Live to Honor God

Purity of Heart

"Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you." Psalms 86:11 (NLT)

The Psalmist clearly understands that "purity of heart" is a requirement for honoring God. But, even more important, he understands that purity of heart is not within his ability without God’s power working in him. He states, "grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you."

As I’m sure you noticed in the title of this post, my main point is related to purity of heart, but before we dig too deep into that, let me say, I believe God is pleased when we desire to honor him. I believe that is one of the main reasons God says, David is a man after his own heart, because deep in his heart David truly desires to honor God with his life. Even when he fails miserably, David returns to God, in humility, and truly wants to honor God. His desire to honor God is already pure. But because of his human nature he lacks the ability to honor God in his actions. In this verse, he is asking God to help him make his desire a reality.

The key is "purity of heart." Purity of heart means our thoughts, our desires, and our attitudes must be focused on doing God’s will instead of our will. The ONLY way we can be truly pure of heart is through the incredible power of God, and this, only through the spilling of Jesus’ blood at his sacrificial death on the cross and the promise of eternal life we have through his resurrection.

David knew his sinfullness and the limits of his human frailty, but, he also knew the amazing mercy and love of God. He understood his need for purity so he might honor God and he also knew purity was only possible through God’s work in him. This reminds me of what Isaiah says in Isaiah 61:3 (NLT):

"To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory."

"He will give beauty for ashes..." We come into the relationship with God with nothing of value that would bring honor and glory to the name of God. Even our best attempts to be pure are pitiful and worthless efforts. It is impossible to please God in my human nature alone. Paul makes this very clear in his letter to the Romans.

"For the mind controlled by the old nature is hostile to God, because it does not submit itself to God's Torah [God’s Law] —indeed, it cannot. Thus, those who identify with their old nature cannot please God." Romans 8:7–8 CJB (The Complete Jewish Bible)

But, the good news is, we are not left in this pitiful condition. Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have the ability to ask God to help us just as David does in this Psalm. When we asked him to, he takes our ashes, our worthlessness, and gives beauty in return. He removes the dirt and filth and makes us beautiful. He gives us worth. We are able to have pure thoughts and motives, when we humble ourselves and allow God to work in us and through us. Because of our old nature we often find ourselves needing to renew our desire and our request for purity, but God is merciful and faithful and he welcomes us when we approach him in humility. If we ask, he will remove our ashes and leave beauty in our lives.

Honoring God as a process, it is not an event. It is a journey that begins with our desire to please God and approaching him in humility to request his help in making our hearts pure. As with any journey, you must pay attention to where you are and where you are going. When you find yourself straying from the path you must backtrack and find your way back to your true path.

We honor God when we desire to do his will and let him work in us to give us purity of heart and the ability to live a life that pleases him.

 Published by WebStory

A Spiritual Word Part 1

Have you ever had a time, when you knew God was speaking directly to you? I don’t mean, you heard his voice, out loud, though the Bible says," nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). I’m talking about a time when you knew, in your heart, you had received a message directly from the Holy Spirit. It might have been when you were reading your Bible, talking to a friend, singing a song, listening to a sermon, or even watching a movie or a TV show. God can speak to you any way he wants. You may remember, God used a donkey to speak to Balaam. Numbers 22:28 (NIV) says,

"Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

 Certainly, if God is able to use a donkey to deliver a message, he is able to deliver a message to you in any way he wants. In fact, he might even choose to deliver a message through you to someone else.

My Experience with Spiritual Words

God has used me on many occasions to share a message of encouragement or hope or even salvation. It is a very exciting, amazing, and very humbling thing, to realize God is using you to speak to someone else. It took me a while to trust God really wanted to use me in this way. At first, I didn’t feel worthy to be used by the Holy Spirit. But God dealt with me about that and I realized it’s not about me or how worthy I am, it’s about being obedient to God and doing what he wants whether I understand it or not. Then I had to learn to trust I was hearing God correctly. I’m a little hardheaded and stubborn so it took me a while to trust I was hearing God’s voice. Some of the messages God wanted me to share had the potential to make me look foolish to the other person if they didn’t believe it was a message from God. God worked with me on this for a couple of years till I got to the point I would be obedient regardless of how it made me look. As I mentioned, I am stubborn, and it took me quite a while to learn obedience.

How Does God Speak With Us?

One of the most common ways God speaks to me is in the pages of his Word. Some people often describe this as, "the words jumping off the page" or, "coming alive" when they have had this experience. It often feels like the words are written directly to me, as if God is saying, "Tim, this is a message for you."  This isn't too hard to believe when you consider the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible also inspires our reading of the Bible.  In Hebrews 4:12 NIV, the writer says, "For the word of God is living and active..." I believe the writer of Hebrews is speaking about this very phenomena in addition to other amazing ways God's word "comes to life." 

I have experienced this many times. It is an amazing feeling, when you realize you have just heard from the Almighty God. God has used this to encourage me when I really needed to hear a word of encouragement. Often, this has been a confirmation of what I already knew God was telling me, in my heart. There have been other times when the message I received from God was a rebuke. A rebuke is never pleasant but somehow it doesn’t seem as painful coming directly from God. I believe this is true because God corrects us because he loves us. Proverbs 3:11-12 NIV says, "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."

Another method God has used with me is a movie or television show. For example, while watching a show, I have felt God was showing me a similarity between a character or the plot of the show and something that was going on in my life. I have also "heard" from God in music. There have been times when I was overwhelmed by the Spirit of God while listening to music or singing. I have even had to pull over while driving due to God "touching" me while singing along with a Christian song. One I remember vividly was the song "Beauty for Ashes" by Crystal Lewis. I was overwhelmed by the amazing love of God; I was praising God and weeping and had to pull over to make sure I didn’t wreck the car.

A spiritual word can come in many forms, as I mentioned before. Once you learn to recognize God's voice, you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it is a word from God. 

Spiritual Words in the Bible 

What I’m calling a spiritual word is described in the Bible as a message of wisdom or a message of knowledge. A spiritual word can also come in the form of prophecy or tongues (with interpretation), according to Paul in 1st Corinthians, but I’m going to be dealing with a message of wisdom and a message of knowledge. When speaking about these two gifts of the spirit, Paul says this:

"To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit," 1 Corinthians 12:8 NIV

Dictionary.com defines wisdom as "knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action." I define a message of wisdom as knowledge or insight and the understanding of how to apply it. This is knowledge I did not possess until the Holy Spirit made it known to me; the Holy Spirit also provides me with an understanding of how to apply this knowledge. All of this is for the purpose of honoring God and furthering His purpose in my life and/or through me to others around me.

On the other hand, Dictionary.com defines knowledge as "acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study, investigation, or experience." I believe a message of knowledge is, an understanding of someone or something I did not have but God, the Holy Spirit, gives to me for his purpose and glory.

God is not limited by the natural laws that govern our existence-he can do anything he wants.  Luke 1:37 says, "for nothing is impossible with God." God can speak to us in a dream, in a vision, through a newspaper or magazine article or any other way he chooses.

In part 2 of this post I will give you some examples and dig a little deeper into how God uses spiritual words.

Have you experienced a spiritual word from God? Leave a comment and share your throughts and experiences with us.

 Published by WebStory

Honoring God in Your Friendships - Praying for Your Friends

This is the 4th post in a series about Honoring God in Your Friendships.  The first 5 posts in this series relate to friends who are not saved.

1. Sharing Your Testimony in Words

2. Sharing Your Testimony in Actions

3. Pointing to Jesus (Giving God the Glory)


4. Praying for Your Friends

Praying for your friends is an important part of everyday Christian life.  Chances are, you already spend some time each week, praying for your friends-you may know of specific needs they have, or they may have asked you to pray for specific needs.  You probably have quite a few friends who do not have a relationship with Jesus.  These friends probably wouldn’t ask you to pray for them, but, I want to encourage you to spend time praying for them, specifically, for God to bring someone into their life who will, effectively, share their testimony (you might be the person God uses to share his message of salvation with your friend).  You never know how God is going to reach out to someone.  The Holy Spirit uses many different methods to draw people to himself.  You might even pray that God to open the door for opportunities that you could share a message of love from God to your friend.

Let’s look at a few examples from the Bible that relate to praying for unbelievers.

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

In this passage, Paul says, “ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”  This is an interesting visual image.  I like this idea, that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened and be able to see the truth of God’s love. Of course, this brings up the idea that a person’s eyes are not enlightened until God enlightens them.  This is consistent with the idea that Satan, the prince of this world, has resources that help keep our eyes from seeing the truth.  But, God is able to do all that we can think or imagine, in fact, God is able to do even more than we can imagine. Before the eyes of a person’s heart are enlightened they are in darkness.  Paul is saying, Lord, help this person see the light, the truth of God.

“Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”  Romans 10:1 (NIV)

In this passage from Romans, Paul is speaking about his people, family and friends, that Paul knows have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I believe Paul spent a lot of time praying for his people.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. [3] And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. [4] Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. [5] Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. [6] Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:2-6 NIV 

In this passage from Colossians, Paul requests his fellow believers to ask God to provide opportunities for him to share the message effectively. I believe he is again asking for God to prepare the hearts of unbelievers to hear the message, to take it to heart, and ultimately receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

There are many other passages that demonstrate praying for people to receive the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to look through your Bible and study some passages that talk about friendship and prayer.

As you are praying for your friends, don't forget to listen to God, he may have some specific things in mind that he wants you to do. In fact, you may be the perfect person to share God's message with your friend.

Have you experienced a time when God opened the door for you to share his message of love with a friend?  Take a moment to share your experiences with praying for friends and leave a comment.

 

Honoring God in Your Friendships - Pointing to Jesus

In this post I am continuing the series on Honoring God in Your Friendships. You can see the previous 2 posts by following the links below.

1. Sharing Your Testimony in Words

2. Sharing Your Testimony in Actions

3. Pointing to Jesus

One of the most important ways we can honor God in our relationships with friends is to make sure we point to Jesus as the source of our joy, peace, and blessings. I think we often assume others know we are Christians and when we talk about the blessings in our lives, we expect them to know we mean the blessings God has given us. But the truth is, a person who is not in a relationship with God may not make that connection automatically. When they see us laughing, even though things are not going well for us financially, they might not understand that our joy comes from knowing Jesus as LORD and Savior. It is important for us to point to Jesus in situations like these. It may be a simple change in the way we say things, such as, "even though we are struggling with our finances I can't help but think about all the blessings God has given us," instead of, "even though we are struggling with our finances I can't help but think about how good we have it compared to some people." It might seem like a very subtle difference, but it is really huge. Rather than giving credit for our blessings to "fate" or random occurrence you should be giving credit to Jesus for all the good in your life.

Here are two examples from the Bible.

John the Baptist - Matthew 3:11 NLT, says, "I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am-so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." John the Baptist understood who he was in the Kingdom of God and he knew his role. In this verse, he is saying, "this is who I am, this is what I do, I baptize with water, this is my purpose, but you want to watch out for the real star of the show--Jesus." In John 3:30 NLT, John the Baptist says, "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." John knows his role--to point to Jesus, and he gives glory to God by remaining humble. John the Baptist is a great example of someone who points others to Jesus. We can learn a lot from him.

The Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4:1-42) is another great example of someone pointing to Jesus. Jesus meets a woman at a well and they have a little talk. Jesus tells her about "living water" that he could give her and shares some knowledge of her life. After hearing what he has to say she asks to have some of his "living water." She leaves and tells the people from the town about him. Read what happens next:

"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."　So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." John 4:29-42 NIV

This is an amazing glimpse into God's plan for introducing people to new life in Jesus. The woman goes back to town and points the people in the town to Jesus. They hear her testimony and go to Jesus to see for themselves. Some were probably just curious because of what she told them. Others may have started to believe because they saw the truth in her face and her sincere belief in Jesus. So, they go to the well to meet him in person. They say,

"We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (John 4:42 NIV).

Many people came to believe simply because she pointed them to Jesus.

If you have read the first two posts in this series you may be thinking this post about pointing to Jesus is just repeating what I've already said. There is some truth to that--when people point to Jesus, they do share with others about Jesus in their words and actions. But, pointing to Jesus is more about the attitude and the intention of the heart. Pointing to Jesus is about a person who could take credit for something or they could redirect credit to another person, event, or thing but, instead, they correctly give the credit to Jesus.

We honor God when we point our friends to Jesus.

Please share your thoughts about this post by leaving a comment.

You may also want to read this post "Give Glory to God."

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Honoring God in Your Friendships - Sharing Your Testimony in Words

This post is the 1st in a series about ways to honor God in your relationships with friends. This series begins with 5 ways to honor God with friends who don't already have a relationship with God. The last 5 are more specifically for friends who already know Jesus as LORD and Savior.

1. Sharing Your Testimony in Words - This is telling another person (or people) what Jesus has done for you. Many people get scared when they think about talking about Jesus--I understand that, I used to get scared myself. But, I have learned over the years, this is the easiest thing in the world. It doesn't require fancy words or an amazing story. It's as simple as telling what happened when you accepted Jesus into your life. For me, I felt an amazing peace, like the burdens of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. Also, I had a joy that had to be shared with someone. I looked up a friend who was studying to be a pastor and talked with him for the next 4 or 5 hours about what happened. You don't have to be eloquent or even persuasive, you just have to share the truth of your experience and leave the rest up to God. You can't save anyone anyway. God is the LORD of the harvest. The Holy Spirit will use your testimony they way He wants--it might be the first seed of the truth of God ever planted in this person's life, in which case the Holy Spirit will lead others to share in watering and nurturing. When the harvest is ripe and the person is ready to accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit will bring forth the harvest (Matthew 9:36-38).

It is not your responsibility to make them believe. Just tell them the truth. They may receive it well or they might not. If they get mad or reject what you say don't let it bother you. Continue to treat them with love as a friend and let it drop for the moment. God will continue working on them--you don't have to argue with them or pound the truth into them. You have done your part for the moment. Pray about it and let God lead you regarding what to do next. Remember, if they reject your testimony about Jesus they are rejecting Jesus, not you.

The story of the Samaratin woman at the well is the perfect Biblical example of sharing a testimony. After her conversation with Jesus at the well about the living water he could provide, she went into town and shared her testimony.

John 4:39 says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." In fact, she is so excited I don't think you could have stopped her from sharing what Jesus did in her life. You don't have to practice or write the perfect speech--just tell what happened.

Paul sheds some light on this idea in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (NIV):

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. [2]　For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3]　I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. [4]　My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, [5]　so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

I can already hear some of you saying, "You're crazy, I can't demonstrate God's power." But, the truth is, you can. You demonstrate God's amazing grace and power as you receive God's forgiveness and love. God demonstrates His power through your changed life--through the joy you have and peace you feel. Others will see this and know God has worked miracles in your life. This is not something you "put on" so others will see. If you have truly come to know Jesus as LORD and Savior, God will work the change in you. Just be yourself, your new self, and God will do the rest. It is not your responsibility to make the other person "believe," leave that to God. If you are faithful to share what has happened to you, what God has done in you, your part is done, for now anyway. God may give you another opportunity to share. Be faithful to share every time God gives you the opportunity. Leave the rest to Him.

Fo those of you who like sports there are many good examples of this concept:

• When a player passes a basketball or soccer ball to another player, he is responsible only for passing the ball to the other player. He is not responsible for what the other player does with the ball. In fact, it is out of his control. His job is to make the best pass he can and leave the rest to the other player. If the other person scores, he has the satisfaction of knowing he did his part in assisting the other player.
• In football, when a quarterback passes to a receiver or hands off to a running back, he is responsible for his part of getting the ball to the other player. His part is important and must be done to the best of his ability, BUT, it is only part of the play. The person recieving the ball becomes the one responsible for what happens next.
• In a relay race, the first person runs or swims his leg of the race and then passes the responsibility of the next leg of the race to the next athelete and so on.

We must be faithful to do our part, but the good news is, our part is so easy it often happens without us even knowing we are doing it. People will see change in you and will wonder what made the difference. They might say something like, "you've been acting differently lately, what's going on?" When that happens, tell them what God has done in your life. Give glory to God and you have run your leg of the race well.

We honor God when we share our story of what God has done in our life.

Join in the discussion about this post by leaving a comment. Share your experiences with telling friends about Jesus.

Here are some other posts you might like:

Witnesses

Just DO IT - T is for Testimony

Opportunities to Honor God

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