Speaking the Language

Speaking the Language

There are those in this world who just don’t get it.  We try our best to explain, to clarify and to prove the existence of our God, but we fail at convincing those who are determined that we are the ones who need to learn a new language.  We speak a universal language of love, God’s love, but to those who choose to view things differently, its if we are speaking a foreign language. 

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:4-6(NKJV)

I find it hard to believe that there are still those people in this world who simply are convinced there is no God, and there is no need to worship something that does not exist.  I try to imagine how empty their lives must be because without God, there is no hope, no promises, no future.  I often will try to empathize with these people, but I’m too far gone in believing I have a Savior and that He will return one day to take me home.  How can anyone not want that, not need that and never believe that? 

When I read the Bible, it’s as if God is speaking to me personally, and in a language I fully understand.  Regardless of the translation, God speaks to me when I read His Word.  It’s a universal language we all need to understand.  But there are those who refuse to read or listen to God’s Holy Word because it can be convicting.  They feel that as long as they refuse to know or to understand right and wrong, they are under no obligation to live their lives that way.  They refuse to learn God’s universal language of love.  I can hear them saying “what I don’t know can’t hurt me.”  But that is the furthest from the truth. 

As Christians, we are commanded to “love our neighbor as ourself.”  One of the ways we can do this is to teach them the language.  We can spread the message of our Lord and Savior by teaching them God’s language of love.  The best method for this is to learn what we can, when we can so that we know all we can in order to teach others. 

Learning the language of God’s love is simple.  His Word is full of living examples, moving demonstrations and awe-inspiring stories of just how much He loves us.  It’s up to us to teach this language to the world, instead of having the world teach us another language. 

“in the world, not of the world”

Coming out of the Closet

Coming Out of the Closet!

Yesterday I posted about how we need to stand up for Christ in a world that wants us to stand up for everything else.  I’m going to take this issue a bit further today, making sure that we understand our command to shout to the world how we feel about our God.  Now I will admit, God wants us to have some private time with Him.  This is how we reload the magazines with the ammunition to go into battle. 

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”  Matthew 6:6(NKJV)

This is when we have an intimate conversation with our God.  No one else needs to be present.  We don’t need loud music blaring in the background.  We should be away from the T.V. and into the silence of being with Him.  We recharge our hearts, minds and souls to make good on our commands from our God. 

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”  Matthew 10:7-8

It’s in these quiet times that we hear God speaking to us.  It’s in this solitude with our God that we are able to discern just what He had in mind when He crafted us in the womb.  We need to learn to “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10  It’s in these uninterrupted, silent prayers that we hear God speak His will for our lives.  But we already know much of this because He tells us over and over in His Word just how He wants things to be.  We read these things every day and yet we still struggle with carrying out these commands. 

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:1-3

We need to simply come out of the closet, refueled and recharged for Christ.  We need to make sure our batteries are filled with the Gospel of Christ.  Then we need to drain them dry, delivering His message to the world.  We need to come out of the closet refreshed with the promises He has for us. 

Share the Good Word with someone today.  I just did and now I feel better, a bit drained, but better knowing that I am coming out of the closet for God. 

“in the world, not of the world”

Being as good as we can be

Being as good as we can be…

Ever stop to think about just how good, how nice and how loving we should be?  Wouldn’t it be nice to have these boundaries laid out before us so that we could pace ourselves in order to enjoy the ride? We often will set limits on how nice and how generous we strive to be because, let’s face it, it’s not much fun to be these things every day, all day.  We can slip into those “not so loving, not so generous” thoughts at times and get angry and resentful, even to the point we act out on these feelings.  But that’s not what God wants from us.  When we go to God’s Word and look at just how we are supposed to behave, it is clear that anything less than what He desires will not suffice. 

“For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45(NKJV)

 

What does being holy look like?  How do we know when we have reached this level of behavior?  In my opinion we will never reach this level, but when we strive to be more like God, more like His Son Jesus Christ, we are making progress in the right direction.  Early in the Old Testament, Moses wrote of this challenge to our “misbehaving.”  Later, the Apostle Peter reminds us of this command that our actions and words should be “holy.” 

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15-16(NKJV)

One of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis, takes up this concept in his book “Mere Christianity.”  He writes of this Christ-like behavior as being the “whole purpose” with regards to being the Christian we were made to be. “He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has—by what I call ‘good infection’. Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.”  Those are powerful words.  When he considers this Christian behavior to be the “whole purpose of becoming a Christian,” he is making it clear that, in his opinion, there is no other way. 

When you really think about the command from our God that we live a holy life, it can seem far-fetched that we could ever realize this type of living.  We are all sinners, and God knows this.  After all, He created us and is very aware of our challenges.  But given all of our faults, we also have the gift of free will, and we can choose to live in any manner we feel we need to in order to survive.  It’s in the attempt to be more like Christ that we become something that pleases God.  When we practice what we preach, we become more like the Child of God we were created to be.  Now I know that there are things of this world that pull us away, or that steer us in the opposite direction at times, but God knows these things are headed our way well before we see them.  He even knows our response ahead of time.  We just need to stop and think of how God would want us to react.  We pattern our response after what we feel God would want, or to borrow from a popular saying back in the day “what would Jesus do?” 

It sounds impossible, but trust me, it can be done.  Just take a minute or two to stop and think about how you act, how you behave and how you approach others.  It could be that you may find it very easy to make a change and be more like Christ.  We all could use this in our world. 

“in the world, not of the world”