday thing.

Psalms 34:1  I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

Psalms 100:1  Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! 2  Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3  Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5  For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalms 105:1  Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. 2  Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. 3  Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD. 4  Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.

Romans 12:1  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

1 Corinthians 10:31  So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Worship [wur-ship] n. reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

Over the centuries there has always been debate in the church about worship, what it is and how to do it.

One of the hottest debates about worship has always been about the music being used. There was a time when the only music that was allowed was the music that came straight from the Bible, the lyrics had to come directly from scripture, and hymns were not acceptable.

There are a lot of things that we have decided that worship is and how it should be done, but most of it stems from tradition and self pleasing desires to make the worshipper feel good. This is especially true when it comes to music, if you play just the right songs it will spark an emotional response in me and when I get all worked up emotionally, that is when I am finally worshipping.

But that isn't what the Bible teaches us at all. There is plenty of evidence of people getting emotionally worked up in the temple but God told his people that it was a waste of their time. The "how to's" for worship that can be found in scripture include:

• Worship the Lord constantly – it's not a Sunday morning thing.
• Worship with gladness – most of us don't look very glad when we worship on Sunday.
• Acknowledge that God is the God
• Worship with thanksgiving
• Worship with praise
• Worship him with your sacrifice of service

I am not saying that my emotions in worship are wrong, it's just that the emotions are not proof that I have worshipped, and if the emotional response isn't there just because the right songs were not played then I say that I must have a heart problem.

Everything that we do is supposed to be for the glory of the Lord and certainly that should be very evident in our worship. I must ask myself if my worship is intended for God's pleasure. Are my emotions caused by a broken heart before God or are they dependent on the right songs being sung? I must worship my Savior "in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way." (John 4:23)

Help me Lord to worship you with a pure heart, help me to live each day worshipping you constantly with gladness and with acts or service, denying self and giving to others.

It's Not About Me?!?!

Sunday morning isn't the time to be in the spotlight.

Isaiah 1:11-18  "What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?" says the LORD. "I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!

When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

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We sure can take a lot of things to church with us, no I'm not talking about your Bible or that box of Krispy Kreme's. What I am talking about is all that smut that is stuck to us like dirt on a toddler, and how about that bucket of self-righteousness, and then there is that back-pack full of sin that weighs us down.

I am convinced that a lot of what happens in church on Sunday morning is a burden to God. I am pretty sure that he is tired of seeing some of us come back week after week holding on to our pious attitudes, feeling righteous and selfish, demanding that things be done the "right" way. So you brought your offering, you said a prayer, you stacked some chairs or maybe you even brought some food for the dinner on the ground, what else is there?

We get in the way of God finding pleasure in our worship, there is too much tendency to push our own agenda in order for the worship experience to be more pleasurable to ourselves, but there is a huge problem with that line of thinking. It isn’t about my pleasure! I think that most of us know that in our heads but it doesn’t seem to sink into our hearts, we know it but we just can’t fully put it into practice, what better place could there be to deny myself and take up my cross than when I am worshiping?

Matthew 16:24  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

God wants us to live selfless lives every day of the week and when we enter his house and participate in corporate worship it just seems to me that we should live it out more deliberately then than at any other time. I am supposed to be a servant.

Help me to make the focus of every activity that happens at church be all about you and your glory. My live is not about me and my worship isn’t supposed to be about me either, help me to worship you in a pleasing manner today and every day.

Our Selfish Hearts

Our hearts are naturally selfish and are in need of a supernatural makeover.

1 Samuel 10:1 - 16:7

1 Samuel 10:7  After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. 8 Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.” 9 As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart,

1 Samuel 13:7 Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. 8 Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. 9 So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. 11 but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”

Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. 12 So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the LORD’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

13 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.

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It is very difficult for anybody to wait, everybody wants “it” now, whatever “it” is, “it” better be now. I guess that’s a sign of selfishness that is innate to all of us, looking out for our own interest doesn’t blend too well with the concept of waiting, if I have to wait then it must not be all about me.

The new king of Israel had to wait, Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait there for his arrival. Well Saul goes to Gilgal but instead of waiting he decides that doing is a better option.

The Philistine army was provoked by the king’s son Jonathan (1Sam 13:1) and they positioned themselves for war against Israel, and now Saul’s entire kingdom is scared, “they took cover in cracks in the hillsides and in the woods and in rocks and holes and hollows. And a great number of the people had gone over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead” (1Sam 13:6, 7).

So far so good, Saul is still waiting at Gilgal just like Samuel told him to do, there is trouble all around, you may even say that he caused the trouble, Samuel didn’t send him to Gilgal to start a war he was just told to go and that later the priest was going to come and “sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings”

But after seven days of waiting and a war just round the corner, Saul gave up waiting and decided that if they were going to be fighting a war then they should take care of these offerings so that they would have all the help that they could get. Saul was looking at the circumstances and he allowed the situation to decide his ethics.

Was Saul’s decision not to wait a selfish move?
How did God desire Saul to act even in the face of difficult circumstances?

We are faced with difficult decisions in life and when we make our choices we reveal our heart condition. If our choices are not aligned with God’s will or they are outside of his commands then our hearts are not right and we need to deal with what's on the inside because it directly affects what people see on the outside.

Our hearts are naturally selfish and are in need of a supernatural makeover, which is where the Holy Spirit does his work, cleaning out the dark corners of our wicked hearts.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we must give up control and wait on the Lord, he is never late and will give us strength for every situation.

It’s all about you Lord and not about me, help me to work within your timing. Create a pure heart in me that will make choices that are pleasing to you, choices that will glorify you.

Be Different

scripture
John 17:6  "I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7  Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8  for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

9  "My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10  All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11  Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12  During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

13  "Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14  I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15  I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16  They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17  Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18  Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19  And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

observation
Very few people are aware of the time and date that they are going to leave this planet, at this point in the book of John, Jesus is preparing to die a horrible death, but in the same sacrificial way that he always has, he is more concerned for his disciples that he is leaving behind than he is for his own welfare.

What a challenge for us that we should become a fraction of the selfless nature that Jesus was, with the exception of a couple of boat rides and one donkey ride, he walked everywhere that he went, he went without food and water, he probably never had a Posture-pedic mattress to sleep on. He was mentally and emotionally stretched as people were pulling at his side wanting to get something for themselves as they selfishly begged for a cure for whatever ailed them. Others were throwing out traps to try to catch him in his words so that they could find an adequate excuse to have him killed. Imagine putting your head down at the end of the day and trying to fall asleep after all that was going on around you.

Jesus prays for the welfare of his disciples instead of his own welfare, Jesus came to earth with a message from God which he gave to his disciples:

I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

Jesus knows that they will have hard times, they will be hated just as he was and they would be persecuted just as he was. I think that if I was one of those twelve disciples that I would be saying to myself "Jesus got to leave this world, I want to go too" but Jesus didn't pray for them to be taken out of this cruel world instead he asked God to give them protection from the evil one while they were still here.

Jesus prayed for protection but it wasn't in the way that we may wish that he would have. He didn't pray for us to have a life free of pain and suffering, he didn't pray for us to be rich and famous, the protection that he prayed for us to have was only from the power of the devil.

After that the next thing that he prayed for his disciples was for them to become holy:

Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

Did you catch that? Jesus said he was paving the way for us, he said that he is holy and that he is going to be the sacrifice that is necessary for us to be holy too. Ever since the book of Leviticus the Lord has called his people to be set apart and be different from the rest of this world, he told us to "be holy, because he is holy" and yet so many times we look just like every other sinner that is in this world. Ephesians 1:4 tells us:

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, we have an obligation to live for him and to become a child that represents the family well, we shouldn't be the prodigal son that looks just like the rest of the world with its selfish desires, instead we should strive to look like our father who is holy.

application
Anybody that knows that they are approaching death doesn't waste time talking about stuff that doesn't matter, if it was important for Jesus to bring up as he comes close to the end of his time on earth then I should take notice, his prayer for us to become holy should be the prayer of every believer.

1 Peter 1:15  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

prayer
Help me to realize the extreme love that you have for me, love that brings you such heartache and great joy. Help me to desire to become more like you every day so that I will look more like my heavenly Father.

Mission Accomplished

scripture
John 17:1-8  After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2  For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.

3  And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4  I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5  Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

6  "I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7  Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8  for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

observation
I love to work on a project and see it come to completion, one of my most satisfying projects was the mission trip to Athens in 2008. In this passage just before the end of Jesus ministry he talks to God and tells the Father "I have accomplished my mission."

Jesus was here on this planet on a mission from God, a mission that nobody understood, a mission that was above the human wisdom of the day that told Jesus to exalt himself and bring glory to himself by setting up his kingdom on earth. Jesus mission was to bring glory to his Father instead of putting the spotlight on himself.

If we are supposed to be like Jesus then we should ask "what did Jesus do" and the only answer to the question is that Jesus brought glory to God by completing his work that God sent him here to do.

Can we say that we are fulfilling our mission? Do we bring glory to God everyday instead of elevating ourselves? Do we know what our mission is?

application
I need to bring glory to God by living my life for him, Jesus didn't live for his own benefit and I need to put aside my selfish human desires and live for something much greater. I must live each day as "His man on His mission"

prayer
I want to live each day with urgency as I remember that I am on a mission from you.

Related articles

• The Night That Changed Everything (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Big Love

scripture

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John 15:9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’

observation

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Remain in my love by obeying my commands
Jesus told us that the only way that we can prove our love for him is by being obedient to the commands that he gave us to follow, we can talk all day about how much we love something but until we put it into action there isn’t any proof. Look in the dictionary and you will see that love is a verb.

I loved you as the Father loved me, so love each other in the same way I have loved you
This is a selfless love, one that can give everything away including dying in order to benefit the one that is loved. This is totally opposite of the so called love that the world thinks that they have, the world has a selfish love, one that loves you if you adopt their way of thinking and behave the way that they think is right.

1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.

Jesus wants us to love big, to love radically like he did, our own agenda and welfare shouldn't have any bearing on my desire to love big.

You are no longer part of the world
Jesus said “The world would love you” but it can’t love you because you are not a part of the world, remember that you were bought by Christ and you are supposed to be noticeably different and the world won’t be able to tolerate the difference.

application

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I must live each day in appreciation for the love that God had for me that he would make a way for me to have a relationship with him even though I was not his friend he still cared for me. I must follow his example and live selflessly, obeying his commands and helping others along the way.

prayer

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Give me the BIG LOVE that you have Lord so that I can love selflessly as you have commanded.

Do You REALLY Get It?

scripture

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John 14:15, 23-24, 31  "If you love me, obey my commandments.  

23  Jesus replied, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24  Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me.  

31  but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.

observation

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There is a lot of advertising these days for companies that want to help you out by erasing all of your debt. Keep one thing in mind, not a one of them is doing it out of love for you, it would be unthinkable that they are here to save the day just because they think that you are wonderful and you deserve a second chance.

Someone does love you and he did pay off your debt! It is difficult to comprehend the enormous debt that the Lord cancelled, he gave you a bail out of all bail outs, Jesus paid the debt that you could not pay off on your own.

Does it really sink into our heads how much he did?

2 Corinthians 5:15  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

If you really comprehend what Jesus did then how in the world can you live to please yourself, how in the world can I demand my own way, I must have so much gratitude for the enormous love that was shown to me that I must choose to live the rest of my life for Jesus Christ. I owe him everything and out of gratitude and thankfulness for what he has done for me I should live for him.

If I truly love him and appreciate what the Lord has done for me then I will not find it unreasonable to obey what he has told me to do. He has already proven that he has my best interest in mind so why wouldn't I listen to what he tells me to do.

Philippians 2:5  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges.

I have a choice to make every day, will I live selfishly and do things my way or will I give up my right to decide for myself what I am going to do. Will I show my love for God my obeying his commands. Jesus said that he was living in obedience to the father so that the world would know that he loved the father. How else will the world know that we love God if we don't listen to what he has to say to us?

Romans 15:3  For even Christ didn't live to please himself.

How extremely selfish we all are when we live for self after what Jesus did for us, he didn't decide to live for himself so what gives me the right to live for my own agenda and my interest?

application

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I must live each day in appreciation for the love that God had for me that he would make a way for me to have a relationship with him even though I was not his friend he still cared for me. I must follow his example and live selflessly, obeying his commands and helping others along the way.

Galatians 6:2  Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3  If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

prayer

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Help me to understand how much you did for me Lord. My gratitude should be seen in my obedience to your commandments.

Keep Your Life For Eternity

scripture

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John 12:23  Jesus replied, "Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.

24  I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.

25  Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

26  Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

observation

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This must be the only time that Jesus and the religious leaders agreed on anything. The High Priest told the priests and Pharisees that "it is better for one man to die for all the people" (John 11:49-50) and now Jesus is telling the crowd that his death will produce a harvest of new life.

The High Priest was looking out for himself and was interested in the lifestyle that he had grown to love.

The Savior was looking out for the best interest of others, he was the ultimate example of serving others and he showed us that if we give up our life we will have our life returned to us for eternity.

Which one do you want to be like? Jesus said that if you want to be like him then you must follow his example, it may seem difficult sometimes but God "will honor anyone who serves Jesus."

application

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I need to be careful not to follow the example of this world, it is easier for all of us to look out for our own interest, but Jesus gave us the ultimate example of giving our lives away and he told me to do the same.

prayer

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Help me to always look out for ways to serve others. My life is not my own, it was bought at a high price!

Don't Look At Me

scripture

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John 3:27  John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28  You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29  It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

31  “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 32  He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! 33  Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. 34  For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35  The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. 36  And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

observation

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Don’t look at me! Imagine the best man at the wedding trying to be in the spotlight, I am sure that somebody would put him in his place real fast.

John was very pleased with the success that Jesus had and he did not feel like he wasn’t getting the praise that he deserved, he was glad to be a part of the wedding party and to get to witness the success of Jesus ministry, he wasn’t concerned that he was losing his followers.

So many times in ministry people allow their personality, or their need for their ego to be stroked to get in the way of what God is trying to do.

My pastor could be worried about the success of another church in the neighborhood, he could worry that our partnership with First Baptist of Brandon will create a following for their pastor. I could be concerned that the work that I do may be done better by somebody else or maybe their program is more successful than mine is, I could think to myself “why didn’t the pastor ask me to do that, surely I deserve to do that or I could do it better than he does.”

application

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It’s not about me, it’s is all about Him and we should all be focused on Jesus and we should be putting the spotlight on him, our greatest joy should be for him to receive the glory. I should have the same attitude as John the Baptist when he said that he was filled with joy at Jesus success.

prayer

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Thank you Lord for using this simple man to accomplish your will. I pray that I will give you the praise and the glory for every success that I have in ministry and for the success of others that are also working to bring you glory.