Do I Know You?

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.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NKJV) 

Have you ever been in the situation where you see someone, and they look somewhat familiar, but you are not sure if you really know them?  You see them, and you think to yourself, “Do I know you?”, because you are not sure who that person might be.  Then, suddenly, you recognize that person as someone you do know, but you are seeing them in a completely different situation than you are used to seeing them.  Your first reaction is that you don’t recognize them, but you then realize you do know them and you are just seeing them in a different way than you usually see them. 

One thing that many Christians struggle with is their identity in Christ.  Once we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have a new identity, a spiritual identity in Christ.  We are often so familiar with ourselves in our natural setting of life, and the way we have lived for so many years, that learning about our new identity in Christ can take some time.  When we start to learn about who we are in Christ, we are really seeing ourselves in a setting that is different from how we usually see ourselves. 

When we first learn about who we are as a new creation in Christ, it seems as if this somehow familiar to us, but we don’t recognize ourselves in that way.  Paul gives us a key in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17; from now on we don’t want to pay so much attention to who we are naturally, in the flesh, we want to know who we are in Christ.  We need to realize that our old identity is gone and we are now a new creation in Christ Jesus.  We need to get to know ourselves in Christ and recognize that as our true identity.

The Last Word

"And the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.'"
Luke 4:3-4 (NKJV) 

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where it seemed that they were determined to have the last word?  You may have even done this yourself and been that person who always had something that they wanted to say after the other person was done speaking.  Usually this is a negative thing, and just trying to be the person who has the final word for the sake of having the last word is not good, but it could very well be that it was necessary for you or the other person to have that last word to finish the conversation in the right way.

In Luke 4:1-13 we see Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil.  The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in the same ways that we are tempted and Jesus did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus successfully dealt with the devil and temptation, so if we want to overcome when we are tempted and face difficult situations, what Jesus did should be the pattern that we follow.  Why was Jesus successful in dealing with the devil?  Jesus was successful because He spoke God’s Word and made sure that it was the last word in the situation.

When we see the devil coming to Jesus with a temptation, like in Luke 4:4, it says “Jesus answered him”.  Every time the devil came against Him with something, Jesus always had an answer, Jesus always had the last word, and Jesus always spoke God’s Word.  Obviously, Jesus knew the Scriptures, and He must have known them quite well, or else Jesus would not have had an answer for what the devil said.  We too need to be sure we know the Word of God so that no matter what temptation or situation comes our way we know what the last word from God’s Word needs to be.

Singing The Same Song?

"Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king.  Therefore please let your words be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement."
And Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak."
2 Chronicles 18:12-13 (NKJV) 

If there is a group of some people singing, the most basic requirement is that they all sing the same song.  If they were all singing different songs, the result would be musical chaos.  But what if there was a group of fifty people with forty-nine of them singing the same song, but it was the wrong song?   What if there was only one person who was actually singing the song that was supposed to be sung?  Should the one person change their song?  No, the person singing the right song should continue singing that song and do what they can to help get the other singers to sing that correct song.

In the Old Testament there is a story about the King of Israel and the King of Judah planning to go into battle together.  There were many so called prophets who “prophesied” exactly what the King of Israel wanted to hear.  This group of four hundred prophets all “sang the same song”, so to speak.  But, the King of Judah asked for a prophet of God to come.  As this prophet of God, Micaiah, came to the two kings, he was urged say what everyone else was saying.  Micaiah’s reply was that he would only say what God wanted him to say.

There are many people who believe that if a lot people say the same thing it must be the right thing.  This happens inside and outside of the Church.  It is nice when everyone agrees on the same thing, but if that thing is wrong, and contrary to what God has said in His Word, then we should not be saying it.  People will sometimes do their best to try and fit in, but this is not always the best thing to do.  While we want to do what we can to live at peace with all men (Romans 12:18), there are times we will need to take a stand and say what God says, no matter what others may say or do.

Missing Parts

"For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,
night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?"
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 (NKJV) 

One of the first jobs I had was working in a store that sold auto parts.  Our store would be contacted by someone who was repairing a car, because they were missing something that was needed to complete their work.  These people that needed the parts were usually auto mechanics, and they called us to bring the necessary parts to them.  My job was to then deliver those parts to the mechanics so they would be able to do their job and finish their work.

In 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10, Paul said the Thessalonians needed something to “perfect”, or “complete thoroughly”, their faith, and Paul said he would bring what they lacked.  This is similar to what he said in Romans 1:11, where Paul said he wanted to impart to the people in Rome a spiritual gift so they would be established.  This shows us that there can be areas in our life and relationship with God where we can be missing some things.  This also shows us that God can use someone to bring to others what they may be missing in their faith.

If something is complete it is not missing anything, but if something necessary is missing, then that part needs to be found and put into its proper place.  God wants mature believers who are not lacking the things that they need to do the work He has planned for them to do.  We should all look for opportunities to take the abilities, knowledge, and wisdom that we have from God and bring that to others to help provide them with whatever they may be lacking in their faith.  Whatever it is that God has given us can be used to help others.

Keep On Sowing, Keep On Going

"There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.  And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.
Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father."

"Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him."
Genesis 26:1-3, 12 (NKJV) 

If you have ever been on a farm, or even planted a garden, you know that to reap a crop you first have to sow some seed.  But, when you sow seed in a field or plant something in a garden, you can’t just do that anywhere or any way you want.  There are certain places where things need to be planted and where seed should be sown.  Then, once you plant something in the right place, you have to take care of what was planted so it will grow.  You won’t reap a harvest overnight, but if you plant correctly you will reap a crop.

The story about Isaac in the time of famine as seen in Genesis 26 is sometimes used by people to talk about giving money and having a “hundredfold” return on that financial giving.  In my view, that is missing the point of what God talked to Isaac about.  In Genesis 26:1-3, we not only see that there was a famine in the land, but we also see that God told Isaac what to do and where to live.  During this famine, Egypt may have looked like a good place to go, but God told Isaac not to go to Egypt.

What I see as the most important lesson from the story about Isaac is that as Isaac was careful to follow God's direction and do what God told him to do, Isaac prospered.  In our own life, it may look like there are some good alternatives to what we are supposed to do, or it may look like things are not working the way that we think that they should, but we need to trust God.  If we are faithful to follow God's direction and do what He tells us to do, in His Word and by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will reap a harvest of success in doing the will of God in our life.

Walking in Love - Is Louder Better?

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal."
1 Corinthians 13:1 (NKJV) 

Have you ever been in a place where someone had the idea that louder is better?  It might be that someone thought that by talking louder the other person would hear them better.  Or it could be that someone thought that by turning up the volume of the music, that somehow this would make the music better.  The quality of speech, music, or anything else does not improve just because it gets louder, or even if there is more and more of it.  If something is good, it can be quiet and still be good, because the quality of the thing itself is what matters.

People call 1 Corinthians 13 the “love chapter” because love, the God kind of love, is described there.  Usually, people will focus on verses four through eight, but the entire chapter is talking about love.  The first verse of this chapter gives us a very important fact about love; if what we say is not said in love then we are just making a lot of noise and wasting our time.  Sometimes people think that if they just have more emotion or volume with what they say, or if they say something more and more, that somehow this makes what they say relevant, important, or valuable.

The words we use are important, but if we are saying something with the wrong motive, or just to prove we are right, then it does not matter how loud or lengthy it is, it is not worth listening to.  If we wrap our words in love, if we make it our aim to use our words to help and comfort others, we don’t have to be loud or even use a lot of words, the meaning will come through “loud” and clear.  Make sure that what you say is said with the right motivation and in love, and you will have a sweet sound to your words.

Full Coverage

"No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:10-11 (NKJV) 

There are all kinds of different insurance policies that you can buy.  When you purchase an insurance policy, it will tell you about all of the things that are covered, and what things are not covered by the policy.  The more things you want to have covered by your insurance, the more it will cost you.  The most expensive type of insurance is full coverage insurance, which does what its name says, it covers everything.  It may cost more to have everything covered, but that is the best kind of insurance.

We can read in the New Testament about all that God provided for us through Jesus.  As a part of the New Testament, we have the benefits and blessings of the Old Testament, and more.  In the Old Testament, God promised His people safety and protection, and that applies to us today as well.  In Psalm 91:10-11, God promises that no evil or plague will come to us, that is talking about full coverage!  God goes on to say that He gives angels charge over us to keep us, to protect us, in all of our ways, in everything we do, and everywhere that we go.

People might ask, “If all of this is really true, then why do we still have problems?”  The simple answer is because we still have the devil to deal with, and if we don’t know what we are covered for, we can’t take advantage of it.  Our response should be that it is great to see what God’s Word tells us belongs to us, and is there anything we need to do to activate this “policy”?  God has provided full coverage for us, and that is the best insurance policy of all!  We need to take advantage of everything that God has provided for us. 

Too Far To Quit

"And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!"
But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time."
Judges 13:22-23 (NKJV) 

For various reasons, more than once I have driven across several states, in the USA, on a single trip.  By the time I was half-way through the trip, I could hardly stand to drive any further, all I wanted to do was stop.  But that would not have made any sense, because I had gone too far to quit, and stopping half-way through the trip would be pointless.  Why should I stop once I had come so far and had done so much already?  The best thing was to finish the trip, which I did.

In the Bible we read the story of Samson.  Before Samson was born, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s parents to tell them what to do.  This was such an amazing event and it was so out of the ordinary that Samson’s father thought their life was over.  But Samson’s mother said that would not make any sense, because of what God had already done and told them.  Her thinking was, with all of the things God had already done and said, they had come too far for their life to end now.

So many times, it seems like we have reached the end of things and we can’t go on.  But, when we consider all that God has done for us through Jesus, how much God loves us, and all of the things that God has already done in our life, we should realize that God has brought us too far for us to quit now.  When things look dark, we need to realize that God is still with us and our journey with Him is not over!  God has invested too much in us to let things end now; we have a great, bright future with God!  

Digging For Treasure

"in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Colossians 2:3 (NKJV) 

There are people who dig for treasure, or valuable things, in various places, based on some information that they have.  It may be that there is evidence of a sunken ship, or maybe something was left behind or buried by someone in the past.  Based on the idea that there is something valuable to be found, people will invest their own money and their time looking for, and hoping to find, some treasure that is hidden away somewhere.  Then, if that treasure is found, the people who found it are rewarded for their efforts.

Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”, what an awesome statement that is!  The wisdom and knowledge that we need to live our life is found in Christ.  Colossians 3:1 goes on to say that our life, our true identity, is hidden in Christ.  With what these verses are telling us, we ought to invest our time and, if necessary, our money, in finding these treasures.  We have to dig into the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to show us who we really are, what we have, and can do, as a new creation in Christ.

The word “hidden” in Colossians 2:3 means, “a secret”.  A secret is not something that is seen or known openly, it has to be discovered, like a treasure.  Many people are seeking wisdom and knowledge, and others have said that they need to “find themselves”, but sadly these people are often looking in the wrong place, because all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that we need, as well as our true identity, are hidden in Christ.  Knowing that the Bible reveals to us everything Christ is, and who we are in Him, shouldn’t we take the time to seek out these hidden treasures?

Walking in Love - The Know It All

"For we know in part and we prophesy in part."
1 Corinthians 13:9 (NKJV) 

Have you ever met a “know it all” type of person?  Most of us have, and it is usually not a very pleasant experience.  Sadly, there are some people who think that they do in fact know it all and you really can’t tell them much, if anything, that they do not think that they already know.  The problem is that no one really knows it all, because there is always more to learn.  If someone has the “I know it all” attitude it also very often results in those people having a bad attitude.

Christians are called to walk in love.  This is not always the easiest thing to do, and we all have room to grow in this area.  One thing that has helped me to walk in love with others is what we read in 1 Corinthians 13:9, “we know in part”.  No one knows everything about every other person, and if we really understand this it can help us to walk in love.  We don’t know what other people are dealing with, and we don’t know all of the things that they may have gone through.

In 1 Corinthians 13 we can read about the love of God, and Romans 5:5 says that the love of God is in us.  But how does that work in our lives?  If we look at the characteristics of love in light of how we only know a part of what is going on with the other person, it can help us to be patient, kind, and so on.  We need to understand that we don’t know everything about other people and that they may not even realize how poorly they are behaving.  By recognizing that no one knows everything, we only see a part of things, it can help us to walk in love.

Push Or Pull?

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

My first trip to Germany, in 1995, was wonderful, and on the day I arrived, I went to exchange some money.  But no matter how hard I pushed on the door to the bank, it would not open, even though I was sure that the sign on the door said push.  When I stepped aside to read the sign in the window, about when the bank would open, someone came out of the door, and I realized that the sign said “pull” and not “push”.  Even though I had previously taken some German language classes, and I even recognized the words, I had misunderstood what the sign said.

When you learn a second language, it takes some practice to get really good at it.  You may know some words in the other language, but you have to keep on developing your language skills to become proficient in the language.  This is similar to what it is like when interpreting the Bible.  Many people have read at least some of the Bible, but to become skilled in correctly interpreting it, we need to continue reading and studying the Bible to rightly divide, to correctly interpret, the Word of God so we are not trying to “push” when we should “pull”.

Paul told Timothy to be diligent, to make the effort, to be able to correctly interpret the Bible.  Just like my problem with the German bank sign, many people misinterpret the Bible because they think they know at a glance what the Bible is saying, but they have never really taken the time to study and “rightly divide the Word of truth”.  This is an area that every Christian can, and should develop in, and you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to do it.  We must study God’s Word to be able to correctly interpret it.  

Growth And Development

"but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ -
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 4:15-16 (NKJV) 

When I was growing up, my parents did the same thing that a lot of parents do, they checked the growth of their children.  Our family had a spot in our house where at least once a year me and my three brothers would stand, and usually one of our parents would mark how tall we were.  We also had regular checkups with the doctor to see how we had grown as well as seeing how we had developed.  Just growing taller and getting older was not enough, there had to be some development along with the progression in height and age.

Growth and development are both important, naturally and spiritually.  Someone may have gotten born again ten years ago, but if there is no spiritual development in their life then something is wrong.  A Christian may have been in their church for many years, they may have been involved serving in the church in some way, and they may even know many Bible verses.  But, while this does show some growth, it is not necessarily showing any spiritual development.  As we see in Ephesians 4, we need to grow up spiritually and give our supply to the Body of Christ.

To have both spiritual growth and development in our life, we need more than just a number of years of being in a relationship with God.  Is our relationship with God stronger than ever before?  As we serve in our church, and even outside of the local church, is what we are doing making a positive contribution to what we are involved in, or are we just a warm body who fills a space?  We may know many Bible verses, but are we speaking the truth in love or just throwing verses at people to prove our personal point?  We need to check our spiritual growth and development to be sure we have both.

Knock Them All Down

"casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)

Bowling is a game you play by rolling a ball to knock down what are called “pins”.  Some people are very good bowlers because they are able to knock the most pins down again and again.  It is never a good thing to only knock down some of the pins, and no one who was a good bowler would purposely miss any pins and intentionally leave them standing.  It would be foolish for a bowler to say for some reason that they liked one or more of the pins and avoid knocking them down.

Just like a successful bowler has the goal of knocking down all the pins, Christians should have the goal of knocking down every thought that is out of place and that tries to gain superiority over the knowledge of God, which we find in the Word of God.  Any idea that does not line up with God’s Word has to be dealt with and not allowed to remain as a part of our thinking.  The first thing in this process is to know what the Bible says, to know what the right kind of thought is and what is not.

When you are bowling, once you knock down all the pins down, they get set up again.  In the same way, the devil will try to fill our minds with the same wrong thoughts repeatedly.  How do we bring our thoughts "into captivity"?  First of all, we do not just let any thought float through our head unchallenged, we check every thought against what we find in the Bible.  Secondly, we fill our mind with the truth of God's Word and make that a continual process for the rest of our life.  Don't let any thought into your mind, don't let any thought exalt itself against the knowledge of God.