Exampleship
Though exampleship is not a ship, it is in the same ship as discipleship. “Be thou an example of the believer”; “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”; “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Exampleship is not exampleship until it is exampleship! We are to set before others in real living that which the Bible teaches our living is to be. Apart from this, our living may very well be an open contradiction to God’s Word, which God will judge.
Though never perfect in the flesh, we need to be blameless in our efforts and faithful in our endeavors. This is the manifestation of our love for God, in choosing to keep His commandments. For others to see us as an example, they must see our observing all things God’s Word commands, with great expectation. On the other hand, if others think of us as an example when we are not, they can pick up on our unfaithful ways, thus making ourselves guilty of betraying their trust and misleading them.
While it is true some things are not specifically spelled out in detail in the scripture, which calls for prayerfully making decisions on scriptural comparison and principle, other things are unmistakably clear on what God’s will is for us. To be an example, we must not only prove what God’s will is, but we must also consecrate ourselves to the actual doing of it. To know of the will of God without seeking to obey it, becomes the sin of omission, which if let go, will sear our conscience, while quenching the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” We must not be permissive of neglect and unfaithfulness, lest we lose the grand vision of the glory and honor of Christianity.
Being an example eliminates regrets, qualifies for God’s blessings, lays up treasure in heaven, reaps a good harvest, brings joy and fulfillment, and makes right living important in the minds of others, while the lack thereof will vex our own soul.
“Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
SHARING
Confusion’s Distraction
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Matthew 24:10
Nothing produces confusion any more than hatred. Hatred, apart from the truth of God’s Word, is based on prejudice, which perverts judgment.
The hatred towards Christ (which was without a cause, John 15:25) had so prejudiced the minds of the people, to the extent they sought false witnesses against Christ: they voted for the release of a criminal, instead of letting innocent Jesus go free; they ignored the legal findings that there was no fault to be found in Christ; they pressured the legal system until it finally caved into their demands for Christ to be crucified.
When it came to the opposition against Christ, truth was not a part of the equation, as was expressed by Pilate’s remark, “What is truth?” John 18:38.
Where confusion abounds, Satan manipulates. Satan, as the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, manipulated the world into crucifying Christ, with unrelenting resolve. This was done with only one side of this fiasco being made up of sinful people. How much more Satan has to work with, when all sides are imperfect (sinful).
The confusion that is abounding today, driven by all the prejudice that hatred affords, is keeping people distracted from the greater problem: Satan’s advancing of his anti-Christ agenda. God is being removed from the thought processes of this generation. God’s Word is being shredded as the moral authority of society, while society is transforming into a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. These major transformations have become insignificant issues compared to the confusion that has everyone’s attention.
“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” Isaiah 59:14 Don’t expect resolution. With all the laws in place, and all the judicial institutions that exist in our society, if it was a matter of justice and judgment being exercised, the issues would have been settled a long time ago.
As we witness the snare of confusion as God’s Word spake would come, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be able to escape all these things…” Keep your eyes on the Lord!
SHARINGTake Up The Stumbling Block
“Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people.” Isaiah 57:14
The subject of a stumbling block is often dealt with as being someone else’s problem, but not possibly our own. But denial, instead of full consideration, may very well indicate this is a problem with ourselves.
A stumbling block is something that trips us up in the course that God would have us take. And all too often, rather than take it up, we just let it remain as a limiting factor to what we do. So we limp along, with unfinished business, failing to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And, we let the circumstances created by the presence of the stumbling block become our justification for things being the way they are.
But God tells us: rather than readjust our whole life to accommodate the stumbling block, we are to exercise our faith in not letting that particular circumstance interfere with going ahead and doing what God wills for us to do. We are to overcome by faith, rather than let circumstances prevent us.
Stumbling blocks impede the needed progress. The things we do while letting the stumbling blocks remain in our way, are not sufficient enough to amount to real progress. Whatever it is that the stumbling block is preventing, is the very thing we need to make real progress.
God has also assured us that He will not suffer stumbling blocks to be laid in our pathway, that He will not grant us a victory over, should we seek this victory from Him by faith: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Where our stumbling blocks are concerned, we need to seek a revival from God to the extent we will no longer allow stumbling blocks to hinder our doing of His will: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
SHARINGPutting Away The Evil
“And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” Deuteronomy 21:20-21
No doubt theses are shocking words to every parent. This is understandable, in consideration of natural affection, which is for the preservation of our posterity.
But God was dealing with the larger and more potent problem that lies beyond all the power of parental love and good will, “…the putting away of evil from their society” v21. Every murderer, rapist, child molester, thief, terrorist, etc., is somebody’s child. So to exclude judgment based on parental love, would simply open every door for evil to abound.
Rather than the nation of Israel be a society where parents would harbor any wicked adult child, the parents, who knew what was going on, were to bring them in to the authorities. This way the evil would be put away before the evil left a trail of victims and ruin. According to Divine judgment, those who chose wickedness did so at the expense of their own life, and were to be put out of business before they victimized others.
Human nature is inherently depraved, see Psalms 58:3. All have the capacity to commit any and all sin, by the fact we are born sinners. No one has to be taught how to do wrong–that comes natural. But people have to be taught, trained, and disciplined to do right.
The human heart is deceitful above all things, see Jeremiah 17:9. Children can and will deceive their parents, until their parents make it a point to be perceptive about their children’s conduct and character. You can’t catch a thief by depending on them to admit their guilt. You can’t prove a person is a liar just by asking them if they are telling the truth. All that children need to live deceitfully, is to know that their parent will take their word for everything and will not seek to perceive what they really are doing.
Another aspect of deceit is manipulation. Children can manipulate their parents by talking about the “bad” that somebody else did, when in reality this is what the child is doing themselves. By putting blame on someone else, this throws parental attention off what their child is doing, as well as deceiving the parent into thinking their child has a good sense of right and wrong. Make sure that you perceive what’s going on when your child diverts your attention to someone else’s wrong doings. Evil must be perceived before it can be put away!
SHARINGNo Excuses For Missing Church
In order to make it possible for everyone to attend church next week, we are planning a special no-excuse Sunday.
1. Cots will be placed in the vestibule for those who say, “Sunday is my only day for sleeping in.”
2. Eye drops will be available for those whose eyes are tired from watching TV too late on Saturday night.
3. We will have steel helmets for those who believe the roof will cave in if they show up for church.
4. Blankets will be furnished for those who complain that the church is too cold. Fans will be on hand for those who say the church is too hot.
5. We will have hearing aids for the parishioners who say, “The pastor doesn’t talk loud enough.” Ear plugs for those who complain he speaks too loud.
6. Score cards will be available for those who wish to count the hypocrites.
7. We guarantee that relatives will be present for those who like to go visiting.
8. There will be TV dinners available for those who claim they can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.
9. One section of the church will have some trees and grass for those who see God in nature, especially on the gold course.
10. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies to create an environment for those who have never seen the church without them.
ALSO, HOW ABOUT…..
–Enclosed booths for those who cannot stand to be in a crowd.
–Oxygen for those who get to feeling “stuffy”.
–Robes for those who don’t have clothes to wear.
–Spotlights for those who like to be the center of attention.
–Pillows for those who like to sleep in church.
–Joke books for those who say the pastor is too serious.
–Thinking caps for those who can’t make up their mind.
–Pictures of Satan and hell for those who love their sin.
OR HOW ABOUT…..
–Preaching, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish?”
