Month: November 2023

 

Things were going wrong in his personal life. He was immersed in a society that valued everything that he stood against. He was pressured to bow down and worship things that he knew were wrong. There was constant temptation to succumb to the worldliness around him.

Sound familiar? No, I’m not talking about the world in which we live today, but rather a young man from the Old Testament who was captured and taken into captivity in Babylon. I’m talking about Daniel.

The prophet Daniel is widely considered one of the greatest men in the entire Bible. In fact, unlike many other heroes of the faith, there is nothing negative said about him at all.

In Daniel chapter 1, we see a young man who was going through difficult tribulations:

• Daniel’s home of Jerusalem had been overthrown, and he’d been carried off into a foreign and godless land as a slave of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
• Daniel endured a “reeducation program” of sorts, meant to brainwash Daniel and the other young men to assimilate them into the Babylonian culture and prepare them to serve the king. He was taught astrology and magic, as well as Babylon’s Chaldean language.
• He was given a new name. No longer would he be called Daniel (God is my judge), but now he would be called Belteshazzar (Bel protect my life), a pagan name.
• Daniel was expected to eat the king’s meals, which were certainly gourmet. This was an indulgence that many would have happily accepted.

New home, new education, new language, new name, new food. … All of these things were an attempt by the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar to indoctrinate the young Israelites, including Daniel, into their culture. And I’m sure that many of them were more than happy to enjoy the spoils.

Daniel could have gone along with all this by compromising his convictions as well. He could have said, “Everyone else is doing it,” or “I better obey the king!”

However, Daniel “purposed in his heart” that he would not disobey God (verse 8), even amid the pressure and temptations. He even convinced the powers-that-be to allow him to eat a diet of vegetables and water rather than the king’s royal feast.

Because of his faithfulness and obedience, “God gave them [Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah] knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (verse 17).

Fast forward through the centuries to today. You haven’t been captured and carried into a far-away land (I certainly hope not!), but the society around you perhaps looks unfamiliar and troubling. Young people—like Daniel in his day—are especially being led astray by a culture that is largely opposite of the life we’re called to live as followers of Christ.

With so many prevalent temptations all around us, it would be easy to assimilate and enjoy all that the world has to offer, but like Daniel, we must purpose in our hearts to serve Jesus and Him alone. We must feast on the things of the Lord rather than the evils of this age. As we do, God will not only give wisdom and understanding, but—I believe—opportunities to share His hope with those around you.

It’s hard to find peace in this troubled world, but Christ came so “that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, ESV). Would like to begin a relationship with Jesus and find the hope that He offers?

 

Psalm 119:11  Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

John 8:43-44  Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

What do we do when we think we’ve received some incorrect information? We go back to the source: the warranty, the instruction book, the letter, the person—wherever the correct information is located. Bad information can only lead to bad outcomes. Nowhere is that truer than in the spiritual realm.Since Satan traffics only in lies (John 8:43-44), he is more than ready to feed us bad information about God. And his lies can only lead to a bad outcome in our relationship with God. Satan tried to give Jesus bad information when they had an encounter in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan misrepresented God and His Word three times. But Jesus countered his lies with a correct rendering of God’s truth with three verses from Deuteronomy. As far as we know, Jesus didn’t have a copy of Deuteronomy with Him in the wilderness. Instead, He quoted the Scriptures from memory and rebuffed Satan’s temptations. Jesus exemplified Psalm 119:11—hiding God’s Word in one’s heart to avoid sin.

Are you in a daily habit of taking in and memorizing God’s Word? Truth is the only way to counter Satan’s lies.

The truth of Scripture demolishes speculation.

God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

–1 Corinthians 10:13

Paul closed the first half of 1 Corinthians 10 with a warning and a promise. Look at the warning in verse 12: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” No matter what spiritual privileges you have experienced in the past, do not think you are immune from sin and God’s judgment. Instead, Paul said, take an inventory of your heart right now.

Are there things you are craving in your life that you know are outside of God’s will for you? Is there anyone or anything you love more than you love God? Are you engaged in any secret immorality in your life? Is there some sin you think you have been getting away with that you need to repent of? Are you discontent with what God has given to you? Learn from the example of the Israelites. God will not let those kinds of sin go unpunished.

Finally, Paul offered a promise in verse 13: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” No temptation comes into our lives that is not common to everyone. Everyone is tempted with evil desires, idolatry, and grumbling. But we do not have to give in to those things because God has provided the way of escape from temptation. What is that way of escape? Jesus said it Himself in John 14:6: “I am the way.” Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of faith.”

If you want to escape sin in your life, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Look at how He dealt with temptation and imitate it in your life. What did Jesus do when He was tempted in the wilderness? He prayed. When He was in Gethsemane wrestling with God’s will for His life, He prayed. When He was on the cross, He prayed. Prayer was instrumental in giving Jesus the spiritual strength He needed to say no to sin. Jesus also saturated His mind with the Word of God. He so knew the Word of God that He knew exactly which Scripture to use in each tempting situation.

If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, knew He could not afford to become complacent in His spiritual life, if He knew He had to continually fortify Himself through prayer and God’s Word, how much more important is it for you and me to guard against complacency? Imitate Jesus’s life, and you will also imitate His victory over sin.

To fortify something you must add and build onto and into it that which is strengthening. Look at how Paul talked about fortification:

Ephesians 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

And Peter said it like this:

2 Peter 1:3.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers and sisters, ^a make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.”

—Acts 6:3

Have you ever noticed how life’s distractions and temptations can change your spirit?

Think about it. You go into work in the morning with a smile on your face and a song in your heart, only to overhear a coworker denigrating your abilities in front of your boss. How do you react? Later you have an opportunity to work your way out of a difficult situation by bending the truth to fit your needs and cover your back. How do you react now?

Finally, you see an accounting error that could add some extra money to your paycheck if you simply stay quiet and do nothing. With all of these frustrations and temptations piling up, you probably would not be feeling overly spiritual at that point.

The fact of the matter is that in our fast-paced society, with so many different distractions around every corner, it is easy to be filled with a worldly mindset and not be filled with the Holy Spirit. That, however, is no excuse.

Frankly, we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? It means that you are to be under the total influence of the Holy Spirit—God, dwelling in you, ordering your steps.

Stephen, the first Christian martyr in the Scriptures, provides a beautiful picture of someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit, especially when compared to the Sanhedrin (religious/political leaders of the day). Acts 6:3 and 7:54-8:1 offer a few key characteristics of a man who was facing the cold reality of death at the hands of an angry mob.

1. Be of Good Report

First, someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit is of good report (Acts 6:3). It is not that having good report—being known by others as virtuous and pure—fills you with the Holy Spirit, but it is the Holy Spirit that allows you to have this trait. The members of the Sanhedrin were the opposite of this. They were called murderers, betrayers, stubborn, and disobedient (Acts 7:51–53).

2. Welcome the Truth

Second, unlike the Sanhedrin, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit welcome the truth (Acts 7:55–56). Stephen sees Christ standing at the right hand of God, and he was glad to commit his spirit to God. Conversely, those who were not filled with the Spirit began to “cry out in a loud voice” because they heard the truth and wanted to drown it out by their own words (Acts 7:57). They also covered their ears, trying to prevent the truth from affecting them.

3. Intercede for Others

Finally, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit will intercede for others (Acts 7:60). Stephen was falsely accused, falsely arrested, and was about to be stoned, and yet he prayed for those who were about to murder him. What compassion! The only way Stephen could do this was because he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Eternity Is at Stake

Like Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit needs to be a way of life for us. Too often we only want to be filled with the Spirit on Sundays, and as soon as we leave our church service, we return to our worldly routines of mundane tasks, acceptable temptations or angry confrontations.

However, a Holy Spirit-filled life has a lot to do with your effectiveness as an evangelist for the cause of Christ. If you are someone who truly wants to reach the lost (a motivation all believers should share), you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. If you have been witnessing to a friend from work, but live a sinful life indistinguishable from the nonbelievers around you, you are likely doing more harm than good for the Kingdom of God.

Conversely, if you take the distractions, frustrations, and temptations of this world and handle them with the purity, truth and compassion of the Holy Spirit, others will want to know what it is that makes you tick. They will want to know what is missing in their life that is present in yours.

My friends, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Eternity is at stake.

The Book of Numbers is rich and full of first-hand documented accounts of the exodus of the Israelites when they were freed from Egypt by the grace and mercy of God’s hand.

There are many examples of:

1. The intent and purposes of God’s deliverance for the Israelites.
2. God’s miraculous provisions
3. God’s awesome power
4. God’s Love
5. God’s Grace
6. God’s Mercy
7. God’s Justice
8. God’s Wrath
9. God’s Anger
10. God’s Sovereignty
11. God’s Plan
12. God’s Commandments
13. God’s ability to know the thoughts and intents residing in the hearts and minds of all people
14. God’s design for leadership
15. God’s expectations
16. God’s Promises

There are also examples of how the people reacted towards God and His chosen leaders:

1. Grumbling
2. Challenging
3. Hauty
4. Proud
5. Jealousy
6. Greed
7. Disbelieving
8. Disregarding
9. Unrepentant
10. Division causing
11. Anger
12. Forgetful
13. Never satisfied
14. Longing to return back to the way things were
15. No trust
16. No Reliance
17. No commitment
18. Rebelling
19. Lip service toward God

The Israelites could have been out of the wilderness and all the training in expectations God had for them. They could have been heading into the promised land within two years of their exodus. Instead, they rebelled and that generation was left to wonder for forty years and die in the wilderness never to set foot in the promised land.

There are consequences for our thoughts and actions. If our faith, trust, and reliance are subject to things of this world we will certainly not see the promised land – Heaven.

 

These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.–1 Corinthians 10:6

As Christians, we are not exempt from God’s discipline if we disobey Him. That was Paul’s warning to the church at Corinth. He pointed to the Israelites–even though they were God’s people, they fell into sin and experienced His judgment. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:1, 3-4: “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; . . . and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink.”

God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He revealed His law to them. He supernaturally provided for them in the desert. “Nevertheless,” Paul said, “with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness” (v. 5). That phrase “laid low” means “strewn.” They were scattered in the wilderness. This is a reference to Numbers 14. The Israelites sent twelve spies into the promised land to see what obstacles they might encounter. Ten spies came back and said, “The challenge is too great.” But two spies said, “Yes, the challenge is great, but our God is greater. If we will follow Him, we can overtake the land.” The people believed the majority report, and God pronounced His judgment against them: “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers. . . . ‘[Their] corpses will fall in this wilderness’” (vv. 22-23, 29).

What happened to those Israelites who failed to believe God? They never entered the promised land. Instead, they experienced the harsh discipline of God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” That word translated as “examples” is “tupoi,” which literally means “that which has been struck by a heavy blow.” Paul was saying the Israelites received the heavy blow of God against them so you and I can learn what happens to believers who fall away from God.

What lessons do we need to learn from the Israelites? First of all, God has not changed in three thousand years. He hates sin just as much and judges it just as fiercely today as He always has. Second, being the beneficiaries of God’s blessing does not exempt us from God’s judgment if we disobey Him. Today, the Christian landscape is littered with the lives of disobedient Christians who experienced the harsh judgment of God on their lives. Like the Israelites, they made the mistake of believing that because they were blessed by God, they were exempt from His judgment. No, we are all at risk of falling into sin and being disciplined by God.

 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14  

 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.  For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

People will try many different things in an attempt to bring themselves happiness and fulfillment. Some pursue philanthropy, good deeds, mentoring, or positive social work. Others throw themselves into hobbies, jobs, or relationships. Unfortunately, there are many who pursue destructive vices that only bring suffering.

While many follow the world’s path in seeking fulfillment, the Bible gives instruction from one of the wisest men who ever lived—King Solomon. Philosophers, kings, rulers, and sages would come, sit, and listen to his wisdom.

Solomon searched for true happiness and meaning in life, and he gives us his conclusions in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

Fear God: Surprisingly, Solomon does not say to get more education or to acquire more wealth. He has all of this and has concluded that it is all vanity. Rather, Solomon’s first and primary conclusion is to fear God (v. 13).

The fear of God is the sense of awe that emerges when we see our lack of holiness, since we are broken sinners, and we are met with God’s perfect righteousness. It is not a sense of being scared or timid, but that of reverent awe.

Keep God’s Commandments: Solomon’s second conclusion is to keep God’s commandments (v. 13), which—by the way—is a natural result of fearing God. Once we are in awe of God, we will follow Him.  Often in life we think that God’s commands steal our joy and happiness. However, the opposite is true. The commandments are given so that we can enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

Those two points—fearing God and keeping His commandments—encompass everything in a person’s life. Solomon says in verse 13, “For this is man’s all.” Nothing else.

Now, why does Solomon say that this is man’s all? It is because we will be judged by the Lord (v. 14). I believe that the reason people do not fear the Lord (stand in awe) or keep His commandments is because we often forget about God’s judgment. However, like it or not, we will be judged—both believers and non-believers.

Not only are we judged, but our works will also be judged. Solomon says that both our good and bad will be judged, and all the things done in secret will be judged as well. Nothing is kept from God’s judgment.

I don’t know about you, but that thought is a bit intimidating to me. I fear God and strive to follow Him in all that I do, but I also know I’ve fallen far short of His glory (Romans 3:23).

The good news is that Jesus became the perfect sacrifice, taking our judgment. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ paid “the wages of sin” on our behalf, giving those who call upon Him as Savior the gift of “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Does that mean that we should not fear God, or that we do not need to keep His commandments? Of course not. We should pursue Jesus and His righteousness with all that we are. However, we will never be “good enough,” and that’s why Christ came and offered His atoning sacrifice.