What Is Our Source?

"Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."
2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV)

Many times, when reading a story, listening to a report, or researching something, you can find sources listed for the material that someone is writing or talking about.  To be accurate with a story, a news account, or any information that is being shared, a reliable source needs to be quoted or made note of.  Anyone can say something or cite some information that has no actual basis in truth, so to be certain that what is being said is worth paying attention to, a good source for the given information is necessary.

There is so much information that we have access to, and that is both good and bad, because while there are good things available, there is a lot of information being given out today that is not correct.  This is true in every area of life, and unfortunately it is also true with Christians and people who talk about God and the Bible.  There are so many things I have seen and heard from various sources, talking about some supposed Bible truth, which is not right, and it sometimes goes into completely wrong teaching.  To be accurate when talking about biblical things, we need to base what we say and teach on God's Word.

God's Word has to be our source for what we believe and for what we use to teach and share with others.  As Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, we must "Preach the Word!" to not only be accurate but also helpful.  Paul encouraged Timothy that if he was going to be helpful to others, he could not preach about his own ideas or opinions, but Timothy had to be sure to use God's Word as his source.  What is the source for what we do and say?  Is our source really God and His Word, or are we taking our source materials from someplace else?

If I Had That, I Would Do This

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."
Luke 16:10 (NKJV)

Have you ever heard someone say, "If I had a million dollars, I would ..." talking about something that person would do with a large amount of money.  Or maybe someone talks about what they would do with more time, a certain ability, or if they lived in some other place.  If we are honest about it, we have all probably said, or thought, something like this at some time in our life.  But the point is not what we would do if we had something different or we were in some other place, the question really is, what are we doing right now with what we do have?

It is easier to talk about doing something than it is to actually do it, and it is easier to talk about what we might do in the future, rather than looking at what we can do now.  This is really something that is a universal type of thing, and pretty much everyone, including Christians, are guilty of this kind of thinking.  We can all fall into the trap of looking at something someone else has, wishing we had that thing, and dreaming about what we would do if we had it.  But rather than looking at something we do not have, we need to see what we do have and make use of that.

In Luke 16:10, Jesus said that if someone is faithful in a little thing, they would be faithful in a big thing, and if someone is not faithful with something small, then that is how they would deal with something bigger.  This relates to all of us in some way.  If we are not making the best use of our time, our resources, and our abilities now, then what makes us think things would be different with more time, resources or abilities?  Instead of looking at what we do not have, and dreaming about what we would do if we had that, we need to see what we can do now, where we are, with what we do have.

Our Weekly Report

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

My smartphone and tablet are made by the same company, so it is not surprising that they have similar features.  Both of these devices have what they call the Weekly Report.  This report pops up on my smartphone and tablet every week, showing me how much time I have spent on these devices, what apps I used the most, and how long I used them.  It is somewhat interesting to me to see what I was doing on my smartphone and tablet in the past week, and what apps I have been getting the most use out of.

Unless someone lives in a nation that does not have some of the basic freedoms that most people in the world enjoy, having access to a Bible is not a difficult thing.  Personally, I have several physical copies of the Bible, Bible apps on my smartphone and tablet, a Bible program in my computer, and there are websites I can go to where I can read the Bible, or have it read to me.  That is all great, unless I never make use of those things.  It would be strange to have all this access to the Bible and never make use of it, but unfortunately that is the case for some people.  

In John 8:31-32, Jesus said that to truly be His disciple, you had to abide in His Word; then you would know the truth, and the truth would make you free.  But what if someone only referred to what Jesus said on a rare occasion?  And what if Jesus' disciples then, and now, had a weekly report, just like the one my smartphone and tablet have every week, that showed how much time we spent in God's Word?  What kind of disciple would our weekly Bible report show we are, and would that help us see why we may not be living in the benefits that Jesus provided for us?  Reading and studying the Bible is something we should do on a daily basis. 

Being Immersed

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

Immersion schools develop children in a specific language through an education program done in another language.  This means that classes dealing with things like math are done in another language.  So, while the children are learning the different subjects, they are also developing their language skills.  Another example of immersion would be if you were underwater scuba diving or deep sea diving and doing something while you were underwater.  You are involved in some activity, and the entire time you are doing it you are immersed in the water.

The word immerse means to submerge something, to be put into something that entirely covers and surrounds a person or a thing.  If someone or something is immersed in something, then what they are being immersed in covers every part of the person or thing.  In a sense, being immersed in something could also be used to describe someone who is so caught up in, and focused on something that this thing dominates who they are and what they do, such as someone involved in training for a sporting event, or someone studying in a university.

In Colossians 3:16, it says we need to let the Word of Christ, God's Word, dwell in us richly.  This is talking about our making God's Word a priority in our life so that our thinking, our actions, and our words all have their roots in biblical principles.  We have to immerse ourselves in God's Word on a daily basis so that it is the main influence in our lives.  If we are not immersed in God's Word to the point where it dwells in us richly, and it guides our life, then what is the governing factor of our life?  We need to be immersed in God's Word so that it makes a difference in every area of our life.

Are You Fully Convinced?

"He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God."
and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."
Romans 4:20-21 (NKJV)

When you believe something strongly enough, and you are convinced about something, there is nothing that can persuade you otherwise.  When you are completely convinced something is true, no one can change your mind about that.  But what if you had an idea about something, but you were not sure if it was right or wrong?  If you were not completely convinced about something being true, someone might get you to believe that something else is true.  But once you are convinced something is true, nothing can change that.

Faith is a key element in the life of a Christian.  Faith is believing in something, and having faith in something means you accept that thing as true.  If you are in faith about something you find in God's Word, then God's Word is your evidence of the truth and accuracy of that thing, despite what you might see or experience around you.  Faith is something that can be developed to the point of having unshakable faith where you are fully convinced about what God has said, and nothing can change that.  But to get to the point of being fully convinced, we may need to have our faith more developed.  

Romans 4:21 says that Abraham was fully convinced that what God had said was true.  Abraham was strengthened in faith as he kept his focus on what God had said, and by saying what God had said.  We may read something in the Bible about what belongs to us in Christ, or what God will do in our life, but it may not seem real to us.  That is when we need to be like Abraham and keep our focus on what God has said, and we need to keep on saying what God's Word says.  By doing this, we can become fully convinced that what God has said is what He will do for us. 

Are You Stopping In The Wrong Places?

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. 
Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil."
Proverbs 4:25-27 (NKJV)

In Germany, there are different types of trains: regional trains, regional express trains, intercity trains, and intercity express trains.  Regional trains make more stops on their routes than the intercity express trains do, so the intercity trains are able to get you to your destination much faster than the other trains do.  Depending on where you need to go, there may be one specific train you need to take, but no matter what, the best train is the one that will get you to the right destination without making any unnecessary stops.

The Bible says that we are on a path in life, that there is a way we should be going, and we need to be sure we are on the right path to get to where we need to go.  If we are following the path that God wants us to take, then our goal should be to do what we can to reach our destination without unnecessary delays or stops along the way.  If we make unscheduled stops in our journey, or take the wrong route, we will be delayed in reaching our destination and we may not reach our goal the way that we should.  

In Proverbs 4, we are told to keep our eyes looking straight ahead, to ponder (consider), the path we are on, and not to turn to the right or the left.  Just like some trains in Germany make a stop at every station, while others make less stops and travel faster, we can make stops in the wrong places in life and get off track in the plan of God, through getting involved with people and things that are not part of God's plan.  We need to find the best way to reach our destination in life, to be sure that we fulfill the will of God, and that we do not get bogged down with excessive delays and stops along the way.

Honorable In The Sight Of Everyone

"providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men."
2 Corinthians 8:21 (NKJV)

Have you ever seen people going to some type of meeting or convention for people who take part in role playing games, or for fans of sci-fi fantasy movies or television shows?   Often people will dress up as a favorite character to attend these meetings as that character.  In those types of conventions, everyone dressed up as some character looks fine and fits in well, but what if someone dressed that way and went to their work as a doctor or a police officer?  If they dressed the same way in both places, they would look out of place in one of those two locations.

It is one thing to live in a way where you are just trying to please people and fit in for the sake of fitting in, but it is something else to do things that do not create some kind of problem.  While we should not live a two-faced type of existence where we behave one way with a certain group of people and then another way with a different group, there is a way to live where we can fit in to whatever situation that we might find ourselves in.  If we fit in well in one situation, and we look completely out of place in another, we may need to check into what we are doing.

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul said that the way he was doing things was "honorable," not just in the view of God and Christians, but even with others outside of the church.  Integrity is an important quality that every believer, and especially leaders, needs to have.  Do we have a good reputation with those outside the church, or just with the people in our church?  If we only look good to other believers, and in our church group, but not to the rest of the world, we have lost at least some of our influence with those people.  We need to do things that everyone will see as honorable and good, and not just by those closest to us.  

Every Tool Has A Purpose

"from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Ephesians 4:16 (NKJV)

There are many different companies that make tools for different uses, but no company would make a tool that would never be used.  Every tool and piece of equipment that is made is made for a reason, there is some purpose that the tool was created for.  No successful business would create a tool that no one had a reason to use for something.  Some tools are very simple and easy to use, and some tools are more complicated.  But no matter the kind of tool, each tool has a purpose, and it was designed for that use.

Feeling useless and not having a purpose is a terrible thing, and many people today are living a purposeless life, but it should not be that way.  God has a plan and a purpose for everyone.  One of the greatest things in life is discovering the purpose God has for our life.  Once we become a Christian, we need to grow up spiritually and learn about who we are in Christ and about the plan and purpose God has for us.  As Christians, we should not live a purposeless life, because God has something for each of us to do in life.

God has a purpose for us, to help fulfill His plan for the Body of Christ and the world.  Just like every tool was created for a purpose, God has given us an ability that we can use to supply something in and to the Body of Christ, which will then impact the world.  We are God's children, He loves us, and He wants to use us to bring a supply of something to the Body of Christ and the world.  We need to get into God's Word and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit to learn who we are in Christ, what ability God has given us, and how He wants to use us to fulfill His will. 

Flight Delays And The Will Of God

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.  Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV)

More than once, for various reasons, I have had a flight delay. The flight was not cancelled, so it was going to leave the airport and arrive at the planned destination, but it was leaving later than expected.  While I am never thrilled to have a flight delay, I do not get into a panic that I will never get to my desired destination, I know that what is happening is only a delay in my eventual arrival.  Whenever this happens, I do what I can to make the best of the extra time I have, to keep the right focus, and be productive as possible in some way while I wait.

When things are delayed, and we do not get what we want when we want it, we can become concerned, frustrated, and even give up on ever getting what we want.  In our world today, so many things can happen so fast that when things do not happen quickly, we can become upset and wonder what is going wrong.  But while something may be delayed, it does not mean that what we are waiting for is not coming, it is just going to get to us later than we had planned and would have liked to have had it.  

There can be times in our Christian life when things do not happen as soon as we would like them to, but that does not mean that it will not happen.  In Habakkuk 2:3, God told Habakkuk that even though the vision might tarry, or be delayed, it would come.  Just because something does not happen in our time frame does not mean that it will not happen.  What God has promised us may take longer to get to us than we would like, but we can be sure that God's plan and purpose for our life will come to pass as we follow His direction and act in faith on His Word.

When Will You Be A New Creation?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

A lot of kids, and people, have dreams about something they want to be, someday.  For example, when kids are growing up, they will talk about becoming something they want to be when they are older.  A child might say they want to be a doctor, or a singer, or something else.  But it would be very strange for a child to say they want to be a doctor one day, and then when they become a doctor to keep wishing they were a doctor.  Once a person becomes a doctor, they need to focus on being that and not just keep hoping to be a doctor one day.

When discussing Bible truths, we can see two things.  First, there are things that God has already done for us, and second, that we need to take advantage of those things and live in the reality of what God has already done.  Salvation is a good example of this.  Through Jesus, God has provided a way for mankind to come into a right relationship with God, but a person still needs to act on that.  God does not need to send Jesus back to die on the cross again, a person just needs to act on what has already happened through Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, the old is gone and everything has become new.  We are a new creation in Christ, right now!  We are the righteousness of God, our past mistakes are washed away in the blood of Jesus, and we have a bright future with God!  This is not something that is going to happen one wonderful day.  We need to find out everything the Bible says about who we are as a new creation and start living that way, not just wish we could be that one day.  We are already a new creation in Christ, and we have to live in that reality. 

A Family Resemblance?

"Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?"
John 14:8-9 (NKJV)

People sometimes talk about a "family resemblance" when someone in a family looks like, or even acts like another member of the family.  Often, this is referring to something in a positive way, but it can also be referring to a negative thing.  Someone may look like or act like someone else in that family, in a positive or negative way, and that will make other people either want to get to know that family or avoid them.  Based on something one person does, it can make their entire family seem more or less appealing to others.

When people hear us and see us do things, they will often associate our behavior with who we are connected to: our family, our place of work, and even our beliefs.  We are either a good reflection of who we are connected to, naturally and spiritually, or we are a bad reflection.  We should never do or say things that would make anything we are connected to look bad, and that is especially true with what we believe.  Christians can sometimes do and say things that make a relationship with God and Jesus look like something much less than it really is, and that should not be.  

In John 14, Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father.  Jesus said to Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  Jesus did and said the same things as His Father, there was a family resemblance, and what Jesus did and said made other people want to get to know His father.  What about us?  When people hear us and see us do things, are they hearing and seeing our Heavenly Father?  Is there a "family resemblance" between us and who we are related to spiritually?  There should be.  Our life should be a reflection of our spiritual Father, and encourage others to get to know Him and His Son Jesus.

Don't Just Hear It, Do It, Use It

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
for you are still carnal.  For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?"
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NKJV)

Having something is one thing, but doing something with what you have is another.  Whether it is some device, a skill, money, or something else, just gaining that thing and having it is only part of the picture.  You could get or be given something very important, exactly what you need, but if you never make use of it, then that thing is wasted.  Some people think that if they could only have this thing or that thing it would make a big difference in their life, but once they had that thing, they would still have to put it to its proper use.

The Bible is clear that we not only need to hear God's Word, but we also need to put it into practice.  God told Joshua to meditate on the Word and do the Word (Joshua 1:8).  In Deuteronomy 29:29, it says that the things that have been revealed to us are the things we need to do.  And in James 1:21-25, we are told to receive and do the Word, and that those who do the Word will be blessed.  So, we can easily see that we have to know God's Word and act on it.  Once we have heard God's Word, we then need to do what we have heard.  

The Apostle Paul had a great understanding of what God did through Jesus, and Paul spent his life as a Christian teaching others about that.  Paul told the believers at Corinth that he could not talk to them as spiritual people, but carnal.  The Corinthian believers had the Word, but they were not acting on it and making it a part of their life.  We need to read, study, and hear good teaching about God's Word, but then we still need to put it into practice.  If we don't, then we will not live in the blessings of God as we should, and we are in danger of living a life contrary to God's plans and purposes.

Personal, Or Professional Problem?

"But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!" 
Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called the place the Rock of Escape."
1 Samuel 23:27-28 (NKJV)

There is a difference between business and pleasure, personal and professional things.  It can be that a person's business, their profession, is something they thoroughly enjoy, but there is still a business aspect to their work that does not allow things to become just an entirely personal activity.  But, if someone loses sight of the professional side of their life because of a personal issue with someone else, or a personal problem of their own, that can take away from the effectiveness they should have in their profession.

As believers, our main focus should be on our relationship with God and spiritual growth, which enables us to be an effective part of the Body of Christ.  It is vitally important for us to find the purpose God has for us, and understand the plan He has for us to fulfill that purpose.  But we have an enemy, the devil, who will do everything he can to hinder us from understanding God's plan and fulfilling it.  The devil will try and keep us ignorant of what God has planned for us, and if this fails, the devil's secondary plan is often to create personal problems to distract us.  

Saul was the first king of Israel, but he had some problems.  Saul became jealous of David, which clouded Saul's judgment, causing him to lose his focus on God's plan for his life.  In 1 Samuel 23, while Saul was pursuing David, focusing on this personal issue, the kingdom was in peril as the Philistines invaded the land.  The same thing can happen today if we allow personality issues, jealousy, or something another person has done to distract us from doing what God has called us to do.  We need to keep our focus on God's plan, and not allow personal issues to get in the way of our doing the will of God.

Given To Me, For You

"For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles - 
if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,"
Ephesians 3:1-2 (NKJV)

One of the first jobs I ever had was delivering auto parts for an auto parts store.  Different places would call our store to order various parts that they needed to work on cars.  Then I would get those parts from our inventory and deliver them.  My job was not just to get the parts that someone else needed and keep them for myself, those auto parts were needed by other people to be able to do the work they were involved in.  The only reason I had the parts was to give them to someone else, not to keep them for myself.

The Bible shows us that Christians make up the Body of Christ, and that each part of the Body has something to supply that contributes to the overall operation of the Body.  All the parts of the Body of Christ are connected and have to work together.  God gives each of us a grace, a gift, that we need to use to supply something to the Body.  As each part gives what it has to supply, the entire Body benefits, and if some part of the Body of Christ would somehow withhold what it should supply, there would be a problem in the Body.  

In Ephesians 3, Paul talked about how God had given him grace, a gift, and that God had actually given it to him for the benefit of the people of Ephesus.  In the same way, God gives each of us a grace gift.  One of the goals in our life is to discover and develop the grace, the gift, the ability, that God has given us.  We need to not only recognize the gift that God has given us, but we must also understand that what we have been given, was given to us for others.  The grace, the gift, the ability, that God gives us is meant to be used to help other people and not just kept to ourselves.

Where Is Your Focus?

"Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin.  But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."
1 Samuel 17:45 (NKJV)

What you focus on and what has your attention is very important.  You might be driving a car, but if your focus is on something other than the road, you can have a serious problem.  You might have a deadline for a project to be done where you work, but if you are focused on planning your vacation instead of working on the project, you will likely have trouble.  It could be that what we are paying attention to is really not the most important thing, so we need to be sure we understand what is important and focus on that.

For the Christian, spiritual realities are more important than our natural reality.  This does not mean that our natural situation does not exist, or that it is not something we should be aware of, but the spiritual side of our situation is what we need to be focused on.  In our life, generally speaking, and in specific situations, we need to look past the natural reality and focus on the spiritual side of things; we need to know what God and His Word have to say about our situation, and we need to put our attention on that.

One of the things we can learn from the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, is that David was victorious because he focused on the spiritual side of things, while everyone else was focused on the natural side.  David recognized that Goliath was defying and fighting against God, but Saul and the army were looking at Goliath's size and listening to what he said, rather than focusing on God and what He said.  David succeeded because he looked past the natural situation and focused on the spiritual side of things.  God is on our side, and no matter how big the "giant" that we face is, by focusing on God and His Word, we will win.