I, for one, feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground this month. We looked at Romans Part 2 before we started going through the How Do We Live Godly Lives series.
We got a lot of nuggets out of it.
Main Nuggets
- Our character finds its home in our heart. Our thoughts are the index of character (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- If we have our yapper going, we may or may not have our heart involved. We’ve got to get it down to the heart level for it to make an impact on our character (Why Should We Listen When Worshiping?).
- Sanctified ability is an interesting term. Ability is the capacity to do something. We either have the proficiency or the potential to accomplish the goal. Our redo for godliness is all about how God is sanctifying us. God is the one who is redoing us. So, we might not have the ability right now, but God is working on us to get us to have that ability. We don’t have to be perfect right now. God is in the business of making us perfect. We are a work in progress (We Are All Ministers).
Our Relationship with God
We tend to think we are the reason for the gospel. We think we are the purpose or the motivation behind the Plan of Salvation. God designed the Plan of Salvation because He wants back what Satan took away from Him. He wants us back so we can worship Him again in spirit and in truth. Some may think I am nitpicking there, but I don’t think so. God is the focus. He always is the focus (The Focus of the Ministry).
Can’t you hear it? [Insert whiny voice] “But I don’t understand, and it’s supposed to be all about me!” The me part is faith. The me part is submitting. In a nutshell, submitting means committing to live a sin-free life (The Focus of the Ministry).
There is only one road to God — through Jesus (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
The focus of the ministry is the Plan of Salvation that God designed and carried out through Jesus’ sacrifice (The Focus of the Ministry).
God isn’t in the business of proving Himself to us. We have to have faith and believe (Paul’s Travel Plans).
God frees us, changes us, revives us, and remakes us. But it starts with the idea of Him (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
God will call us to salvation when we are searching for Him and more willing to accept His gift of salvation (What Is Life About?).
God doesn’t want us to go through the motions. God isn’t interested in us buying into the ceremony of religion. He doesn’t want us going through the motions. It isn’t about checking things off our list. We’ve got to grow our relationships with God. This is all about becoming more like Him (What Is Our Life About?; Joining the Living).
God calls us to salvation for differing lengths (Focusing Our Labor on God).
God’s salvation is offered to all regardless of what we have done (Focusing Our Labor on God).
Salvation is the same for all who ABCD. We all are changed from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. We all are given access to Sovereign God. We all are given eternal life (Focusing Our Labor on God).
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
What salvation entails was determined by God. He figured out what we would have to do to gain it. We have to believe that Jesus died for our sins. Then, God calls us to salvation. He calls each and every one of us. Some, He may call when we are young. Others He will call when we are older. God alone knows when He will call us home. It may be when our life here is over. It may be when all life here is over. But it is all God’s Plan (Focusing Our Labor on God).
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is a special thing. It doesn’t come on its own. It comes with Jesus. It comes with Jesus’ love, mercy, pardon, and peace (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
We all need grace. It is offered to all. It is our decision whether we will accept it or not (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
Spiritual knowledge and wisdom comes from God. We get it through the Holy Spirit. God will reveal Himself to us. He doesn’t do this all at once (We Are All Ministers).
Through our obedience in faith in Jesus Christ, God strengthens us and provides His wisdom (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
We gain everything by knowing — and believing — who Jesus is. Knowing isn’t enough. We have to make a conscious decision to believe He is our Savior and has secured the forgiveness for our sins by His death and resurrection (The Focus of the Ministry).
We have to love the True God. We can’t say we love God because He gives a pass to sinners (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
God’s wisdom is available to all. No one is excluded. Rich or poor. Old or young. Gender doesn’t exclude us. What we’ve done doesn’t exclude us (Why Should We Listen When Leading?).
We have to become children of God to fully praise Him and know His blessings. He won’t bless us if we are not following His laws and commandments (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
We must be open to where God will grow us. He has a plan for our lives. He has a job for us to do (We Are All Ministers).
Aren’t we always trying to build and grow? Haven’t we said that is what the Sanctification Road is about? What if it isn’t a continuum leading us to be closer to God? What if it is the circles of being, doing, and suffering, and we being the circle again each day? When the circles interlock like the picture shows, the doing and the suffering does kick us up to the being. The being invites Satan to tempt us, kicking us down to the suffering. The doing is probably something different than we would think. It isn’t works based — although we have to show through our actions that we are disciples of Christ. The doing, in my opinion, is us showing we have made the choice to join the living. We have to show we are doing for the right reason — because we are honoring Sovereign God (Joining the Living).
Glossary
Obeying God’s Laws and Commandments
God isn’t always going to ask us to do the easy stuff. Sometimes, He is going to ask us to do the hard (A Ministry of Love).
God uses each of us — man, woman, young, old — to further His kingdom. We shouldn’t stand in His way (A Ministry of Love).
Some people choose to pervert God’s doctrines. They want to compromise with the worldview. They deceive with their words and actions to cover impure motives. God will not lower his standards. His laws and commandments will remain firm (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
We settle for an inferior religion instead of going for a true relationship with Sovereign God and our Blessed Redeemer. Yeah, yeah. Part of it is because our wee human minds just can’t fathom the greatness of what is available to us. Part of it is because we just like our sinful nature. We don’t want to give it up. So we compromise worldview with Godview (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
God will be victorious over Satan. He is the One Who will crush Satan, not us. His victory is assured (A Team Approach to Ministry).
The Holy Spirit assists us in overcoming the temptations of this life. The Holy Spirit is more powerful than Satan, meaning we can conquer Satan. We can conquer our thoughts because the Holy Spirit that lives within us (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
First John 4: 4-5 say nothing about Satan being weak. It definitely doesn’t say he isn’t a threat. What it says is God and the Holy Spirit are greater than Satan. It doesn’t matter how formidable Satan is. He isn’t more powerful than Omnipotent God (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
But isn’t it a comfort to know that, when Satan tempts us, God only allows that to go on for only a little while. Then God shuts that down, too (A Team Approach to Ministry).
We aren’t doubting God. We are doubting ourselves. But that means we are doubting God, because that means we don’t think He is powerful enough to do what He says He can do (A Team Approach to Ministry).
God has the power to establish us because He can and will strengthen us (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
It is clear that, in order to know God, we have to search for Him and seek Him. It can’t be a halfhearted encounter. We must delve into the Scriptures to find the many facets of the Sovereign God. We do that not only by hearing and reading His Word, but by studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it. We must bathe all of that with prayer (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
Meditation puts us in the presence of the Sovereign God and our Redeeming Savior. Our meditation and conversations with God spill over into our conversations with others (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
We can control our thoughts when we take it outside of ourselves. Meditation is attentive thought. We must focus our thoughts away from worldly things and put it solely on God (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise; Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
Contemplating the beauty and majesty of our world can calm our thoughts and give us peace (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
When we contemplate how trustworthy God is, we can control our thoughts and be content (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
Praising God helps us to control our thoughts (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
When we are gung-ho for God, work isn’t work. It is a joy — it is praise. We feel Him there every step of the way. When God isn’t there because we have turned away, it is a struggle. It is work. There is no joy (Controlling Our Though through Contemplation and Praise).
God calls us to work to provide for ourselves (Focusing Our Energies on God).
God calls us to work to know Him (Focusing Our Energies on God).
God wants to be the priority in our lives with us being humble (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
Jesus chose us; we have to choose Him (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
After we have ABCDed, God abides within us through His Word (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
Scriptures are just an introduction to God and His wonders. We get the concept of Who God is from Scriptures. We don’t get a full picture. He waits until we are His children to really start revealing Himself to us. Even more awaits for when we meet Him face to face (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World; How a Minister Says Goodbye).
We don’t have a visual of God. We just know Him in our hearts and minds (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
Focusing on God helps us to look past the world and to repent from our sins (Focusing Our Thoughts on God).
Jesus mingled with people, yet He was distanced from them in character (Focusing Our Thoughts on God).
When we stop listening to God, we start being irreverent and insincere when — if — we worship Him (Why Should We Listen When Worshiping?).
God doesn’t want us to make promises to Him that we aren’t going to keep (Why Should We Listen When Worshiping?).
We gain balance by gaining knowledge of God (Where Is the Balance?).
God works in our lives to give us balance. He controls what happens (Where Is the Balance?).
We can only obtain the balance by faith. We can’t get there by our feelings (Where Is the Balance?).
We want to base everything on what we see and know. That isn’t going to fly. God is a spirit. He lives in a spiritual world. We will be going to a spiritual world one day (Facing Death).
All sin, regardless of what we consider its severity, is a rejection of God. Even though the outcome — rejection of God — is the same, the nature of the person committing the sin is different. Sinners will be judged and condemned to an eternity in hell if they do not ABCD (Joining the Living).
We must make a choice to fully change our character to be more like His. We can’t ABCD, and then not start on the Sanctification Road (Joining the Living).
We don’t know that we are spiritually dead until we realize we need Jesus as our Savior (Joining the Living).
God is only asking us to do what is the very best for us. He isn’t being some meany. He is loving us (Living the Life).
We owe all to God — our life and our health — as He created us and provides for us. If we think about all of that, we can see that God didn’t create us and leave us to fend for ourselves. He is a hands-on God (What Is Life About?).
What the Parable of the Vineyard Workers tells us is that the doing isn’t the main ingredient here. Yes, some of them performed their ministry for a long time. Not all of them did. So, quantity wasn’t what was rewarded. It was quality. Those who were late to the labor gave God their all (Focusing Our Labor on God).
Glossary
Obeying God’s Laws and Commandments
- Did you see the diversity in the list in Romans 16? Some were men; some, women. Some were Jews; some, Gentiles. Some were old; some, young. What did they all have in common? They were doing God’s work. Yes, even the women. They were doing what God wanted them to do. They were listening and obeying (A Ministry of Love).
- We are ministers for Jesus and God, so we should not boast of ourselves. It isn’t our goal to have world-wide fame. Our goal is to be different from the world (Jn. 15: 19 ESV) (The Focus of the Ministry; We Are All Ministers).
- We are going to have our detractors, the ingratitude. But if we are doing God’s work, we will find the love (A Ministry of Love).
- We can’t say, “Oh, we like where murder is a sin, but we don’t like where homosexuality is, too.” We don’t get to pick and choose what is a sin or what isn’t. We don’t get to choose what we will follow or what we won’t (The Focus of the Ministry).
- We have to be very careful we don’t fall for false doctrines. To ensure this, we have to know what God’s Word says. That means reading, hearing, and studying His Word. Yes, seeking God (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- Obedience, wisdom, and purity will help us remain strong (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- When we are growing closer to God, Satan will be trying even harder to try to get us to sin. So, the more obedient we are, the more of God’s grace to which we have access. More obedient. More grace. More temptation. We need the wisdom to discern how to not give into the temptation and stay pure (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- Any place we let Satan get a toehold, he latches on and runs with the opportunity. The best way he can do that is to get us to think we are unworthy (A Team Approach to Ministry).
- We get that steadfastness by holding onto the gospel and onto what Jesus has done for us. It is nothing that we have done or that we can do that keeps us safe from Satan and his grasp. It is only Jesus (How a Minister Says Goodbye).
- We have to follow God’s plan even if it contradicts our plans (Paul’s Travel Plans).
- We are doing the redo for godliness so that we can improve. That improvement equates to successfully completing the Sanctification Road. Our goal is to be “… pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil. 1: 10 ESV). That will lead to perfection. We get there through prayer, love, knowledge, and discernment (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- Studying the Scriptures cleanses the bad thoughts. We cleanse our thoughts when return to having a strong relationship with God (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- Our thoughts play a role in salvation as our faith begins in our mind. That is where it starts before we get it to the heart level. They also play a role in returning us to our first love. Unfortunately, many times we lose our first love through thoughtlessness (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- But these thoughts also help us, don’t they? They are how we evaluate ourselves. If our thoughts are wandering all over kingdom come, it is harder to corral them to take an in-depth assessment of how things really are. We either don’t start or give up before we get ours reconciled with God (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- What is meditate? It is to think about it, reflect on it, deliberate and engage in it (How Do We Overcome the Original Corruption of Bad Thoughts?).
- Meditating on God helps us in the sanctification process. Our journey on the Sanctification Road includes sanctification of our thoughts. That means that we can learn to control them (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- Meditating stabilizes our hearts and minds and calms us as we think about the love of God (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- Our thoughts are a good indicator of who we are (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- Have you ever considered that sin generally comes from our thoughts? Even when it has a visual or auditory component, we have to consider whether we will give into the temptation (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- We control our actions. We express ourselves through our actions. Our thoughts show our purpose. We can control our thoughts and feelings through meditating on God (Controlling Our Thoughts through Meditation).
- Humility helps keep prideful thoughts at bay (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- We not only are faulty in how we see ourselves, but we also do not see the standard of character correctly (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- When Satan pops an evil thought in our hearts, it is our choice whether we are going to cultivate and water it so it can grow or cut pull it out by the roots. If our will is right with God, the latter is going to happen. If not, break out the watering can (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- Our thoughts reflect our character. True, a lot of our thoughts amount to nothing — they are just a waste of time and focus. The issue is “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he …” (Prov. 23: 7 KJV). Our thoughts become who we are (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- Pride generally tries to justify the sin (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- We have to be sanctified up to His character. Mankind’s character is not enough. What the worldview sees as good enough isn’t because the worldview character does not have God in it (Focusing Our Thoughts on God).
- If we are not seeking God, there is no way He can sanctify us. We are definitely not working at our salvation (Focusing Our Energies on God).
- If we are taking the easy way out with the least amount of work possible, we won’t find God (Focusing Our Energies on God).
- We know that we can find that which our soul hungers for, but we must yearn to know God. That is, we must want it badly. The only way to do that is to be diligent in seeking God (Focusing Our Energies on God).
- We can’t be idle and quit examining where we are in our journey and what we need to do to become more in line with what God wants (Focusing Our Energies on God).
- It is our responsibility and obligation to be happy and content in life — regardless of the circumstances (Where Is the Balance?).
- Our lives become unbalanced when we become too righteous. We generally think of someone too righteous as someone who is an over-the-top religious person (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We try to do our own self-help program. But remember God said we can’t do it without Him (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- It isn’t about our personal righteousness. It is about God’s righteousness, which we reflect (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We even get out of balance when we evaluate ourselves. We bite on ourselves too much for the sins we commit. We keep biting on ourselves for sins God on which has already forgiven us (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We are sweating the small stuff. We need to quickly respond to God’s call and totally choose to follow His ways on the meaty matters of life (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- Unfortunately, runaway righteousness gives itself away when it strives for standards of a character that is unattainable. The problem is when we try for something even more than what God is asking. I read it to mean we are trying to make us more godlike than God (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- Even though we are sinful in nature, God calls us to be perfect as He is (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We ABCD. We think we are going to keep God’s laws and commandments perfectly, and — oops, we don’t (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?)
- It is our duty to be perfect, but there is struggle in life as we try to be (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We shouldn’t be overly concerned about what others think. We have to realize that worldview people are judging us on worldview standards, not God’s. We shouldn’t be concerned with worldview standards. We need to be concerned with what God thinks of us (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- We are safe because we are in God’s hands. There is no better place to be (Facing Death).
- We are to enjoy life. We are to find the joy that God gives (Living the Life).
- If God gives us this joy, peace, and hope, He isn’t going to want us to be blowing it with our pouty faces on — or worse. He wants us to exude a happiness of knowing Him (Living the Life).
- We are to enjoy a life free from sin (Living the Life).
- We strive to be the disciples God calls us to be. When we fail, we ask for forgiveness (Living the Life).
- The first thing we have to do is work out our own salvation. Next, God wants us to tell others about His love to expand His kingdom. He called us to do His work as we go (Living the Life).
- When we are younger, asking Jesus to be our Savior helps build our character. The younger we are, the easier it is to form good habits. If the governing principle is at the center of character, we have to make a choice as to whether it will be good or evil. That choice will form our character (What Is Life About?).
- We know that the words that will do the most good to change us to be like God will be those that hurt the most (What Is Our Life About?).
- We need to be buried in God’s Word so that we may be close to His altar. Our lives are about praising Him and telling others (What Is Our Life About?).
- Our purpose is to have a relationship with God. It is about being right with God. It is about following God’s laws and commandments. It is about worshiping Him (What Is Our Life About?).
- Notice, when it says greatest commandment, commandment isn’t plural. Salvation is not contingent on “… ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” There is no other commandment greater than these.’” (Mk. 12: 30 ESV). Notice that it is plural when it says we are to obey all statutes. We can’t pick and choose in which laws and commandments we don’t believe. It is all or nothing (What Is Our Life About?).
- We can’t, though, just look at the two greatest commandments, say we keep them, and break all the others. Breaking any of the other laws and commandments breaks the greatest commandment (What Is Our Life About?).
- We need to meditate on everything we think, do, say, or feel — everything. Our whole lives have to be given over to God (What Is Our Life About?).
- It seems like, in many instances, we leave the bulk of the work to only a few workers. We can’t do that. We need to step up and do our share (Focusing Our Labor on God).
- What is sad is when we don’t feel qualified in doing what God is calling us to do and we use it and other reasons to not follow through (Focusing Our Labor on God).
- We’ve got to do the work when God calls. God may give us a limited opportunity to complete it. We know Satan is going to do everything in his power to stop God’s work from going forward (Focusing Our Labor on God).
Glossary
Reflecting Him to Others
- God calls a team to do His work (A Team Approach to Ministry).
- We are to share our knowledge with others (We Are All Ministers).
- Paul told us two chores we are to do as disciples. We are to be filled with the knowledge ourselves. We are to help others grow and knowledge (We Are All Ministers).
- We need wisdom and humility to discharge these functions. Our primary duty is the salvation of the lost so that God will be glorified (We Are All Ministers).
- We aren’t saved just for ourselves. We are saved so that we can further God’s kingdom. The end result is to bring Him glory and honor (We Are All Ministers).
- We are to be a minister to the unbelieving (We Are All Ministers).
- Minister can range from someone discharging the religious or civil duties as assigned to the person who accomplishes acts of kindness (We Are All Ministers).
- Paul knew it wasn’t about him being a great evangelist or missionary. He knew it wasn’t about him meeting the needs of others. It was about telling others that God had sent His Son to die on a cross so that His blood might be shed to pay the price to redeem us from our sins (The Focus of the Ministry).
- Sometimes, unity takes work (Paul’s Travel Plans).
- God wants us to be unified in His name (Paul’s Travel Plans).
- God will abundantly bless those unified in His Son’s name (Paul’s Travel Plans).
- We should pray for the ministry of others (Paul’s Travel Plans).
- Disciples are to watch to ensure divisions are not created within the body of Christ (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- God wants us to be unified. He does not want us to look for things that divide us (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- Sometimes things happen in the moment. It could go from anywhere on a continuum of breathe-and-overlook-the-offense to blow-the-offense-out-of-proportion to anywhere in between. God wants us to live together in harmony. That means He wants us to work through it to reach a peaceful conclusion (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- Satan wants the church to fail. He would love most of all for it to implode from the inside. If he could get us to rip ourselves apart, he would really feel like he has won a great battle (Watch for A Ministry in Conflict).
- Worldview standards feed the chaos of the world because they are divisive. It is real easy to become arrogant and prideful when we buy into the worldview (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- Pride means that the picture that we have of ourselves is fault. It also usually means that the picture we have of others is also faulty. This stops us from fulfilling the second greatest commandment: love others (Guarding Our Hearts from Prideful Thoughts).
- Many worldview people think that goodness alone is sufficient. It isn’t. Goodness comes from God’s doctrines (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
- The worldview does limit the objects of our thoughts. It does try to keep the focus on us (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
- Satan will do everything in his power to keep our thoughts off God. We have to choose to think about God (Focusing Our Thoughts Off of the World).
- Being of the world is not a good thing. Jesus said we would die in our sins if we were (Focusing Our Thoughts on God).
- Wisdom also gives us an intellectual life. But we have to remember that this isn’t wisdom according to the world. We can’t try to use knowledge to make it our god. We can’t look for an explanation that will replace God as Sovereign God (Where Is the Balance?).
- Worldview people think our witnessing to them is overly much. They think we should keep our relationship with God to ourselves. What they don’t want to acknowledge is that witnessing is part of our job description (How Does being Righteous Affect Balance?).
- In this life, it does seem like the children of God are treated in the same was as worldview people. It brings up a good question. Why are we trying to be morally correct if it doesn’t make any difference? Two good reasons are the law doesn’t change based on our moral character and that means there is more after this (Facing Death).
- The cry these days is that everything has to be more equally distributed. That may have been how God originally planned it, but Satan nixed that. In other words, that will never happen on this earth (Facing Death).
- Disciples look at things differently than worldview people do. They see trials as judgment. We see it as a Father correcting His children. They see the wealth and prosperity they have earned through their own merits. We see gifts from our loving Heavenly Father. We see what we gain from trials, not what they cost us (Facing Death).
- We think of God’s work as the missionaries, preachers — some full-time job. But what did Jesus say when He talked about separating the sheep and the goats? “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Mt. 25: 35-36 ESV). Those don’t have to be full-time jobs. They don’t even have to be an everyday occurrence. The point is, when God puts someone in our path, we respond in His way in His name. We do it sincerely and promptly (Living the Life).
- We don’t know how long we will have the opportunity to serve. The opportunity may be available for a limited time. We may be facing death before we know it. God wants us to act when He calls (Living the Life).
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