Our Time

Our Time

Ephesians 5:15-17

The way you use your time reveals your values, priorities, and beliefs about what is true and worthwhile. As a good steward of this fleeting gift, you can make the most of your time by . . .

• Receiving Christ as your personal Savior. Any portion of life spent outside of God’s will is wasted time. The only way you will ever reach your true potential and experience genuine peace and prosperity is by personally knowing the One who created you.

• Praying. The greatest time saver is prayer. As you seek God’s mind con-cerning your schedule or decisions, prayer acts like a compass in your life. With respect to time and energy, no one has ever been more efficient than Jesus Christ. He consistently recognized that the most valuable way He could use His time was to find a solitary place and commune with the Father.

• Discovering God’s plan for your life and walking daily in His will. A believer who knowingly disobeys the Lord will be miserable and ineffective. There is no way to maximize your effectiveness if you are struggling against God or have become so hardened to His voice that you no longer hear Him.

• Writing a mission statement for your life. As the Creator, God knows the plans He has for you. So ask about His desires, and then take the time to summarize how you intend to use the remainder of your earthly days. If you stick to the plan God has helped you set, you will find that your time will be invested rather than simply “spent.”

Transforming How We Think

Transforming How We Think

Colossians 3:1-2

...we saw that Romans 12 urged us not to think like the world but to be transformed by renewing our minds. That may sound like a daunting task, but it is possible through Christ (Phil. 4:13). Here are some pointers for transforming the way you think:

• Acknowledge you have the capacity to think rightly (1 Cor. 2:16). If you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, God’s Spirit lives inside you. Because He is holy and pure, His presence enables you to think holy, pure thoughts. And within you is the very same power that raised Christ from the dead (Eph. 1:19-20).

• Seek spiritual things (Col. 3:1-2). When a muscle is worked, it grows stronger. Similarly, reading the Scriptures provides sustenance to your mind, but if you then exercise it through study and meditation, your thinking will become more Christlike.

• Sift thoughts through the Word and will of God (2 Cor. 10:5). Too often, even Christians act impetuously without regard for God’s instruction or purposes. Avidly reading and obeying His Word and trusting the Holy Spirit’s guidance will help you avoid much heartache.

• Choose to refuse certain thoughts (Ps. 101:2-3). Harmful thoughts are among those things referred to as Satan’s “flaming arrows” (Eph. 6:16). We may not be responsible for such thoughts popping into our heads, but we are accountable for our response to them. If you find yourself pausing on or entertaining unhealthy ideas, ask God to redirect your thinking. Then thank Him because Jesus Christ purchased your forgiveness at Calvary.

Our Thoughts

Our Thoughts

Romans 12:1-2

The mind is the control tower of life. Your thoughts greatly influence not only your successes, failures, and choices but also your relationship with the Lord and others. Godliness comes from thinking the way God does.

Yet there are several problems that can negatively impact your thought life. One of the most persistent is the influence of your past. When you were saved, God gave you a new spirit and a new life. However, in letting you start over, He did not blot the past from your mind. The Father wants you to be able to draw from your good and bad experiences when ministering to others. He also wants you to appreciate His grace and knows it is important for you to remember what He rescued you from.

Another problem is unsuitable input. Though we may think we are immune to the effect of harmful influences, what we allow into our minds does greatly impact our thinking. Unrighteous input creates an acceptance of and desire for worldly things. It can also lead to internal conflict: our godly thoughts are at odds with our ungodly appetites, which creates feelings of tension and guilt. As we begin to edit God from various parts of our lives, we allow Satan to gain a toehold.

That’s why God tells us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8). He knows that properly programming our mind can protect us from the Devil’s traps.

Blessed Are Those Who Comfort 2

Blessed Are Those Who Comfort

Recognize when others are in need.

If we’re going to be effective in expressing empathy, we must first recognize the emotional and spiritual condition of those we’re trying to help. As we walk in the Spirit, living in submission to His authority and being in tune with His still, small voice, He’ll give us the spiritual discernment to view people and their situations from God’s perspective. The Holy Spirit will also touch our emotions, giving us compassion for the hurting and love for the unlovable.

Part of seeing people as God views them is recognizing their potential. When Christ looked at a person, He saw not only the one standing before Him but also the one he or she could potentially become. For example, when Jesus met Peter, the fisherman, He saw a leader of His church. He recognized that Saul, the persecutor, would one day become the evangelistic missionary. That’s why we should never label anyone as a hopeless case. At times, just knowing that someone sees their potential can lift people out of despair and motivate them to become mighty forces in the kingdom of God.

Reach out to help.

In order to build up and encourage others, we need to reach out to them personally. Too often, we try to connect distantly or conveniently through text messages, emails, or even phone calls. But nothing can replace the effectiveness of face-to-face personal interaction. Only then can we see body language and facial expressions that reveal what’s truly going on in the heart. When Jesus reached out to meet people’s needs, He connected on three levels: mentally, by assessing their condition; emotionally, by showing compassion; and physically, by alleviating their suffering.

Be ready to give.

Next, we must be prepared to meet the needs of those who are going through difficulties. However, this requires great spiritual discernment because the most obvious need may not be the most important one. It seems as if the compassionate response would be to alleviate their pain or help them get out of a bad situation. But sometimes God has a purpose to work out in their lives through the trial.

When Jesus was in the country of the Gerasenes, He met a demon-possessed man whose appearance and behavior might have seemed like the major problem (Luke 8:26-35): he was naked, covered in wounds, and screaming wildly. If Jesus had told His disciples to attend to the man’s immediate needs by quickly clothing him, asking him to sit down quietly to eat a meal and talk about what’s bothering him, there would have been chaos. What’s worse, the man would have stayed in his desperate condition. But Jesus met him at the point of his deepest need—spiritual deliverance. After He cast out the demons, everything else fell into place. Like Christ, we have to remember that our good intentions to make people feel better may actually get in the way. But we can’t go wrong when we help them with their spiritual needs.

Make use of difficulties.

We’ve all experienced situations when our needs have been so overwhelming that the only thing we could do was ask for help. But that’s not where God wants us to stay. Once we’ve moved through suffering and received His comfort, He wants us to become comforters to others, thereby completing the cycle of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. After helping a person walk through a dark valley, the next step is to challenge him to use that suffering to help someone else. That’s what Jesus did after delivering the demon-possessed man. He told him, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

Investing in others’ lives is not always easy, and on occasion it can be quite costly. It requires time and emotional energy, but Christ has given us a promise in Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you.” This verse isn’t speaking just about money. The Lord will multiply whatever you give in service to Him. If you sacrifice your time to help someone, He’ll give you adequate time for whatever else He knows you need to do. If ministering to someone leaves you emotionally exhausted, He promises renewal. Giving ourselves away to others is not a life of deprivation but one of spiritual growth, joy, and fulfillment.

Blessed Are Those Who Comfort 1

Blessed Are Those Who Comfort

We may think that the bigger a church is, the more it pleases God. But the truth is, He’s far more interested in people than buildings. Creation testifies to this fact. The Lord didn’t create the earth simply to be admired for its beauty, but to be the ideal habitat for the crowning glory of His creation—humankind.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He also focused on people. Wherever He went, He ministered to those with physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. So doesn’t it make sense that people should be our priority as well? As believers, we are called to build each other up (1 Thess. 5:11) and bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Yet many Christians have developed a “sponge” attitude. They go to church and attend Bible studies, soaking up spiritual truths, yet they never squeeze anything out onto others. God’s Word should change us, and in turn, affect others as we minister to them.

If we’re not careful, we can go through life with blinders on, forgetting that people around us are suffering. Some Christians are quick to claim, “Well, I don’t have the spiritual gift of mercy, so this doesn’t apply to me.” But believers aren’t exempt from the responsibility of spiritual practices, and all of God’s children should be growing in these areas.

If we’re going to learn to be empathetic, we must see others’ situations from their perspective and feel their emotions. Hurting people recognize whether our attempts to comfort are genuine care that flows from an understanding heart, or merely shallow words. We recognize how Jesus could minister with true compassion. After all, He is God. But how in the world are ordinary people supposed to reach out the way He did?

Acknowledge the value of suffering.

One of the Lord’s most surprising and effective ways of developing empathy in us is through suffering. The Bible says God is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

Although no one enjoys going through difficulty or pain, who better to empathize with a hurting person than someone who has walked through a dark valley and come out on the other side? Because we’ve shared a similar painful experience, we can assure others that the Lord is sufficient in every situation. All of us who desire to be used by God must submit to brokenness and recognize that ease, comfort, and pleasure aren’t His only plans for our life. He saved us to minister to others, and becoming more empathetic is an integral part of that calling.

Power, Not Fear

The only fear that God encourages in a Christian’s life is the fear of God (2 Cor. 5:10–11;_Heb. 10:31). Fear of people does not come from God. The problem is that many Christians fear people more than they fear God. Their fear hinders them from pleasing God because they waste their efforts appeasing other people. Timothy was a young man, timid by nature, and_probably not strong physically (1 Tim. 5:23). He knew of Paul’s frequent trials and persecutions. He knew that he, too, might suffer those same persecutions. Paul reminded his young colleague that fear of others does not come_from God.

Fear causes us to stop and question what God has clearly told us to do. Perhaps we were confident in our obedience until persecution came; now we doubt whether we heard God correctly. Most fear is fear of the unknown. We do not know what lies ahead of us, so we become apprehensive. Our imaginations can magnify problems until they seem insurmountable. We need a sound mind to see things in proper perspective. That is why God gave us His Holy Spirit, to enable us to see things as God sees them.

Fear is no excuse to disobey God. There is no reason to live in fear when you have the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit within you. Fear will enslave you, but Christ has come to set you free. Ask God to free you from any fear you are experiencing and to open your eyes. As He reveals the reality of your situation, He will enable you to continue in obedience.


EXPERIENCING GOD DAY-BY-DAY
http://www.blackaby.org/devarchive.asp

When Things Seem Impossible

  When Things Seem Impossible

John 6:1-14

Even Christ’s disciples struggled with doubt and fear in times of trouble or uncertainty. Though they walked closely with the Savior, they were still prone to casting their focus in the wrong direction.

Just before He was about to perform the miracle of feeding the 5,000, Jesus tested Philip by asking him where to buy bread for the crowd. The disciple’s response revealed that he was thinking of solving the dilemma through man’s ideas and worldly means. At the same time, Andrew was busy surveying the multitude to determine how he would approach the situation. Upon finding a young boy with five loaves and two fish, he demonstrated his own limited mindset by asking, “What are these for so many people?” (John 6:9).

As was true for all of His miracles, Jesus performed this amazing feat of compassion and provision to prove who He was and always would be. And the same Christ who fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish will act on our behalf when situations seem impossible.

In difficult times, when it seems all hope is lost, try not to assess your circumstances from a worldly perspective. Don’t ask, “What am I going to do?” Rather, in a spirit of faith, simply say, “Lord, what are You going to do?” Remember, He tells us to cast all of our cares upon Him because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7).

Avoid attempting to engineer your circumstances. The virtues of patience, faith, and waiting upon the Lord will help you to know God’s grace and to experience His love and miraculous touch in your life.