ISDAMan
04-15-00, 12:26 AM
Well, now. Be prepared to be humbled. This Chapter is a real kick in the pants to us all. There are some things in this chapter that I’m sure we could all wish weren’t in the Bible. Never the less, they’re in here.
<< Read Verses 1-7 >>
It’s a sad state of affaires to be in if you are a Christian and are at war with those over you because you fail to or refuse to do what is expected of you. The government might have corruption in places, yet, you still owe taxes. Your manager might be imperfect. You still have to do what is expected of you and you should be doing it with a heart that desires to please God first. Remember, we are here working for God and not man. If your enemy gets position over you at work and is hard on you, what should you do? Should you revolt? Sure, you could do that. You might even win. However, God would give you the greater victory if you would simply do what was expected of you and then some. If you could find it in you, by God’s grace, to be nice to that person anyway, the reward would be greater than the tiny reward of a direct battle with that person. Yet, we tend to choose the direct battle. We forget that even when dealing with enemies or those that would attempt to oppresses us with their power over us, we still have to show forth the Love of God through Christ that is in us. Even more, If God is for us, who can be against us? We tend to forget quite easily that God is working good in our lives at all times! He never sleeps! He was there for Daniel. He’ll be there for us too!!! Remember that God has told us, in short, that He raises up whom He will and He lowers those whom He will. He does know what He is doing. We need not be jealous or bitter because of the people that are in power over us. Why? Because,… God is the one ultimately in power over us all. To overlook that fact is to place that person in power in the position of God. Who is it that you will give greater respect towards. Do you have to disrespect one to respect the other? What if their orders conflict? Yes, there must come a time when you put your foot down and make hard choices. Never the less, there is no disrespect due. We do not need to rant and rave. We do not need name calling. In most cases, you might be surprised to know that I would not advocate rallying people together. Your steady example of righteousness will say far more that the most fervent of you speeches. We, as Christians, should have an easy time of getting our priorities straight. Somehow, it doesn’t come that easily though. Ever wonder why some things are repeated in the Bible again and again? The answer is that God knows us very well. He’s well aware of the fact that we humans are very very forgetful. We need constant reminders of priority. Above all else, GOD FIRST!!!!!!! These world systems that we are under are only passing. God and all His ways are forever!
<< Read Verses 8-14 >>
Beloved, it’s not long at all until we will meet out Lord face to face. How do you want to be found in His sight? Yes, Jesus loves you. Still, He is given all authority. We all know that true love seeks the best good of that which the love is focused upon. Not only is He the judge of it, He’s also the measuring stick. There will be no disputes over matters of interpretation. There’ll be no mistakes. There’s only two choices,... righteous or unrighteous. That’s it. There’s nothing else. If our love is toward God, then we need to seek God’s best good. Does God have a best good for us to seek? Would you to think it to be that we should be like Him in righteousness? Well, that’s partly correct. The rest of that is that God would have ALL of His creation stand in righteousness as He created it. Therefor, all that we do should be by the Love of God and should leave no place for sin. How close can any of us really say that we come to that? I see space I leave for sin every day. Heck, at times, I even go out of my way to build that sin a nice and easy place to stay. I know you’re the same. It’s not right. That not what God would have of us. We have the power to be righteous because of the Spirit of God within us. The question is in our will to be true to the Love that saved us. It would be good that we should all examine our lives and attempt to make a correlation to the live of Christ. Lastly, I leave you with a small tip. Never make a decision in the midst of an intense emotion. You’ll rarely choose wisely in that way. Don’t be rushed. Instead, search the scriptures with help from your Brothers and Sisters in Christ to see just how to bet display the Love and righteousness of God in that situation.
If you are true to God, you will have just realized some failures in your life. Do you have the desire to take hold of God’s victory?
ISDAMan
<< Read Verses 1-7 >>
It’s a sad state of affaires to be in if you are a Christian and are at war with those over you because you fail to or refuse to do what is expected of you. The government might have corruption in places, yet, you still owe taxes. Your manager might be imperfect. You still have to do what is expected of you and you should be doing it with a heart that desires to please God first. Remember, we are here working for God and not man. If your enemy gets position over you at work and is hard on you, what should you do? Should you revolt? Sure, you could do that. You might even win. However, God would give you the greater victory if you would simply do what was expected of you and then some. If you could find it in you, by God’s grace, to be nice to that person anyway, the reward would be greater than the tiny reward of a direct battle with that person. Yet, we tend to choose the direct battle. We forget that even when dealing with enemies or those that would attempt to oppresses us with their power over us, we still have to show forth the Love of God through Christ that is in us. Even more, If God is for us, who can be against us? We tend to forget quite easily that God is working good in our lives at all times! He never sleeps! He was there for Daniel. He’ll be there for us too!!! Remember that God has told us, in short, that He raises up whom He will and He lowers those whom He will. He does know what He is doing. We need not be jealous or bitter because of the people that are in power over us. Why? Because,… God is the one ultimately in power over us all. To overlook that fact is to place that person in power in the position of God. Who is it that you will give greater respect towards. Do you have to disrespect one to respect the other? What if their orders conflict? Yes, there must come a time when you put your foot down and make hard choices. Never the less, there is no disrespect due. We do not need to rant and rave. We do not need name calling. In most cases, you might be surprised to know that I would not advocate rallying people together. Your steady example of righteousness will say far more that the most fervent of you speeches. We, as Christians, should have an easy time of getting our priorities straight. Somehow, it doesn’t come that easily though. Ever wonder why some things are repeated in the Bible again and again? The answer is that God knows us very well. He’s well aware of the fact that we humans are very very forgetful. We need constant reminders of priority. Above all else, GOD FIRST!!!!!!! These world systems that we are under are only passing. God and all His ways are forever!
<< Read Verses 8-14 >>
Beloved, it’s not long at all until we will meet out Lord face to face. How do you want to be found in His sight? Yes, Jesus loves you. Still, He is given all authority. We all know that true love seeks the best good of that which the love is focused upon. Not only is He the judge of it, He’s also the measuring stick. There will be no disputes over matters of interpretation. There’ll be no mistakes. There’s only two choices,... righteous or unrighteous. That’s it. There’s nothing else. If our love is toward God, then we need to seek God’s best good. Does God have a best good for us to seek? Would you to think it to be that we should be like Him in righteousness? Well, that’s partly correct. The rest of that is that God would have ALL of His creation stand in righteousness as He created it. Therefor, all that we do should be by the Love of God and should leave no place for sin. How close can any of us really say that we come to that? I see space I leave for sin every day. Heck, at times, I even go out of my way to build that sin a nice and easy place to stay. I know you’re the same. It’s not right. That not what God would have of us. We have the power to be righteous because of the Spirit of God within us. The question is in our will to be true to the Love that saved us. It would be good that we should all examine our lives and attempt to make a correlation to the live of Christ. Lastly, I leave you with a small tip. Never make a decision in the midst of an intense emotion. You’ll rarely choose wisely in that way. Don’t be rushed. Instead, search the scriptures with help from your Brothers and Sisters in Christ to see just how to bet display the Love and righteousness of God in that situation.
If you are true to God, you will have just realized some failures in your life. Do you have the desire to take hold of God’s victory?
ISDAMan