SELF-CONTROL…Holy Week…And being ready!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 24: SELF-CONTROL”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Matthew 25:1-13 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Waiting for someone or something is one thing. Usually waiting is just the passing of time for the day or event to happen. I wait for my birthday. We anticipate Christmas. We look forward to a vacation.
All of these are examples of events we KNOW when they will happen. When we know something will happen, it certainly takes discipline to be ready for the event, but often times, preparation is a few days before.
What if someone said, “We’re taking you on vacation, but we are not telling you what day”? How long could you have everything ready to go at a moment’s notice? Perhaps the first week would be good…first month? Perhaps the longer it took, the more you would doubt it would happen. Toothpaste comes out of your travel kit. The shorts you were going to take, are in the hamper. The cash you planned to take, was spent on something else.
When the timing of something is uncertain, the discipline to maintain readiness every day is tough.
But that type of self-discipline is what Jesus is inviting us to as we wait for his second coming.
We don’t know when he is coming for the second time. But he wants us to be ready.
What does that look like?
Paul in writing to Titus, put it this way:
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Being prepared focuses on two things: Be secure in God’s grace and forgiveness and saying “No” to ungodliness.
This might be easy for a day or two…but for 2 months…2 years…a lifetime?
It’s why we need Jesus in our place to perfectly live a life of godliness in our place and give us his grace to forgive us and empower us to say no to sin and live for Christ.
The very waiting and preparedness Jesus teaches, is the preparedness he empowers us to have.
Apply: What challenges you to be prepared for Jesus’ second coming?
Prayer: Lord, Jesus we praise you for your work this week on our behalf. Empower us by your Spirit to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives as we wait for your return! AMEN
Peace…Enjoy its blessings!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 23: PEACE”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
What are the blessings of peace?
I don’t like conflict. It takes a lot of emotional energy. It distracts my thinking. It takes time to work through and resolve. It takes a lot of effort.
Effort that can’t be used for something else until peace is restored.
That’s why peace is such a blessing…such a blessing.
Peace frees us from the worry, anxiety, and stress that conflict creates to engage in the joy of loving God and loving people.
Here’s what I mean:
When we have peace with God…we are secure in grace.
Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
We don’t have to worry about our spiritual standing with God. We don’t have to worry about our eternity and where we will be. We don’t have to have anxiety over our past. Why? Because Jesus lived a perfect life in our place. Jesus died to pay the punishment our sins deserved and he rose again to declare victory over sin, death and the devil…and to give me grace. Jesus restored peace with God by removing the guilt and punishment of sin. So I can relax in grace.
Which then frees me to live for God’s purpose.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
If I were spending a lifetime trying to earn God’s favor, I would miss a lifetime of doing the works of faith God planned for me to do. I would miss serving the Lord from a perspective of joy instead of fear. Instead, I get to spend my life secure in God’s grace living life to God’s glory.
And when I am secure in God’s grace and at peace with Him, I am in a much better and stronger position to live at peace with people. God’s peace gives me a renewed perspective, especially when I have a conflict with a brother or sister in Christ.
God’s grace for me teaches me that when we have peace with people…we are together in grace.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
We can deal with conflict from a starting point of grace. I know I am sinful…so there is something for which I need to apologize and repent. I know the other person is sinful…so it is not a surprise that we at times get in conflict. The solution? Repentance, forgiveness and grace. They need it…so do I.
The quicker God uses us to reestablish peace in the body of Christ, the quicker we can get back to doing the work God has called us to do.
When we have peace with people, we are together in purpose.
Colossian 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I can’t tell you how many hours over years of ministry have been spent resolving conflict…some with peace restored and some without. Every time I feel a frustration that the work we COULD have been doing together is being thwarted by Satan starting or keeping us in conflict. Working through conflict to peace is part of ministry and being part of the body of Christ, but the quicker we can get back to peace, the quicker and more effective we can get back to carrying out the purpose of the body of Christ.
So, with God’s help let’s continue to make every effort to live at peace so we might experience the blessings of peace.
And this is my prayer to end the week:
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace…it’s hard work! (Part 2)
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 23: PEACE”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Peace takes work…because the Scripture in yesterday’s devotion pointed that out.
Peace takes work…because I must be humble enough to admit my role in the lack of peace.
Peace takes work…because it involves other people.
Perhaps you have felt at times, “Life would be easy, if it weren’t for the people.”
To be honest, I have thought that in ministry. “Ministry would be easy, if it weren’t for the people.”
Because people get in conflict. People break peace with people.
But the easy answer is to separate from the other person. The hard and necessary work is restoring peace with the other person.
It starts with you. (See yesterday’s devotion)
But then we must have “other-awareness.”
To restore peace where it is broken, we must get to a point where we can see how this lack of peace is affecting the other person or people. Perhaps it’s asking questions such as:
- How am I affecting others?
- What do others seem to be feeling?
- What do they seem to need?
- How can I demonstrate genuine love and forgiveness?
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
While one must do some self-reflection, we must not dwell on ourselves. Finally we must be willing to see the situation from the other person’s perspective.
Most important, however, is to have God –awareness.
Every conflict has a spiritual component to it. Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
So perhaps asking these questions helps to discern the spiritual component of the situation:
- What is God up to?
- Why did he allow this situation?
- Am I acting in faith or unbelief?
- What do I need to repent of?
- What do I need his strength for?
- What would glorify him?
The outcome of the conflict, we don’t always know. But when we take time to reflect personally, put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and allow God’s Spirit to work in our hearts and in the situation, the peace factor certainly increases. And after all this, the situation still doesn’t resolve, perhaps our conscience can rest that, with God’s help, I have done everything that is possible to live at peace.
Apply: Again think of a current or past conflict you encountered. How would you answer the questions listed above? What insights does God bring to your mind as a result? Will it help to restore peace?
Prayer: Lord, work with your power to motivate us to make every effort to live at peace with people. When peace is broken, may we be an instrument of your peace. AMEN.
NOTE: Some of the content in yesterday and today’s devotion comes from a post by Brotherhood Mutual entitled, “Six Tips for Resolving Conflict in the Church” It’s a good read. Link to it HERE.
Peace…It’s hard work (Part 1).
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 23: PEACE”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Do you see a common theme in these three passages?
Here’s what I noticed.
Peace takes effort…a lot of it!
Why is it such hard work?
Remember the definition from Monday’s devotion. Peace isn’t just the cessation of conflict, it is the restoration to wholeness.
Ceasing conflict is perhaps the easy part. Restoring to wholeness is what takes a lot of work.
And honestly, I have to admit, I sometimes just don’t want to do the hard work.
Why?
Because my sinful pride gets in the way leading me to believe a) it’s not my fault and b) it’s not worth the effort.
That’s why it’s so important to remember that every conflict or lack of peace in a Christian or the body of Christ is a spiritual issue.
So what does the hard work look like?
Before I blame someone else or expect someone else to restore peace, I must do two things. First, I must go back to the cross of Jesus and see where he restored peace between me and God. He’s the one who took my sin which broke that peace and carried the wrath and punishment of God for it to the cross. I have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Let this promise sink in first. Why? Because the only way I can work toward peace and live in peace is to draw on the peace God has established through Jesus.
From the foot of Jesus’ cross I can then do the second step. Be self-aware. Self-awareness is allowing God to open up your own heart, emotions, actions before I begin the process toward peace. As we were taught as kids, “It always takes two to tango.” So it will take you to work toward peace.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What’s going on in my own heart?
- What do I need to repent of?
- What am I feeling? Why?
- What role do I have in this conflict? (Even if it’s 1%, it’s something!)
- How am I inclined to respond?
- What will I do instead?
- How would Jesus want me to act/react?
Self-awareness is also hard work. We often find it hard to admit our faults, understand our past, or realize how we get triggered by others. But it’s worth it and its part of “making every effort” to do what leads to peace.
But there is wisdom in allowing God to work on our own hearts first. The Proverbs put it this way:
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
Let the Spirit of God align our heart with his first…then we will be in better emotional and spiritual space to engage the one with whom we are in conflict. (More on that tomorrow!)
Apply: Think of the last or current conflict you are or were in. How would you answer the questions above?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for restoring peace with me through Jesus. Allow me with your Spirit’s power to draw on that gift to work toward peace with others. AMEN.
Peace…What destroys it?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 23: PEACE”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
What destroys peace?
You can’t fix a problem if you ignore the real cause.
How many solutions in politics simply deal with a symptom of the problem versus really understanding and addressing the root cause of the problem?
Here’s an example. Low test scores in schools…the solution is always money or lowering the standards. Little is done to address discipline problems, parent involvement in their child’s education, or removing political agendas from schools and focusing on real education and learning. (Thanks for listening.)
Politics and political topics aren’t the only arena where there is a failure or unwillingness to address the heart of the issue and so solutions stay superficial.
Same with peace.
A negotiated peace treaty may address terms of a ceasefire or surrender, but the root cause of the conflict was never fixed…so the battle may resume later.
Marriages strained by disagreements and other destructive behavior find the solution to peace in getting a divorce.
Sometimes superficial solutions need to be enacted to get to a place where civil conversations can be had. But then the hard work of establishing peace has to get to the root of the problem.
Here is where a biblical perspective helps.
At the root cause of the lack of peace is the presence of sin. Sin is always the underlying cause when peace is disrupted.
Consider these words from Galatians 5. How many of these “fruits of the sinful nature” speak to what’s going on when there is a lack of peace?
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
Sin destroys peace with others.
But even one step deeper is sin destroys peace with God.
A broken connection and relationship with God is the root cause of the lack of peace.
Consider Adam and Eve shortly after they sinned.
Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
No other day did Adam hide from God. But sin broke the peace they enjoyed in the garden. Adam was now afraid of God, hiding from God, and scared to confront God.
This is a tell-tale sign when peace is broken between us and God. We hide from God. We stay away from where he is. We stop praying. We don’t want to be around where he is.
Bigger than that is sin, left unaddressed leaves us separated from God forever.
So the root cause of conflict has to be addressed. Sin has to be addressed. Our relationship with God has to be addressed.
We can try on our own and fall short. Or we can rely on Jesus Christ to restore what our sin broke.
Isaiah 53:6 says, “ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
When Jesus went to the cross he paid the price our sins deserved and restored to completeness our relationship with God.
Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
The impact of Christ’s work on our behalf is a profound foundation from which to build peace in other relationships. But we must first understand the root cause of conflict: sin. And when we understand the cause, we can rejoice in the true solution: Jesus!
Apply: Consider the last conflict you had with someone. What sin was in play that was at the root of the conflict?
Prayer: Lord thank you for point out sin in my life so I might repent of it and turn from it. Thank you for sending Jesus to take all my sins to the cross and restore a right relationship with you, my heavenly Father. AMEN.