“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:11
Out in his yard, a minister was building a trellis to support a vine that he was going to plant. As he worked, the minister noticed a young boy, about twelve years old, standing nearby watching him. The minister nodded at the young lad as he continued to work, thinking the boy would go away. After a while, however, he noticed that the boy still stood there. Finally, the minister asked the lad, “Getting a lesson in horticulture?” “No,” came the response, “I just wanted to hear what a preacher said when he hit his thumb with a hammer.”
Do you realize that non-believers often study your life, watching to see if your actions and reactions corroborate what you profess? They not only watch preachers; they watch all Christians. Some of them watch hopefully, wanting confirmation of the life-changing potential of Christianity. Others watch hatefully, looking for an opportunity to blaspheme God. In either case, the world is watching.
While we all want to serve as good examples, as humans we can’t help failing. Yet, as humbling as it is for us, God can still use our mistakes as opportunities to show His greatness. Note the candor of Scripture concerning the sins of those who professed faith in the living God. Even the greatest saints have their portraits drawn with all warts present. Consider Abraham and his lie about his wife. Or Moses and his anger and disobedience to God. Remember David’s adultery and his attempt to cover it up with murder. As we turn to the New Testament, let’s not forget the cowardly denials of Peter or the failure of Mark, who turned tail and ran during his first missionary trip. Yet despite their failures, God used these people to accomplish mighty things.
The next time you make a mistake, especially if you know someone has observed it, ask God to forgive you and to use you despite your sinfulness. And today pray that God will enable you to be a good example for the cause of Jesus Christ.
QUOTE:
“You may be the only Bible that some people ever read.”
— Anonymous
The Value of a Negative Example
1 Corinthians 10:11
November 28, 2023
Grieving the Holy Spirit
November 30, 2023
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” — Ephesians 4:30 Did you know that the Holy Spirit is a person? The Bible makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is not just a force, like electricity. Rather, He is a person who knows, loves, speaks, leads, guides, intercedes, teaches, cries, testifies, and approves or disapproves of what we do. And when we love a person very much, we don’t want to do anything that will make him or her sad. In the same way, we need to know that we can grieve the Holy Spirit, just as we can grieve any other person whom we care about. The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts. When God calls us as Christians, He sends the Spirit to live inside us. This indwelling is called “being sealed” by the Holy Spirit. (John 6:27 tells us that Christ was also sealed by the Holy Spirit: “God the Father has set His seal on Him.”) Being sealed by the Holy Spirit brings us many blessings. It indicates that God has accepted us and that we’re precious in His sight. It testifies to a finished transaction: Jesus has paid for all our sins. It verifies our security: God has sealed our sins in a bag and buried them in the depths of the sea. It attests to ownership: We are His, and He is ours. It indicates authority: Anyone who tries to break the seal will incur God’s wrath. It verifies that we have a personal destiny: Heaven will be our home—the Holy Spirit has sealed us for the day of redemption. Because the Spirit lives in us and loves us so much, how we live becomes much more than whether we obey certain laws. We must act in ways so as not to grieve Him. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not listen to His voice or seek His guidance, or when, having heard His guidance, we choose to disobey. Do you listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Do you willingly follow His directions? Or have you done something that would grieve Him? The Holy Spirit wants to guide you, to show you the way you should live your life. And He’ll forgive you when you confess going down your own sinful path. Ask Him to show you how you can live to please Him and bring Him joy, not grief, through your life. QUOTE: “A Christian is a person who is led by the Spirit of God.”
How I Know There Is a God
November 29, 2023
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” — Psalm 14:1 Do you get into conversations with people who don’t believe in God? If so, then you’ve probably encountered one or two people who give no credence to your own personal experience or to the truth of Scripture. These people want hard and fast proof that God exists. Such proof does exist. Let me give you a few bits of information I use when people want proof of God’s existence. First of all, I ask these people to consider the universe. (This is called the cosmological argument. Cosmology means “the study of the universe.”) I point out that the universe is the biggest thing there is, and it had to come from somewhere (every effect has a cause). The universe could not have created itself, because according to the First Law of Thermodynamics, you cannot create nothing out of nothing. Therefore, Someone eternal must have created it. And those are the Bible’s first words: “In the beginning God.” The second proof is the presence of life itself. Life could not have come from non-life, nor could it have happened by chance. It also had to be created. Who else could have created it but God, who is life? The third proof comes from examining the intricate design of the universe. (This is called the teleological argument. “Teleo” means “end” or “design.”) Because the universe is so intricately designed, Someone all-knowing must have designed it. The fourth proof is God’s loving care. If the earth orbited ten percent closer to the sun, we would burn up. If it orbited ten percent farther away, we would freeze and die. Instead, the earth orbits around the sun at just the right distance to sustain life. The fifth proof is the soul’s transformation. This happens so mysteriously that no one can explain it. We know only that Someone changed Paul from a killer of Christians into the world’s greatest missionary, and this Someone has changed our hearts as well. God is the One who touches people’s lives and brings them into fellowship with Him. But He can use you to accomplish that purpose. So as you speak with those who challenge God’s existence, ask Him to show you when to present any or all of the information I’ve shared with you. And pray that God will ultimately reveal Himself to them. QUOTE: “The beauty, order, and harmony of the universe is an expression of the will of God; the structure of the universe is the work of a great intelligence.” — Aristotle
Samson
November 27, 2023
“So he told her everything …” — Judges 16:17, niv Have you ever relied on your own abilities to accomplish something, only to fall flat on your face? One of the dangers of self-reliance is our tendency to flirt with temptation. Samson’s trouble began this way. Samson was the strongest man who ever lived, but as he trusted in his own strength, he was weak when it came to resisting temptation. One day Samson was in enemy territory, a place he should not have gone, when he met Delilah, the woman who caused his downfall. When the Philistine lords realized that Samson loved Delilah, they asked Delilah to lure Samson into telling her the secret of his strength. The Philistines wanted this secret so that they might subdue Samson. So she pursued his secret. On three separate occasions, Delilah tried to extract from Samson his secret, and each time he revealed a secret, she had the Philistines act on it. But he had deceived her each time, and the Philistines couldn’t overwhelm him. After the third attempt, Delilah was very upset, and she said to him, “You have mocked me these three times.” At length, because of her persistence, Samson told her the truth: “If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me.” So as he slept, the Philistines cut off his hair, and Samson awoke weak and helpless. The Philistines gouged out his eyes and forced him to do the work of a beast of burden. His life, which began with great promise, had come to tragedy. However, God answered one more prayer for him. Samson’s hair grew back, and he gained enough strength to destroy the Philistine temple and all the lords within it. He died in this last heroic act, but in his death he killed more Philistines, who had oppressed Israel, than he had in his entire life up to that point. We see that in spite of his great strength, Samson lacked moral discernment. He had never shown strong moral character. He fell into a trap that even a schoolboy might have enough sense to avoid. When we have faith in ourselves, we lean against a broken reed. But when we trust in the Lord and flee temptation, we won’t be an easy target for Satan, as Samson was. Are you leaning on faith in yourself for anything? If so, give it to God. Trust in His strength alone to help you resist temptation and to achieve all He has designed you to accomplish. QUOTE: “Character is destiny.” — Henry Luce