Cycle of Character

 

And Jesus said, “Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”  (Matthew 15:16-20)

Christ was speaking to a group in this passage that had a misunderstanding of where the defilement or evilness of a man originated.  It is not that which we put into our mouths for sustenance but instead is that which we put into our minds for thought!

I constantly must remind myself that what I put into my mind will eventually come out in my words or my actions.  Looking at this concept in a little more detail we can see it as a cycle starting with that which is put in (the input)…continued input results in thoughts…continued thought results in action…continued action results in habit…and continued habit results in character (who we are).  Each step along the cycle is typically the direction we take however, each step also provides a means of “feedback” to the input step which could result in a change and recommencement of the cycle…a chance for us to change from the unGodly to the Godly.

The key to this cycle is the control of the inputs!  Not all unGodly inputs can be stopped, but they can be controlled and tossed out of the mind by not dwelling on them and replacing the resultant thoughts with thoughts of Scripture.  This is emphasized by what Christ said in this passage but is also echoed in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

We must use care when we choose that which will be the inputs into our minds or hearts for that is where the cycle of character begins!  The more we delve into the richness of Scripture and dig out the goodness within showing us our Creator, our Saviour, our LORD, our God the better our hearts and minds will be to shape our actions, our habits, and our character to that which is pleasing to Him whom we serve! (Reference Luke 6:43-45)

Faithful is the Lord

1 Samuel 17:37

David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

Is the Lord faithful? Of course we know that He is. But do we forget what He has done for us in times past? He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. David remembered that the Lord had given him victory against the lion and the bear, and he was confident that He would be faithful again and give him victory over Goliath.

How often do forget what the Lord has done for us? Do we worry and fret over our circumstances. The same God that has delivered us in the past will come to rescue us from the current giant that is looming over us. How sweet it is to trust the Lord and rest in His faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Have you been to Tabernacle?

Hebrews 9:11-14

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

What a great truth we see in the above passage. Our sanctification is sealed once and for all by the blood of Jesus Christ. Sure, we would not try to sacrifice a live animal, but what do we put in place of Christ’s eternal and final sacrifice? Works of the law? Christian service? Nothing we do can ever come close to the work that Jesus has already done. What freedom! What joy! Jesus paid it all!

The Gift of Life

Psalm 23:1-4
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

The past few weeks have been some of the most amazing time of my life, as I have been a first hand witness to the start of a new life. My wife gave birth to our first child 6 weeks ago. As I have watched her grow and adapt to her new life in this world, I cannot help but think of the care that our Heavenly Father has for us. As her father I have had to be there to meet her every need throughout the day. She is completely helpless without my wife and I. What a glorious example of how our Father cares for us. We are completely helpless without Him to carry us and meet our every need. When we try to do things on our own we are left completely helpless and destitute. We are foolish to think that we can do anything on our own without the help of our Savior. For you see we are just like little babies lying in the crib, with only the ability to cry for help. Let us never forget who we really are and who He really is!

Quiet Time

What is the importance of your personal worship time with God? What’s the importance of your family’s worship time with God? I would guess that most Christians fail to set aside a time of devotion and Bible study and that even more families fail to set aside a time to of group devotion and Bible study. As a result, you can see the problems that this world faces, for the problems of society are not fixed with more politicians, rather through God-fearing people getting back to seeking God.

It’s interesting to consider that the time that you fail to set aside for secret time with God will ultimately be filled with something else that is not honoring to God. As a result, many Christians slip into a secret sin. The same goes for entire families.

Every person, or family, has a secret time, and in that secret time, it can be filled with the sweetest moments in communion with God, or it can be filled with the shame that you bring upon yourself through secret sin, which will ultimately become habit-forming. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, backbiting, slander, gossip, and the list could go on, will take the place of that time where you should be in secret communion with God. How can we expect God to bless us publicly unless we’ve honored Him in private.

Matthew 6 is a great chapter on prayer and how to pray, including the prayer that Jesus has taught us to pray and I encourage you to read the entire chapter. For now, meditate upon Matthew 6:6,

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

God bless you all, and have a wonderful day!

A Love Note From God

February has been crowned by the greeting card companies and the florists as the month we celebrate LOVE!  If love makes the world go round and if love is the most enduring of all gifts and if God is love, then love should be important to us every day of every year.  In truth, love is best illustrated by one’s actions and not just words.  Words are spoken quickly with all their sincerity and emotion, but often grow cold with selfishness and unfulfilled expectations.

Thank the Lord that real love was demonstrated to a sinful world in the gift of Jesus Christ.  He not only spoke words of love, but He lived them out before the eyes of his disciples.  He put it this way, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  Loving someone is a choice where we give our attention, affections, and allegiance to that special person.  When Christ died on the cross for our sins, He was demonstrating with His actions His love for us in spite of our sinfulness (Romans 5:6-8).  God the Son, sinless and undefiled, became sin for us “that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

The Bible contains these love notes in every book of the Bible – God stating with words His affections for His people and then acting upon these statements; but I wonder, how often do we let days go by that through our words and actions, God does not receive our affections, our attention, and our allegiance?  He loves us with an everlasting love, but how consistent is our love for Him?  May we remember today and everyday that “we love him, because he first loved us” (I John 4:19).

THE MARKS OF A MAN OF GOD

Scripture Reading: I Timothy 6:11-14
Text: I Timothy 6:11 “But thou O man of God…”

There is no greater designation any man could ever desire than the term, “man of God.” Moses was called a “man of God” as was Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and Shemaiah of the Old Testament. The writers of scripture were called “holy men of God.” Here the apostle Paul gives this title to the young preacher, Timothy, and then shows him the things required of a man of God. We could accurately say that these things are the marks of a man of God. So just what does Paul say that the marks of a man of God are?

I. He is marked by what he flees from- I Timothy 6:11″But thou O man of God, flee these things…” The man of God is marked by what he flees from. The apostle Paul specifically speaks here of the love of money and in another place of fleeing from “youthful lusts” (II Timothy 2:22). The word for “flee” in both cases is “phuego” from which we get our word “fugitive.” A fugitive is one who is on the run constantly. A man of God has to run from some things. The love of money and things will destroy him and youthful lusts will ruin him. He must ever be on the run from these things.

II. He is marked by what he follows after- I Timothy 6:11 “but follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” The word “follow” means to pursue. To be a man of God is to be pursuing the qualities of Christ in your life.  It is not enough to flee from some things if you are not pursuing the right things. Nature abhors a vacuum and so does the heart of man. If the right things do not occupy our hearts the wrong things will. We must be in active pursuit of the character of Christ in our lives

III. He is marked by what he fights for- I Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith.” The man of God must have a fighting kind of a spirit or he will never last. The Christian life itself is a fight. It is a fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. He who gives in will lose this fight. But Paul says that it is a good fight. A lot of men are fighting for some cause. I get appeals all the time to fight for some cause. But I must choose my fights carefully and the fight I must be engaged in if I would be a man of God is the “good fight of faith.” This is the fight for the “faith once delivered to the saints.” There is a battle on today. It is a battle to rob us of old fashioned Bible standards and convictions. It is a fight to rob us of our time tested Book, the old KJV. It is a battle to steal away our old songs of the faith and replace them with weak, watered down, experiential; music. The man of God must be a fighter to “keep that which has been entrusted to him.” The average fundamentalist ceases to be a fundamentalist because they get tired of fighting. The man in the average home will lose the battle for right in his home because he gets tired of fighting. The average preacher will lose the battle in his church because he gets tired in the fight. But if we would be “men of God” we must be able to say with the apostle Paul at the very end, “I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course.”

Love

“Love is a many-splendored thing,” the song goes.  I have been reminded how love is shown many times in the past few months.  Being diagnosed with breast cancer in October, having surgery in November, and recovering in December and January, many have shown their love for me.

My husband showed his love by being with me every step of the way.  He has been patient, kind, and loving in all he has done for me.  He has prayed with me and for me in the hours of uncertainty and has always had faith that I would make it through this experience.  My grown daughters have waited on me, done house work, put meals on the table, done laundry, and showed complete, “mothering” love as I have for them.  They assured me it would be all right and that we would all be stronger because of this trial.  My son-in-law showed his love for me in a song he sang, “Don’t Be Afraid,” in church very early in this journey.  My grandbabies were a source of unconditional love when they did not even understand what was going on.

My church family was a major source of love and encouragement in the flowers and plants that were given, cards that were sent, well-wishes spoken to Pastor and the girls, meals that were brought to the house, visits that were made to uphold and encourage, phone calls made to check on us, errands run for us, things done at the house, and the list goes on.  And friends around the world have shown love and concern by calling, emailing, and sending cards.

During this month, when so much emphasis is placed on love, let’s not forget to show love to others.  First, of course, we need to share the gospel with the unsaved.  As Christians, we need to show our love by acting.  Some small act of kindness by you may be a huge blessing to another!

I John 5:1-3

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

The Revelation of the Creation

Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. -Psalm 19:1-2

Truly, “all creation is an outstretched finger pointing to God.”  God left not himself without witness (Acts 14:17) that all men might be left without excuse (Romans 1:20).

We hear far too much nowadays about Mother Nature and far too little about God the Father.  “The landscape has its praise – but not its Author.”  How tragic that men refuse to recognize the One whose glory sparkles and shines in all they see.  “Creation is divine self-revelation.  And we many say with all reverence that God acts when fountains leap, and birds sing, and stars shine.  Do but look with opened eyes and behold the Lord walking through the fields of golden grain.  Look and pray:  O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all:  the earth is full of thy riches (Psalm 104:24).

What’s Your First Reaction?

Daniel 6:10

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his window being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

I love the book of Daniel.  Daniel is one of those Bible characters that I look forward to meeting one day in heaven.  From the first time we are introduced to Daniel, he is portrayed in his faithfulness regardless of his circumstances.  He had influence on his friends who, in turn, stood for right as young people.  There are many years of Daniel’s life that are not recounted for us in Scripture.  But I believe that we can conclude that he remained faithful in those silent years.

When Daniel is in his nineties, the other rulers in the kingdom became jealous of Daniel and his excellence and sought to find fault in him.  Daniel’s clear testimony was evident in the way the wicked rulers sought to create an issue between Daniel’s God and the king’s decree.  The story is a familiar one, but let me point out again a testimony of Daniel’s faithfulness in his first reaction to this problem – “he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before His God, as he did aforetime.”  This difficult circumstance did not shake the foundation of this faithful believer.  He had “purposed in his heart” as a teenager to follow the Lord even in a pagan land.  And now as an old man, he knew that God would care for him because of his faithfulness.

Do you and I react to circumstances that cross our paths like Daniel?  Is our first reaction to “take it to the Lord in prayer”?  I have to admit that often I try to find the solution on my own.  Many times I find myself in a bigger mess than I started with because of my lack of faith in God.  If Daniel’s God was powerful enough to protect his friends in the fire and shut the mouths of the lions, is He not worthy of my faith and trust in the little bumps in my road?  Don’t forget that we serve the same God that Daniel did!  May we trust Him and be faithful in every aspect of our lives today.