Month: August 2011
More on Approval
Many stories in the Bible indicate that evil and earthly success can go hand in hand. Many people today think wealth, popularity or lack of suffering are an indication of God’s blessing. Success doesn’t indicate God’s approval. (Read 2 Kings 14:23-29). In our lives we must not allow personal success to become our measuring rod of whether or not we are pleasing God.
It is easy for us to also to mistake God’s patience as His approval of our wrong way of living. It can be difficult for us to expose our bad conduct and admit to God our need of change. Constant communication with God will point us to our sin in order that we might repent of them and ask God for His forgiveness. It is easier to be amazed by God’s patience with others than it is to be humbled with His patience with us.
When many people approve of us, we feel good. But, it’s important when feeling good to stay focused on God and His purpose. Not to allow feeling good to cloud our decision making. Put your trust in God, not in others. Live to please Him.
If God approves of who you are and what you do but others don’t. Do it anyway. Contentment comes from seeking God’s will and applying it to your daily living.
Shine your light, speak your truth, Lead the way so I can follow you, Shine your Light, speak your truth, Lead the way so I can follow you
These words from the Paul Colman Trio are a prayer I use regularly in my daily life. I want to know Jesus more and more each day, to know His truth in and for my life and i want to follow where he leads me. To boldly Go where God directs, regardless of the approval of others.
Does this mean I don’t care what others think or say, take advice from those more mature in faith than I am. NO! but it does mean if God confirms a direction in y life that is where I am going!
My need for approval
Today I believe that God loves me and directs my path, but I long for the approval of others. For someone, anyone to tell me they approve of me and my life. More soon ..,,,
Lamentations 3:22-24 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!
Approval of others
-Vernon Howard : “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.”
God is faithful
Deuteronomy 7:9 Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
Resist Legalism
Great service at Belgrave South Baptist Church today looking at the subject of Joy and having a Winning Attitude in Philippians 3: Thank you Pastor Robert for your message.
The first point of which was:
Resist Legalism – Philippians 3:2-4
As I considered these verses I thought of a lady who worked for me whilst I was the State Manager of Red Shield Family Stores in South Australia. This lady was very legalistic and obeyed the ‘Policy and Procedure Manual’ like it was her Bible. If it wasn’t in ‘the manual’ it didn’t happen.
Whilst is this is good in a sense to obey the rules as set out by your leaders it can also be an issue when it comes to things like ‘servicing welfare vouchers’ ‘helping those who could not help themselves’ etc.
In this passage by trying to make Gentiles submit to Torah observance, Judaizers (and their contemporary counterparts, the legalists) do not work “righteousness” at all but evil. As Christians we to are in trouble if we believe Christianity is all about going to church, reading the Bible, Prayer and attendance at a small group. Christianity is about personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Paul asserts in this reading: “For we [not they] are the circumcision [hence you do not need literal circumcision], who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.”
As Christians we tend to stick to our own and sadly see the marginalized around us as inferior or somehow incomplete. Philippians 3:16 says “let us live up to what we have already attained” Jesus came to save sinners. When we arrived in Church congregations we were no different to the marginalized people we today might walk around and ignore because they are not like us! Who should no better…
The Christian Church hasn’t had a perfect record throughout history. If you listen to how many in our society describe the church, the list will include things like, racist, judgmental, narrow, divided, stuck up.
The church we attend today falls far short of the ideals Christ entrusted to us – so far short that we sometimes forget what the church should look like and what our mission is. To develop a winning attitude in 2001 all of us need to focus on Jesus and on those less fortunate than ourselves.
4o Days of Recovery – Week 5
Read the this weeks blog post http://wp.me/p1cRQW-ct
Only God
Psalms 96:4 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.
In the heavens and on earth, there is continuous display of God’s handiwork. Nature is God’s braille for a blind humanity. A fourfold revelation of God unfolds in the Bible. In nature – God is shown around and above us. In providence – God is all-wise and beyond us. In law and order – God is strong in His direction of us towards right and wrong. In Grace – God is seen as being for us so that He might be in us.
God is a loving God available and revealed to us all. Looking to capture our faith, understanding, appreciation and reciprocation of the love He has for us.
It is a pleasant thing to have regard for God. It gives meaning to the possibilities and opportunities of our lives.
Correction
Proverbs 3:12 It’s the child he loves that GOD corrects.
Resentment
Why doesn’t everyone else think like me,
act like me, react like me. Believe what I believe
or live like I live?
In the book Alcoholics Anonymous it says “Selfishness – self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position of hurt.”
As I went through early recovery there were many resentments in my life I had to deal with. And, today I still get resentments, I just deal differently with them.
In life we all look for approval and when sometimes it doesn’t come we build up resentment towards people and situations unfairly. This usually leads to strained relationships with God and with others.
The solution to repairing these relationships is FORGIVENESS. To live at peace with God and others we have to learn to forgive. I am not responsible for how what other people think of me but I am responsible for what I think of them.
Resentment can lead to sinful actions. Exodus 20:17 tells us not to be envious of what other people have. In other words ‘do not resent what others have and you don’t’.
Possessions do not make anyone happy for long. God is the only supplier of all our needs and true contentment in life is only found in Him.
In my life today when I feel resentment coming on as a result of envy I STOP and remember what God has done and is doing in my life. I also ask the question “Why do I feel this way?, what is causing these feelings and what basic need in me is being unfulfilled?” I then take time to pray about what I am feeling and put trust in God to change my reaction the next time I feel resentment coming on as a result of envy.
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Responsible Trust in God requires seeking His will and His power to carry it out. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://livingliferecovery.com/2022/05/28/2022-day-148-discussion-starter/
