Reconciling Love and War..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Reconciling Love and War

Dr. Charles Stanley

Luke 6:27-31

One area of confusion about war is the apparent discrepancy between Jesus’ words and God’s approval of battle in the Old Testament. Can such dissimilar teachings be reconciled? How can the God who told Israel to destroy the Canaanites be the same one who said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (v. 27)?

To clarify this issue, we must distinguish between commands issued to nations and instructions given to individuals. The Lord has bestowed certain responsibilities upon governments. He calls them ministers of
God for good and entrusts them with avenging evil (Rom. 13:4). But to individuals, He says, “Never take your own revenge” (12:19).

People are killed in war, but this isn’t the same as murder. A soldier on the battlefield carries out his duties under the authority of his government (Rom. 13:1-2). Murder, on the other hand, is an individual’s vengeful response to anger or jealousy and is motivated by a desire to destroy another person.

When governments avenge wrong, innocent people are protected, but when individuals seek their own revenge, they destroy themselves and others. In Luke, Jesus was speaking about personal conflicts, not national wars. He knows that loving our enemies is the only way to protect ourselves from bitterness.

Would we prefer to turn the responsibilities around—are we quick to fight personal battles, but slow to affirm the avenging of evil nationally? Sometimes the only way for a country to have peace is to go to war, but we’ll never experience inner peace if we battle with individuals who wrong us.

Me: Protecting your person or home or friends with a gun. Following 2nd Amendment and our laws falls into above. Government Ordained.

The Truth of Sanctification..... Craig Denison

 The Truth of Sanctification

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

We have a great High Priest who constantly intercedes on our behalf. The Son of God and Man loves you more deeply than you can fathom. He prays for you, that you might walk in the abundant life his death affords you. And in John 17 we get a glimpse into the fullness of his desire for all those who would believe in him. As we dive deeply into the riches of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer this week, may your heart be awakened and your life be transformed by the riches of God’s love.

Scripture:“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” >John 17:14-19

Devotional:

There is a level of freedom from sin in Christ that most of us in the body have yet to reach. Jesus prayed in John 17:14-19,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus declares a truth about you and me that we have yet to walk in fully: that our sanctification is linked to his consecration. He declares that we are not of the world just as he is not, that he has sent us into the world as he was sent, and prays that we would be sanctified in the truth.

For too long we have sat idle with the incredible gift of freedom bought at the highest price by the blood of Christ and left it unwrapped and thereby not experienced. By the blood of Jesus, we are transformed from being of the world, or of the conditions and brokenness of the world, to being given a new nature and identity of righteousness and holiness. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And later in verse 21 Paul writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The gift of holiness is yours to be continually unwrapped and experienced day after day. Your portion is righteousness and peace in the Holy Spirit, not the weight and consequences of this sin-wrought world.

So how do we open this incredible gift of holiness? How do we pursue sanctification? What does it mean to be sanctified in the truth? It starts with renewing our mind every day to the truth of our new nature in Christ. We will never be able to live righteously if we continually believe we are sinners by nature. Christ has given us a new nature and filled us with the Holy Spirit who offers us freedom from sin in the midst of every temptation. But unless we spend time in the secret place renewing our mind and allowing God’s love to satisfy and transform us, righteousness will only ever be a lofty goal that feels unachievable.

Next, we must pursue obedience to the Holy Spirit every single time he guides us. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 says,

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

We must not disregard the leadership of the Holy Spirit toward purity. If you feel like you shouldn’t watch a TV show or movie, then don’t. If the Spirit takes away your peace about anything you are doing, follow his guidance. Whatever you are doing in that moment might not be sin, but it might lead you down a path to sin. Trust the guidance of the Spirit. Follow where his peace, presence, and word take you. And pursue obedience and freedom at all costs. May you experience sanctification in the truth today as you meditate and spend time fellowshipping with the Spirit in guided prayer.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the truth of Scripture about your righteousness. Allow God’s word to transform the way you think about yourself and sin. Allow it to lay a foundation for your present pursuit of sanctification and break the bonds of past weaknesses and sin.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” >2 Corinthians 5:17

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” >Galatians 5:1

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” >John 8:36

2. Ask for forgiveness for any sin you have in your life. Spend time receiving God’s forgiveness and allow him to lay a foundation for righteousness. Ask him why you struggle with certain temptations. Ask him what the path to freedom is for you.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” >1 John 1:9

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” >1 Corinthians 10:13

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” >James 1:12-16

3. Spend time resting in the presence of God. Allow his love to fill you up, satisfy you, and transform you. Take note of how much more satisfying the presence of God is than anything of the world.

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” >Acts 3:19-20

“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” Psalm 73:28

The God you serve loves you and longs to empower you and free you from every sin that entangles you to the brokenness of the world. Therefore, may you be filled with joy at the truth of who you are in Christ. May you pursue obedience and righteousness with fervor and devotion. And may you experience the abundant life available to you as you are continually sanctified in the truth.

Extended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4

The Struggle I’ve Yet To Outgrow..... SHAE TATE

 The Struggle I’ve Yet To Outgrow

SHAE TATE

“You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Psalm 145:16 (NIV) 

I’ve been a Christian since before my age was in double digits.

Throughout this time, I’ve outgrown different seasons of life, including homework from school, the ache of my first heartbreak, college years and even the awkward beginnings of adulthood. I’ve walked through friendship breakups and family devastation and made it to the other side.

But there’s one struggle I have yet to outgrow, break up with or discontinue. And that’s the difficult relationship I have with my body.

Struggling with body image as a follower of Jesus feels especially vulnerable. I can recount truth-soaked passages of Scripture like Psalm 139, telling me that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made …” (Psalm 139:14, NIV), but there’s still something inside of me that feels incredibly broken.

I’ve ruminated on what I wished was different …
I’ve restricted myself during meal times …
I’ve exercised as punishment instead of for enjoyment …

And I’ve even believed at times that women who look how I wish I did are more loved, more successful and must have more self-control than I do.

Spiritually, I know God has redeemed my soul through the greatest miracle of all: Jesus. But physically, I ache with wondering why I still fight through such a broken relationship with my own body.

Recently, though, I’ve realized I’ve been thinking about this wrong. I’ve been trying to treat a spiritual problem with physical solutions.

I don’t know how this specifically resonates with you, but lately, I’ve found myself in circles of Christian friends where I discovered I was not the only one struggling with this. Walking with Jesus does not make us exempt from struggles because we are Christians. But it does give us a place to anchor ourselves when we feel disoriented or discouraged by what we’re feeling and facing.

I completely missed that although this body image struggle may be housed in my physical body, God deeply cares about it spiritually. And in the complexity of my own journey, I found my way to the words of Psalm 145:16: “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”

God is the only one who can interrupt chaotic cycles we find ourselves in and interject them with what we really long for: lasting satisfaction.

So I started bringing God into this ongoing journey of mending my relationship with my body. And through that, there are a few beautiful truths I want to share with you:

• It’s OK if we don’t feel like our body is good. God is simply inviting us to come into agreement with the truth that He has already declared our bodies good. (Genesis 1:31a)
• No matter how many times I wish my body was different, God doesn’t. In fact … He delights in me. (Psalm 18:19)
• His faithfulness is not absent in how He made my body. His faithfulness is revealed in how He made my body. (Psalm 145:13b)

This part of my story is very much in progress. I’ve yet to outgrow it; however, I am learning in it. And if that’s where you are today, I want to share a few practices that have really helped me:

• Laying down the temptation to compare myself to others and instead focusing on healthy, sustainable habits for myself. (Galatians 1:10)
• Naming disordered thinking what it is so that I can reorder my thoughts towards things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. (Philippians 4:8)
• Asking God to purify my heart rather than focusing my attention on perfecting my fleeting, earthly body. (2 Corinthians 7:1; Psalm 51:10)

Friend, whatever struggle you find yourself feeling like you have yet to outgrow today, invite Jesus right in the middle of it. We don’t have to wait for things to be tidy for Him. We may stumble our way through our struggles, but even stumbling is still movement.

Father God, I thank You today for my body. Thank You for all that it allows me to carry, accomplish and do for Your Kingdom. I pray for fresh eyes that see my body the way You do … good. When my mind wanders to thoughts that are not of You, please help me to recall the truths I uncovered in Your Word today. Thank You for being faithful and close to me during my struggles. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Where to Find Joy..... By: Anne Peterson

 Where to Find Joy (Galatians 5:22)

By: Anne Peterson

Today's Bible Verse: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness... - Galatians 5:22

Did you ever have anyone ask you where your joy is? Maybe you started looking within yourself, or even around, trying to locate this important part of your Christian walk. Maybe you wondered why some people seem to exude joy every time you see them, but the same can’t be said about you.

It’s not like we can put up posters everywhere trying to find our missing joy.

My Bible teacher, Lois, read the words of Hebrews 12:2 to me: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning it’s shame and sat down at the right hand of our Father” (Hebrews 12:2). And then she asked me a question. Do you know what that joy was?

It was us! Jesus went through all he did because he was thinking about those of us who would one day accept him. We are the joy that was set before him.

Our opening verse tells us where to find joy. It’s a fruit we will develop as we walk with Christ. It’s true that some display joy, no matter what is going on in their lives. How do they do it? Well maybe they worked through their trial or loss. It’s probably fair to say they didn’t feel joyful the moment their trials started.

Some of the most joyful people I’ve met are those who have gone through some of the most difficult circumstances. And there are some who are still in those difficult circumstances, too. So it’s not the absence or presence of our circumstances that determines our joy. It has to be what we focus on. Where we rest our faith.

I love the words to the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus written by Helen H. Lemmel.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

in the light of His glory and grace.

Remember being a new believer? We believed God could do anything. We couldn’t shut up about the Lord, sharing about him with anyone who would give us a few minutes. Were we joyful then? Yes, we were ecstatic.

But then trials started appearing in our lives. Sometimes heartbreaking things. And God showed us day after day that he would be our sufficiency (2 Corinthians 3:5). It took time for some of us to realize we could not do it all. God lovingly let us come to the end of ourselves so we could see that He is the one who would meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

God would be the one to direct our paths when we trusted in Him wholeheartedly (Proverbs 3:5-6). And we came to realize without Him we could do nothing (John 15:5).

Prior to learning that truth, we might have thought without Him we can do less. Or without him, we lacked something. But to know without Him we can do nothing? That was a hard lesson, but an essential one to walking with God.

Joy is a fruit of God’s Spirit, one we will display as we continue to walk with the Lord. Is joy the same as happiness? No.

Christian author and speaker Jill Briscoe explained the difference between happiness and joy. She said, “Happiness is when things happen to happen the way you want them to happen and you feel happy. But joy is when things don’t happen to happen the way you want them to happen, but you feel joyful. Joy is not dependent on our circumstances, but despite our circumstances.”

The Holy Spirit produces joy in our lives in his timing. In order for us to develop God’s fruit, we need to read and apply God’s Word to our lives. One stepping stone is thankfulness. God tells us in every situation to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Many years ago, I used to think that when I had less problems, then I would be joyful. But Paul learned in whatever state he was in to be content (Philippians 4:11). And his life was not always easy. Paul actually sang in prison (Acts 16:25).

It just occurred to me that we were the joy set before Jesus. And He is the joy set before us. What are you thinking about?

 Father, would you help me,

when others look at me?

Help me to be joyful,

so my joy is what they see.

Help me to be grateful
 with what you choose to do.

And Lord, when others look at me,

let others see just you.   
 —Anne Peterson © 2021

Labeled..... by John UpChurch

Labeled
by John UpChurch

After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. Ephesians 5:29-30

Early in their marriage, Kate* discovered her husband, Jim, had a pornography addiction. She confronted him about it; they prayed; and he promised to change. For several months, Jim seemed to be doing just that by throwing himself into his ministry position. Their marriage returned to normal.

But the façade soon collapsed. Kate began suspecting something when she discovered Jim had been to a questionable restaurant several times with some of the other members of the church staff. She searched his computer and found hundreds of porn sites in the browser history. She also came across personal items belonging to another woman in his car.

When confronted, Jim begged for forgiveness. Kate moved out but agreed to counseling—if Jim would be serious this time. But he wasn’t. He was late when he did show up for the counseling sessions. Mostly, he just didn’t come.

Kate filed for divorce—and picked up a label. Many members of the church where Jim worked couldn’t believe he would do anything. So, they blamed the divorce on Kate. They knew she had her eye on someone else for months. They knew why she really wanted a divorce.

And that label went with Kate. Thanks to the power of the Internet, the certainty of Kate’s actions spread to other friends and family members. Jim, for his part, did nothing to dissuade the rumors, and Kate refused to slander Jim to the church—even if he’d hurt her, even if it meant wearing the label. 

Kate eventually moved back to her hometown, but even there, enough people knew her past to keep the stories and “certainties” churning. They knew who she was and what she’d done. Jim stepped down from the church staff, ostensibly because of the turmoil, but picked up his own label: poor, discarded husband.

Years later, Kate still wears her label. She remarried, but for many people, she’s still the woman who ran out on her husband, who didn’t fight hard enough, who really had ulterior motives for leaving him. Even after Jim left ministry and church altogether, the reason behind his apostasy fell at her feet. She’d been labeled, and that was enough.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Church can be a scary place because the process of living life together is messy. Husbands and wives cheat. Doubts bubble up. Irrational fears overcome. We’re joined together at our most vulnerable point: trust.

We’re all tempted to categorize events and people, especially when something goes wrong. Categorizing makes it all seem safer, so different from us. But the purpose of the church isn’t just for when things are going well; it’s for when things mess up. Once we categorize and label, we’ve made things seem tidier in our heads, but that tidiness rarely exists in real life.

For Kate, healing took years—all because those she trusted fit her neatly into the box where they wanted her to be. And for Jim, labeling meant he never dealt with his sin.

For Further Reading

John 8:1

A Prayer to be Firm in Your Faith..... By Tiffany Thibault

 A Prayer to be Firm in Your Faith

By Tiffany Thibault

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. - Isaiah 7:9b

This world and its politics, philosophies and priorities seem to be spinning out of control, much like a snowball rolling down a hill. As that snowball is rolling down, it gathers more snow with each turn, growing larger and larger until it is massive and uncontrollable. As that snowball is rolling down, it gains speed, becoming dangerous to anyone or anything in its path.

Turn on any news channel and you will see the raw pain and the anger in the hearts and lives of so many. People are so hurt, and they need some real solutions. Everyone has an opinion on how to fix the problems, but in their well-meaning words and efforts, someone else becomes hurt.

There has never been a better time in your life than right now to stop and take a moment of reflection. How firm, how solid is your faith in God? Do you know what you believe? Do you know what is true about God? Have you grown your faith, increased your knowledge of doctrine, and strengthened the miracle of your testimony? Have you studied the Bible for yourself and learned to love and embrace its truths in your life? Isaiah 7:9b says this: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

There is a battle going on in this world of evil versus good. As followers of Jesus, we know that He alone is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) History has always been filled with evil men bent on destruction. History has also been filled with Godly people making a difference in the lives of those around them, not only through good works, but through allowing their firm faith to guide others to the Lord.

Is your faith firm enough to stand against the tidal wave of evil in this world? (1 John 5:19)

Is your faith firm enough to know that regardless of the situation, that God will never leave you or forsake you? (Hebrews 13:5)

Is your faith firm enough to sustain you though no one goes the same path as you? (Matthew 7:14)

If you are not firm in your faith, then when the troubles in life come your way, you will be like someone trying to balance on a raft going over a waterfall. You will not make it. Every single situation that comes your way will either build your faith or chip away at it. If you want your faith to be firm, then deliberate effort needs to be made to do so. Just as one is intentional about other goals in their life, growing faith needs to be made a priority now more than ever. Your soul requires it, the struggling child in your home needs to see your faith, the hurting neighbor is looking for it, and the desperate co-worker is watching you to see if your faith is firm enough so they can grab hold of the truths you say that you believe, to help them as well.

God said in Luke 12:20, “This night your soul is required of you.” Death will come for each of us one day. How ready will you be? The time is now, today. Open up the Bible and study it, for in it you will find the truths that will change your life for today, tomorrow and for eternity.

Dear Lord,

I want to know you more. I want to be sure of what I believe about you and your Word. Help me to apply my thoughts and my time so that I can study your truths, so that I can increase my faith. Help my unbelief Lord. Help me to take what I know about you and consistently live out those truths every day of my life. Help me to see my situations as opportunities to see you move in my life. Help me to be bold in sharing what I believe to those around me.

In Your Name, I pray,

Amen.