Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians

Stumbling blocks to spiritual growth

Posted on January 17, 2014 by | Comments Off on Stumbling blocks to spiritual growth

man praying

At one point or another, we all come to the point in our lives where it feels that somehow we have reached a plateau where we have quit growing spiritually; for some, it even goes to the extent that it feels that God has left us.  I know in my own life, beginning when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I have had to deal with numerous things (and some of them more than once) that have kept me from developing a richer and deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, the truest of our heart’s desire should be to become more Christ-like in our attitude and in the way we treat others.  The more we desire to become more like Him, the more temptations will follow us, the more hardships we will endure – and overcoming each will serve to strengthen our faith.

I was originally going to publish this as a single devotional but after sketching it out, I realized there was enough for a few posts.  I did not place them in any sort of order that may indicate importance nor is this meant to be a complete list of everything that can keep us from experiencing spiritual growth.  These are simply some things that I or others close to me have had to deal with that has kept them from enjoying true spiritual growth.

We attempt to return to our old lifestyle:

No Christian is immune from the pull of our old lifestyle. At some point, every Christian has to battle the pull of their past. This is not necessarily because we find it more exciting than what Christ calls us to, but because we have a tendency to return to what we know and are comfortable with.  As a Christian, a return to our old lifestyle will cause a division between ourselves and the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage (Galatians 4:9). Even Solomon, considered the wisest of all the ancient kings, understood the problems with the believer who returns to their old lifestyle, The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself (Proverbs 14:14). Yes, a Christian with unrepented sin has a tendency to justify their sins, much like a lost person will do. Although still saved by the grace of God, our old lifestyle and the sins we are predisposed to will place us in a state of rebellion against God.

Being led by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote, Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him (Hebrews 10:38).  The apostle Peter also warns the follower of Christ to avoid the temptations and traps of returning to our old lifestyle: For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (II Peter 2:20-22). Oh, the wasted years of my life when I was young in the faith!

God makes a provision for us; If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Just as told in the story of the prodigal son; if we come to God, our heavenly Father and repent of our sins, He will forgive us and restore us into his fellowship.

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The first heavy frost, quiet examination, and a growing faith

Posted on November 15, 2013 by | Comments Off on The first heavy frost, quiet examination, and a growing faith

Winter Leaves

Over the last few days, winter-like weather has set in over much of the nation.  Even in my hometown of Henderson, Kentucky, we had low temperatures in the teens and low twenties for much of the week. Personally, I enjoy cold weather there are some people I know in the area simply do not like the changes that winter brings.  For some, aches and pains are more prevalent in the winter months; for others, it’s the inability to enjoy the outdoor activities associated with those warm summer evenings.  For me, winter brings about a time of reflection about the year that’s almost done. It’s a chance to examine myself – did I meet the goals I set for myself and what do I need to do to prepare myself for the things that the next year may bring.

I love winter for several reasons and there is even a biblical reason for it. The first mention of winter actually occurs as Noah offers a sacrifice to God: And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:21-22). The last time that winter is mentioned in the Bible is mentioned is during Paul’s travels as he writes to Titus: When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter (Titus 3:12).  What else is interesting is that the word, “winter,” is mentioned fourteen times in the Bible and according to Edward F. Vallowe, the author of Biblical Mathematics: Keys to Scripture Numbers, fourteen is the number that represents deliverance or salvation.

Our faith is a growing faith and until the day we depart this world for the next, the apostle Paul wrote, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). I honestly believe that part of our working on our own salvation does involve an honest personal assessment – or examination – of our faith.  Our faith is to be a living faith and is to be a personal faith tailored to our spiritual needs, our spiritual level of growth, and the personal calling that God has placed on our lives.  Paul wrote to the Christians at the church of Corinth:  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup (I Corinthians 11:28) and Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (II Corinthians 13:5).

In the verse in I Corinthians, Paul is writing about the proper way the Lord’s Supper – or Communion as some call it – is to be observed.  He was reminding the Christians that they need to look at themselves – the condition of their hearts, the thoughts of their minds – before they took their part in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  This examination was to assure themselves that not only were they prepared mentally for the observance, but that they were spiritually ready to take part in something that symbolizes the literal price of our salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ paid.  The second reminder for Christians to examine themselves, as found in II Corinthians 13:5, has no set schedule but the simple reasoning of the need to examine ourselves – we need to see that Christ is dwelling within us.  We do not measure ourselves according to our own measurements, but we are to measure ourselves to the standards set in the Bible. I believe that the need to examine our lives for the purpose of reminding ourselves that it is not anything we have done for our salvation, but as in the words of the apostle Paul, For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

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Setting priorities – why I still study the Bible

Posted on October 29, 2013 by | Comments Off on Setting priorities – why I still study the Bible

stack-of-books

After serving nearly seven years in the U.S. Army, I have always considered the pursuit of knowledge as one of the most important than anyone can set out to do.  In April 1996, I took the first major step in my education, as I thought at the time, by enrolling in Northwestern State University of Louisiana in my efforts to increase my knowledge and prospects for future employment.  Yes, I was a Christian, but I had really not devoted myself to the calling that God places before every Christian: 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). Yes, I was seeking knowledge for worldly gain but when it came to studying the Bible and developing a richer faith in God, I was severely lacking.  It would not be until 2006 that I would begin to apply the same diligence in studying the Bible as I had my college coursework.

Yesterday morning, I was asked by one of my former college students a question about my faith.  Having had the opportunity to have him take three of my courses, he and I have had several conversations in the past that have ranged from current events, foreign policy, and even my faith.  This morning as he and I were discussing the dangers of humanism, he asked me if I ever feel that I have reached the point that I have learned all that I need to as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I know that for many people that would be considered a strange question; however, as a Christian that teaches in a community college, I am often asked questions about my faith from the perspective of young people that simply do not know or understand the importance of having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  I explained to him that the one thing about life is that the more I learn about the grace of God, the more I realize I do not know even half of all there is to know about Him.  We then sat for about ten minutes discussing how we should study the Bible.

What is telling from the conversation was that this young man simply assumed that by me going to church on Wednesday evening, and Sunday morning for Sunday School and the a.m. service, and again for Sunday evening service, I had learned about everything I needed to know about my faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each day I run into people professing to be Christians that do not feel the need to study the Bible for themselves.  There’s no desire to follow the spiritual advice offered from the hand of Moses as he wrote, But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).  The “thence,” if we are Christians is the day we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; for the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17).  Once we are saved there should be a natural desire to seek the Lord’s will for our lives – we do that through prayer and the reading of his Word.  If we diligently seek him with every ounce of our being, we will find him and we will find his divine plan for our lives.

Back in 2006, when I began to pursue my Bible study as much as I did my academic pursuits, I noticed that within Psalms 119, there are seven verses that have the nearly identical wording and also carry the exact same idea – David is asking God out of the sincerity of his heart for God to teach his statues to him so he might live a life that will honor God.  One particular verse, Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes (Psalm 119:124), David acknowledges that God cannot teach anything unless his mercy is given to us first – this mercy is salvation from the judgment and eternal punishment that comes from not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Before we can learn we must first do what David had to do – But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation (Psalms 13:5). There can be no other way to open the door for learning the things of our faith of of our God than trusting in his mercy and grace and rejoicing in the gift of salvation.  The apostle Paul actually reminded Christians at the church in Corinth, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (I Corinthians 6:20).  Our redemption has already been purchased and again, the apostle Paul wrote, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Our reasonable service is to open our minds and hearts to learning of the things of our faith and of our God and we do that through thoughtful and careful study of the Bible.

I choose to study the Bible because I need to be reminded daily of his love for me.  We live in a world that is full of anger, bitterness, and open hostility and for me, being reminded that God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  Being reminded that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16) reassures me and reminds me that the same God that made a way to be reconciled to him is still concerned with me.  The Bible is where we, as believers, read the simple promise given us by the Lord Jesus Christ: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31).

I choose to to study the Bible because, just as the psalmist David, I do not want to willfully sin against my God: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalms 119:11). As I spend time each day reading my Bible, I am amazed at the completeness of God. Each time I read through Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, I remain in awe of how relevant those ancient writings are in this high-tech and modern world.  It truly is a humbling experience to be reminded of God’s love for us and the simple truth that we do matter in a world that tells us that we don’t matter and asks us why bother.

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