Are You Godly?

^"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness" II Peter 1:5-6

I want to be godly!

You want to be godly!

Peter says that God has given us everything we need to live godly lives.

So, how do I know if I am godly?

I know I am godly if I enjoy His presence.

When there is ungodliness within me I feel very uncomfortable in His presence. I can't read His Word because it will make me feel condemned and guilty.

I know I am godly if I people are drawn to God through me.

Here's a fact, my life will either draw people closer to God or drive them further from Him. No one is neutral in their influence. You're not. I'm not. When someone interacts with me that person either walks away feeling more positive about God or less interested in Him. Which is true of my life? Which is true of yours?

I know I am godly if I find it easy to hear his voice.

In John 10, Jesus identifies Himself as "the Good Shepherd" and He said, "My sheep know My voice".

You can quickly recognize the voices of those you love. Do you recognize His voice?

I know I am godly when I have less fear and more fruit in my life.

One of the most frequently used phrases by Jesus was, "Fear not!"

John wrote, "There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear."

Godliness is possible!

Are you godly?

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of  him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

October 9, 2018

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; add to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness"  II Peter 1:5-6

Our guest missionary recently shared some amazing testimonies from his work in the Far East. In an area that is largely secular and atheistic sharing the Gospel ranges from difficult to dangerous. What religious practices that do exist in these places largely consist of ancestor worship.

As our guest reminded us, the demonstration of godliness in that dark area is usually evidenced in supernatural manifestations of God's power such as healings and deliverance from demons.

One of the people who sat in that service hearing about the miraculous healings done through the missionaries called me today and was having trouble processing all that he heard. He is a person I would consider to be a godly man but he was feeling a bit inadequate listening to how God used the missionaries to heal and deliver people from demons. He believed in miracles but wasn't convinced he had what it took to see them happen for him.

I put it in perspective for him like this - maybe it will help you, too!

First, as a believer he DOES have what it takes. Peter, in the beginning verses of this Chapter said this, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

What part of EVERYTHING do you not understand?

Everything means spiritual power and authority over evil in all of its forms.

Second, what our missionary actually was encouraging is four-fold:

1) Have a desire to reach lost people whatever it takes!

2) Expect God to speak to you!

3) Learn how to hear Him and recognize His voice.

4) Do whatever He tells you to do!

Signs and wonders and miracles happens like everything else in the walk of faith - one obedience at a time!

October 8, 2018

^"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness" II Peter 1:5-6

Recently I was honored when I read what one of my people had written about me. She referred to me as a "godly man".

That caused me to pause and asked myself, "Am I really a godly man? What does that mean? What does she see in me that brought her to that conclusion?"

Peter may have the answer in II Peter 1:6 - "For this very reason add to your faith.......godliness".

The word used for "godliness" conveys the idea of devoted worship of God. A godly person worships well.

But, it is more than that. As important as it is to worship well there is more to godliness. Godliness involves a disciplined witness or worshiping God so well that others notice.

Worship has a vertical relationship to it - from man to God. But it also has a horizontal relationship - from man to man. If you do not worship God well it will have a negative effect on how you relate to others. When your vertical relationship is strong it improves how you care about others. Likewise, if you are not treating other people well it will hinder your devotion to God.

Godliness then, is being devoted in both directions - upward toward God and outward toward others. If that is what she meant by  being godly, then I am deeply humbled and greatly encouraged.

I want to worship God well and I want to be a good witness for Him. That is the godliness I seek.

"Add to your faith........GODLINESS"!

October 7, 2018

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15:54-57

I Corinthians 15 is truly one of the great chapters of the Bible! It is great because it captures the spirit of a great man (Paul) and the essence of a great Truth (the Gospel).

Please allow me to summarize several of the great Truths it expresses:

1) God is stronger than the enemy!

Satan's two biggest weapons were sin and death. Through the grace of God in Jesus sin was defeated on the cross and death defeated when He walked out of the grave on the third day.

2) Salvation is stronger that sin!

Because Jesus became a man and proved that temptation can be resisted and that holiness is possible. As a result of His holy life He was able to assume all of the sins of humanity and become the atoning sacrifice for sin! He became like us that we might become like Him.

3) Life is stronger than death!

Jesus had to die in order to conquer death. We have to die in order to become eternal. The wages of sin is death - spiritual separation from God that can lead to eternal death. But because Jesus surrendered to death and then defeated it through the resurrection, we gain victory over death by living in His life!

4) Eternity is stronger than time!

During life, time is pretty much our enemy. We try to learn to use it to our advantage but as seconds become minutes and minutes turn into hours and hour add up into days and days mount into months which multiply into years - well, you know - time wears us down and we die. BUT, when we die in Christ we get the last laugh on time as we are born into eternity! There are no clocks or calendars in Heaven!

If you notice a victorious tone in I Corinthians 15 - you are right! We ARE victorious because Jesus won the victory for us!

Do you have that victory?

October 6, 2018

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness" II Peter 1:5-6

My little dog can jump up on my bed even though it is about three times his height! And cats are able to jump from the floor to the top of the fridge though it towers above the cat's height.

Either one of those would be equivalent to you or I leaping up into a three or four story window. I really can't see that happening!

Perhaps that explains why ladders and stairs were invented for us humans. We can scale heights 10 or twelve inches at a time.

In the same way, I have never known anyone who could jump from becoming a new believer in Christ to becoming a fully mature spiritual giant in one big faith leap. Spiritual growth and maturity happens one faith step at a time.

Peter traces those steps for us in II Peter 1:5-7. We have been studying those steps recently but we have not yet tied each of those individual steps into a staircase to maturity. There is a significance to the order of these virtues.

Of course, it all begins with faith for faith initiates the personal relationship with God through Christ.

On the foundation of that faith relationship is to be added "Goodness". Goodness is the moral courage to apply your faith to daily challenges of living. As James declares in his epistle, "Faith without works is dead".

To moral courage is to be added Knowledge. Knowledge is the wisdom and insight that grows out of your relationship with Christ. Knowledge is knowing what pleases God and combined with Goodness, helps you to do what honors Him.

The third step on the way to spiritual maturity is Self-Control. Self-Control means "getting a grip" on your life. You must discipline the fleshly passions and desires so that the faith virtues can be unleashed through you.

Next is Perseverance, the ability to be steadfast in the face of sore trials. In fact, the original word "hupomone" means to endure difficulties in such a way as to turn it for good. Perseverance believes I Corinthians 10:13 and lives according to it - "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

A fifth step to be added is "Godliness" or sincere worship of God that is evidenced by a godly witness.Godliness is the culmination of "faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control and perseverance" being active in your life. "Godliness" must be shown in your attitudes as well as in your actions.

Puppies can leap and cats can REALLY leap but Christians can't. But that doesn't mean we cannot make it the top in our spiritual maturity. It does mean that we must make steady progress step-by-step in our walk of faith.

How are you doing?

 Are you making steady progress? 

Which step do you think you are on?

Worshiping Through Doubts

"When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted." Matthew 28:17

Now, why did they put that last phrase in there? Isn't that curious? I understand that Matthew would want us to know that the eleven remaining disciples worshiped the Risen Jesus - but did we need to know about the doubters?

How could you doubt Jesus when He is right there; risen, alive, and triumphant?

This serves as one more proof of the authenticity of the Bible. Had it been written by men who were trying to deceive they would not have included those three words "but some doubted".

So, what should we make of that statement?

Personally, I take encouragement from it! Here's why:

First, it tells me that these "some who doubted" (and we don't know how many of them there were) worshiped through their doubts. Even though they were unresolved in their faith, they didn't let it keep them from falling at the feet of the Resurrected Jesus.

Haven't you come to church some time when you were struggling with a doubt? What better place to be when you are unresolved in your faith?

Second, it tells me that God can use spiritually unresolved people to change the world! This same group of eleven became the foundation for the Church of Jesus Christ. So, not only did they worship through their doubts but the served through their doubts.

How many times have you stepped out into some new endeavor for the Lord and you weren't sure what the result would be. It was scary and uncomfortable for you but you leaned on His strength and worked through your doubts! I'm sure you have done that. I know I have!

Third, it doesn't say whether the doubts they had were toward Jesus or about themselves. For every doubt I have had about Him, I have had a thousand toward myself. In fact, when God began to lay the calling for ministry upon my heart, I resisted for four years primarily because I had serious doubts about my ability to measure up to that calling. I believed God could do it I just didn't think I could. Fortunately, a good friend assured me that when He calls He enables.

Why are those three words included in this significant portion of Scripture? I think it is because God want us to know that it is okay to have doubts as long as we worship through them and work through them. God is greater than our doubts!

If you are struggling with some doubts today - bring them to the feet of Jesus!

October 4, 2018

".....teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you....." Matthew 28:20

Like many young boys, I once harbored a vision of becoming a major league baseball player. There was one problem with that vision, I wasn't talented enough to play at that level. I probably didn't have the physical talent to play college ball either - but I did - for four years. And I played a lot. So, I got closer to my dream than my physical abilities warranted.

How was I able to reach a higher level of competition than I probably deserved? Why was I able to compete with more physically gifted athletes and hold my own? 

Was I lucky?

Not at all! I earned every inning that I got to play. I worked very hard, trained and practiced by the hours.

When I started playing baseball at the Little League level I was fortunate to have had a coach who was a major league scout and had played some minor league professional ball. Because he knew the game and had played it well, he was able to teach me the fundamentals of baseball. Because he had been what I was hoping to be, I trusted him and I did everything he taught me to do in the fundamentally correct way he showed me to do it.

I enjoyed a college baseball career for one reason - I played the game exactly the way Dean Ford taught me to play it. Everything that I did was fundamentally correct. And because of that, I performed at a college level with limited physical talent. My college success was fundamentally sound because I did everything exactly as he had told me to do it.

How do we teach someone to obey?

Jesus taught us to obey by being personally obedient to The Father. He modeled it. He demonstrated it to the very point of His death on a cross.

These disciples were very average men who became pivotal players in the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ by being obedient to Jesus. They did "everything He commanded them". Therefore, they became much more effective than they should have been because they did life and ministry just like Jesus told them.

They learned obedience by obeying what God told them to do. And they achieved more with their lives than they would have without obeying Jesus. Living and serving as Jesus had showed them to do it allowed them to change the world.

It wasn't so much that they changed the world but it was the power of Jesus working through their obedience.

So, how do we get others to become obedient followers of Jesus? What do we have to "do" to teach them to obey? Simple! Obey!

God's vision for evangelizing the world included our obedience allowing His power and grace to flow through us!

Embrace the fundamentals of obedient service and play at a much higher level than you ever envisioned!