Passage of the Day: Matthew 6: 19 … “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
My Journal for Today: Today we return to where we started this month, in Matthew 6: 19, with Jesus’ command to avoid materialism. And I firmly believe, as confirmed by MacArthur in his devotional entry for this date, materialism has become one of the biggest cultural stumbling blocks to the spiritual well-being and growth of Christians in our culture today. And apparently from the directness of Jesus’ teaching, it was that way in His day (on earth) as well. What is it that some say, “The more we change, … the more we stay the same?”
It is certainly truth, as we’ve seen/discussed, … that having things or being blessed with wealth is NOT a sin. God gives from His providence so that we, His children, can enjoy His blessings (1st Tim. 6: 17) [from the Apostle Paul’s point of view, inspired by God’s Spirit].
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SCRIPTURE: 1st Tim. 6: 17 … Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
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But in Paul’s admonition above, he warns God’s wealthy people not to put their hope in the uncertainty of temporal things. And James (in James 4: 4 – below) tells believers that friendship with worldliness is enmity toward God.
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SCRIPTURE: James 4: 4 … don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
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And finally, the Apostle John joins in this chorus of challenge, warns Christians not to fall in love with the world, which will lead to lusting, pride, and covetousness (see 1st John 2: 15 – 16, which I hope you have memorized). And anytime you read the same thing being said often, especially by several different Spirit-led authors of Scripture, it’s time to pay attention.
I strongly believe that material “blessings” are one of God’s greatest testing mechanisms for our faith. When we are materially blessed by our Lord, it becomes God’s test of how we will be able to manage God’s providence in the next life (see Luke 16: 10 – 12). So, we must praise God if He has blessed some of us from His bounty; and then we must immediately ask ourselves how we can best be God’s steward and use His blessings for HIS glory (in this, read and meditate on Matt. 25: 14 – 30).
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, may I use Your blessings for Your glory! Amen
Showing posts with label carnality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carnality. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
2010 – November 30 – Carnal Christianity
Study from God’s Word… Chapters 1 – 4 of Paul’s second letter to the Church at Corinth, which we know of as 1st Corinthians since the first letter is not available in the canon of Scripture … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 3: 1 … NIV Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly – mere infants in Christ.
My Journal for Today: You’ve probably heard or read the term “carnal Christian” used to describe Christians who were [or are] handling life through human methods or ways of thinking rather than relying on God’s wisdom and the leading of God’s Spirit. So, as Dr. LaGard Smith points out today, that term, “carnal christian,” is somewhat of an oxymoron, isn’t it? If we’re truly Christian, we should be looking to God and following God’s truth rather than relying on self or man’s ways, shouldn’t we?
As the Apostle Paul was trying to point out to the Christians at Corinth (and to each of us in reading his epistles in the Bible), our ability to interpret life and to walk in truth has to do with our maturity and discernment of the truth of the Gospel and the ways of God, which are presented to us in His word. Hence we read in one of God’s later directives, again through Paul, this time to Timothy in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, reading that we, as disciples of Christ, are to follow God’s ways from His word in order to overcome the fallacies and foolishness of the world. That’s why Paul was addressing the foolishness of the divisions within the church at Corinth which had resulted by men following men rather than following God and God’s Spirit.
And when we read these charges and challenges Paul wrote to Corinth, we realize that we’re still being “carnal christians” in this world, following personalities rather than the Person of God’s Spirit, Who will lead us exactly where we need to walk, IF we follow HIM and HIS WAYS rather than, as babes, following the lures of carnality we hear today from worldly gurus like Mohammed, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or even one like Oprah Winfrey. Any time we act like children and follow the Pied Pipers of untruth, rather than being like the Bereans (again, see Acts 17: 10-15), we’re going to be led down the path to carnality and away from real Christianity, which relies exclusively on the truth of the Gospel and the message of the Cross which we find embedded in the truth of God’s word.
So, my fellow Christian life traveler, I hearken back to the truth of 2Tim. 3: 16-17, linked here for your review and meditation, keeping us away from human divisiveness and carnal foolishness by shining the light of truth (i.e., the message of Christ through His Spirit) imparted through His word for our direction and guidance through the travails of life.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, in the fogginess of life, I look to the harbor light which is Your truth in Your word. Amen
My Journal for Today: You’ve probably heard or read the term “carnal Christian” used to describe Christians who were [or are] handling life through human methods or ways of thinking rather than relying on God’s wisdom and the leading of God’s Spirit. So, as Dr. LaGard Smith points out today, that term, “carnal christian,” is somewhat of an oxymoron, isn’t it? If we’re truly Christian, we should be looking to God and following God’s truth rather than relying on self or man’s ways, shouldn’t we?
As the Apostle Paul was trying to point out to the Christians at Corinth (and to each of us in reading his epistles in the Bible), our ability to interpret life and to walk in truth has to do with our maturity and discernment of the truth of the Gospel and the ways of God, which are presented to us in His word. Hence we read in one of God’s later directives, again through Paul, this time to Timothy in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, reading that we, as disciples of Christ, are to follow God’s ways from His word in order to overcome the fallacies and foolishness of the world. That’s why Paul was addressing the foolishness of the divisions within the church at Corinth which had resulted by men following men rather than following God and God’s Spirit.
And when we read these charges and challenges Paul wrote to Corinth, we realize that we’re still being “carnal christians” in this world, following personalities rather than the Person of God’s Spirit, Who will lead us exactly where we need to walk, IF we follow HIM and HIS WAYS rather than, as babes, following the lures of carnality we hear today from worldly gurus like Mohammed, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or even one like Oprah Winfrey. Any time we act like children and follow the Pied Pipers of untruth, rather than being like the Bereans (again, see Acts 17: 10-15), we’re going to be led down the path to carnality and away from real Christianity, which relies exclusively on the truth of the Gospel and the message of the Cross which we find embedded in the truth of God’s word.
So, my fellow Christian life traveler, I hearken back to the truth of 2Tim. 3: 16-17, linked here for your review and meditation, keeping us away from human divisiveness and carnal foolishness by shining the light of truth (i.e., the message of Christ through His Spirit) imparted through His word for our direction and guidance through the travails of life.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, in the fogginess of life, I look to the harbor light which is Your truth in Your word. Amen
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