Author: Tim Thomas

“Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” — 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NASB)

God is so misunderstood. Many of God’s dearly loved children think that He is always looking for things that they are doing wrong so that he has more material to punish them for. They seem somehow convinced that their hearts are inherently evil, despite the Bible telling us that by turning to Jesus we have been given new hearts and new spirits (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26). In the verse above, there is an unexpected twist. The Apostle Paul tells us that there will be a time when God brings to light the things hidden in darkness in our hearts. This is where those who do not have a clear concept of God as a genuinely loving father start sensing the wrath that is about to be revealed.

But instead of talk of wrath, Paul talks of praise. And this not praise of God, but praise from God of what is hidden in our hearts. The secret motives of good that are there. Praise for the compassion we have for people. Praise for our desire to do good. Praise for our hopes of seeing God presented to others in a way that leads them to relationship with Him. What good father doesn’t look for praiseworthy things in their kids? If earthly fathers know what good fathers should do, certainly the ultimate good father does so even more.
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One of the Apostle Paul’s points here is that we need to be very careful what we judge other people to be. We see what appears to be wrong motives — or perhaps we see someone who still has very far to grow in Christ-likeness — or someone who is very rough around the edges. Yet, we don’t easily see the good that is residing in their hearts. We are not to be premature in writing off anyone. Furthermore, even though we can never see inside another’s heart very clearly, we are given the hint that we are to look for the gold there — look for the good there — look for the praiseworthy there. That is, if we are actually trying to be more like Jesus.

I have grown more in my life through people calling forth the good they see in me than people yelling about the bad they see in me. By calling out the good, people help me see what I in many cases had not been able to see. And in helping me see, they help me become what God always intended me to be.

Let us be life-giving people, and let us understand our Father in heaven as really being a good and loving Father in reality, and not just in words.

Just read an excellent devotion by Bill Johnson in Spiritual Java. It was on strengthening yourself in the Lord, and was based on David’s response to a serious situation at Ziklag when the wives and children of he and his men were kidnapped while they were off fighting a battle elsewhere. His men were going to stone him, but he strengthened himself in the Lord and then led his men to take back their wives and children. The article was about being able to press into the Lord and then taking a courageous step that requires faith. Bill Johnson says that doing so helps us grow in favor with God.

I wonder what pressing into the Lord looks like practically? I think it must be more than simply being courageous, or at least acting like we are courageous. I think it must involve coming to the Lord, and in our time with him grappling with and agreeing with what he wants us to do to step forward in the situation.

I experienced this about 6 years ago when my consulting business wasn’t bringing in enough money, and I failed in my attempts to drum up more business or find an alternative job. I was scared and thought for sure I needed to sell my house before it got foreclosed on. But God spoke to me in his quiet voice and directed me to look at Isaiah 7, in which Isaiah challenges the king to take a stand against the foreign army. In verse 9, Isaiah basically tells the king (and this is paraphrased into how I interpreted it for my situation), if you don’t stand firm in faith now, you’ll always be running in tough situations. So, as a result, I redoubled my efforts to pray and trust God, and I got a phone call from someone offering me a position I neither knew about or applied for. And I am there to this day.
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Truthfully, over the course of my life, I have had more failures than successes in this area, but as I grow older, I hope to see many more successes than failures. For us to do this, I think this requires us to both recognize that God is mighty, but also recognize ourselves as people valuable enough to God that he will act on our behalf. Consider the second part of Hebrews 11:6, that faith requires us to believe that God rewards those of us who seek him.

May God give us strength to stand firm in faith, to go up against giants, and not shrink in fear, but go forth using the weapons that we have!

Jesus is too important to be fuzzy-headed about. Around a billion people claim to follow him (Christians) and for that matter, another billion people claim that he was at the very least a great prophet (Muslims). There’s probably an additional billion or more people who claim to at least have heard about him and show some kind of respect for him.

But perhaps the earliest sources known to record the life of Jesus, the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John found in the New Testament of the Bible, report that Jesus made some incredible claims. He said he was

• God’s only begotten son (John 3:16)
• One who was also God (John 5:18, John 8:58, John 10:30-33, John 12:44-46, John 14:6-9, Mark 14:61-62, John 20:28)
• The only way to God (John 14:6)
• One who could forgive sins
• That he would save anyone who believed in him — and that everyone else was condemned (john 3:16-18)

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We all have heard of people who claimed to be God. And we treat those people as not being mentally competent. But if someone ever seemed to be mentally competent and made that claim, then we would probably ask ourselves, “What’s the gimmick? Why are they staging such a scam?”

So, was Jesus a scam artist — a big, fat liar? He seemed to be selfless, not getting anything out of proclaiming his message. I mean, he was killed at a young age because of his message. And his followers, instead of shutting up, proclaimed Jesus as God and Savior — and all but one lost their lives for proclaiming this! Certainly if it was all a scam, at least one of them would have told the truth to save his own life.

Continue reading “What if Jesus Wasn’t a Big, Fat Liar, Nor Just Plain Crazy?”

Guest post by Ron Lease

“Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people; before you tell me how much you love your God, show me in how much you love all His children; before you preach to me of your passion for your faith, teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I’m not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as in how you choose to live and give.” Cory Booker

We as Christians are regularly scrutinized, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Scrutiny forces accountability, and we need to be accountable. Accountability keeps us grounded, keeps us humble, keeps us focused. The world is watching us, and it’s up to us to be good role models, integrious in all of our actions. While this does put pressure on us, we signed up for this pressure when we chose to follow Christ. In Luke 9:23, Jesus told all those in audience that they have to deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him.

To understand, look at an example from John The Baptist. Starting in John 3:22 we read that John and Jesus were both baptizing believers. Some of John The Baptist’s followers started to question whether Jesus, who was baptized by John, could baptize others. In verse 27 John responded, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27 ESV). John The Baptist says a few more things reinforcing his statement before closing with, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30 NIV).

Let us review some facts on it. levitra 40 mg According to cialis viagra australia Ayurveda depression is caused when Vata dosha and Pitta dosha are greatly disturbed. But after getting the online ordering option, they started to take note of the market gap and are trying to fill the void by bringing forward their own anti ED medicines. levitra professional online Nature cialis canada prescription has never been impartial to its offsprings. Several years later, in his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…” (Philippians 1:27 ESV). Now for Paul to hear how the early Christians in Philippi were doing, Paul would have to hear of the church’s activities. And the only way for Paul to hear would be for other people to talk. And the only way for people to talk would be to observe.

Now I don’t write to say that the world is watching so that we live in a state of fear. Never! Instead, we should accept this HUGE responsibility. Americans do not lack in access to the Bible. They do not lack in access to a church. They lack in access to healthy Christians who carry out Christ’s will. In a world where we regularly hear people bloviate superfluous platitudes, a good moral word every now and again is ignored. Instead, our society responds to action. Christians in action send a very clear message that the love of Christ is real. Christians willing to roll up their sleeves and serve those in need demonstrate that the love of Christ is real. Christians offering a sympathetic, caring response instead of a vapid, snarky remark condemning the suffering show that the love of Christ is real.

We Christians should never be afraid or ashamed of our identity in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). Now this doesn’t mean that we have to respond to every (or any) manipulative Facebook posting begging for shares or likes to profess our love for Christ. No! Instead, we need to share our new identity lovingly with the rest of the world. In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus told the parable of a tree and its fruit. Essentially, we can recognize people by the fruit of their labor. Anybody can say they’re good, but only those who demonstrate they’re good should be trusted.

Hearing a message of Christ is one thing, but seeing Christian action is something entirely different! We’re surrounded by talkers and lacking in doers. Be a doer! Love your neighbor; help your friends; be nice to people. Because remember, the world is watching.