Start Your New Life Today (13 page)
It is very important for us to learn to divide soul and spirit, and only the Word of God can teach us how to do that.
The Bible says God has set before us life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may live (see Deuteronomy 30:19). It is like a multiple-choice test with the answers right in front of us. Set before us is: (a) life (b) death. Choose life. We don’t even have to try to figure this one out. God gave us the answer, but there are multitudes of people still failing that test every day. I encourage you to choose life!
Just Obey
M
any non-Christians don’t really understand the Gospel. This isn’t a new thing unique to our day. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he pointed out that the Greeks in his day thought it was foolish (see 1 Corinthians 2:14), and to the natural mind, it is. God sent Jesus, the sinless One, to earth for the express purpose of dying for wicked, sinful people. To unbelievers, that is foolish. The natural man cannot understand the power of the Gospel—it can only be “spiritually discerned.”
This is just as true in daily living. Sometimes God speaks to us, and if we try to explain it to people who don’t know Jesus, it doesn’t make sense. For example, I remember one couple who went to Africa as missionaries. They had no denomination or large church behind them providing support. They sold everything they owned, including their wedding rings.
“Your wedding rings?” a skeptical relative asked. “You mean God wouldn’t provide for you, so you had to do it yourself?”
The wife smiled. “No, I think we had to decide if comfort and having things like everyone else was more important than serving Jesus.” The couple never doubted they were doing the right thing, but it never made sense to the skeptical relative.
It is difficult for many people to hear God speak and to obey without question. But Jesus did just that—and not only on the cross. John 4 relates the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. What most modern readers don’t get is the introduction to the story: “It was necessary for Him to go through Samaria” (v. 4). Jesus had been in Jerusalem, and He wanted to go north to Galilee. The country of the Samaritans was in between, but Jesus didn’t have to take the route passing that way. He could have taken another route and avoided going through Samaria. Most Jews avoided going through Samaria because they hated the Samaritans for mixing and marrying with people from other nations.
But Jesus went, even though it wasn’t what we would have called the normal or reasonable thing to do. He went because there was a woman—and eventually a whole village—who needed to hear the message only He could deliver.
The natural people—those whose minds have not been enlightened by the Holy Spirit—scoff at us. What we do doesn’t always seem logical to them. But then, who says our actions have to be logical? The Bible tells us the natural or carnal mind doesn’t understand spiritual things (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). Too often, we push aside thoughts, saying, “This doesn’t make any sense,” and we actually ignore divine guidance. It’s true, of course, the devil can flood our minds with wild thoughts that we do need to ignore, but if we pray and open ourselves to the Spirit, we soon know the difference.
Consider the story of Peter who fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus, a carpenter, came along and told him, a professional fisherman, “Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul” (Luke 5:4).
Peter reasoned with Jesus, reminding Him they worked all night and caught nothing. But to his credit, Peter, exhausted from a long and unsuccessful night’s work, heard the Lord. I’ll emphasize it again: Peter heard the Lord and said, “But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]” (v. 5). And Peter was not disappointed. They caught so many fish the nets almost broke.
This is an important principle of obedience we must grasp: obeying instead of reasoning, or as one of my friends calls it, “The Nevertheless Principle.” She says sometimes she feels God leading her to do things that don’t always make a lot of sense. When she hears herself expressing that sentiment, she quickly adds, “Nevertheless.” Then she obeys. That is really all God asks of us: to obey instead of reasoning against something He is telling us to do. The best policy is to check with your spirit and see if you have peace rather than checking with your mind to see if what God is asking is reasonable.
The best policy is to check with your spirit and see if you have peace rather than checking with your mind to see if what God is asking is reasonable.
Hear and Do
J
ames 1:22 tells us, “But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].”
As a Christian, for a long time I didn’t understand that believers could know what God wanted them to do then deliberately say “no.” I’m not talking about those who turn their backs on Jesus and want nothing to do with His salvation. I’m talking about those who disobey in the seemingly little things and don’t seem to be troubled by doing so. I was one of them for many years and did not even realize the terrible impact of walking in my own will.
In verses 23 and 24, James goes on to say if we only listen to the Word, but don’t obey it, it’s like looking at our reflection in a mirror then going away and forgetting what we saw. But a doer of the Word, he says, is like one “who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience)” (v. 25). We are not blessed just because we hear the Word; we must take the next step and obey it.
Whenever Christians are faced with God’s Word, and it calls them to action but they refuse to obey, their own human reasoning is often the cause. They have deceived themselves into believing something other than the truth. It’s as if they think they are smarter than God. It is amazing how quickly we can talk ourselves out of doing something when deep down inside we really don’t want to do it.
I’ve met people who seem to think God always wants them to feel good, and if something happens to make them feel bad, they don’t think it could possibly be God. Or they dismiss what God is telling them simply because “it doesn’t make sense.”
One woman, referring to Paul’s instruction to “be unceasing in prayer” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), said that verse kept coming to her every time she prayed. “What do you think that means?” I asked her.
“Oh, I think it means that day in and day out, we are to pray when we feel a need or when we want something.”
Her words shocked me. “What about fellowship with the Lord?” I asked. “Isn’t that a good reason? Or maybe God just wants you to spend time reading His Word and praying about what you read.”
“I have too many things to do,” she said. “That’s fine for people who like to sit and read and pray for hours every day, but that’s not the way for me.”
In our brief conversation, I learned that her decisions about obeying God’s Word depended on whether or not it was convenient for her lifestyle. When she read things in the Bible that didn’t fit with the way she lived, she explained it to herself in such a way that she convinced herself God didn’t expect her to do that.
By contrast, I remember a very dignified woman who had been a member of a traditional church most of her life. She often spoke of the noise and confusion in charismatic churches (although she had not been to one). Then she visited one of the services where I spoke and was transformed. “I couldn’t believe that God would ask me to do something like clap my hands or sing loudly or even shout. But when I saw the joy on the faces of those in the congregation and heard you quote the Bible verse that says, “Oh clap your hands all you people, shout unto God with a voice of triumph” [see Psalm 47:1] what else could I do?
She said, “I had to believe God over and above what I thought or felt.” She had exactly the right attitude. She didn’t try to reason it out or wonder why God commanded her to take that kind of action. She believed His Word and simply obeyed.
When the Bible speaks about obeying the Lord, it is not a suggestion. His Word doesn’t ask, “Would you like to obey?” God commands us to take action by being a doer of His Word, and when we are obedient, He promises we will be blessed.
When the Bible speaks about obeying the Lord, it is not a suggestion.
Will You Be Critical or Helpful?
H
ave you ever met someone who had “the gift of suspicion”? They are everywhere—even in church. Recently I heard a man commenting about such a woman in his church. He said she always seemed to think the worst of everyone. If someone did something generous, she would say, “What does he expect to get out of that? He probably just wants everyone’s gratitude.”
On one occasion, an acquaintance commented about what a friendly, happy person an usher was. “That’s his public face,” the woman said. “He’s always smiling, but I’ll bet when he gets home and away from everyone else, he doesn’t smile like that.” He went on to ask if someone had chided her for her critical attitude; the woman only responded by saying, “I just call things as I see them. You’re always trying to make things look better than they are.”
The man finally realized it wasn’t good for him to be around her, and he began to distance himself from her as much as possible. I believe this man made a good decision, but it was also important what he decided to do after that. Would he pray for her or begin to gossip and be critical just as she was?
I have discovered during my years in ministry that when someone with a critical spirit comes into a group or a meeting, it doesn’t take much for others to become infected with it. It reminds me of the saying about one bad apple spoiling the whole bushel.
Over the years, I’ve met people who were very much like this lady. They’re often tormented by their judgmental attitudes, critical spirits, and suspicious minds. They also destroy many relationships by their words.
Matthew 7:18–20 says these “bad fruits” tell us a lot about the “tree,” but we still need to be careful we don’t fall into Satan’s trap by being critical of someone who is critical. Instead of judging we should pray and perhaps encourage the person who is critical to be more positive and believe the best. We must remember no one is perfect—each of us is a work in progress. Part of being a loving, caring Christian is to realize people may not see things in this life exactly as we do. We are not all at the same level of Christian maturity, but we can be sure God knows everything about each one of us. We must leave any judging to the only righteous judge—Jesus Christ. We may have times in life when it would be wise to distance ourselves from someone who consistently brings forth bad fruit, but we don’t want to fall into the trap of being critical and judgmental ourselves. Prayer is always the best response to everything!
Instead of judging we should pray and perhaps encourage the person who is critical to be more positive and believe the best.
James writes:
[My] brethren, do not speak evil about or accuse one another. He that maligns a brother or judges his brother is maligning and criticizing the Law and judging the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a practicer of the Law but a censor and judge [of it]. One only is the Lawgiver and Judge Who is able to save and to destroy [the one Who has the absolute power of life and death]. [But you] who are you that [you presume to] pass judgment on your neighbor? (James 4:11–12).
Paul asks, “Who are you to pass judgment on and censure another’s household servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand and be upheld, for the Master (the Lord) is mighty to support him and make him stand” (Romans 14:4).
Passing Judgment
I
believe pointing a finger at someone in judgment is often the way some people cover up their own weaknesses. Their theory seems to be, “Judge others before they have a chance to judge you.” I remember a girl in our neighborhood who constantly pointed to obese people and said terrible things about them. She was plump herself, and I often wondered if she criticized others in an effort to keep people from noticing her weight, or perhaps to avoid dealing with her own problem.
I grew up in a family where judgment and criticism were a part of everyday life. So I became an expert at deciding how other people should live. The devil loves to keep us busy, mentally judging the faults of others. And the shortcomings in other people are often easy to see, especially when we’re looking for them.
There was a time when I enjoyed sitting in the mall, observing people as they walked by. I could usually find something wrong with every one of them. I could point out bad hairstyles, out-of-style clothes, and any number of other “problems.” When we choose to be judgmental, we will find there is no end to the possibilities.
Notice I used the words “choose to be judgmental,” because that’s exactly what I did. Had anyone called me judgmental or critical, I would have denied it, because I wasn’t aware of my negative attitude. I thought I was just giving my innocent opinion. At that time, I wasn’t aware my attitude was totally unloving and that I just needed to mind my own business.
Another thing I didn’t think about then was the uselessness of my opinions. I didn’t help anyone by pointing out to my friends what I perceived to be other people’s shortcomings. I now know we can choose the thoughts on which we want to focus. We can’t always choose the thoughts coming into our minds, but we can decide whether to let them stay and fester or to push them aside. Jesus said, “Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you” (Matthew 7:1–2).