Christianity Unpeeled

Living the christian life in the 21st century, thoughts and devotions

Wisdom is like a snowball

Mar 11

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Proverbs 1:2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;

3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;

4 for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-

I have decided to spend the next month or so looking at the book of proverbs. Here Solomon is laying the foundation as to what the purpose of the book of Proverbs is for. It is really about teaching people how to acquire and use wisdom. In the preface in my Bible, the write up makes a distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is having the facts and wisdom is how you apply the facts to life. I think that is quite  good distinction.

The first 8 chapters of the book of Proverbs are written with young people in mind, but the wisdom goes beyond just what applies to young people, so at 50 I feel I am young enough. I love the way Solomon pairs things together here, for example in vs 2, wisdom and knowledge, vs 3 disciplined and prudent, vs 4 kn0wledge and discretion etc. Words like prudent are powerful words. Prudent means wise or judicious in practical affairs. It is such a good word. It means being careful to do things wisely and methodically, with a mind on the outcome.

Verse 5 says “let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance”. Wisdom is not a destination, it is not an arrival point, it is an ongoing journey. Wisdom always recognises there is more to be attained, more knowledge to be gotten and with experience, even more wisdom. It is adding to itself all the time. It is like a snowball that rolls. The bigger it gets, the more it builds.

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Out of control

Mar 10

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There are times that things go out of our control. It is at times like this when our faith is tested. Whilst we can make things happen and determine the path for things to happen, we feel ok, and we feel empowered and we are not stressed. But as things move out of our control, and faith is required, things get a whole lot tougher. Like right now, I have a client who will not pay. In the past months they usually stretch it out and pay at the last minute. But this month, they are days late and they are a massive company, so they have the cash.

The obvious thing to do is to get tense and stress and get all worked up. So I have tried that and nothing has really helped. And of course nothing has changed the situation. Then eventually I think, ok, maybe it is time to leave this in Gods hands. Does the word not say that we should not be anxious for anything but with prayer and supplication, make our requests made known to God. Check!

So, for once I am going to try it. In your hands father.

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Blameless

Mar 9

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Wow, blame can be a horrible thing. It is an attack on one’s person and one’s integrity. When someone blames you for something you feel under pressure. But in Christ, we will see something else.

1 Corinthians 1:8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The responsibility to keep us strong to the end (being the day we see Christ) seems to be the work of Christ. At least that is what Paul is suggesting here. He (Jesus) will keep us strong to the end. That means that outside of our own abilities, Jesus helps us to be strong. He helps us to endure.

But not only that He will present us blameless on the day of our Lord. That is just mind blowing. We all do stuff wrong and as a result we get blamed, rightly so. I mean my poor kids get blamed all the time for everything. Usually quite rightly so, occasionally a little harshly, but anyway…

But once again, we will be presented to the father as blameless, not through anything we have done. Praise God.

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I am enriched

Mar 8

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1 Corinthians 1:4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way

The hardest thing in the Christian life id to live in accordance with the Word of God as opposed to your feelings / experienced. God’s word says things that seem straight forward enough and sometimes we assume that a=b. If the word of God says a then b must happen.

Then in our practical experience, this does not happen. So where does it go wrong. Does that mean the word of God is sometimes true  or does it mean there is something I am not doing? If so then is it not back to me getting from God based on my works? If I have to speak as though the word is true and confess with my mouth what the word says, am I not just naming it and claiming it and framing it?

Where does faith start and works end?

The word here says we have been enriched in every way. This is past tense. So if we have already been enriched it means God has given it to me. So now it is up to me to receive it. This much I do know – just because God gives does not mean I receive. I need to bring my faith to the situation.

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One year

Mar 7

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I preached this morning at First Century Fellowship and the sermon went well. People said they enjoyed it and were blessed and many said it was challenging and thought provoking.

On a personal level, my mate Bruce stayed over the weekend and we chatted and in our conversation we both felt a confirmation that in 12 months from now we will see the fruit of our labours. Let us see. Bruce asked me an interesting question also and that was whether or not I operate in the prophetic? I said no, it is not something I have ever sought after, even though I know Corinthians says eagerly desire the gift of prophecy. He shared and said it was truly a wonderful thing and that God really blessed him through this gift.

There is so much God has for us, and we spend so little effort sometimes going after it. I am sure it would make me sad if I were God.

and his righteousness

Mar 6

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It is easy to read a verse or passage you know well and only see what you were looking for or what is familiar to you. So for years I have had this verse (Matthew 6:33) going through my mind about seeking first the kingdom of God. So I have been doing that as far as I can, but I have been feeling that as much as this has been a really good and positive thing for me, that something is still not quite right. When I look at love and how love must be sincere and then I look at how the fruit should be evident, I am thinking that there is a piece missing somewhere.

It is not that I don’t have love, but it is feeble and the fruit of the spirit is not always as close to the top of my heart and lips as it should be. When for example my wife is irritated by something someone else does (eg one of our children) and then wants to vent andf offload to me, and all I want to do is relax and chill, there is a love component that is missing and I tend to add fuel to the fire rather than to just love her and put myself aside for the moment.

Yesterday I had a 3 hour conversation with a Christian brother of mine. He is very wise and wise in business. And some of the things he said to me were a correction to me. He did not intend it or even plan to do that, but what he said was a witness in my spirit and this led to a realisation that there is more that I need to be doing to be walking in the place that I need to be. And so I come back to Matt 6:33 and when I read it again I see it is not just seeking the kingdom of God first, it is seeking his righteousness also.

So that is my journey for now. That is not going to be easy, but lets hang in   for the ride.

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Be encouraged while you endure

Mar 5

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Romans 15:4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The walk of  a Christian is not an easy one. It would be so great if we did not have to deal with the deception and the constant pull of the devil, who seeks to kill and destroy us by making us weak. He first has to weaken us so that he can kill us off. The devil came to kill, steal and destroy, while Jesus came to bring life and joy, heal and restore and set the captives free. But in this tension between the world of the inner man (in which I delight in the law of God) and the flesh, which is made prisoner to the law of sin in my body, we have to keep going.

But it is more than keeping going, it is the desire and the determination to honour Christ in all I do. The word here shows us that the scriptures – everything that has been written in the Bible is to teach us and encourage us and to give us hope., while we endure. Endurance means to keep on going even when the going is tough. What do they say? “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. And so we are told to endure but we do not have to do it on our own. The scriptures are there to encourage us. The best thing to do when you are feeling down is to go back to the word of God and to read the scriptures. It is a great habit to develop. Satan will try everything to keep you away from the scriptures. Because he does not want you encouraged. He wants you depressed.

And at the end of all this enduring and needing encouragement from the word of God, we have hope. Perhaps we underplay hope in the Christian community. Paul speaks a lot about hope, but I hardly ever hear it at church. Who ever preaches on hope.

We have a hope of an eternity with God. But our hope is founded on Jesus, who was perfect in every way, and in whom was no sin found, nor was there any guile or malice. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and he is our hope. We place our hope in him. Why do we need to read the Bible? Because we have a road to walk that requires endurance. We are told that the world will hate us because it hated Jesus. We are in the world but we are not part of the world. But we have a hope, and we know that whenever we struggle, the scriptures have been written to teach us and to encourage us and to make the hope brighter.

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Go on, please your neighbour

Mar 4

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Romans 15:2Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.

The interesting thing in this passage is that it says each of us. In other words, that means all of us, not just some of us. The next thing it says is we should please our neighbour. That means making him happy. This usually means more than a polite smile from time to time, it means having real consideration for him. But then it says that we are to do this for “his good”, to build him up”. In all of this there is no thought of self here.

The pattern for the Christian living today is that we must be people who are not selfish and who seek out opportunities to please our neighbour and to build him up. In this way we are displaying the love of God in action. Love without action is dead. In fact faith and hope and love are all dead if there is no action.

Action is the fruit of faith. Action  is what distinguishes between real faith and fake faith. When the love of God is really in us, it will have its outworking and will overflow into goodness.

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What’s His is mine

Mar 3

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John 16: 13″But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14″He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15″All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

The Holy Spirit is referred to here by Jesus as the Spirit of truth. Jesus also said I am the Truth. So again, Jesus says that the Spirit also says nothing on his own, but only what He hears the father say. This is a great picture of the trinity, because again Jesus says that all the things the father has are mine.

And we are now part of this family. We have been “born again” lime Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to do. All things have become new. All things means all things. And the spirit will lead us into all truth.

The patter explained above is as follows: The Father speaks, the Spirit hears, and the Spirit relays this to you and me. This is why Jesus in this same chapter tells his disciples that it is better for him to leave because he can then send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be with us all at the same time, whereas when Jesus was on earth in human form (physical body) he could only listen to the people who were with him at that moment of time. Now the holy spirit will lead us into all truth.

However in the same way that we get to know stuff, it is through hearing or reading. That is how knowledge comes. You hear, see, watch, listen, speak to etc and so you learn. If we are to hear what the Spirit says to us we need to be listening.

13″But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

14″He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

15″All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.J

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Whose responsible?

Mar 2

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Romans 14:1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

Romans 14 is filled with a lot of situations which Paul discusses and in which there are two sides to the coin. And when these situations concern brothers or sisters in Christ, then it comes down to who is responsible or who is the more mature Christian. For example in the above statement, Paul says we must accept those who are weak in the faith, and we must do so unconditionally, without judging them. This is a matter of being humble. The proud person will think they are better than the weaker one. But God resists the proud. So it up to you who is stronger in the faith to accept him who is weaker, even if what they are doing is grey or questionable or not according to your conviction. Note this is not about sinning. If a brother is clearly sinning (eg stealing etc) that is different, as we then need to restore him and make sure he stops and that means brining it to the light.

Vs 5 says: Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

and then later Paul says

vs 22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Let each man be convicted and convinced in his own mind. As Christians we so often don’t really maker up our minds about something and so we are wishy washy, being tossed by the waves and blown by the wind. That ought not to be so. Whatever we do must come from a conviction, where we are convinced fully that what we are doing is right. But if someone else thinks differently (eg about keeping the Sabbath or about what he or she east) then do not judge them for it.

15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.

On the issue of food, which is the main reason for this chapter, Paul says that if what you do is distressing your brother, then you are not acting in   love. So if you know someone will be offended or their faith will be weakened by your actions, and you do it anyway, you are sinning and not acting in love, even though you may be convinced that you are right in what you do. So this is again, reminding us that showing love is not just about doing right, it is about being sensitive to those around us, on controversial issues.

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