Thursday, July 28, 2022

First Response

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)

Police, firefighters, and emergency medical people are often called first responders because they are usually the first people that are called when there is a problem.  If there had been a crime committed, or a crime was actually taking place, the police would be called and not a car mechanic.  If there was a fire, people would naturally call the fire department and not their hair stylist.  In any situation, the first person you contact is someone that you trust to help you deal with that situation.

Many Christians know, and can even quote, Philippians 4:19 about how God will supply all of our needs.  Very often this verse is used in the context of financial or material needs, but we can see in God's Word that He wants to help us and meet all of our needs.  So, then it would only be logical that when we have a problem that we go to God first for the answer to the problem.  But, while most Christians would say that is what they do, in reality it is not what usually happens. 

When people, even Christians, get into a difficult situation, their first response is often to talk to their friends, ask someone they know for help, or they might even go on the Internet to search for an answer to their problem.  Too often people will go to other sources for their help first before they go to God.  So much of the time, people rely on, and even expect, someone else to help them rather than focusing on God and His Word to get their answer.  The next time you face a challenging situation, go to God first for His guidance and be sure He is your first response.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Self-Destructing?

"A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul."
Proverbs 18:7 (NKJV)

According to the dictionary, the word "self-destruct" started being used in the late 1960s as a part of a television show where a secret agent would receive his assignment, and then the device that carried the message would "self-destruct".  The device would destroy itself and then no one other than the specified secret agent would know what was said.  No one had to do anything to stop the device from working, because the device had destroyed itself.

The Bible has a lot to say about our words.  Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tonguePaul said in 2 Timothy 2:16-18 that the teaching of some was like cancer, and what was said overthrew some people's faith.  James 3:4 compares our tongue, our words, to the rudder that guides a ship.  Proverbs 18:7 says that a fool's mouth is his destruction, his lips are the snare of his soul.  Words are much more important than we may have thought they were. 

Some people, including Christians, would like to blame someone else for their problems, but the truth is that many people are simply self-destructing their own lives through their words.  We need to learn what the Bible says about our life and say those things, and avoid saying things that are contrary to the Bible.  We do not have to walk around quoting Bible verses, but we simply need to say the things about ourselves that we find in the Bible.  By doing this, we will be setting our life on the right course and we can be sure that we will not self-destruct.

Thursday, July 14, 2022

What Do You Want To Do?

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 6:38 (NKJV)

When I was a child, sometimes I was asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?".  When I was in high school, I remember people talking about what they wanted to do after high school, what they wanted to study in college, or what kind of job they wanted.  When I was in Bible school, people would sometimes ask each other, "Where do you want to go after school?".  The one thing that all of these ideas have in common is the idea of, "what do you want to do?".

People sometimes ask me if I want to live in some place or if I want to do this thing or that thing.  When I tell them that what I want to do does not matter, but what matters is what God wants me to do, these people sometimes look at me strangely.  It is very normal for people to think and talk about what they like and want to do or where they want to go.  But, for Christians, the question should not be about what we want to do, but we need to find out what God wants us to do

Jesus made it very clear that His focus was on doing the will of God, not His own will.  Jesus followed the plan and purpose of God for His life, and that is the example that we need to follow.  If we are only following our own interests and doing the things we want to do, how are we truly serving and following God's plan for our life?  Following God's plan is the best way to find true happiness, fulfillment, and success.  The will of God, what God wants us to do, is not just some part of our life, it is our life!

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Communication Failure

"that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
"
1 Corinthians 12:25-27 (NKJV)

Having your luggage lost when you travel is something you never want to have happen.  One time, when I arrived at my destination, my bag was not there.  When I talked to the people from the airline about this, they said it would not be easy to locate my bag, because the baggage system and the reservation system did not "talk to each other", there was a communication failure.  That was a bit of a surprise to me, since the systems were a part of the same airline, but fortunately, my bag did arrive a few hours later.

After my experience with the lost bag, I was thinking about what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12.  Paul compared the body of Christ to our natural body.  There should not be divisions in the body, and if one part of the body suffers or rejoices, the whole body either suffers or rejoices.  This is talking about unity within the body of Christ, and just like our natural body, if some parts are not working together, if there is a communication failure, there will be problems.

Unfortunately, there are times when Christians have trouble working with one another.  No matter what group a believer may be a part of, we are all a part of the body of Christ.  We must work together to reach the lost and preach the Gospel around the world.  Instead of working to build our own kingdom, we need to work together to build God's Kingdom and do His will.  It should never be that various Christian groups and believers don't get along or work with one another.  That kind of communication failure is unacceptable.