Deposits And Withdrawals

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

One basic principle of banking is that you cannot withdraw more than you have deposited.  This is a very simple concept, but there are times when people somehow think that they have more money in their account than they actually do, and that creates a problem.  In the past, when more people wrote checks, you could write a check, mistakenly thinking you had some funds available, but if they were not there, the check bounced.   Today, when you make a deposit in a bank account, some of your money may not actually be available right away, so that is also something to pay attention to.

The principle of deposits and withdrawals can be seen in other areas of life, besides banking.  For example, if you have "deposited" some knowledge, wisdom, or experience into your life, then that is something you can "withdraw" when a situation arises.  This principle also carries over into spiritual things.  If we have some spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and experience that has been deposited into us, we could make a withdrawal of that for ourselves and for others.  But we cannot make a natural or spiritual withdrawal of something that has never been deposited. 

In Luke 6:45, Jesus talked about a good man and an evil man both having some "treasure" in their hearts that could be brought out.  Whatever deposits of "treasure" we make into our life are things we will be able to "withdraw" for the benefit of ourselves and others.  We need to spend time in God's Word, talking with God in prayer, and even serving in our church and elsewhere to gain deposits of spiritual wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  As we make these spiritual deposits in our life, we will be able to make the necessary spiritual withdrawals for ourselves and others.

Warning Labels

"But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless."
Titus 3:9 (NKJV)

At different times, and in different places, we will see warning signs or labels.  We might see a sign that tells us to watch out for some animals that might cross the road, we could see a warning sign about the danger of high voltage from something, or we might see a label on a product that says it is poisonous, and it should not be consumed.  All of these warning signs and labels have something in common, someone put them there for a reason.  And, whoever was responsible for the warning sign, or label, knew what the potential danger was so that they could warn other people about those things.

There are things that can be hazardous to us in some way, but how do we know?  If a baby or small child is left unsupervised, they can do things that could be dangerous, or try to eat things that might hurt them, but normally an informed adult would know better and not do the same thing.  This is also true with spiritual things.  When someone is a young or inexperienced believer, they might do things, or eat things, spiritually, that could be harmful to them.  Fortunately, we have some spiritual warning labels in God's Word to show us what is good and what is bad. 

In Titus 3:9, the Apostle Paul warned people about things that were "unprofitable and useless," and really harmful to their spiritual health.  Paul was placing spiritual "warning labels," so to speak, on things that he knew would be dangerous for a believer's spiritual health.  Warning labels from people like Paul are good, but we all have a responsibility to know the Word of God for ourselves, and to test all things so we can hold on to what is good.  By paying attention to the warning labels we learn about through God's Word, we can avoid getting involved in the things that would harm us in our relationship with God.

Take Step 1 Before You Take Step 2

"Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
And he said, "Who are you Lord?"  Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"  Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
Acts 9:4-6 (NKJV)

Have you ever bought something at a store with instructions that said, "Some assembly required"?  Most people have done this, and when you look at the instructions, there will usually be various steps to take to assemble what you purchased.  While you might be in a hurry to get to the completed product, if you try to skip steps, you might have a problem.  It could be that by just using your best judgment you were able to successfully complete your project, but usually the best thing to do is follow the instructions you were given and do step 1 before you do step 2.

It is hard to find a true Christian who does not want to follow the will of God and do what God says.  In 2 Corinthians 5:7, it says we walk (we live), by faith.  Faith is not based on what we see or feel, but it is based on what God has said.  To successfully do the will of God and follow His plan, we have to do things His way and take the steps that He gives us, as He gives them to us, or we may end up wandering away from the plan God has for us.  We need to take the step that God gives us, and trust God's guidance in our life, even if it is only one step at a time.

When Saul, who would later be known as Paul, met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he asked what he should do.  Jesus told him to go to the city, and he would be told what to do.  This is the same way that God will guide us. God will give us a step to take, something we can do now, that will lead to another step.  Often, by taking the first step, which may be the only step we have, we will learn something or gain something that will help us in our next steps.  If we try to skip steps, if we try to figure out the next steps on our own, or we want to wait until God gives us several steps, we may miss the plan God has for us. 

What Do You Call Him?

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent for the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
Galatians 4:4-6 (NKJV)

When I was growing up, I had friends from school and family members that I called by their first names.  Also, because of my parents, there were other people that I had some relationship with, they were people who I always called Mr., Mrs., or Miss. something.  Those were people I never referred to by their first name.  But as I grew older, my relationship with those people changed, and most of them told me I should now call them by their first names, that I no longer had to use the more formal title.  What I called these people changed because the relationship changed.

There are many people in the world who follow some kind of god.  In Christianity, we talk about God Almighty, and that is a correct term to use to refer to our God.  Even people who do not follow Jesus might refer to "God," but they do not have a real relationship with Him.  The good news is that once we are born again, we come into the family of God, and we are now in the position that we can refer to God as our Father!  This intimate relationship we have with God is unique to all the religions of the world, who have some god, but their god is not their father.

One of the most wonderful things about Christianity is the close relationship we have with our God.  He is not just God to us, He is our Heavenly Father.  In Galatians 4, Paul talked about how God sent Jesus at just the right time to redeem us, so that we could be adopted into God's Family.  Once we are saved, we become children of God, and our relationship with God has changed, because we have been adopted into God's Family.  Now we can talk to God, as our Father.  He is not just some powerful being somewhere, but He is our loving Heavenly Father!

Who Are You Looking For, And Why?

"The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;
but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me.
The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day - and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus."
2 Timothy 1:16-18 (NKJV)

At one time or another, we have all been looking for someone for some reason.  Often, the reason we are looking for someone, is that they have something we need, something we want, or they know something that we do not.  Of course, sometimes we are looking for friends or family members in some place because we want to see them and reunite with them, but even when that happens, most of the time when we are searching to find someone there is a reason for it that has more to do with us than it does with them.

Most of the things we do are done for our own benefit, but in the Bible, we are told that we should really be more interested in what helps others rather than just focusing on what is good for us.  If all we do is look for people that we think can help and benefit us, we have the wrong focus.  What if we were to think about ways we could help other people and do good things for them, and what if we had something special, or just learned something great, and then we go looking for someone to share that with?

The Apostle Paul did some great things to help build God's Kingdom, and people probably wanted to meet Paul and listen to him, but how many people wanted to help Paul?  In 2 Timothy 1, Paul talks about a man named Onesiphorus who Paul said "often refreshed" him and ministered to him in many ways.  Onesiphorus was not some famous Christian, but he was someone who went looking for Paul, to help him.  What about us, who are we looking for, and why are we looking for them?  We need to be like Onesiphorus, and when we look for people, it is because we want to help them.