Don't Do Things the Hard Way

 

The Bible is full of stories of people who had to learn God’s ways through desperate trials and errors. I have never been a fan of suffering, so I usually obtain a multitude of counsel, starting with the Holy Spirit, before I do anything (Proverbs 15:22; John 14:24-26). We can also learn from the mistakes of others. For some people, it takes God longer to break the habit of self-reliance. For others, we quickly recognized the insufficiency of our own efforts and chose to rely on God instead. We are nothing without God. We put on the mind of Christ and follow His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Philippians 2:5).

Living in the fleshly, carnal way of life reaps corruption (Galatians 6:8). Living in the eternal, spiritual realm of life brings us a harvest of life and peace (Romans 8:6). We follow the leading of God’s Spirit through every issue we face during each day (Galatians 5:16,25). We do not internalize the negativity in the world around us, or those discouraging words whispered in our ear by Satan or planted in our mind by his emissaries. Instead, we think about whatever is true, holy, wholesome, divine, commendable or admirable (Philippians 4:8). Refuse to allow anything else to enter your thoughts or affect your attitude and mood.

Realize that the corruption going on at work, at home, in the community and maybe even in your church is from the pit of hell. Satan is inspiring the motives and attitudes in the hearts of those to whom you are relating. Rise above the ooze of profanity and degradation around you by keeping your mind on how good God is and that He has a purpose for you in this situation. His reason for you may be simply to earn a paycheck. It may be to live in such a way that the people around you will see God’s light shining within you. It may be to comfort a grieving workmate, family member or even a stranger with the love of God.

Obeying the Spirit is not always easy. We maintain our faith in Him even if He requires us to persist, suffer, make a commitment and give up what we hold dear in this life. He always pays us for each good thing we do, and blesses our faithfulness (Luke 12:32; Malachi 3:10). God created us in His image as a vessel, a branch, a slave, a light and the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Him we live, function and have our existence (Acts 17:28). Our purpose for living is to express God’s nature and character to the world around us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, prior to knowing You as our Savior, our humanity held no good things. We were corrupt and evil and followed the leading of our father the devil (John 8:44-45). We thank and praise You with our whole hearts for giving Yourself as a ransom for us on Calvary’s cross. You were made sin, so that we may die to sin and live free from its curse and our bondage to it (Galatians 3:13). Now You dwell within the hearts of every Born Again Believer. Remind us that we owe You a debt we can never repay, and to realize that our life on earth is a very short time to serve You in return for what You did for us in eternity.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are without sin, and the fullness of His power to live righteously dwells within us. – Colossians 1:28

A Positive Life

Read: Hebrews 12: 1-2

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” - 2 Corinthians 10:5

Today’s society is full of harmful influence, advice and conditions. We have so many negative thoughts circulating in our mind. We are pulled in so many unconstructive directions. We are bombarded with disheartening situations that pull us into depression and hopelessness. Satan, the god of this age, blinds the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the truth of the gospel of Christ, or that He is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). As Christians, we can rise above his deception.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us how to change our focus, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…" When we have pessimistic influences, words or circumstances in our life, we do not have to dwell on them. We can follow the advice of scripture and change our focus away from our trials. Instead, we center our focus on Jesus and all that He means to us.

We allow God’s Spirit to change our attitude from anxiety, depression and desperation, to faith in His unconditional love and provision in our life. Jesus gave us an example when He changed His focus. "Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

In the Law of Moses hanging a criminal on a tree or cross was reserved for the most serious crimes, "And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for he who is hanged is accursed of God, so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance" (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

When Jesus hung on the cross, He was totally alone. God could not look upon an accursed thing. Rather than focusing on the cross and the fact that His Father had to turn away from Him because of the shame of the whole worlds’ sin, Jesus changed His focus to the joy that awaited Him back in Heaven. Therefore, He was able to endure the circumstances of this horrendous scourging, crucifixion and death.

Thankfully, God shortened the time of Jesus’ suffering. The trial of Jesus lasted less than one day, from some time in the middle of the night until He was placed on the cross around noon and he died about six hours later. Even Pilate was amazed that Jesus died so soon (Mark 15:44). God is truly merciful to His children.

When something is happening that makes you uncomfortable or unhappy in any way, you have three choices:

1.  Give in and be a victim.

2.  Fight it every step of the way.
3.  Follow the Serenity Prayer and pray for wisdom and the ability to change the things you can change, and then to accept the things you cannot change by changing your focus about them.

As I stated earlier, Satan allures us into focusing on the negative aspects of the circumstances in our lives. God, however, encourages us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. This is how we are able to test and approve what is God's good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:22).

Paul tells us to edit our thoughts in order to transform our mind. We conform our mind to the world and to Satan’s lies by listening to negative, accusing, perverted thoughts from secular humanism and Satan’s whispers to our imagination. Paul encourages us, though, to measure our thoughts against this simple test and to dismiss any thought that does not meet this standard (Philippians 4:8):

1. Is it true?

2. Is it noble?
3. Is it right?
4. Is it pure?
5. Is it lovely?
6. Is it admirable?
7. Is it excellent or praiseworthy?

As we renew our mind and put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippains 2:5), we start hearing and being led by the Holy Spirit. Helping us to know the will of God is the Holy Spirit’s priority. Paul promises that if we conform our mind to the mind of Christ, then "the God of peace will be with you" (Philippains 4:9). We cannot do this on our own, however, because Satan is very deceptive. We need help from the Holy Spirit.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to indwell mortal man. He lives in the spirit of every Believer. The Holy Spirit helps us to discern which thoughts are lies from Satan, and which thoughts are of God. The next time you realize that there is a war going on in your mind, pull out Paul's measuring stick and compare your thoughts with it. Is it true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? Then think about such things; otherwise, dismiss the thought from your mind. It is not worthy of your time or attention.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Your Spirit of truth guides us into all truth (John 16:13). He is our Counselor whom the Father sent in Your name. He teaches us all things and reminds us of every verse in God’s Word that we ever meditated on (John 14:26-27). Help us to throw out all those thoughts that do not measure up to Your truth. We will know that we have finished the task when the peace of God again rules in our heart (Philippians 4:7).

Thought for the Day:

Thoughts are powerful. Are yours inspiring transformation or pessimism? 




Thank you, Bill Ballew, for the use of your photo.