What Are You Zealous For?

"For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.  And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers."
Galatians 1:13, 14 (NKJV)

Have you ever watched a sporting event on television and seen some of the people in the stands who are there to watch their favorite team?  Some people are very committed to their sports teams and show this by how they act, what they say, and even how they dress.  Some people don't care for sports but they do follow some music group, singer, or entertainer. This type of person who closely follows and identifies with some sports team, musician, or someone else is referred to as a fan.  It is interesting to note that, according to the dictionary, the word fan is most likely derived from the word fanatic.

In Galatians Paul talked about how he was zealous for the traditions of his fathers.  This word "zealous" means, to burn with zeal, to be eagerly desirous of something, or to vehemently content for something.  This is not just a passive or mild desire or thought about something, it is an all consuming passion.  In fact, this word Paul used can be traced back to a word that means to boil with heat, like boiling water.  Paul was zealous for Jewish tradition, you could even say he was a fan of it.  Paul was very committed to what he believed, but what he believed was not right.

There are many things that people are zealous about.  But like Paul, people can be very committed to and passionate about something and still be wrong, even with religious things.  As Christians we identify with Jesus and should be zealous about following Him and doing His will; we can find God's will in His Word, the Bible.  How we live, what we say, our goals and dreams should all fall in line with God and His Word.  It is good to be zealous but we need to be zealous for the right things.  Because Jesus is our Lord and Savior His will and way need to be what we are most passionate about.

Walking In Love - Believing The Best About Others

"Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
1 Corinthians 13:7 (Amplified Bible)

Has someone ever cut you off while you were driving and your first thought is that they have no idea how to drive?  Have you ever been in a restaurant and the server was not as sharp as they ought to be and you think they are the worst service person ever?  Have you ever been boarding a plane, train, or bus and someone got in front of you and you suspected they had no manners and were probably the rudest person alive?  It is likely that all of us have had these experiences and thoughts at one time or another.

But is it possible that we misunderstood what happened and were too quick to believe the worst about someone?  What if the driver was a bit lost and did not realize they cut you off?  What if the server in the restaurant was filling in for someone else who was not there and had to do the work of two people?  What if the person who got in line ahead of you legitimately did not see you and what they did was an honest mistake?  Our thoughts and reactions to how others treat us and how they act around us is an indication of how much we are walking in the love of God.

God's love bears up under anything and everything and believes the best of every person and that love is in us as Christians (Romans 5:5).  Are we quick to believe the best or worst about others?  Do we look for the best and expect the best of others or are we ready to find fault and see mistakes?  How does God see us when we make mistakes or do wrong?  Is He expecting the worst things from us or is He gracious and quick to overlook the mistake and continue to love us and do what He can to help us?  We all need to walk in the love of God where we expect and believe the best about others.

Watch Out For The Little Foxes

"Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes."
Song Of Solomon 2:15 (NKJV)

There is a saying that has been around for a long time, "Don't sweat the small stuff", which is meant to convey the idea that we should not let little things bother us.  Generally speaking this is true, but not always; some small things can create very big problems.  For example, termites in your home, driving over a nail that gets stuck in your tire, or a sliver in your finger are all small things that can lead to some big problems.  It is not the size of the thing that makes something a problem; it is what the thing can do that matters.

Song Of Solomon 2:15 contains an unusual phrase that has an important point, it talks about little foxes that spoil, or ruin, the vines.  This is similar to how the devil will work in our lives and try to ruin our relationship with Jesus.  The devil will not necessarily do something big against us, but he will work in small ways.  He will try to fill our mind with the wrong kind of thoughts, try to get us to focus more on our circumstances than on God, or try to make us think what we are doing for God is a waste of time.  If we let those little thoughts get into our thinking then we will be in trouble.

Another thing the devil likes to do is to fill up our time with a lot of little things that keep us so busy that we do not have time to do the things we really need to do.  Or the devil will try to convince us that we are too tired to go to church or that being involved in some area at the church just does not fit into our schedule.  We need to be on guard at all times against these attacks of the enemy.  We need to watch out for the little things that will try to ruin our relationship with God through either wrong thoughts or by distracting us through being too busy.  Don't let the little foxes ruin your vine.

Let Your Light Shine

"You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

When you enter a dark room you naturally turn on the light to see where you are going.  Normally rooms have a lighting system with light bulbs in some fixtures that were designed to help people find their way around the room.  That lighting system was not put there just for decoration; it is there for a reason.  The light bulb that lights up the room is not the electric company itself but the bulb is displaying a light that is created by the power that is coming from the electric company.  In a similar way we need to be a kind of "Christian light bulb" in a world that is in darkness without Jesus.

In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus told His disciples that they were the light of the world.  The Bible also tells us in 1 John 1:5 that "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all".  From these two scriptures we can see that God is light and we are His lights in the world.  We need to shine our light and do what we can to help direct people to Jesus and to display godly characteristics that are a reflection of our heavenly Father. We need to show people how through a relationship with Jesus Christ we can live successfully in this world and overcome the difficulties that come our way in life.

Jesus walked the earth 2000 years ago.  He is now in heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father.  That is His place to be, our place is here on the earth, in this world, being representatives of Jesus.  The point is that if Jesus is going to do anything or help anyone on the earth today in any way it is going to be through us, we are here to do His work and to shine as a light for Him.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are representatives of God, our life should reflect His light.  Once we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become that light of the world, let's shine bright for Jesus!

Our Work For God Is Not In Vain

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)

The length of time something takes to grow is different depending on what you plant, the conditions you are growing something in, and how well you take care of what is planted.  Some plants take weeks to grow while others take months before they are ready for harvest.  It is not reasonable to expect every type of plant to grow at the same rate.  If we understand this principle then we are able to be patient during the growth of a plant; if we don't understand it we can become impatient and give up on something that is growing and developing because we don't see the growth happening.

God has a plan for our lives and there are things He wants all of us to do, God expects us to do things that will help to build His Kingdom.  But, those things we do often do not produce instant results.  If we understand that in advance it makes what we do easier; we must be consistent in our work for God regardless of what results we do or do not see.  We have to realize that we are dealing with eternal things and we may not see some results as fast as we like.  If we are sowing the incorruptible seed of God's Word into the life of another person we can expect results.

We may work in the children's ministry at our church, or with the youth, or adults, and not see the fruit of our labors for many years.  We might have the opportunity to speak to a neighbor or coworker about Jesus but that person does not receive Jesus right away.  We can make investments into the lives of someone or our church today that will only bear fruit years later.  But to keep on doing this we must be unmovable in our work for God.  Knowing that what we do for God is never in vain helps us to do God's will regardless of any immediate results or the lack thereof.

What Is It Worth To You?

"I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure."
Psalm 119:162 (NKJV)

The value of something can be determined by what someone is willing to pay for it or what that thing means to a person, what it is worth to them.  There are some things that people have paid millions of dollars for, such as art work or other collectables, that have no real function in life but to those people they have value.  There are other things, like a family heirloom, or a personal memento of some kind that have value to the people who own them.  Even something simple like water can be valuable depending on the situation; value depends on how significant someone sees something as being.

In Psalms 119 David said he rejoiced at God's Word the way someone would if they had found a great treasure.  It is interesting to notice that of all the Psalms that David wrote, the Psalm he wrote about God's Word, Psalm 119, is the longest.  David understood the value of God's Word and because of that he rejoiced about it.  But this is certainly not the attitude of many people, including Christians, today.  Most people do not really see the Bible as valuable as a great treasure but that is what it was for David because David was a man who knew the Word and what the Word could do.

In Psalm 119 David talked about the Word being his counselor (v. 24), he was comforted by remembering the Word (v. 52), his hope was in the Word (v. 81), he did not perish in his affliction because the Word had been his delight (v. 92), the Word was a lamp for his feet and a light to his path (v. 105), those who love the Word have great peace and nothing makes them stumble (v. 165), and there are many other things he said besides these.  What value do we place on God's Word, do we realize what God's Word can do for us?  David rejoiced about the Word like it was a great treasure, do we?

God's Blueprint For Life

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16, 17 (NKJV)

Years ago I worked at a company that built wooden beams and arches that were used in the construction of different kinds of buildings.  We made beams and arches of various sizes but every project started the same, we had to look at the blueprint.  Our foreman received the blueprint from the company office that listed the specific details for that beam or arch.  To correctly complete the job we had to pay attention to the blueprint and build that beam or arch accordingly.  We could not just decide among ourselves what we wanted it to look like; we had to follow the blueprint to be successful.

In the Old Testament Israel built the Tabernacle in the wilderness and later a Temple.  In each situation God gave them a specific pattern to follow.  The people involved could not just decide how they wanted these things to look.  God gave them each building's dimensions and told them what materials to use.  If Israel had deviated from the plans that God gave them they would have built something but it would not have been what God wanted them to build.  The same thing is true today, God has a blueprint for us to use for our life, His Word, and to build a successful life we have to follow God's plan.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 we see that God's Word is what we need to be complete and equipped for every good work.  The Bible shows us how to build correct doctrine, how to live a righteous life, and it gives us guidelines to correct us and keep us on the right course.  God is a lot smarter than we are and He knows best how we should build our life.  Too many times people have gone through life and built something, but it was not what God wanted.  It is not up to us to decide how we will build our life, we need to go to God's Word for our own blueprint; to be successful we must follow God's plan.

Do As You Wish?

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts."
Proverbs 21:2 (NKJV)

Recently I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Do as you wish".  My initial reaction was that this is a poor standard to live life by and it reminded me of a saying that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s where people proclaimed, "If it feels good, do it".  While these two statements are very similar neither of them can be found in the Bible, at least in a good sense.  However, these two statements represent the way that many people believe they should be able to live.  Many people have the idea that true freedom and liberty is found in being able to do what you want to do and in expressing yourself.

There are several Bible verses that deal with this idea of a person doing whatever they believe is right.  Proverbs 21:2 and Proverbs 16:2 both talk about a person considering what they do to be right but God weighs, or measures, the heart, the spirit.  Our outward actions may please us and make us feel good but no matter what a person does on the outside God knows what is happening on the inside.  What are our motives for doing what we do?  Are we simply being selfish and looking for personal satisfaction or do we consider others and even God with how we live our life?

Some people, including Christians, think the main goal in life is to be happy and that this is achieved through self-expression and personal fulfillment.  The problem with that is that it is all about our feelings and desires without any consideration necessarily being given to what God want us to do and how our actions impact others.  What we do may make us happy but does it make God happy?  Is what we are doing right in our own eyes but offensive to others?  Does our lifestyle agree with what the Bible teaches or only with current trends in society?  To live a truly successful life that pleases God we cannot just do what we please but our goal must be to please God and live a life that reflects Him and His Word to others.

Do You Need A Nose Job?

"Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer."
2 Corinthians 5:16 (NKJV)

A while ago I saw a story about a girl who four years earlier, when she was fourteen, had some cosmetic surgery done, something that is commonly referred to as a "nose job".  Why did she do that?  Was it because someone paid her a lot of money to do it or that she had so much free time she thought she would have some surgery done?  The reason was because she believed the procedure would improve her appearance.  While I am all in favor of people doing things to improve themselves there is a limit and trying to surgically alter your appearance at fourteen is usually not a good idea.

It is very likely that this girl had the same problem that many others do, a poor self-image.  Why do people have this problem?  The reason is that they are more focused on their outward appearance than they should be.  If most people were honest about it they would tell you that they have some physical characteristic about themselves that they do not like: their nose is too big, their ears are too small, their hair is too curly or too straight, they are too skinny or too fat, etc., etc.  Many people are more focused on their outward appearance than they are on their inner, spiritual condition.

In 2 Corinthians 5:16 Paul said he was committed to not regarding anyone according to the flesh, in other words Paul was saying he was more focused on what was inside a person than what was on the outside.  This is the way we need to think too; as the old saying goes, "Beauty is only skin deep".  Our value is not based on how we look; there is more to a person than just what is seen on the outside.  We need to see ourselves from the inside out and focus less on the "outer man" and be more concerned about the spiritual condition of our "inner man" and our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Know Your Place And Stay In Your Place

"Like a bird that wanders from its nest is a man who wanders from his place."
Proverbs 27:8 (NKJV)

There is a saying "A place for everything and everything in its place" that carries the idea of the best way to keep things in order is to keep them where they belong.  There are certain places where things should be and it is important to know where that place is.  For example the refrigerator is in the kitchen, the bed is in the bedroom, and the shower is in the bathroom.  There would be some problems if the bed was in the bathroom, the refrigerator was in the bedroom, and the shower was in the kitchen, none of that would work well.

Proverbs 27:8 compares a bird that wanders from its nest to a man who wanders from his place.  Birds build nests as a place of safety for themselves and their young, the further a bird goes from its nest the more potential there is for that bird to have trouble and to be in danger.  We all have a place in life where we belong, naturally and spiritually, and if we go away from that place we can get into trouble.  If we have responsibilities with our family, at our church, or on our job then that is our place.  If we get away from our place by not fulfilling our responsibilities then we can find ourselves in trouble.

One of the best things we can do is to find our place in God's plan.  God helps us with this by giving us direction through His Word and by the Holy Spirit.  Once we are in our place we need to stay there, we do that by being faithful in what we do and by doing whatever we do for God with excellence.  We may look at others and think that they are great and that we want to do what they are doing; but that is their place and not our place, we need to stay where we are and do what we know is right to do.  To be successful we need to know our place, naturally and spiritually, and stay in our place.

Declaring Your Independence

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."
Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

July 4 in the USA is a National Holiday commonly known as Independence Day.  This is the day that commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence and when the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States declared their independence from England.  This was not when the War of Independence ended (that was in 1783) or even the actual day that the Declaration of Independence was signed (that was on August 2, 1776).  But, July 4 is the day that we remember and celebrate those things that happened and what they mean for us.

None of us who believe that Jesus is the Son of God were there when He walked the earth and no Christian today was alive to witness the crucifixion of Jesus or when He was raised from the dead.  But we can still remember and celebrate what Jesus has done and all that it means to us.  We can declare our independence from the devil and sin even though we live in a world that is still influenced by the devil and sin.  Being a Christian does not mean that we will never face another problem in life but we can live in the liberty the Jesus purchased for us through His blood.

The Thirteen Colonies declared themselves to be independent and free before they saw the actual results of their declaration.  In the same way, no matter what is happening in our life or what we may be dealing with, we must find out what the Bible has to say and then boldly make that our declaration.  What we need to do today is to declare our independence from any and everything that would try to harm or hinder us and to take a stand in faith about who we are in Christ; we must declare the truth of God's Word and walk in the liberty that has Jesus provided!

Words Without Wisdom

"Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom."
Job 34:35 (NKJV)

Have you ever met someone who likes to talk a lot?  Maybe you are or have been that kind of person.  At times most of us have been guilty of thinking that if we use enough words somehow that makes us either look smart or it helps us make a point and state our case.  The truth is that quantity does not always equal quality, this is true with words as well as with many other things.  For example, if you have 100 gold bars that would be great but if you had 100 rocks it would not mean much.  Or you could have just one bar of gold and it would still be more valuable than 100 rocks.

If you read the book of Job you will see that there was a lot of talking going on.  In the first two chapters of Job we see Job's problems and then his friends show up.  Then, from Job chapter 3 all the way through Job chapter 31, Job and his three friends talk, and talk, and talk.  But, they don't come up with any answers or solve any problems, they just talk, and talk, and talk!  There are a lot of different ideas that people have about Job and what happened to him and my goal is not to give any explanation about the book of Job but rather to point out that all of the talking they did produced nothing.

Many people talk a lot but they still don't really have anything to say, this was the case of Job and his friends as well as many people today.  It is nice to have something to say but is that something we say worth anything?  Is what we say helpful, constructive, and encouraging or are we like the situation we see in Job where there were a lot of words but no wisdom.  It is easy to find people who talk a lot but it is not so easy to find someone who really has something to say.  We need to speak the truth of God's Word to ourselves and others to be sure that we have something valuable to say.

What Is God Like?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation or shadow of turning."
James 1:17 (NKJV)

There are several ways that you can get to know someone.  One way is to spend time with them and see how they act.  You can get to know a person by talking to them and hearing them tell you what they think about different things.  You can also learn what someone is like by reading things they have written; what a person says on social media, if they have a blog, or if they have written books, anything someone writes will tell you about them and what they are like.  The key is to find out what the person is really like and not just what others might say about them.

Many people are not sure what God is really like.  Some people base their understanding of God on past experience, by watching the lives of Christians, and even by church teaching and tradition.  But those things are not necessarily the best methods of getting to know God; our past experiences may not be biblical, the lives of others may not accurately reflect who God is, and what a church teaches may just be man's ideas or traditions.  To really know and understand God we need to take a look at what the Bible says about who God is, what He is like, and what He does.

God has revealed Himself to us through His Word.  James 1:17 says that God gives good and perfect gifts, that shows us that if something bad comes into our life then we can be sure that God did not send it.  In Psalm 35:27 it tells us that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant, so we know that God wants us to prosper and succeed in life.  1 Peter 3:12 says that God's eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers, which shows us that God is watching over us and He is ready to hear and answer when we pray.  Don't take someone's word for what God is like, get to know God through His Word.

Prayer Projects

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;"
Colossians 4:2 (NKJV)

Whether it was on the job or at home, at one time or another pretty much everyone has had some type of project to do.  Depending on the work that needed to be done the project may have only taken a little bit of time or it may have lasted for quite a while.  We might start a project thinking it will take us a certain amount of time but once we begin the project we find that what is required to finish the work is more than we had planned on so the time we spend on that project is longer than originally anticipated.  But no matter what, for a project to be done right we have to stay with it until it is finished.

In Ephesians 6:18 Paul talks about praying with all kinds of prayer.  We always use the Word of God as our foundation for prayer, no matter what we are praying about we first find out what the Bible says and then we pray.  Many people are familiar with the prayer of faith where we ask God for something He promised in His Word; we pray and believe and that is the end of the prayer, once you have asked in faith you don't keep asking again and again, otherwise you did not ask in faith.  But there are some things that we pray about that become prayer projects and then we pray in a different way.

Paul said he prayed for people repeatedly (Ephesians 1:15, 16; Colossians 1:9) and Paul asked that people pray that he would have opportunities to speak and the right words to say (Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19), these things could be called prayer projects, things that can be prayed about often.  Some prayer projects like these are the kind that we just keep on praying about repeatedly and some prayer projects are the kind that we pray about several times and then see the result, which brings that prayer project to an end.  There are many different prayer projects we could have but no matter what, once we have that project in prayer we continue with it and expect to see results.

Are We There Yet?

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

When I was a child our family took different trips to visit relatives or to go on vacation.  Some trips were longer than others but one thing that happened on just about every trip was that I or one of my three brothers would ask our parents the question that every child asks, "Are we there yet?"  The problem was that we wanted to reach our destination sooner than we would and in our view the trip took too much time.  But as long as we were taking the right course we would get to where we needed to go, maybe just not as fast as my brothers or I had hoped.

God has a path and a plan for each of us and our goal in life should be to do the will of God and to follow His plan.  But, while there is a plan for our life there is no set time for that plan to come to pass and each person's plan is different.  We may be in the perfect plan and will of God and still think that it is taking too long to achieve all of the goals that God has given us.  Just like children who are impatient with the amount of time it takes to reach a destination, we too can lose our focus on what is really important if we get caught up in the wrong things.

Our part in the plan and will of God for our life is to recognize that plan and to then follow God's direction.  It is not up to us to decide what that plan should be or if it is working to our satisfaction, God's plan is not subject to our approval as to whether it is happening as fast as we think it should or in the way we think it should, this is often where we have problems.  Find the plan and will of God for your life through the Word of God and by listening to the Holy Spirit, then when you are on that path keep on going, knowing that God will help you reach your destination.