Change often results in fear. As such, it must be met with strength. Failure to do so can breed panic that only God's strength can overcome.
Sin demands atonement. Atonement puts God and man at one. When atonement is made man is cleansed and forgiven. In other words, things are made right.
Life will present difficult situations. The only viable solution will, at times, involve taking a step back and regrouping mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
There are two areas in which a man can be blameless. He can be blameless in his practice based upon his efforts to do right. Additionally, a believer can be blameless positionally, but this is completely based upon the finished work and righteousness of Christ. This second area of blamelessness is the subject of Ephesians 1:4 as is also the case in Colossians 1:22. In the context of that passage, it is clear this blamelessness comes only through the reconciliation of Christ (Colossians 1:21). This means that in Christ, believers bear no guilty responsibility for sins they have committed. Instead, believers are viewed and accepted in the righteousness of Christ (Ephesians 1:6).
God offered man the greatest statement of loyalty when Christ promised never to leave the believer. The Lord did not promise some type of reciprocating loyalty conditioned upon man’s loyalty toward Him. Rather, the Lord promised He will “never leave . . . nor forsake.” Man’s frailty offers God numerous reasons and opportunities to justify leaving and forsaking, but God’s character overrides man’s frailty. If the Lord promises loyalty, He fulfils that promise without requiring reciprocity. According to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise.” Once a man is born again, he becomes a child of God and immediately becomes the beneficiary of promised loyalty given to him by the Son of God.
The story of the good Samaritan is a wonderful illustration of hospitality. The Lord Jesus told of a man who began a trip to Jericho. While on his way, he “fell among thieves” (Luke 10:30) who robbed him, stripped him of his clothes, and wounded him. When they were finished, they left this man for dead. The Lord then told of some men who passed by but were unwilling to help the dying man. Finally, a Samaritan, a people not generally known for their friendship with the Jews, stopped to help. He saw the wounded, dying man and had compassion on him. The Samaritan took the man, “bound up his wounds . . . brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Luke 10:34). Even when the Samaritan left, he provided additional monies to the inn keeper to insure that the injured man would be cared for as he finished his recovery. The good Samaritan man also assured the innkeeper that he would cover any additional funds necessary.
Our heartfelt giving of thanks should always coincide with our prayers to God. Today's passage from Philippians confirms this truth, as do a host of other passages (Daniel 6:10; Ephesians 1:16; Colossians 1:3; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:1). However, an unthankful spirit always affects one's prayer life eventually developing into a vicious repetitive cycle. A lack of prayer instills a lack of thankfulness. Those who fail to be thankful, fail to cultivate a consistent prayer life. Fortunately, this lack of thankfulness exposes our true problem which is a heart lacking humility. As our heart fills with pride, we fail to realize the goodness of God and our need to continually seek His face with this spirit of thankfulness. The solution involves conditioning ourselves to have a prayer life consisting of a genuine time of thanksgiving. True thankfulness should eliminate many of the prayers consisting of nothing but self-serving desires.
Are you thankful for the people God has placed in your life? Most Christians could spend hours expressing their thankfulness for the godly influences. Oftentimes, however, we neglect to recognize the true blessings of these people. Once again, the apostle Paul provides an excellent example for each of us to emulate. Reading his epistles reveals an honour roll of thankfulness. He expressly thanked God for the believers at Rome (Romans 1:8), Ephesus (Ephesians 1:16), Philippi (Philippians 1:3), Colosse (Colossians 1:3), and Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Paul realized the blessings of his associations with these believers and publickly thanked God for them. We too should be thankful for the godly influences God allows to cross our paths and influence our lives. Yet, the Bible goes a step further by indicating that Paul gave thanks “for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).
Everyone should and must learn how and when to forgive others. However, forgiveness has some inherent limitations. True forgiveness of sins comes only from Almighty God. People may and should forgive others for things in which they have been wronged, but only God has the capacity to forgive transgressions against Himself and His word. Once an individual has trusted Christ as Saviour, he has been forgiven of all trespasses and the shed blood of Christ serves as the sole basis for that forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). Though it is important to seek forgiveness from others whom you may have wronged, everyone must still go directly to the Lord to seek the forgiveness for sins. The forgiveness offered by others cancels the conflict amongst and between them; however, the conflict caused by sin between God and man may still remain even after reconciliation has taken place between individuals.
God’s people have a solemn responsibility to encourage one another. Helping to build another’s godly courage remains one of the most effective ways to influence others. Unfortunately, far too many times, close acquaintances fail to encourage (and all too often discourage) one another. In these times, it is especially important that the individual learns to encourage himself in the Lord. In our passage, David returned to Ziklag only to find it burned with fire. The welfare of the women and children seemed hopeless as the Amalekites had taken them all captive. No doubt it was one of David’s most challenging times. David and his men were greatly distressed and in need of courage. Unfortunately, the men closest to David turned against him rather than supporting their leader during the most trying time. David’s only hope was to encourage “himself in the LORD his God.” Believers today need to follow David’s example. We cannot always depend upon others to receive courage, but we can always depend upon the Lord.
