Category Archives: Christian Living

Blogs in this topic are designed focus on living a life that’s honoring to God.

Is your spiritual house properly constructed?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by | Comments Off on Is your spiritual house properly constructed?

houseconstructionEver watch what all goes into building a house? Before the keys are even given to the owner, there are several things that must happen. First, there has to be a plan for construction, the lot has to be prepared, a foundation laid, walls and roof must be framed, and many other steps before the house is even ready for the first picture is hung by the owners. This morning, as I was reading an article about the decline in single family new home construction, I couldn’t help but to notice the picture.  I began thinking about the similarities in construction and the development of our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

A house is not just a few bricks, some shingles, boards, windows, and doors fastened together. It may look great from the outside but without all the necessary parts on the inside, the house will not survive the storms that come against it.  It has to be fastened to the foundation and it must have a framework that gives the boards, bricks, and shingles a place on which to be fastened. As Christians, the same exists with our walk with the Lord Jesus.  It is more than having an outward appearance of being a child of God.  We must have a foundation, a plan, and a frame that supports the outward appearance.  During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock (Matthew 7:24-25). Just as a house is as only strong as its foundation, our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ is only as strong as our spiritual foundation.

Looking back at my life, although I accepted the Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 1988, I projected a great Christian walk, but that’s all it was – a projection, a shell.   While I may have fooled myself and others around me, I was not fooling the Lord: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart (I Samuel 16:7). There are a lot of people out there that are doing the same thing that I did and think that they are actually fooling those around them.  The apostle Paul even warned the early Christians and us in his second letter to the Corinthians about those that do this very thing: Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s (II Corinthians 10:7).  There were times in my life, before my personal revival in 2006, that I wondered why God did not answer my prayers or attended to my needs.  The prophet Jeremiah actually provided the answer for all that truly seek it: I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:10). When our spiritual life is hollow and we continue to live in sin, God cannot and will not bless us because we are living in a condition of disobedience. In other words, a real faith in Christ must be built on a firm foundation and must be genuine from the inside out.

For a strong Christian life, our foundation must be on faith in Christ alone; For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We are held to that foundation by the Holy Spirit, Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual (I Corinthians 2:13) and through our personal studying of the Bible,  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). Just as a house is strengthened by its frame, we are strengthened by the Bible, by our fellowship with other Christians, and our regular participation within the local New Testament congregation.  A strong walk with Christ does not happen by accident, but is something that is built over time.

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Posted in Christian Living, My Walk

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When and why our “message” fails

Posted on June 13, 2014 by | Comments Off on When and why our “message” fails

chinese-funny_4815415285841931A while back ago, I saw this picture on Facebook and actually had a pretty good laugh.  This Chinese restaurant’s name is OK Chinese Food, and you can probably rest assured that there are many people who have also laughed at this failed message.  When I was on temporary duty in South Korea back in the ’90s, I learned that when Koreans used that phrase, for them, it didn’t mean average or just enough to get by, but they meant it as something that was good.  My South Korean counterpart even told me that the phrase, “OK” had been adopted by the South Korean culture over time in their efforts to understand and communicate with the American military stationed in South Korea.

I would probably guess that the Chinese family that named this restaurant meant OK in the exact same way as the South Koreans do. I am sure that if they understood that most Americans see OK as being average or enough to get by, they would have chosen to use a different word to describe their cuisine.  No restaurant owner wants to advertise that their food is average or just enough to pass the health inspectors.  This is an example of a failed message that does not convey the meaning that the owners desired.  This morning I was thinking about the messages that everyone sends out just doing our everyday things. Whether we are at work, at the marketplace, the post office, gym, or even just doing things around the house, everything we do sends a message to others. We send a message in the way we are dressed, the way we act, the way we speak, and even in the way we interact with others whom we come into contact.  This is one of the reasons I believe that the Holy Spirit led James to write But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22).

What message do we send to others around us?  I know that as I have begun to mature in my faith that I have become more aware of the message I project.  A few years back, I attended a church that had a very active soul winning program. I was also attending college in Louisiana and I often wondered why people never really took me seriously about my faith.  While I didn’t have the answer then, looking back now, I do – I was sending out a wrong message. I was proclaiming Jesus as my Lord and Savior, yet was continuing to live a life dominated by the flesh. Any message we send out about our faith must be a clear, uncluttered, and focused message. We can only do this through allowing Jesus to have complete lordship over our lives. Even the Lord Jesus Christ taught, And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock (Luke 6:46-48). Think about the application of this parable – if we live the kind of life that God calls us to, we will be sending out a clear, understandable message free from confusion.

When storms come, I have always seen people flee to relatives who have sturdy, well-built homes to ride out the storms; I’ve never seen people flee to relatives living in a trailer house to ride out storms. Do you want to be able to lead your family and friends to the Lord?  Want to be able to share the gospel of the Lord with your children or grandchildren? You cannot send out mixed messages.  You cannot say you love Jesus and continue to live a life that sends the opposite message out. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:49). Just as the first part of the parable has a powerful application, so does this verse.  When our message is unclear, garbled, and confused, we are not an effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.  When people are in crisis, they do not want someone who is no more stable than they, they want someone who has their life grounded on a firm foundation.

As I mentioned before, I love travelling.  While driving, I love listening to talk radio and at night, I find AM radio stations.  It has always amazed me that as I am driving through northern Louisiana or Mississippi how I can pick up stations as far away as Chicago, New York, El Paso, and even Montreal.  Normally, I do not station surf, but will listen until the station begins to become overlapped by other stations.  At that point, its hard to listen to the original station I was listening to as the signal becomes distorted, garbled, and the programming begins to overlap.  It becomes a great picture of why the Lord tells us But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37) and why he also stated,  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Just as my car radio picks up garbled messages, when we don’t do our very best to send a clear message about Christ with our very being, we are sending a message that gets received and causes confusion for all who hear it.

I believe that James was led to write, For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work (James 3:16) and Paul writes, For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (I Corinthians 14:33). When we begin to allow Jesus to have complete lordship over our lives and we begin to live up to the standards that He has set for us, we will send out the message that we need to send and it will be understood by those that need to hear of the love of God.  We will become like the wise man who built his house upon the rock and be able to bear witness of the greatness of God.  We can’t even begin to do that as long as we’re transmitting the wrong message.

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Posted in Christian Living, Personal Evangelism, Relationships

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In times of unrest, examine yourself and pray

Posted on June 11, 2014 by | Comments Off on In times of unrest, examine yourself and pray

WartenWe’ve all experienced times in our lives where we become disappointed, anxious, and on edge.  In the mornings, instead of waking up feeling refreshed and ready to start another day, we see mountains that wait before us, forests that obstruct our views, and valleys we know we’re going to have to walk through.  At night, we toss and turn with various scenarios that fill our imagination; all focused on what we are currently experiencing.  These days and nights adds to the unrest as it begins to settle into what feels like our very souls.  There is not one person on this Earth that has not experienced days and nights like this.

Within the Old Testament, there are several verses that deal with this very topic of spiritual unrest.  Within the book of Deuteronomy, there’s a verse that describes the attitude that so many of us have during times such as those: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see (Deuteronomy 28:67).   In this verse, God is warning the children of Israel that if they forsake Him, there will be judgment and a spiritual unrest will arise out of it unless they remain faithful.  I admit that there have been more than a few days where I have wished it was already night, just to toss and turn and later wishing for the night to end.  Even Job, during the midst of the trial he faced said: Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day (Job 7:1-4).

David also faced his days and nights of unrest and describes what so many of us have experienced so well: I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee (Psalms 38:6-9). There are times when the hardest thing is to face our unrest, to try and learn its source, and overcome it. Even Christians have taken solace in the “cures” of the world that includes frivolous shopping, drugs, alcohol, risky behaviors, and even suicide to find relieve life’s weariness.  Sadly, many of us are so busy with the things in our own lives that we have forgotten about those in our families and our church congregations that are emotionally hurting, weary, and in a state of general unrest. If they are Christians, something has happened to change the sweet relationship they had with the Lord Jesus Christ; if they are lost, they are looking for the peace that only Jesus can bring to a life shattered and out of control. Saved or unsaved, the answer is Jesus.

Often times when we feel these periods of unrest, we fail to consider the complete situation around us.  Many of us look beyond our own participation in the events that led us to the point where we begin to wish our life away. Looking earlier in the chapter of Psalms already quoted, David wrote:  For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness (Psalms 38:2-5). In quiet reflection and prayer to God, David was not afraid to examine his life in search of the cause of his spiritual unrest.  Like us, most of David’s spiritual unrest came as a result of his own sin.

If I am honest with myself, the many times I have experienced the feelings of unrest, disappointment, or even dissatisfaction that have been the result of sin. Things like our own impatience, the getting of things that we have lusted or coveted after, or the expectation of getting something that’s “owed” to us all are all in direct opposition to how we should actually be as followers of Christ. David understood this and is why he encourages all to Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD (Psalms 27:14) and Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it (Psalms 37:34). In my life almost all my spiritual unrest has come as the result of me not waiting upon the Lord and realizing that I had made mistakes after I had done them.

In reality, we can avoid the feelings of unrest, disappointment, and dissatisfaction if we will simply turn to the Lord. If we take time to remember the writings of Solomon, he actually provides one of the best antidotes to those feelings: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Whatever it is, when we place it in God’s hands, we can be sure that He will not only take care of us but He will also use it for His glory so that He will draw others to Him. As David learned, It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes (Psalms 118:9); want to sow the seeds of disappointment, unrest, and dissatisfaction?  Place your cares and concerns in anything or anyone but the Lord.  Ignore the advice and simple truths found in scripture; It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man (Psalms 118:8). Yes, we have to depend on others such as our spouses, parents, children, coworkers, bosses, and friends; however, when we place all of our hopes, trusts and happiness in these people, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment, discontentment, and unrest. There is a peace that we get from placing our complete trust and faith in God: Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield (Psalms 115:11).

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living, Our relationship with God

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