God's Will

God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
-First Thessalonians 4:7-8 (New Living Translation)

Of all the topics and subjects I write about here, I think the topic of a changed life is one that I write about most often. Maybe someone needs to hear about this topic-maybe that someone is me. In any event, Paul is teaching this church about a changed life, and what it means if we don't allow God to mold us into the people He desires.

Verse 7 says, "God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives." When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, there needs to be a change. Why would God give Jesus as payment for our sin if we could just go on living like we always did? There must be a change. God didn't call us to live the same way we did before, He called us to live holy lives, to be set apart for His use. We are called to live holy lives, not lives full of sin. 

But, I think verse 8 nails the point. "Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching, but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." In the preceding verses, Paul is teaching about sexual immorality. Verse 3 says, "God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin." How can we be set apart for the use of God if we can't control our sexual desires? We can't. Verse 6 says, "Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife,^[c] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before." We can't live a holy life when we can't control our lusts and desires. If we continue to live in sin, verse 8 tells us that we are not rejecting man, but we are rejecting God. We care choosing our sin instead of the righteousness of God. 

And, if we reject God, we will be rejected. Jesus said in Matthew 10:33, "But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." What's is going to be? Are you going to submit to the will of God for you? Or, are you going to reject Him. There's no middle ground. Think About It.

Two Ways, Part 2

 ¹ How happy is the man 
who does not follow the advice of the wicked 
or take the path of sinners 
or join a group of mockers! 
² Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, 
and he meditates on it day and night. 
³ He is like a tree planted beside streams of water 
that bears its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. 
Whatever he does prospers.

 ⁴ The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment,
and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

-Psalm 1 (HCSB)

Yesterday, we looked at verses 1-3 of this Psalm where we discovered what we must do and must not do to live the successful Christian life. You can read that post here. Today, we're going to look at the rest of the Psalm, and see what will happen on the flip side, to those who don't come to the Lord for salvation.

Verse 4 says, "The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away." The Psalmist says that the wicked are not like the well watered tree in verse 3. Instead, they are like chaff. What is chaff? It is defined as: "the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain, something comparatively worthless."* Chaff is what is left over after you separate the seeds from the pods. Think of it like this, when you eat peanuts, you crack the shell to get the peanut. The resulting empty shell would be the chaff. Notice the second part of that definition: "something comparatively worthless." Using the peanut example, the peanut inside the shell is what you're after, compared to the peanut, the shell is worthless. You don't eat the shell, you eat the peanut, so the shell is discarded into the trashcan. We read in Matthew 7:11-12, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out.” This is John the Baptist speaking about Jesus, but what I want you to focus on in verse 12. "His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out." A winnowing shovel was a tool that had forks on the end, the farmer would pile his wheat on the threshing floor, stick the winnowing shovel into it and toss the wheat into the air. That would separate the wheat kernels and the chaff. After the separation was complete, the wheat would be gathered into the barn, but the chaff would be burned or discarded. The picture that John the Baptist was painting in verse 12 is one of the Judgement. The wheat represents those who belong to Christ, while the chaff represents those who have rejected Him, and will be cast into the fire. 

That separation at the Judgement is the idea behind verse 5, of Psalm 1. "Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous." Just like the chaff doesn't go into the storehouses with the wheat, the people who reject Jesus will not join those who have accepted Jesus in Heaven. There will be a separation. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord will be taken to Heaven, those who rejected Jesus will be sent to Hell. Read more about this in Matthew 25:31-46. Finally, in verse 6 we read, "For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin." As Christians, we must follow the leading of God on our lives. We must follow in the paths that He has set out for us. This way, we'll be able to stay away from the evil lifestyles shown in verse 1. We'll stay on course, growing in our life in Christ. The wicked, on the other hand, cares only for themselves, their wants, their desires. That kind of lifestyle leads to ruin, and that ruin is called eternity in Hell. Hell is real, and Hell is not where you want to go. Are you on that path that leads to Hell? Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord? Think About It. 

*source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaff

Have You Exercised Your Faith, Lately?

⁹For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 
-Colossians 1:9-10 (KJV)


Paul's letter to the church at Colosse is quickly becoming one of my favorite books of the Bible. The book is rich and challenging. In the passages I'm writing about today, we see why it is so important that you and I be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. Let's break it down.

Paul starts off saying, "For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you," What Paul is referring to as "this cause" is the faith of the Colossians that he heard about from Epaphras. Ephaphras told Paul about the faith that this church has in God. Paul rejoiced, and told the church that he now prays for them. Paul even goes to reveal to them exactly what he is praying for. "that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;" Paul was praying that they be filled with the knowledge of His will, with the knowledge of the will of God for their lives. He prayed that they would be filled with the wisdom of His will, and that they would have spiritual understanding, so that they knew and understood what God's will is for their lives. Friends, each of us needs to have that understanding of the will of God for our lives. Paul prayed that they would gain this. Verse 10 tells us the results of understanding His will for our lives, and doing His will.

"that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing," How can we walk worthy of the Lord if we are walking outside His will? It can't be done. We please the Lord when we walk in His will. Walking worthy of the Lord is a result of being filled with the knowledge of His will. "being fruitful in every good work, " We should strive to be fruitful in what we do for Christ. We need to cultivate the good fruit we read about in Galatians 5 into our lives. Bearing fruit is a result of being filled with the knowledge of His will. "increasing in the knowledge of God," As we start doing His will in our lives, as we start walking worthy of the Lord, as we start being fruitful in our works, we will begin increasing in our knowledge of God. Our faith will grow when it gets exercised. As we begin doing His will, our faith grows because we see the hand of God moving in our lives. Increasing in our knowledge of God is a result of our being filled with the knowledge of His will.

Friends, having a knowledge of the will of God is not enough. You're not going to walk worthy and pleasing of the Lord if you only have knowledge of His will. You're not going to be fruitful, or increase in knowledge of God if you only have knowledge of His will. You receive these things when you put His will into action. Your faith grows when it gets exercised. Have you exercised your faith lately?