MISPLACED LOVE Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. —Psalm 115:4 Martin Lindstrom, an author and speaker, thinks that cellphones have become akin to a best friend for many owners. Lindstrom’s experiment using an MRI helped him discover why. When the subjects saw or heard their phone ringing, their brains fired off neurons in the area associated with feelings of love and compassion. Lindstrom said, “It was as if they were in the presence of a girlfriend, boyfriend, or family member.” Many things vie for our affection and time and attention, and it seems we’re always needing to evaluate where we’re focusing our lives. Joshua told the people of Israel that they were to give their affection and worship to God alone (Josh. 24:14). This was significant in contrast to the idols worshiped by the nations around them. These idols were made of metal and were only the work of men’s hands (Ps. 115:4). They were totally powerless compared to the Lord. Therefore, God’s people were exhorted to find their security in Him and not in other gods (Judg. 10:13-16). Jesus reiterated this in His discussion of the commandments: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). The Lord alone is our help and shield (Ps. 115:9). May we reserve our worship for Him. For Further Thought : What do our actions in the last few months reveal about our affections? Is there any indication that we have placed someone or something above God? God is most worthy of our affections. BE CLOTHED WITH HUMILITY : And be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. – 1 Peter 5:5 Most believers dont know anything about true humility. If you tell them theyre the righteousness of God, theyll fight to keep from believing it. You can give them scripture references to prove it, and theyll still argue. Oh no, theyll say, Im not righteous. Im just an old sinner saved by grace. Theyre making a sincere attempt to be humble. But theyre sincerely wrong. Theyre so afraid of being exalted by pride that theyve let Satan trick them into falling right into it. Let me show you what I mean. According to 1 Peter 5:5-6, to be truly humble is to submit to God. That means when God says something, you believe it no matter how foreign to your religious thinking it may be. When He says youve been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, you say that too. In fact, you wouldnt dare say anything else because to do so would be to dare to disagree with God. And, when you get right down to it, thats the ultimate form of pride, isnt it? Dont let Satan keep you groveling in the dust of false humility. Agree with God. Find out what His Word says about you, then be bold enough to say it yourself. Banish pride by submitting to His truth. Clothe yourself in true humility. Its sure to look good on you HE DELIGHTS IN YOUR PROSPERITY : “...let them say continually, ‘Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.’ ” - Psalm 35:27, NKJV God desires that you be blessed and prosperous. He desires that you be so blessed that you can turn around and be a blessing everywhere you go! He wants you to have so much peace, so much joy, so much victory that when other people get around you, it spills over onto them! Don’t let yourself have a barely-get-by mentality. Jesus came so that you can live an abundant life! That means an abundance of joy, an abundance of peace, an abundance of health, an abundance of finances. You may not see it right now, and maybe you haven’t experienced it in the past, but don’t get complacent and just settle for where you are. Get a vision for your future! Get a vision for increase! Get a vision for abundance!” God delights to see you prosperous and successful. When you choose to think God’s thoughts and choose God’s way, you’ll see that increase and victory in every area of your life! LET GOD LOVE YOU INSTEAD : 1 JOHN 4:10 - In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. You have to love God more! You must have more passion for God!” You have probably heard this type of preaching and may have even tried your best to love God, only to fail miserably. But what is the true definition of love? Let the Bible define it for us: “…this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…” Yes, it is not about our love for Him, but His love for us! “Pastor, the Bible says that you must love God with all your heart, soul and strength!” Yes, that is true according to the law (Deuteronomy 6:5), and even Jesus taught that as the great commandment when He walked on earth. (Matthew 22:37) But that was before He died on the cross. At the cross, He became the very fulfillment of this law for us when He loved us with all His heart, soul and strength, by laying down His body and life on the cross for us. Today, we are no longer under the law but under grace. And grace tells us that God loves us, not that we love God. Yet, we will love Him when we see how much He loves us. The Bible says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8) That’s how much He loves us! Beloved, God has seen you trying your best to love Him. And because He loves you, He wants you to sit down and be still, and let Him love you instead. He wants to love you with all that He is and all that He has. He loves you unconditionally regardless of who you are or what you have done because His love is not dependent on you but on Himself. He will never stop loving you. So let God love you today. Don’t worry about loving Him. The more of His love you receive, the more you will fall in love with Him! NATURALLY HOLY : John 5:14, Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. In saying this, Jesus shows that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives. The reason for holiness in the life of the believer is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin. Yielding to sin is yielding to a person - Satan. God doesnt impute the sin to us but the devil does. Our actions either release the power of Satan or the power of God in us. Although God is not imputing our sins unto us, we cannot afford the luxury of sin because it allows Satan to have access to us. When a Christian sins and allows the devil opportunity to produce his death in their life, the way to stop it is to confess the sin, and God who is faithful and just, will take the forgiveness that is already present in our born again spirit and release it in our flesh. This removes Satan and his strongholds. The sins of a Christian dont make him a sinner any more than the righteous acts of a sinner make him righteous. Sin is a very deadly thing that even Christians should avoid at all costs, but it does not determine our standing with the Lord. A person who is born again is not in the flesh even though he may walk after the flesh. What is the motive for living a separated life? We live a separated life because our nature has been changed. We were darkness, now we are light (Eph. 5:8). Many people argue for holiness in order to obtain relationship with God. We need to live holy lives because of the relationship that we already have. Its the nature of a Christian to walk in the light and not in darkness. If Christians were rightly informed of who they are and what they have in Christ, holiness would just naturally flow out of them. Its their nature. Its our nature.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 13:42:35 +0000
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