- araratchurch
- Nov 19, 2022
- 2 min read
My father did not like routine yard work; he disdained pushing a mower around or planting something here or there. But—what he was always up for—was a MAJOR project. In other words, something like, “I’m going to get a backhoe out here and move that hill of dirt to a different place.”
Don’t misunderstand me; my father was not a lazy person. But, he was not excited about doing the small outdoor chores. However, if it involved moving mountains or digging canals, anything major, he was in.
My father was and is not alone in tending to look for the big project while dreading the small. Now, for him, this was basically limited to yardwork scenarios; but for some, that way of thinking has found its way into every area of their life—even in their walk with the Lord.
Over the past 10 days we have examined and laid to rest 10 false choices. We looked at things wrongly thought to be one way or the other. Now, I am not, nor would I ever, be trying to find “middle ground” between good and evil or light and darkness; there are clear lines, and one has no fellowship with the other. But, in terms of experiential situations, something thought of (and rightly so) as being evil in one situation (e.g. killing another person), can actually be congratulated in another situation (e.g. killing a person while saving others or in self-defense).
What is my point? Certainly, it is not to confuse you any further, but to help you to understand that we have the Holy Spirit for a reason. Otherwise, the Lord would’ve just produced a book of rules and left us to adhere to it. No, He didn’t do that! He knew that although the written word would be crucial, it would not be useful unless rightly divided (understood) by way of the Holy Spirit.
Additionally, for those situations we don’t readily find “spelled out” in God’s word, we have the Holy Spirit to help us to see how God‘s word is applied in that situation.
I encourage you to go back over the “10 Days of False Choices” and identify—in your own life—where you have been subject to assuming that you had to make one of these choices. Maybe you even find yourself as I described my father: you have no energy for the daily or mundane and are always looking for some “big thing” to excite/ignite you. You may have even falsely assumed that if you can’t be a Billy Graham, then you can’t be useful to the work of the Lord.
Remember, you can start, here and now, walking in victory. That requires determining that every step will be informed, supported, and guided by the Holy Spirit.
There’s a very good reason that the Holy Spirit in our life is referenced as a gift. Open this Gift and allow Him to keep you out of making false choices or being trapped in the prison of two ideas.
Peace to you.
- araratchurch
- Nov 18, 2022
- 4 min read
“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?”
James 2:17-20 NLT
I have a theory. As you may or may not realize, there have been arguments over the place of faith versus the place of good works in our relationship with God since the days of the New Testament; we will go further into that discussion in a moment. But first, back to my theory.
I have a theory that those who press the importance of good works over faith alone are those who take some amount of pride in the things they have been able to do. It’s only natural, when you feel that you have worked hard and accomplished some things, you want to believe that this has given you a leg-up on those who have not worked as hard as you have.
On the other hand, I believe those who stress faith without good works are those who are probably not living the way they ought, and are using the excuse of dependence upon faith alone to live however they want to live or to be lazy and do no good deeds.
So, that’s my theory. It may not be right 100% of the time in either of these cases. But I imagine that it does have a certain amount of influence over what people tend to emphasize in terms of faith without works or faith shown through works.
First of all, we know that we are saved by our faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists…”
Hebrews 11:6a NLT
Certainly without belief in the very existence of God, there is no basis for a relationship with Him.
But I want you to note the last part of the above scripture:
“…and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6b NLT
Along with believing in God‘s existence—and with that, belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ—we must believe that He is a rewarder of diligent seekers. So what does it mean to diligently seek Him?
Certainly, study of the Word and prayer (which can be seen as “works”) are pillars in our seeking of God through Jesus Christ. Additionally, if there is no effort at doing what we clearly know He wants in terms of good deeds, how can we say we have a relationship with Him?
Jesus said this:
“If you love me, obey my commandments.”
John 14:15 NLT
It’s clear that a lack of attending to and acting on what the Lord wants, indicates a lack of love for Him. That is not a good position in which to find oneself.
Let me bring something else to your attention.
Even one of the most often quoted scriptures referencing the importance of believing—or faith—in our being made right with God, indicates that there is also action required to assure that we are saved. That action involves the words of our mouth, our testimony.
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 NLT
Indeed, as I have pointed out many times in our different journeys, we are saved not just to avoid eternal destruction, but also to do what the Lord originally intended for us to do!
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT
In our opening scripture we see that James is apparently addressing those who are using the excuse of salvation by faith alone to do nothing in terms of good works. At the very least, a lack of good works brings no glory to our Lord to whom we owe everything.
“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:16 NLT
The transformational power of Jesus Christ in our lives, births us into His Kingdom. As such, we are propelled toward good works. We do the good works not to become who we are, but because of who we are in Jesus Christ.
Soon and very soon the Lord will come and receive us to Himself. And apparently, our place (rank) in eternity will be determined by what we have done with what we have in this life.
““Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.””
Revelation 22:12-13 NLT
There is absolutely no conflict in terms of an emphasis on faith or an emphasis on works; indeed, you cannot have faith without it producing good works.
Today we lay to rest the false choice between having faith or having good works.
- araratchurch
- Nov 17, 2022
- 3 min read
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 NLT
You see somebody doing something ridiculous and often the question will come to mind: “What were they thinking?” Maybe you’ve even asked the same question about some of your own actions. The fact is, thoughts rarely stay internal; at some point, thoughts become behavior.
The ability to think at a high level is one of the things that sets us apart from other creatures on the Earth. We can contemplate our own existence as well as the meaning of our lives. We can plan far ahead and reflect on things far behind. Tragically, many times our wonderfully created, God-given ability for deep thought, is used for that which is not good.
“What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.”
Micah 2:1 NLT
In the account of the destruction of all mankind except for Noah and his family, we find the reason given for it as the fact that even their thoughts had become totally corrupted.
“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. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.”
Genesis 6:5-6 NLT
In the word of God we consistently see the Lord giving instruction for us to take control over our thought processes. We are instructed to fuel (inform) our thoughts by the word of the Lord.
“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”
Joshua 1:8 NLT
In the above scripture we see the Lord’s instruction to Joshua as he was taking over for Moses. He would be able to succeed if he would occupy (fill) his mind with what Moses had occupied his mind: the instruction of the Lord.
The New Testament gives further instruction concerning the need to take control over our thoughts by placing them on the things associated with the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4 NLT
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 NLT
In fact, the New Testament is full of instruction concerning the importance of the content of our thoughts.
In our opening scripture we see one of my favorite passages concerning our thoughts. We must allow our minds to be renewed according to the word of God. Through Christ, this task is now easier; we have access to the Holy Spirit so that He can inform and transform our thinking.
I have said all of this to make the point that there is no choice to be made between being a deep thinker and being led by the spirit of God. Our mind is a “dual fuel” entity. We can fuel it with the things of this world (evil) or we can fuel it with the things of God (righteousness). What comes out of it will depend on which “pump” you pull up to for a fill-up.
Again, there is absolutely no conflict between being a deep thinker and being led by the Spirit. The choice is to what we attach our minds. If we attach our minds to what the Lord has said—and continues to say by way of His Holy Spirit—we will be transformed into His image. If we set our minds in the direction of evil by pulling from the things of the world, we will end up being conformed to that which is marked for destruction.
Today we lay to rest the false choice between being a deep thinker or being led by the Spirit.