Religious--Minded People Speak Passionately

                                                        When The Door Slams

For the kingdom of God is not based on talk but on power. Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod [of discipline and correctional], or with love and gentle spirit?                                                                                                                                         1 Corinthians 4:20-21

        Christianity is not moral platitudes, proud intentions, and noble thoughts. The fundamental characteristic of God's kingdom is power. Paul faced constant criticism about the work among the early churches. Some of his detractors would travel to cities such as Corinth and speak extensively about all that Paul was doing incorrectly. At times, people in the churches were enticed to believe the slanderous against the apostle. 

        Paul responded with a reminder that the test of a kingdom citizen's authenticity was not the persuasiveness of his words but the spiritual power of his life. Paul acknowledged that some did not find him eloquent in speech (2 Cor. 10:10). Yet they could not question God's power in his life. He had seen many people converted, and many churches were started through his ministry. He had been used to heal the sick and raise the dead through God's power. Regardless of whether his words were eloquent, they carried spiritual power and authority that came from God.

        Think about this: You will encounter many religious people who seek to convince you of their opinions concerning the kingdom of God. They may speak passionately. They may even bring charts and graphs to prove their points! But the test of the strength of their words is the spiritual power in their lives. If a person speak forcefully about point of doctrine but is habitually sinning, his words are discredited by his life. If a person talks of the power of God but gives no evidence of victory in his or her life, their words are empty. It is much easier to talk about the victorious Christian life than it is to live it.             

If you only have the appearance of godliness without any agreeing spiritual power (2 Tim. 3:5), ask God to cleanse you of your sin and fill you with His Spirit so that your life is characterized by the Holy Spirit power.

Renewal: Like Josiah, may I do what is right in  the sight of the LORD and walk in all the ways of David, not turning aside to the right of to the left. May I turn to the LORD with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my might, in accordance with all of Your Word (2 Kings 22:1-2; 23:25). 

These are the things I want to do: speak the truth to others, judge with truth and justice for peace, not plot evil against my neighbor, and not love a false oath; for all these things the LORD hates (Zechariah 8:16-17).          

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                           Never Rest Ministries  

There Is A Difference Between Judgment And Discernment

                                                     When The Door Slams

"Do not judge [others self-righteously] and you will not be judged; do not condemn [others when you are guilty and unrepentant], and you will not be condemned [for your hypocrisy]; pardon [others when they truly repent and change], and you will be pardoned [when you truly repent and change].                                    Luke 6:37 [Note: Matthew 7:1-5] 

        There is a significant difference between judgment and discernment. God sees people's hearts and knows their motives (Prov. 16:2). Only God can accurately judge those who deserve punishment. Ultimately, Christ will sit in judgment upon us all in the day of judgment (2 Cor. 5:10). 

        Our problem is that we like to sit in the judgment seat and pronounce condemnation upon those whom we think have sinned! Scripture commands us not to judge or condemn others, for we cannot be judgmental and redemptive at the same time. It is difficult to pray sincerely for someone while we are judging them. At times our judgmental attitude can seem to provide us an excuse not to become involved in God's redemptive work in someone's life. Scripture reminds us that God will treat us with the same grace or severity with which we treat others (Luke 6:38). 

        Think about this: God commands us not to judge others, but He does want us to be discerning. Jesus said we would know people's spiritual condition by the fruit of their lives (Matt. 7:16). He said grapes are not produced by thorn bushes. If a person's life produces thorns, we can assume that person is not a grapevine! Are we being judgmental? No, we are discerning. Scripture commands us to avoid associating with scoffers or fools (Prov. 22:10; 17:12). Unless we are able to identify scoffers and fools, we cannot obey God's command. That is not being judgmental; it is being discerning. As Christians, we have been instructed to observe the lives of others so that we can help them while avoiding any sinful influence.

        You will be helpful to others only if you see them as God does. If you have been judgmental of others, ask forgiveness and pledge yourself to let God use you as His minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).    

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant us to be of the same mind toward one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord and one mouth we may glorify the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6). May the God of peace Himself sanctify us completely, and may our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ. He who calls us is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                            Never Rest Ministries

                          

When Jesus Conquered Death

                                                     When The Door Slams

Those who died in Christ

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, believers, about those who are asleep [in death], so that you will not grieve [for them] as the others do who have no hope [beyond this present life]. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [as in fact He did], even so God [in the same way-by raising them from the dead] will bring with Him those [believers] who have fallen asleep in Jesus.                                            1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

        Christians do not grieve as the world grieves. The world experiences sorrow without hope. The Christian also has sorrow, but the Christian's sorrow is accompanied by hope. 

        In Jesus' day, a funeral was a time for an impassioned demonstration of grief. It was a sign of respect for the deceased to wail loudly at a funeral. A person grieving the loss of a loved one has no power to change what has happened. There is probably no time in human experience when people feel more helpless or vulnerable than at a funeral.

        Jesus, too, wept at the funeral of a close friend, but His sorrow did not come from a lack of hope (John 11:35). Jesus knew that soon Lazarus would be alive again. He also knew that at His second coming, Lazarus and all of Jesus' followers would be resurrected from death to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus wept because He saw the hopelessness felt by the people He loved. His friends had the Resurrection and the Life right in  their midst, yet they were grieving (John 11: 25)!

        When Jesus conquered death, He forever changed the way Christians view death. Christian still experience the sorrow of losing someone we love, but we have hope because we know that God can bring good out of any situation (Rom. 8:28). We have hope in the knowledge that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God's love (Rom. 8:38-39). We have hope because Jesus will bring us to join Him in heaven so that we might enjoy eternity in unhindered fellowship with Him (John 14:3).

        Think about this: Even though you are a Christian, you cannot escape life's sorrows. But you can soften or soothe your grief with the hope that Christ is risen, for He is your hope and your comfort. 

May I be strong and courageous; may I not be afraid of discouraged because of my adversaries, for there is a greater power with me than with them, for the LORD my God is with me to help me (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). An hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man (John 5:25-27). 

As the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                                                    Never Rest Ministries