Perspective

I've been reading an excellent book and have some insights to share from it. If you're interested, it's called "Lies Women Believe" - Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

So when was the last time you took a hard look at the "lens" you've put on, the influences you've allowed to surround you, the lies you've listened to and entertained, and stopped to ask yourself how you're building this "view". How does it compare to what the BIBLE has to say about it? How have you let OTHER things shape how you think, how you feel, and the decisions you make everyday?

After all, if we're Christians, shouldn't we be using the Bible as our guide, applying Truth to our lives?

Please allow me to give three simple examples:

1) On happiness and suffering
"By convincing us that our suffering is undeserved or unnecessary, the Enemy succeeds in getting us to resent and resist the will and purposes of God." - Nancy Leigh DeMoss

"We tend to look at circumstances of life in terms of what they may do to our cherished hopes and convenience, and we shape our decisions and reactions accordingly. When a problem threatens, we rush to God, not to seek His perspective, but to ask Him to deflect the trouble. Our self-concern takes priority over whatever it is that God might be trying to do through the trouble...An escapist generation reads security, prosperity, and physical well-being as evidences of God's blessing. Thus when he puts suffering and affliction into our hands, we misread his signals and misinterpret his intentions." - Arthur Mathews

How then can we cultivate an attitude and spirit and heart that embraces suffering as a pathway to sanctification and doorway into greater intimacy with God?

The truth is, God is more interested in our holiness than our "temporal happiness". Our motivation and desire should not be seeking to make me "happy" or fulfill SELF but rather how this brings God greater glory (1 Cor. 10:31) because true joy is not the absence of pain or suffering but the presence of Christ amidst the pain.

2) On feelings, emotions and circumstances
The world bombards us constantly with messages that are completely wrong and contrary to what Scripture teaches. That we should do whatever we "feel" like, that we're subject to our emotions and they should run our lives. But we're to choose to fix our minds on Christ, to exercise our will OVER our emotions, based on Truth (Col. 3:1-2, 2 Cor. 10:5, Is. 26:3).

And instead of being "victims" to our circumstances, we need to take OWNERSHIP and RESPONSIBILITY over our lives. Stop being passive, complacent and lazy about change that is necessary and beneficial, areas of your life that are out of control, dominated by sin...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, surrender to God, and change.

We should strive to live PASSIONATE lives for God, where we can be salt and light, to spur one other towards love and good deeds, and Christ-likeness.

The truth is, through Christ's redemptive work, we have victory over sin (Rom. 6:12-14, 22), we can choose to bring our thoughts captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), and to learn be content in all circumstances, not letting them control us (Phil. 4:11-12).

Let's stop making excuses and deal with the root issues (idolatry, unconfessed sin, pride, lack of surrender, laziness, etc.) and start being honest with God, going to Him and asking Him to TRANSFORM us and then COOPERATING and actively PARTICIPATING with Him through the change.

3) The meaning of "forever"
Do we really have a proper understanding of life here on earth as it relates to eternity? Our lives here are but a blip on the map. How does that affect the urgency of the gospel message?

Here's a sobering thought - some friendships I thought would be "forever" will never last that long, because in reality, they do not know Christ as their Savior and our friendship will end when one of us dies.

Even FAMILY relationships that we'd like to believe will last "forever" will be severed as well if they are not "saved". Think hard about that. When will we start praying for our loved ones? When will we start to really serve, love, and live our lives as a true Christian witness to them?

And I've learned this past year, what it means to really be "saved", that there are people who may know all about God, say all the right things, have a deeply religious experience, attend church, even HAD great interest in spiritual matters at one time, but it's completely possible that they could never really have been converted. Only God knows the heart.

He has given us some objective standards by which we may measure a profession of faith - whether ours or someone else's.

-Obedience to God's commands. (1 John 2:3-4)
-Walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:5-6)
-If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15)
-Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:10)

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." - Heb. 3:12-13

No true believer can sin willfully and habitually without experiencing the conviction of God's Spirit. No matter how fervent they may have appeared to be at one time, if they do not have any heart or hunger for God, if they have a consistent pattern of rejecting the Word and ways of God, they need to challenged to reconsider whether they were ever really converted in the first place. (New life, new heart, new nature, new allegiance, new master - See also 2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 1:13)

On the other hand, "forever" is not defined by what we're experiencing right now here on earth. That everything that has taken place in this life will just be a comma, a breath in light of eternity. So if you're suffering or dealing with trials, or something painful that seems like it will NEVER change...praise God that even if it goes on your whole entire life here on earth, eternity is a LOT longer, and this trial is not going to last "forever".

And if you're feeling wonderful and happy because of sin (Heb. 11:25) you must realize that there are ALWAYS consequences, that it's NEVER worth it, and we will be called to account (Heb. 4:13, Ecc. 12:14).

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." - Gal. 6:7

Please remember how short our lives are here on earth, that our citizenship is in heaven and that we're just passing through. We need to make the most of our time, carefully walking WISELY (Eph. 5:15). We're to set our minds on things above, to cultivate a healthy longing for heaven, an eagerness to be with Jesus (Phil. 1:23) and to BE HOLY AS GOD IS HOLY (1 Pet. 1:15).

I pray we can all take time to re-examine our "lenses" and to make sure that we're seeing clearly - through a Biblical perspective - working hard to counter Satan's lies with the Truths that flow through Scripture, DAILY.

Grace and peace to you.