Be careful little heart what you do…

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. (Romans 14:10–15)

I had a Christian friend visit when our young granddaughter was with us. As I prepared a meal, this little one asked my friend to play a card game with her. She refused and suggested another activity that didn’t include cards. She later explained that she grew up in a gambling family. For her, playing cards involved greed, unkindness, loss of grocery money, and a whole lot of unpleasantness. For her, card playing was sin. I understood. 

This passage says that if I had insisted it was okay and she should do what the child asked, I would be putting a stumbling block in front of her. Not only that, it would be an unloving thing to do. The card game was not sin in itself (It was “Go Fish”) but for her, it was a cause of grief because of her family history.

Drinking wine could be another sin for some and not others. I heard of a man that had been hooked on a sport and it messed up his family life. When he became a Christian, he considered even watching a game was a sin. 

The Bible may have no ground for such convictions. It may be a “weaker faith”, but to judge or put down someone for their ‘weakness’ is a sin too. Just because   I feel free to play cards, have a little wine, or watch sports does not mean I can speak of another person as being in error or wrong about their ideas of what is sinful.

I suppose on the other hand such a person could call me a sinner for my freedoms and certainly for being judgmental. More verses tell me not to let my freedoms be spoken of as evil. Instead, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) Instead, this is the way:

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. (Romans 14:20–22)

I’m not to show off my freedom in Christ at the expense of someone’s peace of heart. The final criteria is this: “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)

Jesus, whatever You say is okay and I trust You is not a problem. But if You say YES and I say NO, or if You say NO and I say YES, my life is a stumbling block for someone else. Enable obedience from a willing heart, and that I am aware of those who may be watching and prone to stumbling!

 

Pray for. . . .

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (Romans 13:1–7)

In those days as well as these days, governing authorities can be evil, corrupt, only interested in power and wealth. What then? How can a sincere and godly person support such leaders?

But the passage does not say I need to vote for them or stick up for their evil ways. It says to be subject to them or in other words, obey civil laws. Pay my taxes, stay under the speeding limits, do not steal, do not deface the property of others, do not riot or break any other laws. Keep my life free from crime.

How can I give respect or honor to someone who rules but is corrupt and taking personal advantage of their position? I need to remember this:

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (1 Timothy 1:8–11)

This means the law of God, which includes the Romans passage. He says this and I cannot excuse it because those in authority over me are breaking it. I must honor God by obeying Him. Also, this helps:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1–2)

God isn’t promising to change the people I pray for; but He will give me peace and quiet so I can be godly and dignified no matter what those in authority are doing. He has taught me that prayer for others always changes me, even if those I pray for remain the same. For one thing, I cannot hate them any longer. Wanting the best for others, even enemies, defines the love God has for me, and “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10) 

Jesus, another issue is who are those in authority over me? Read the roster. It is not the leaders of other nations any more than it is my bossy neighbors. Yet love still wants Your best for all people. That best is eternal life in a saving relationship with You. Enable me to deeply desire that for everyone. Love like that will make me more like You and this is Your goal for my life as well as the lives of all people. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Avoiding: Garbage in = garbage out

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)

God saved me “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) and a big part of this renewal is to live by a renewed mind. That is, what I think about is vital to how I live. The NT says this:

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:8–10)

Renewed in knowledge means knowing what God has done for me, thinking about it, letting it govern how I talk and act. This is because “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:18–20)

The psalmist wrote, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9) and the NT says, “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” (Philippians 3:15) It also gives the standards of how to think:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

God says He will put His laws on my heart, and write them on my mind (Hebrews 10:16) but how do they get there? Usually not from reading or watching the news, from fiction books, listening to podcasts, etc. but this way:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

Most excuses for time spent in Scripture involve being too busy and not enough time, yet if I evaluate what I do have time for, how will that affect my mind if I trade it for godly thinking that helps me not only to know Jesus better, but have thoughts that are not sin-producing but sharable with others who do not know Him?

Jesus, I’m so thankful for the habit of having daily devotions that began even before You renewed my heart, and for the love of reading and studying Your Word. It is my protection from evil, a faith-builder, and encouragement to give to others. It is how to know You better and the best way to think Your thoughts.

Important to walk in the spirit, not the flesh

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 7:25–8:8)

Flesh is a term for our old nature. It is intellect/mind, emotions/feelings, and volition/will and makes up our human soul. Without Christ, it is our life, decisions, preferences and choices because the spirit is dead. However, when in Jesus Christ by faith, the Holy Spirit becomes the connection to God and the source of new life. That old nature is no longer needed as before, only to heed what the Lord says through our new nature — the spirit made alive by Him.

Our issue is knowing the difference. The Holy Spirit produces fruit: 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)

If this fruit is missing, then I know I’m not filled with the Spirit. But what about commands and actions? How do I know if my ideas are from Him or that old nature?

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19–21)

These are obvious and usually identify someone who is not a Christian at all. Yet what about those actions that are not so obvious? I’ve learned two things, both being gifts from the Lord:
Know His voice. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

 Read His Word. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

He makes things plain also when I refuse to rely on my own ideas, or become overwhelmed by negative emotions such as rage, worry, and others, or when I have strong I wants and say things like “I must have this now” rather than hearing it from the Lord. 

Jesus, I get stirred up by those with “I problems” yet realize how easily I can listen to myself instead of You. Keep me in the Word and keep working on my ears. I’m so thankful that You love me and refuse to give me those ‘I wants’ that will do me harm. Bless Your Holy Name! 
 

 

Confessing sin and being obedient is vital…

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:1–14)

Before Adam sinned, he reflected the image of God who created him. Alive in his inner spirit, he listened to God and expressed that life in his thinking, emotions, and will. After he sinned, that inner spirit became dead or separated from God and he was left with a soul and body that could not obey the Lord. This condition became the problem of all who came after him. 

No one could obey God with a dead spirit unless God revived that inner faculty. Such a person is only able to do things according to his own ideas, emotions, and choices, which the Bible calls our sin nature. Sadly, that sin-nature was passed down to all humans. All were born with our spirits dead to God and no longer able to function in union with Him. Since we were created to reflect God, humanity began to worship home-made gods, even our own selves and fed by outside forces; the world and the devil. This old nature was once powerful in Adam before he sinned but became unable to please God or bring life back to the deadness within. 

Given the appropriate circumstances and an appealing set of lies, Satan can influence people who seem like they have faith, but their faith is in themselves. One cult believes Jesus died to give them the right to earn their salvation, but He is not God in human flesh, only a created being that they do not worship. Not one Bible verse supports that so they rewrite a few!

On the other hand, God tells Christians that because of faith in Christ, our spirit is made alive and we can hear and obey Him. He tells us to renew our minds, base our emotions on His, and yield our will. This is why Jesus said, “Not my will but thine be done” even though His will was perfect and without sin. 

Religious people might try but no matter how good we might look, Isaiah 53:6 calls it “turning our own way” and “iniquity” if we try to please Him without that reborn spirit. However, Jesus will say, “Depart from me; I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Romans 8 adds that, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5–8) A dead spirit cannot serve God. 

It is a challenge to listen to God in my spirit, to be filled with the spirit and refuse to let my old nature rule. It often wants comfort, an easy life, no worries or challenges, and having my way, but God's will is not like that.  

Jesus, when You toss difficulties my way, I’m learning to listen and obey rather than ask You to remove them. Very often You surprise me with great grace to face those issues in ways that I would not imagine. Your mind, Your feeling, Your will is so much better than what my selfishness can come up with. Thank You for saving me from myself!

 

The heart of the gospel…

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12–21)

One OT verse describes sin this way: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Christian martyr Watchman Nee helps me understand the nature of sin. He describes humans as spirit, soul, and body. The inner spirit is what enables me to connect with God. The soul is my faculties of intellect, emotions, and will power. The body is the physical connection to the elements around me. Adam was created to communicate with God through his spirit, with the soul saying yes to what God says and his body responding in obedience.

Adam was given one command that he disobeyed. This broke the spiritual connection with God. He was left with a soul that confused or ignored what God wanted because he became spiritually dead to it. Not only would he die physically, but he would die without hope of being with the One that gave him his spirit. This broken condition is what is called sin.

The only cure for this condition is receiving new life to the spirit from the only One who can give it. However, many rely on the power of their soul to live and some do a fine job of what looks like an obedient-to-God life. They fill their minds with their ideas influenced by their peers, false teachers, etc. and train their desires to choose ‘good’ things, choices that bring them assurance they are righteous and okay with God. Yet without the life of Christ, these efforts do not awaken a dead spirit. Only Jesus can do that.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Body facilities cannot think God's thoughts, experience His emotions, or will themselves into true spirituality and more than I can become an opera singer by positive thinking, or being at peace if my house is on fire, or be the next mayor of our city by wanting it to happen. Reading the rules informs my soul, but my soul is only able to fool myself into thinking how I think, feel, or act is what God wants. 

Confessing sin is an important step toward a renewed spirit yet that also involves listening to God. Any other voice, inside or outside might choose for self-pity or self-promotion rather than true humility. How desperately Jesus and God's Spirit is needed to get us out of sin’s trap.

Lord, even as a redeemed person, my ideas, feelings, and wants can strive for obedience rather than listen to You or even admit that inner war is trying to trip me up. Satan told Adam and Eve that if they just said no to God and yes to their desires, they would be like God, but they already were! At that, evil won — until You came, died, and defeated death for us and because You obeyed Father God rather than give in to Your perfect will. It is still a wonder and even a mystery, yet You are the way, the truth, and the only life that brings me out of sin’s bondage to live the way You intended.

 

Everyone needs Jesus

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6–11)

A friend said, “I don’t know why faith is a big deal. I believe in God and that Jesus died for the sins of the world. So no big deal.”

I replied, “But what about your sins?”

Silence, then he said, “Oh, I see what you mean.”

Redemption, justification, salvation, and being reconciled to God is a personal relationship, not a philosophy, and none of it happens without the recognition and admission of personal sin. Yes, Jesus died for the ungodly, and that means you and me, because all have fallen short. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Yes, He died for the whole world, but the benefit of that death is for those who believe in Him and receive Him into their life. All who do this realize that their faith is a gift and not their own doing — or at least we should for He said:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)

And the entire Bible repeats it. Salvation is not something anyone can do by ourself,  nor is faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9) 

And this is why I call Him “Lord Jesus” — because He is the Author and Finisher of my faith and uses all things to transform me into His image. I can only agree with Him, agree all that He says and asks me to think and to do, because He gives me the faith and the power to respond. Without Him, I can do nothing. (See John 15)

Lord Jesus, You gave me this new day to love and serve You, to pray, to care about others and do whatever You put before me. I am Your child and You are my very life.