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Devotion Archive

True Faith: Judgement #15
11th July 2008

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Good Morning Dear Ones,

As a parent, each of us realizes that we must have a list of do’s and don’ts which we live by and by which we raise our children and grandchildren. The Lord Jesus felt the same way when He was giving his Sermon on the Mount. There was no inflated ego, hypocrisy, or other sinful motive behind this list. It is what it is- God’s teaching. 1) From MT 6: 19-21: “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth….Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven…For your heart will always be where your riches are.” While I have gone over this passage in some detail, the principle point is to realize that material things, titles, self-aggrandizement, etc. can never transcend the grave, and thus, we should think first about the long-range value of what we do, before taking action- considering the value for eternity. I would have liked to have a conversation with my now-deceased human father to let him know that some of his best attitudes and values have lived long beyond his lifetime. [He would be 100 years old if he were alive, but died at the age of 59]. I taught my own son to value getting a good education and not to engage in learning only for a degree or career goal. Instead, to love learning for learning sake, keeping one’s mind and heart open to growth through learning throughout his earthly life; that was my earthly father’s legacy to our family. The net result for my father’s teaching me this value has been a life-long habit of taking courses and teaching them, of taking what I learn and applying it to my service to the Lord and my fellow believers. The Holy Spirit gifted me with self-discipline to study God’s word. Each time I do, He has prepared me to better pray for others, teach adult Bible studies, write devotions about Him to others, and know Him a little better. What a blessing He gives me! To be sure, God’s attitude about learning is seen in PR 15: 33 and 16: 16, “Reverence for the Lord is an education in itself. You must be humble before you can ever receive honors…It is better-much better-to have wisdom and knowledge than gold and silver.” The attitude in IS 50: 4 is precious to us. “The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning He makes me eager to hear what He is going to teach me.” We are urged to examine our own heart-attitudes to see where we stand.

2) Do not worry about earthly things; instead keep your mind on the things of heaven. This attitude is seen in MT 6: 25-27. The question asked in (27) really focuses our attention for meditation. “Who of you by worrying can add a single day to your life?” Other places in the Scriptures draw our attention to the same principle. COL 3: 1-2, “You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on His throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth.” HE 12: 1-2, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The fleshly attitudes of our society value youth, being slim, and exuding sexual prowess. One needs only to look at the extraordinary number of TV ads that convey this approach to life. I’m not saying that taking care of one’s health and getting regular exercise isn’t important. After all, “…The body is the temple of the Spirit” [1 COR 6; 19]. However, ads for skimpy clothing [sadly even on pre-teen girls], make-up [implying the assumption that one is too ugly to appear in public without it], men acquiring “washboard abs,” and using some product because it makes you sexier abound. Young people and some older ones are encouraged to have tattoos drawn on their bodies [even through many older people later come to regret this]. God finds this abhorrent [LV 19: 28]. We have all seen ads in every form of the media encouraging the value of acquiring material wealth through risky investments, buying faster, sexier cars [driven for public display of material wealth-then trading up to even more expensive ones], and for seminars on how to build up one’s bank account and stock portfolio. Our society’s fixation on acquisition of prolonged youth, material wealth, and more so-called beauty has led people to elective cosmetic surgery [to make us more acceptable to employers or the opposite sex]. How many of us know a person with naturally white hair [males and females] who dye it for this purpose? And yet in MT 6: 25-27, God is saying He will provide for our real needs. Many of us don’t even know the difference between a real need and a want. Must we do our part for this provision? Of course! God made it clear, in GN 3: 17-19, we would have to work for our sustenance. But, God knows the heart of every person. For those who faithfully obey Him, He has shown us over mankind’s history that He would provide. PS 37: 11, “But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shave wonderful peace.” PHIL 4: 19, “And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs.” The question on the table is: Do we believe Him?

PRAYER: O Lord, how very patient with us You are! We don’t often enough consider the eternal value of decisions we make, our observations, and the actions we take. Once again, we allow the desires of the flesh to lead our lives. We appeal to You, in Your infinite wisdom, to intervene in those observations, thoughts, ideas, and decisions. We urge You to stop us from giving in to natural desires and to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. We beseech Him to take leadership in our lives. You have taught us, in GA 5: 16-17, how the flesh and the Spirit are opposites, how it is impossible to blend them successfully. There are people who feel they can be all things to all people, even some of our society’s leaders. We urge You, through Your Spirit, to give us discernment and wisdom to see this attitude for what it is and to reject it. We use Your words to make our plea. PS 119: 125, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” PS 51: 6, “Sincerity and truth are what You desire; fill my mind with wisdom.” Dearest Abba, we see that knowledge is the acquisition of raw data, understanding is the ability to organize that data- seeing what is more and what is less important, and wisdom is the ability to apply what we’ve learned in a way pleasing to You. You have shown us that discernment is understanding the importance or lack thereof in Your sight of what we learn. We humbly bow before You to ask You to show us the way to acquire each of them. Without You, we are nothing and can do nothing [MT 5: 3; JN 15: 5]. When we are obediently faithful to You and serve You by serving other people, we are indeed storing up our treasures in heaven. With Your help, we can have thoughts, make decisions, and take actions that will have beneficial effects that last beyond our earthly lives. The good things that others have done in the past make our lives better in some ways now. The righteous lives we lead by choice and by faith in You can lead to a legacy of goodness left behind for others in the future. Help us to know what to do; give us the power, through the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus, to live lives that obey 1 PET 1: 16 [LV 11: 44-45; LV 19: 2], “Be holy because I am holy.” In Christ’s mighty name, we pray. Amen.

The Holy Spirit leads me to discuss more do’s and don’ts from MT 6-7 next week. Our Lord has asked us in the Scriptures to share His attitudes and take bold actions that go against the natural self. This isn’t easy for us. However, He doesn’t just leave it at those commands. He tells us how to take this godly action seated in godly attitudes throughout the Scriptures. Sometimes, it’s through the stories of godly people, like that of Gideon-the least important and lowliest of his clan- who, by following God’s instructions helped Israel defeat their Midianite enemies [JG 6: 15-16]. Sometimes, it’s through outright expression of His principles, as we find in the two passages from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount above. Other times, it’s through the telling of parables, stories that convey intangible and crucial principles, as in the Parable of the Sower in MT 13: 1-8, 18-23]. And how can we miss the wisdom that He gave Solomon in the Proverbs? Our God has never left believers hanging out to dry; He has always supplied us with wisdom, compassion, protection, provision, correction, and encouragement. Remember, it was our Father, Who gave the life of His only Son on the cross, so that we might be saved by coming to faith in Him [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. It’s fitting to close with this divine encouragement from 2 THESS 2: 16-17, “May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and in His grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.” Praise be to Him!

Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn

© Lynn Johnson 2008. All Rights Reserved.

 

© Lynn Johnson 2012. All Rights Reserved.

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