I heard a great short sermon on Moody Radio (WBNH-88.5) this morning! The timing of it could not have been more perfect. Nothing's ever a coincidence because God's timing is always perfect. There was a snow storm last night so this morning before school I went out and started my car a little earlier. By the time I was ready, I walked out to my, now, warm car. I usually just stick my iPod in the tape jack right away and take off. But this morning, before even sitting in the drivers seat, I heard the speaker say "Now let's open to James chapter 4." This caught my attention. I love the book of James! Hmm, ok, I might as well give it a listen. The speaker actually only covered 2 verses and I may only have a 20 minute commute but it was probably the best 20 minute car trip I've had in a long time!
James 4:11&12-Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?
From this, he went on to talk about the 3 different degrees of slander, committed by Christians on a regular basis. The first degree, which is very easily overlooked, is the casual things we may say about something or even just a situation. "I didn't really like that last song we sang, I don't know what made the team pick it." or "Someone should really tell Kathy that blue is not her color!" or "Did you see the way she tried talking to him? Doesn't she knows she doesn't have a chance?" These are examples of some ways that we slander one another on the first degree level. Just a simple comment made to someone else that seems somewhat harmless but so easily slips off of our tongues. As innocent as it may seem, it's still putting the individual that we are talking about down and influences the opinion(s) of who we are talking to.
The second degree of slander is little more interesting. Something I, personally, had never really thought of. This one comes out with prayer requests. "I probably shouldn't say anything but, we should pray for Bob and Nancy. They're having troubles in their marriage." Something very specific that the speaker said about this point, is that if you ever hear someone say, "I probably shouldn't say anything but..." then sure enough they shouldn't and you should tell them not to say anything. We try to justify our actions but telling ourselves that we're helping them by asking for prayer on their behalf. The only way doing this is right is if they specifically give you permission to pass it on. Otherwise, if it was shared with you, it's probably better just to keep it to yourself. After all, they did trust you with it. If what's said in any way gives someone else a negative view, then it is slander.
Finally, there's the third degree of slander. This one is probably the most obvious one and is more clearly defined as straight-up gossip. (Even though all of the above are considered to be gossip as well) These examples usually seem much more blunt and may come out of anger, bitterness or quite frankly just judgement. "What the heck!? I cannot believe he said that to you! Oh my gosh, he is seriously being such a jerk! I would slap him, if I were you!" This may sound like a conversation between two middle school girls but sadly, this is very similar to a conversation I had just yesterday.
Here's a little background information, also why this sermon hit me so hard this morning:
In the morning (yesterday) I decided to text one of my friends a somewhat serious question. A couple minutes later, I saw that he/she (let's call this individual Jordan...it's gender mutual and it keeps things confidential) had responded. Expecting a serious answer in response, I receive a random text that had nothing to do what what I had asked. It was quite frustrating and out of my frustration, I began to text 2 of my close girl friends about it. "I'm gonna stinkin throw *Jordan. I asked a serious question and I didn't even get a serious answer!!" Yep, those were pretty much my exact words. I kept talking with these girls about it and how it's been this way for at least a few weeks by now. You see? I used to be able to get in serious conversations with *Jordan all the time but something is just different now and I feel as if I'm not being treated properly by him/her. I was going to respond right away but I figured I should let my frustrations dwindle so I waited until after I came home from class, when I had time to cool off and think about it. I texted *Jordan back saying how I was feeling and all that. I will admit that maybe the words I said weren't as nice as they should have been but I was trying to be as kind yet honest as possible. The conversation kept going with some awkwardness that's for sure and it definitely didn't end as I had wished, but I said what I wanted to say. I felt as if *Jordan had called me out for doing things that I didn't even think I did, and I was a little upset about it but then again, I was the one stepping on toes here so I didn't really have the right to be upset. It was pretty much a humble smack-down! I still feel bad for calling *Jordan out. Maybe my intentions were selfish. After all, I was confronting *Jordan because I didn't think I was being treated properly. Whether I want to believe it or not, I'm sure I have some blame in this whole situation too.
To make matters worse, I ended up telling my 2 friends about the entire conversation I had with *Jordan. What!? Why!? Bad Jessica! It goes back to that whole trust thing. Even though I was a part of the situation, I still had no right telling them because I'm sure *Jordan wouldn't want me telling other people. (Sorry *Jordan!...You know who you are) It's no one else's business. Like the sermon speaker had said, the reason we go and tell people about things like this is usually because we want others to take our side. I'm completely admitting that that's what I did here and have for sure done in the past before as well. In fact, one of the girls was even being encouraging and I didn't even wanna read what she was telling me because she was in a sense trying to defend *Jordan. Wow! That's terrible! Emotions are up and down all the time, so we shouldn't rely on them so much. So girls, (again....you know who you are.) I'm sorry for venting, gossiping, and bringing on negative views about *Jordan to you. And again, *Jordan, I'm sorry that I confronted you in that manner and put you down. Thank-you for sharing your thoughts with me and for unintentionally humbling me.
Anyways, readers, this is a very valuable lesson that I only hope and pray sticks with me and you guys as well, because I KNOW it's something we all deal with. Like I said, 20 minute ride....hard truth and conviction.
Father, help us not to let slander, gossip and judgment slip off of our tongues! (Or even enter our minds) Allow us to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. May we not look at the speck in our neighbor's eye when we ourselves have a plank.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Dangerous Realness of Idolatry
Idolatry. Root word: idol. I looked up the definition of an idol but quite frankly didn't like the definitions given haha. But really. And the reason I say that is because it is far more than just an object. So I will improvise. An idol is any NOUN (person, place, thing or idea) in which worship is given. Also according to 1 Corinthians 8:4 "an idol has no real existence." Now then, let me define idolatry, in the Christian perspective that is. It is putting anything else in the place of God. A synonym of this is to covet. To covet is to desire wrongfully or excessively.
Since an idol is anything that is worshiped so let me define worship. Worship: adoring reverence or regard. So now that we know what an idol, idolatry and worship are, what does it all mean? Why am I writing about this? Well, I have become aware of some (or at least one main specific one) idols in my life. I have committed idolatry.
We see examples of idolatry and idols all throughout the bible. The first coming from Isaiah 44. Verse 9-All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Vs 15-...also he makes a god and worships its; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Vs 17-And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
1 Corinthians 10 clearly tells us not to commit idolatry. Vs 7-Do not be idolaters as some of them were...
Then verse 14 simply says: Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Another straight-forward message comes from 1 John 5:21-Little children, keep yourself from idols.
In Galatians 5:16-25, we are called to walk by the Spirit. 17-21: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries dissensions, divisions, envy, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and thing like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is clear from this passage that idolatry is a work of the flesh. If we do not flee from it we will not inherit the kingdom of god, being heaven. That is pretty intense! I think the point here is that once we become new creations in Christ, we are to live by the Spirit, desiring what the Spirit desires. We are to flee from the things of our flesh and cling to things of the Spirit. Another passage that reiterates this same topic is in Colossians.
Colossians 3:5-7. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. If we do not put to death the things listed, God's wrath will be put upon us. Notice also how it says that we once walked in them, when we were living in them. That is a state of the past. We are not supposed to anymore. We are called to put them away. Later in Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is listed.
Galatians 5:22-26-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This passage basically tells us how to live as Christ-followers. What sticks out to me is the fact that we are to crucify our flesh AND its passions and desires. Like I said earlier, coveting is to desire wrongfully or deceitfully. These are the kinds of desires we are to put to death. Now don't get me wrong, Psalm 37:4 says-Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you desires of your heart. But the desires here are in God's Will, His perfect plan. These desires are to bring God glory, honor and praise.
Now what does all of this mean for me? First, I'd just like to say that all of what I just wrote was me telling myself. But I only hope that it hits at least one of you reading this hard! :) I needed to read all of that and remind myself of it. I mentioned earlier that I had become aware of some idols in my life, one being very specific. My main idol, as of recent at least, is people. Now, there is nothing wrong with people. People are great! They are fellow creations of God. They encourage. They teach. They share. And as a part of the body of Christ, we need each other. BUT, my problem has been putting them before God. When I meet someone new that I really hit it off with, it's especially tempting because, well, they're so new and fun. In cases like these, I not only sometimes notice myself neglecting my relationship with Christ (with is by far the most important) but also my relationship with some of my close friends. If I am hurting them in anyway by this, it can be harmful, especially if they are of the household of God. I often long for people's acceptance. I notice if I newly post something on facebook, intragram, whatever, I check it much more frequently than any other time..just to keep up on the 'likes'...so silly! All these problems dealing with people can just get overwhelming and take away my attention from the One true and only thing I deserve to be worshiping Remember? That's the exact definition I gave of what an idol is...putting anything in the place of God. The first commandment, listed in Exodus 20:3, says: You shall have no other gods before me. Also, Mark 20:30 reads: Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. When I put things before God I am obviously not loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I did a devotional this past Saturday, part of my 7 hours of alone time! :), and let me tell you, it was just what I needed! It was talking about why we are created and how we are created in God's image. Then, because God of course knows just what I need to be taught, it brushed on idolatry. Here are a few things that specifically stuck out to me in accordance to that subject:
-God ALONE deserve to receive ALL glory!
-If we attempt to work for 2 different masters, we are sure to give satisfaction to neither.We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. It is VAIN to attempt and CANNOT be done!
-God must be king over our hearts, His law, and His Will. And his precepts must receive our FIRST attention.
-We want to think in such a way, live in such a way, act and speak in such a way that we draw attention to the manifold perfections of God. In order to do this, we must be totally satisfied in those perfections of His.
-We look at Him, we treasure Him, we love Him, and in that we are being shaped into His image.
Are our chiefest affections of thing in earth or in Heaven?
-If our eyes do not see distinctly, we cannot walk without stumbling and falling.
When talking about the Glory of God...
1. We should desire it first.
2. It is the purpose for which the world was made.
3. Saints are called and converted by/for it.
4. It is the chief thing we should seek. (Matthew 6:33-Seek first the Kingdom of God...)
One more thing here before I go into a prayer. James 4:17-So whoever knows the right thing to do, and fails to do it, for him it is sin. There it is, like so many things in the bible (especially in the book of James) and like many included here, clear as day. If you know what is right and you don't do it, it is sin. On the contrast then, if you know what is wrong and do it anyways, it is also sin. Plain and simple. Simple? Eh, not so much but it's always a working progress.
Dear gracious Savior,
I come to you tonight with complete gratitude and humility. Thank-you for the learning experience that life is. Continue to humble me to show me that I do need change. I can't do anything on my own! I pray that these passages would really truly mean something to me. Changing me. Molding me. Piercing my heart. Your word is sharpen than a two-edged sword and will not return void! (Hebrews 4:12) I am confident that You who began a good work in me, will continue to do so until the day of Your return. (Philippians 1:6) I am ever so thankful that you are always helping me to become more and more like You. I need You. I long for You. Help me to put aside my earthly desires and passions...my worthless gadgets and thoughts and to come to You broken and on my knees to worship the Holy Lamb who was slain. May I be sick to my stomach because of my sin. Returning to my sins over and over again is pure foolishness, like a dog returning to it's vomit. (Proverbs 26:11) That's straight up disgusting! As is my sin. Beautiful One, give me Your eyes. Give me Your heart. Allow me to let go. Let go of the desire to feel accepted and included all the time. You're all I need! Let go of the jealousy, anger, and bitterness over petty things. You are the one jealous for me! You're screaming, "Jessica, I miss you! I love you. Come spend time with me. Don't worry about everyone else. I am all you really need." Help me to hear Your voice. May I take more time to be still and listen. Quiet my soul. Free me from bondage. Create in my a clean and pure heart. (Psalm 51:10) You bring restoration, sweet Jesus. So come and restore my Spirit. Keep having me reflect upon my heart and my life. Dig into the deepest darkest parts of me, riding my old fruit and cut and prune so that I may grow new, abundant fruit. I ask that I not abuse the gift that people are, but I do thank you so so much for the blessing that they are and for those intentionally investing into my life. You are so good. Your love never fails. You make all things work together for my good. For. My. Good. Thank-you, thank-you, Jesus! In the powerful, precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
To those of you who made it this far-1. I'm very impressed...wow! :) 2. Thank-you so so much for reading and I hope you were incredibly encouraged/challenged.
Eres amada<3 (You are loved) :)
Since an idol is anything that is worshiped so let me define worship. Worship: adoring reverence or regard. So now that we know what an idol, idolatry and worship are, what does it all mean? Why am I writing about this? Well, I have become aware of some (or at least one main specific one) idols in my life. I have committed idolatry.
We see examples of idolatry and idols all throughout the bible. The first coming from Isaiah 44. Verse 9-All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Vs 15-...also he makes a god and worships its; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Vs 17-And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
1 Corinthians 10 clearly tells us not to commit idolatry. Vs 7-Do not be idolaters as some of them were...
Then verse 14 simply says: Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Another straight-forward message comes from 1 John 5:21-Little children, keep yourself from idols.
In Galatians 5:16-25, we are called to walk by the Spirit. 17-21: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries dissensions, divisions, envy, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and thing like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is clear from this passage that idolatry is a work of the flesh. If we do not flee from it we will not inherit the kingdom of god, being heaven. That is pretty intense! I think the point here is that once we become new creations in Christ, we are to live by the Spirit, desiring what the Spirit desires. We are to flee from the things of our flesh and cling to things of the Spirit. Another passage that reiterates this same topic is in Colossians.
Colossians 3:5-7. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. If we do not put to death the things listed, God's wrath will be put upon us. Notice also how it says that we once walked in them, when we were living in them. That is a state of the past. We are not supposed to anymore. We are called to put them away. Later in Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is listed.
Galatians 5:22-26-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This passage basically tells us how to live as Christ-followers. What sticks out to me is the fact that we are to crucify our flesh AND its passions and desires. Like I said earlier, coveting is to desire wrongfully or deceitfully. These are the kinds of desires we are to put to death. Now don't get me wrong, Psalm 37:4 says-Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you desires of your heart. But the desires here are in God's Will, His perfect plan. These desires are to bring God glory, honor and praise.
Now what does all of this mean for me? First, I'd just like to say that all of what I just wrote was me telling myself. But I only hope that it hits at least one of you reading this hard! :) I needed to read all of that and remind myself of it. I mentioned earlier that I had become aware of some idols in my life, one being very specific. My main idol, as of recent at least, is people. Now, there is nothing wrong with people. People are great! They are fellow creations of God. They encourage. They teach. They share. And as a part of the body of Christ, we need each other. BUT, my problem has been putting them before God. When I meet someone new that I really hit it off with, it's especially tempting because, well, they're so new and fun. In cases like these, I not only sometimes notice myself neglecting my relationship with Christ (with is by far the most important) but also my relationship with some of my close friends. If I am hurting them in anyway by this, it can be harmful, especially if they are of the household of God. I often long for people's acceptance. I notice if I newly post something on facebook, intragram, whatever, I check it much more frequently than any other time..just to keep up on the 'likes'...so silly! All these problems dealing with people can just get overwhelming and take away my attention from the One true and only thing I deserve to be worshiping Remember? That's the exact definition I gave of what an idol is...putting anything in the place of God. The first commandment, listed in Exodus 20:3, says: You shall have no other gods before me. Also, Mark 20:30 reads: Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. When I put things before God I am obviously not loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I did a devotional this past Saturday, part of my 7 hours of alone time! :), and let me tell you, it was just what I needed! It was talking about why we are created and how we are created in God's image. Then, because God of course knows just what I need to be taught, it brushed on idolatry. Here are a few things that specifically stuck out to me in accordance to that subject:
-God ALONE deserve to receive ALL glory!
-If we attempt to work for 2 different masters, we are sure to give satisfaction to neither.We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. It is VAIN to attempt and CANNOT be done!
-God must be king over our hearts, His law, and His Will. And his precepts must receive our FIRST attention.
-We want to think in such a way, live in such a way, act and speak in such a way that we draw attention to the manifold perfections of God. In order to do this, we must be totally satisfied in those perfections of His.
-We look at Him, we treasure Him, we love Him, and in that we are being shaped into His image.
Are our chiefest affections of thing in earth or in Heaven?
-If our eyes do not see distinctly, we cannot walk without stumbling and falling.
When talking about the Glory of God...
1. We should desire it first.
2. It is the purpose for which the world was made.
3. Saints are called and converted by/for it.
4. It is the chief thing we should seek. (Matthew 6:33-Seek first the Kingdom of God...)
One more thing here before I go into a prayer. James 4:17-So whoever knows the right thing to do, and fails to do it, for him it is sin. There it is, like so many things in the bible (especially in the book of James) and like many included here, clear as day. If you know what is right and you don't do it, it is sin. On the contrast then, if you know what is wrong and do it anyways, it is also sin. Plain and simple. Simple? Eh, not so much but it's always a working progress.
Dear gracious Savior,
I come to you tonight with complete gratitude and humility. Thank-you for the learning experience that life is. Continue to humble me to show me that I do need change. I can't do anything on my own! I pray that these passages would really truly mean something to me. Changing me. Molding me. Piercing my heart. Your word is sharpen than a two-edged sword and will not return void! (Hebrews 4:12) I am confident that You who began a good work in me, will continue to do so until the day of Your return. (Philippians 1:6) I am ever so thankful that you are always helping me to become more and more like You. I need You. I long for You. Help me to put aside my earthly desires and passions...my worthless gadgets and thoughts and to come to You broken and on my knees to worship the Holy Lamb who was slain. May I be sick to my stomach because of my sin. Returning to my sins over and over again is pure foolishness, like a dog returning to it's vomit. (Proverbs 26:11) That's straight up disgusting! As is my sin. Beautiful One, give me Your eyes. Give me Your heart. Allow me to let go. Let go of the desire to feel accepted and included all the time. You're all I need! Let go of the jealousy, anger, and bitterness over petty things. You are the one jealous for me! You're screaming, "Jessica, I miss you! I love you. Come spend time with me. Don't worry about everyone else. I am all you really need." Help me to hear Your voice. May I take more time to be still and listen. Quiet my soul. Free me from bondage. Create in my a clean and pure heart. (Psalm 51:10) You bring restoration, sweet Jesus. So come and restore my Spirit. Keep having me reflect upon my heart and my life. Dig into the deepest darkest parts of me, riding my old fruit and cut and prune so that I may grow new, abundant fruit. I ask that I not abuse the gift that people are, but I do thank you so so much for the blessing that they are and for those intentionally investing into my life. You are so good. Your love never fails. You make all things work together for my good. For. My. Good. Thank-you, thank-you, Jesus! In the powerful, precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
To those of you who made it this far-1. I'm very impressed...wow! :) 2. Thank-you so so much for reading and I hope you were incredibly encouraged/challenged.
Eres amada<3 (You are loved) :)
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