Out of jealousy the Jews of Thessalonica grab “bad characters” and stir up much trouble for Paul and Silas in Thessalonica and eventually Berea, causing them to leave each city. (Acts 17:1-9)
I have witnessed disputes and participated in disputes, some went well and some didn’t. As in everything, we must pray and seek God to examine our hearts before we begin a dispute or accusation. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us our hearts are deceitful about all things. We cannot trust ourselves and our opinions even when we have verses to back up our thoughts and opinions. We must check our motivations before bringing up a discussion or dispute especially one that could easily turn into an accusation. Our anger and unchecked hearts may just be working against what God is trying to accomplish in our lives, churches, places of employment, etc.
There was one time when I was first married that my husband and I stood up with friends and battled it out in a church meeting over a right that we thought we had. We had Biblical ground for the right we were defending. No verses said that we couldn’t do what we wanted to do. The church leaders, however, said that we could not be church leaders if we did this thing. In looking back on those nights, I know that our belief was Biblical but I cannot say that my attitude or the way I presented everything I said was Christ-like. Now it’s been many years since those discussions but it does proof a point. Even when battling legalism we must first seek God and ask Him what He wants us to do. Paul says that when he was on his missionary journeys he was all things to all people so that many would be saved. He knew his freedom in Christ but in no way did he want to make someone stumble in their personal walk with Christ, so if they refrained from doing something, in their presence he refrained and vise versa. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31-33)
The questions I should have asked myself were
• Is this discussion one that Jesus wants me to have?
• Can I say my heart is not filled with hatred and anger right now?
• When I defend my point, would Christ be pleased with me?
• Am I willing to surrender my right to follow Jesus’ plan for my life right now or is my right more important?
• Why is defending this right so important to me at this time?
There are many rights and beliefs that God does want us to battle for and sometimes to the death, as many Christians in foreign lands do today, right now. But before we battle to the proverbial death (in America), we must know that our hearts are right with Jesus, our motivation is pure and acceptable to Him, and we in all ways honor Jesus.
Showing posts with label right. Show all posts
Showing posts with label right. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The High Places
I continue to read in 2 Kings and phew!! You really need to be awake to keep track of all of those people whose names begin with Jeho_____. Some are men and some are women, some are from Judah and some are from Israel. It can get a bit confusing keeping families and kingdoms straight. Well I digress.
In reading these kingdom accounts, I keep thinking about the high places. Many times in these descriptions it is said, “…and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” But every now again you come across a king who “did right in the eyes of the Lord, but…he did not remove the high places.”
The high places…what are they? Well in going through the Bible with National Community Church blog site, I learned that not only are the high places used for the idol worshippers to sacrifice and worship their gods but they also were used by the early kings and prophets of God (Samuel) to sacrifice to the Lord before the temple was built. God commanded that the high places of the idols be destroyed and no sacrifices to or worship of Him be done where idols had been worshipped. Apparently there is still debate as to whether worshipping and sacrificing to God on the high places was “ok” prior to the completion of the Temple, since there was no central location to do this in. Needless to say, they existed for various reasons and became a means to cause the people of God to stumble and fall into idol worship. (Commentary from The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House: 1995.)
So how do the high places fit into my life…your life? Obviously we are not having idol worship and sacrifices occurring in our cities and towns. However, are we keeping little stashes of things that get in the way of our time with God and maybe keep us from hearing Him or doing things for Him and His people in the best way we can?
High places give you the impression that they’re not that close, they don’t get visited very often, they’re so far away many people don’t see them or even know about them but they are always there and I know about them, you know about them. The knowledge of them and the frequent or infrequent visits to those high places still affect our relationship with Christ. “How?” you might ask, by keeping us from giving God our whole heart. Several passages in the Old and New Testament say we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul and with all our strength.
Are there things in your life that keep you from giving all of yourself and all of your efforts to God? Do you want the commentary on your life to read, “Joe/Joelle did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but did not remove the high places”?
In reading these kingdom accounts, I keep thinking about the high places. Many times in these descriptions it is said, “…and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” But every now again you come across a king who “did right in the eyes of the Lord, but…he did not remove the high places.”
The high places…what are they? Well in going through the Bible with National Community Church blog site, I learned that not only are the high places used for the idol worshippers to sacrifice and worship their gods but they also were used by the early kings and prophets of God (Samuel) to sacrifice to the Lord before the temple was built. God commanded that the high places of the idols be destroyed and no sacrifices to or worship of Him be done where idols had been worshipped. Apparently there is still debate as to whether worshipping and sacrificing to God on the high places was “ok” prior to the completion of the Temple, since there was no central location to do this in. Needless to say, they existed for various reasons and became a means to cause the people of God to stumble and fall into idol worship. (Commentary from The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House: 1995.)
So how do the high places fit into my life…your life? Obviously we are not having idol worship and sacrifices occurring in our cities and towns. However, are we keeping little stashes of things that get in the way of our time with God and maybe keep us from hearing Him or doing things for Him and His people in the best way we can?
High places give you the impression that they’re not that close, they don’t get visited very often, they’re so far away many people don’t see them or even know about them but they are always there and I know about them, you know about them. The knowledge of them and the frequent or infrequent visits to those high places still affect our relationship with Christ. “How?” you might ask, by keeping us from giving God our whole heart. Several passages in the Old and New Testament say we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul and with all our strength.
Are there things in your life that keep you from giving all of yourself and all of your efforts to God? Do you want the commentary on your life to read, “Joe/Joelle did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but did not remove the high places”?
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