MINE

Is there something that you own without which you do not think you could live? Maybe it’s that new car, or perhaps it’s your iPod ®. What ever it is, would you be willing to give it up for something even greater? What if someone asked you to give up all of your earthly possessions, could you do that?

Here’s a story, told by Mark, about such a man,

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 (NKJV)

The first part of Jesus’ reply to him was that he shoud keep the commandments, to which the man replied that he had kept them ever since he was young.

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Mark 10:21 - 22 (NKJV)

Now, do you think then that all Christians are to give up or sell everything they own in order to inherit eternal life? No!

Jesus knows each one of us. He knows what is important to each of us and He knows how important He is in our life. The truth of the matter is, whatever in your life is more important than Jesus, you will be asked to give it up. Or, at least, to come to the point of willingness to do so.

The Bible says that God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). He wants to be number one in our lives. The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). When Jesus told us what was most important, it was to love God and to love each other (Matt 22:37-39).

Each day I end my devotional with “Seek first the Kingdom of God”. The rest of that verse reads “…and all these things shall be added unto you.” In other words IF you put God first in your life, you will lack for nothing. That doesn’t mean you will be rich, but it does mean that even if you are poor, you won’t notice it!

There’s a beautiful chorus by Wayne Goodine © 1989 that says it all,

Jesus is everything I need:

Jesus, Jesus.

Jesus is life and breath to me.

Jesus, my Lord.

© 1989 New Spring Publishing

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PERFECT

The idea of being “perfect” is a little foreign to us. After all, we can’t achieve it, right? We’ve all heard that perfectionism is a “bad thing.” The problem is that, as humans, we often take the opposite path and don’t even worry about “being the best we can be.”

So what does Jesus mean when He says,

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 (NASB)

The Greek word, teleios, is translated here as “perfect.” According to Thayer’s Greek Definitions it means,

1) brought to its end, finished

2) wanting nothing necessary to completeness

3) perfect

4) that which is perfect

4a) consummate human integrity and virtue

4b) of men

4b1) full grown, adult, of full age, mature

In order to understand fully what Jesus meant we must then look at the tense of the verb “be”. In this instance, it is in future tense. We might think of it as, “You are becoming perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Becoming perfect is a process. Of utmost importance to realize is that the ability to become perfect only resides in us as the person of the Holy Spirit. It is not something we are capable of on our own. Jesus said, apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5), and that includes being perfect!

Paul makes it clear that it is God’s work in us that will bring us to completion or perfection:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

So what is our part?

Do our best…

Colossians 3:17 (NASB) Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Surrender to Him…

Romans 12:1 (NASB) Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Now, there is a cost. And, as King David said in 2 Samuel 24:24,

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.”

What is the cost? Your life!

Matthew 16:24 - 25 (NASB) ²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

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MIRROR

I’m sure you have spent some time in front of a mirror whether it be in the morning, afternoon or at night. You look at what you see and you try to transform that image into something that you feel is presentable to the rest of the world.

Paul speaks of a different kind of a mirror in his second letter to the church at Corinth:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

Remember whenever Moses went into God’s presence, he lifted the veil and, as a result, he glowed brightly with the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35). Christ lifted the veil that kept us from coming to God when He gave His life for us on the cross.

Instead of merely being able to enter that Most Holy Place in the tabernacle or temple where He resided, His Holy Spirit lives inside of us as believers in Christ. We are in God’s presence simply by trusting Jesus as our Savior after we have repented of our sins.

Every time we read God’s Word, we are in His presence. His Word, the Holy Bible, acts as a mirror of our lives to see how closely we resemble God, our Creator. He has given us specific things in His Word that can tell us whether we are closer to being like Him:

• Are we thinking about things that are noble, true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise? (Philippians 4:8)

• Are we displaying the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23)

• Are we thinking of others more than ourselves? (Philippians 2:3-4)

The word transformed is the same word used in Matthew 17:2 when Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James and John. The Greek word metamorphoō is used. From that word, we derive our English word metamorphosis. Perhaps the most graphic image of metamorphosis is seen in the process of a plain cocoon turning into a magnificent butterfly. It is transformed from one thing into an entirely different thing.

That is why we are to be transformed from a person who used to be a sinner, to a saint set apart to God, holy and righteous through Jesus Christ.

Does the Bible speak elsewhere of being transformed? Look at Paul’s letter to the Romans:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

Two more questions as I close:

• Do you like what you see in the mirror of God’s Word?
• How much time are you spending in front of God’s mirror?

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COVENANT

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

This is clearly referring to the New Covenant:

I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:33b (NLT)

This is the same “New Covenant in my blood” that Jesus referred to at the Last Supper when taking the cup (Luke 22:14-20).

The two major divisions of the Bible are the Old Testament or Covenant and the New Testament or Covenant. The Old speaks primarily of the Mosaic Covenant or the Law (10 commandments and more!) which revealed sin and the way to live. The New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as the sin-less Son of God who fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17) and is now the only way (John 14:6) to be reconciled to God the Father.

In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:13 (NKJV)

Christ made the first obsolete, not us. The only reason the new covenant was needed was that man could not keep the law. Still today, we cannot keep the law except for our trust in the sufficiency of Christ.

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:4 - 6 (NKJV)

If we try to hold others “to the letter” of the law, we become legalistic and drive people away from the grace that was ushered in by Christ. However, if we love them in the Spirit of Christ as He loves us, they will be more likely to receive new life by accepting Him as Savior and Lord.

Now, the New Covenant has only come to us in part because the people of Israel rejected it when they rejected Christ. The New Covenant was meant especially for the people of Israel…

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— Jeremiah 31:31 (NKJV)

There is even more that is to be fulfilled in the New Covenant…

No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34 (NKJV)

Until that time comes, we need to remain obedient to Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) and tell others the Good News about Him. We need to be about the business of making new disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey what Jesus has commanded, namely loving God and loving each other (Matthew 28:19-20; 22:37-39).

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ADEQUACY

“I can do it! I can do anything that I want.”

Sounds rather like boasting, doesn’t it? It reminds me of one who boasted in the distant past and what God’s response was:

¹² “How you have fallen from heaven,

O star of the morning, son of the dawn!

You have been cut down to the earth,

You who have weakened the nations!

¹³ “But you said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God,

And I will sit on the mount of assembly

In the recesses of the north.

¹⁴ ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

¹⁵ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,

To the recesses of the pit. Isaiah 14:12 - 15 (NASB)

This passage is referring to Satan! Contrast that with the following passage:

⁴Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. ⁵Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, ⁶who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:4 - 6 (NASB)

I like that statement, “our adequacy is from God”! It reminds me of another familiar passage found in Philippians:

¹³I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Only when we recognize that it is God’s strength, not ours, His adequacy and not ours, will we truly be on the path to a godly life.

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LETTER

Sometimes we are separated from those we love by gulfs of time and space. They may be on a trip, off to college or simply had to move to another place for work. Before the advent of the cell phone, it was quite expensive to call and talk on the telephone to someone in a different state.

Now, we have cell phones with unlimited long distance calling, email and Instant Messaging giving us a written real time conversation with someone regardless of where they are, just as long as they have access to the internet.

In Paul’s day, the letter was about the only way you could communicate to people that were in another location. Letters were very important. In the following passage, Paul describes our lives as letters:

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:1 - 3 (NASB)

The phrase “read by all men” ought to make us stop and think. What is being conveyed here is that the way we act toward others is perceived as a tremendously important piece of communication. Some people see how we act and may be adversely affected by it though we may never hear their response. As in writing a letter to someone in Paul’s day, they may have received the message and responded poorly, but Paul wouldn’t have immediately known it. Mail service wasn’t as fast as it is today…there was a delay.

The “letter” of our life should be carefully considered as it is lived out day by day. If we recall as Paul admonishes that we are a “letter of Christ”, an important communication to the world from Him, we will be careful to dot all the “i”s and cross all the “t”s.

Our acceptance of Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross caused the Holy Spirit to indwell us. As we remain yielded to His leading, the letter of our lives will be a clear testament for Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our salvation. It will lead other people to Him. We, as living letters, become the ultimate witnesses for the Master.

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NEW

You may have heard of the following phrase referred to as the 7 most deadly words for the church:

“We have always done it that way.”

Here’s the New Testament version of the same thought from the mouths of the Pharisees:

Mark 2:18-22 (NKJV) ¹⁸The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. ²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. ²¹No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. ²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

According to “Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament”, the ONLY day that the Jews were required to fast was the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). This means that the Pharisees had added a few more days of their own. The fasting that they were referring to was not from God, it was a “man” thing, a “religious” thing.

Jesus wasn’t against fasting, just against people trying to fit God into their ideas and designs rather than conforming to God’s plan, intents and purposes.

⁴And we have such trust through Christ toward God. ⁵Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:4 - 6 (NKJV)

The illustrations of the cloth and the wine were used to the same end. Jesus fulfilled the Law (though the Jews couldn’t see it) and ushered in the New Covenant. He condensed all the Mosaic law into two commands….

Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

Not putting new cloth on an old garment was clear to his listeners. For us to understand, we have to keep in mind that they didn’t have pre-shrunk new cloth, polyester or any of the modern blends that don’t shrink. If you put a piece of cotton cut to fit on an old shirt it would look great until you washed it. Then, the new piece of cotton would shrink thereby pulling away from the old, rendering the repair useless.

It was the same with the wineskins that were used to hold wine. If you filled an old one that was already stretched out with new wine, it would burst when the wine fermented. The point is that the new teaching of the grace of Christ cannot be contained within the old forms of the law

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

I wonder if we have any man-made, religious ideas and practices in the church today, to which we cannot conform God’s grace and intent of His Word and Spirit. Maybe we too, as the Pharisees, have some “house cleaning” to do!

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PRESENCE

I remember seeing a skit one time that was very effective. You may have seen it as well. It takes place in the apartment of a young man that has accepted Jesus as his Savior. Based on the verse that says “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), the second Character is Jesus.

The scene opens with Jesus sitting on the couch with the young man when the phone rings. The young man answers the phone and learns that he has been invited to a wild party. As he gets up to go to the party, Jesus gets up and starts to follow him. The young man informs Jesus that it isn’t necessary for him to come with him to the party (he knows there will be things there of which Jesus would not approve). Jesus doesn’t say a word but attempts to follow the young man a couple of times until the young man finally gets angry, pushes the character playing Jesus up against the wall and proceeds to nail his hands to the wall saying “I…told…you…to…stay…here.” When the young man steps back we see Jesus standing there with his hands straight out from his shoulders in the form of a cross. Very powerful.

The Psalmist put it like this:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Psalms 139:7-12 (NKJV)

It tells us that God is everywhere, all the time. The fancy term for that is omnipresence. I’ll close with just a simple question for you to ponder.

Do you live every day, every moment, as if you were in the presence of God?

(Hint: If you don’t, you should!)

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LIFE

There was a Klingon saying on Star Trek, “Today is a good day to die.” Well that may be true for a Klingon, but for you and me, I think we’d rather say, “I’d rather be alive today.” Sure we have problems and all, but really!

I found this great passage today that tells us what to do if we DESIRE LIFE:

Who is the man who desires life

And loves length of days that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil

And your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;

Seek peace and pursue it.

Sounds simple enough. And, there are REWARDS!!!

¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous

And His ears are open to their cry.

¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against evildoers,

To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry, and the LORD hears

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are ^£crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Psalms 34:12 - 19 (NASB)

He sees us

Hears us

Delivers us from ALL troubles

That doesn’t mean we don’t have any, only that He takes care of us when we do and come out on top. What a great God!! Choose LIFE…

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ADEQUATE

If we are living our lives for Christ and telling others about Him, some people will be happy because we point them to eternal life and others will be UPSET with us. Paul explains that in 2 Corinthians 2:15 - 16 (NLT),

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

So maybe those people being upset with us ARE the sufferings for Christ that Paul talked about earlier in chapter one. Remember that he tells us if we suffer for Christ in this way, God promises to “shower” us with comfort:

For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5 (NASB)

He finishes out verse 16 with the question who is adequate for this task, the task being dealing with those who are not saved and think we’re “doom and gloom preachers” whenever we mention Jesus’ name. You know, the ones who claim you’re a “bible thumper” or a “goodie two-shoes” (I have no idea where that phrase about shoes came from!).

So, should we stop telling them about Christ because they think badly of us? OR, should we continue, in love, to tell them about Jesus, especially by the way that we live our lives? The question really is do you trust God to “shower you” with His comfort? Do you believe Jesus when He said

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

Who is adequate for the task? Jesus is!! Trust Him to take care of you, especially when you are taking care of His business.

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ALSO

Have you ever been angry or upset with someone because they hurt someone you knew? They didn’t hurt you directly, but you were hurt all the same. Later, the person they hurt makes up with them, forgives them. Are you still upset?

Sometimes, it is almost harder to forgive that person because you weren’t directly involved in the first place. You still harbor resentment toward them.

Read what the Apostle Paul has to say about that kind of a situation:

Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2:10 - 11 (NKJV)

The implication is that if we do not forgive that person that our friend has forgiven, Satan may take advantage of us. How can he do that? Anytime we disobey something that God desires, we create an opportunity for Satan to come in and say, like he did to Eve in the garden, “God didn’t really mean that.” Then doubt creeps in and we start to question God’s Word.

In the case of the Corinthians, Paul had told them to forgive the man that had sinned, invite him back into the fellowship and demonstrate to him that they still loved him. Paul forgave him too.

Why does he say “for your sakes in the presence of Christ?” Think of it like this, If you knew that Jesus Christ was in the room, you would be on your best behavior and couldn’t possibly lie. You would tell the absolute truth in the presence of Christ. Paul’s forgiveness was real, not faked.

We too, if we have accepted Christ as our Savior, are constantly in the presence of Christ because His Spirit lives in us. We need to act in that same manner of truthfulness and sincerity, forgiving those whom our brothers and sisters in Christ have forgiven. After all there’s only One Body of Christ. We are called to unity, not just in some things, but in all things. We are One in Jesus our Savior.

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ENOUGH

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he instructed them to discipline a man that was having an incestuous relationship with his stepmother.

Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5:5 (NKJV)

In simple terms, the man was excommunicated from their fellowship. Whenever you are ousted from the “in” group, it hurts. It gives you time to think about what you did wrong and you are apt to change your ways. However, if after changing your ways you are still snubbed by that group, you tend to lose heart and question why you were part of them in the first place. That may be ok for a fraternity or a click but not Christianity!

Paul tells the church at Corinth here in his second letter, enough is enough. Bring this man back into fellowship with you…

But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 2 Corinthians 2:5 - 8 (NASB)

Forgiveness is to be part of our makeup as it is of Christ’s. He forgave our sins when we confessed them to him and we are to forgive others for their sins against us.

Paul goes beyond forgiveness and tells the Corinthians to comfort the man. In chapter one of second Corinthians Paul had relayed to them that God comforts them so that they could comfort others. Here he shows them a specific situation in which to apply that comfort.

Finally, Paul tells them to reaffirm their love for this man. It is not always easy to love somebody that has wronged you, but it is the godly thing to do. We were made in the image of God. One of the goals of Christianity is to become more like Christ. He loved us when we were still sinners. How much more should we love someone who has repented of their sin in order to draw them back into fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ?

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DISCRETION

The Encarta Dictionary defines discretion as:

1. ability to avoid offense…

the good judgment and sensitivity needed to avoid embarrassing or upsetting others

Paul used discretion in deciding to write the Church at Corinth rather than visiting them in person.

So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. 2 For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. 3 That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. 4 I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you. 2 Corinthians 2:1 - 4 (NLT)

You and I could learn a lot from how Paul handled this difficult situation. Over and over he proclaimed his love for the people in the church at Corinth and also for the man in their church who had sinned (1 Cor. 5:1; 2 Cor. 2:5).

• Out of love, Paul used an approach that wouldn’t lead to an angry situation.
• Out of love, Paul tells the people in 2 Corinthians 2:5 to start loving on the man who had sinned again, so he wouldn’t get too discouraged.

Notice, that in Paul’s approach, he directed some of the “blame” for not coming to himself by saying, “who will make me glad.” He was very gentle in dealing with this situation and yet, did not ignore it or water down the scriptures demand to be holy.

Paul was following his own advice that we find in his letter to the church at Philippi:

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Phil. 2:3b

Paul, by exercising discretion, kept the door open for further ministry with the Corinthians, and kept their ministry to others free from the chains of anger and mistrust.

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FEAR...

You may have heard the saying, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Does that mean that we’re to shake in our boots if we want to be smart? Well, sort of, but there’s more!

English words often don’t take in the full meaning of the Hebrew word used. That is why some translators have used the words, “honor” “revere”, and even “worship”.

Browns-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew definitions define the word as follows:

to fear, revere, be afraid, to stand in awe of, be awed, reverence, honour, respect, to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe.

That kind of fear we do not have of people, places, things or circumstances. We have that kind of fear only of God. And, there are definite benefits when we fear God. His promises are clear:

Goodness stored up for us…

How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You… Psalms 31:19a (NASB)

His protection

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. Psalms 34:7 (NASB)

No Want

O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. Psalms 34:9 (NASB)

Compassion

Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalms 103:13 (NASB)

Beginning of Wisdom

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. Psalms 111:10 (NASB) (also Proverbs 9:10)

Beginning of Knowledge

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NASB)

Prolonged Life

The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. Proverbs 10:27 (NASB)

Confidence & refuge

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. Proverbs 14:26 (NASB)

Life

The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. Proverbs 19:23 (NASB)

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PLAN

Philippians 2:2 (NASB) make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

One Purpose – “You have been called for this purpose…die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 1:21-24) and since Jesus is our righteousness…we live for Him!!! We do what He asked…spread the Good News of the Gospel, that Christ died for our sins that we might be reconciled to God.

To reach that goal requires

Unity of Spirit - being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; Ephesians 4:3 - 4 (NASB)

To reach unity requires

Love for God and for each Other

³⁷And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸“This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37 - 39 (NASB)

Forgiveness

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)

God has a plan for your life, a plan for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11), and He’s given you the Perfect Guide Book to fulfill that plan, His Word. Work the “plan.”

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UNAWARE

2 Corinthians 1:8a (NASB) For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren,

How many of you like not knowing something, being out of the loop, or acting on something and then finding out that information was withheld from you?

I would venture to say that no one likes to be in those types of situations. And yet, lack of communication, whether perceived as positive or negative, is one of the biggest problems that confound us today.

A lack of communication causes

Hurt feelings

False assumptions

Inappropriate action

Disunity and division

Those of us that claim Christ as Savior are called to unity. We are to be about truth, compassion and doing the right thing.

Communicating with each other in love and TRUTH is the only way to go about that. Remember Peter’s response when Jesus told him that He was going to be killed and raised up on the third day?

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” Matthew 16:22 (NASB)

Jesus didn’t ignore the remark. He confronted Peter in love and said,

“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16:23 (NASB)

That kept Peter on the right track. That kept the relationship between Jesus and Peter honest and open, each knowing where the other stood.

Be honest with yourselves and others. Communicate your thoughts and feelings and LISTEN to the other person when they respond to you. We are all equal at the foot of the cross. Promote Unity. Promote Love.

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REJOICE

If your team wins the game, there is plenty of rejoicing. If you get a raise at work, you rejoice. It is interesting to note the types of things that cause us to rejoice. Look in the following passage at what causes the Apostle Paul to rejoice:

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. 13 For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; 14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1:12 - 14 (KJV)

Do you find yourself rejoicing about the things of God? Do you celebrate and applaud when little children recite the entire first Psalm (or any other verse)? When someone accepts the Lord Jesus as their Savior, do you rejoice? How does that rejoicing compare to your favorite team winning the Super Bowl?

Why do I ask? Because the Bible says in Matthew 6:21 (KJV),

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We as Christians should rejoice MORE over success in the Christians walk by ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ than we do over things of the world. We are called OUT of the world, to be separated from the world. Can people tell that about you?

• Rejoice in His love for you.
• Rejoice in the sacrifice that Christ made for you on the cross.
• Rejoice in the new day He has given you.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 (NKJV)

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HOW?

God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others. But how does God comfort us?

Well, I suppose if you are in need of a job, He could get you a job. Wouldn’t that comfort you from the worry of not having enough money to live on? Do you believe God is able to get you that job? It may not be in your timing, but He will cause you to succeed IF you look to Him for help, IF you trust Him.

Paul in verse 9 (below) gives us a clue. He says that he was burdened even to the point of fearing for his life and the reason…so that he would TRUST in God who has raised the dead.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:8 - 11 (NASB)

Notice that Paul speaks of God’s faithfulness here as eternal (verse 10):

God delivered him in the past

God will deliver him now

God will yet deliver him in the future

God IS able, always has been and always will be!

So what part do we play besides trusting? We need to immerse ourselves in His Word. Are you looking for answers? Look in the Bible. God has put so much in there about every topic under the sun. His word may not have your exact situation in it but it will address the PRINICPLES of the problem and solution in which you are involved.

The second way is to TALK TO HIM. We also call that prayer. Are you feeling depressed, like nothing is going right, and you don’t know what to do? Talk to God.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6 - 7 (NASB)

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD