God is sovereign, meaning that he acts independently of outside forces and that his will cannot not be resisted. But, in his sovereignty, God has determined that man is allowed free will as seen in John 1:11, "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him."
This means that God allows man the right and the ability to actually "quench the Spirit" (1Thess 5:19). Not to say that man can stop the spirit from acting in the worldly or accomplishing His ends, but man can quench or resist the Spirit from working on and in his own heart. As Revelation 3:20 reveals, the Spirit of The Lord "knocks on the door," not knocks it down.
God's sovereignty allows him to force his will upon us but his love offers us a choice. The right to accept or reject his will in our lives is both a great privilege and a grave responsibility. We can choose to accept the grace that allows us to become new creations (2 Cor 5:17) or we can choose to remain "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12).
The choice is yours. The Bible pleads with you, "do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thess 5:19), but God allows you to decide on life in the spirit or death in the flesh. What are you doing with that choice?
Jus' Askn.
When one says, "You can't judge me," the truth is that they aren't willing to accept their judgment. Or, at least, they say they are not accepting it. The anger heard so often in those disclaimers reminds me of Shakespeare 's famous words, "thou protesteth too much," suggesting that they really do accept the judgment, which is why they are so upset.
The other side of not accepting another's judgment is the inward rejecting of one's right or ability to judge. That inward resistance reflects an assessment of another's right or power to judge as well as your right and power to reject it. Listen to the apostle Paul's disclaimer, "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself" (1 Cor 4:3).
Paul didn't go around being offended by the judgments of others, he simply didn't care what they thought or had to say. He knew who he was and what he was about to a degree that the opinions of others had no real bearing on his life. That is with one notable exception.
He cared very much what God thought. He accepted the judgment of God as right and good - as the only judgment that did matter and one that mattered always. It is the one you and I should care about above and to the exclusion of all others. Again, the words of the apostle Paul ring clear, "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me" (1 Cor 4:4).
So, worrying about what others think or leaning on what you think are both a colossal waste of time and energy, in and of themselves. Taking into account what others say and reflecting on what you believe, however, have merit when corrected and/or adjusted by the Word of God. God is the Judge - others are only counsel.
Jus' Sayn.
Sibling rivalry began at The Beginning. Cain's offering of "some of the fruits of the soil" was rejected by The Lord while Able's "fat portions of some of the firstborn of his flock" was accepted (See Gen 4:3-4).
Instead of feeling guilt for his offer of mediocrity to The Lord, Cain felt shamed by his brother's offering of the best of his flock. Because he did not check his feelings or examine his actions, "sin was crouching at his door" (Gen 4:7) like "a lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8).
Contrary to Flip Wilson's once famous character, Geraldine, the devil didn't make him do it. Instead "[he was] tempted when [he was] dragged away by [his] own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it [gave] birth to sin; and sin, when it [was] full-grown, [gave] birth to death …" (Jas 1:14-15).
However, to be sure, the devil was there crouching like a lion, waiting for the moment of weakness to pounce, taking advantage of Cain's lack of self-reflection and control. And, in the end, death came as the result of his unbridled sin. Death came to Able as he was separated from this life at his brother's hand and death came to Cain as God sent him away from his life with his family to wander the earth alone.
When we say, "I just couldn't help myself," the truth is "we just didn't help ourselves or seek help for ourselves. With God's help, we can "resist the devil and he will flee from [us]" (Jas 4:7). We are not and cannot be perfect (see Rom 3:10, 23), but, with God's help, we "can stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph 6:11), taking the teeth out of the lion crouching at our door.
Jus' Sayn.
When I was growing up, no one was cooler than the Lone Ranger, no monicker was more hip than Lone Wolf and no belief could have been more wrong than it is better to be alone. The universal truth from the beginning of time was, is and ever will be, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18).
Being self-sufficient sounds admirable, grown up and even classically American. But it is non-sense. We are not designed to operate alone, we are made for community. God himself is our model for community from the beginning: "Let us make man in our image" (Gen 1:26).
Solomon laid out a simple, yet profound argument for community in Ecclesiates 4:9-10, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
Encouragement, assistance, support, direction, balance, collaboration, second sight, resources - all these and so much more are gained in friendship. In marriage, this community is taken to another level where you can share and stand together in everything. Eve, the "helpmeet" of Adam in Genesis, was not his valet, she was his completor - the one who filled in his gaps and vice-versa.
Having good friends makes life more doable and more enjoyable. Finding a good wife/husband makes life more complete. But the greatest power for life, the greatest joy in life and the zenith of a complete life - now and forever - is only found in the fellowship of The Lord. We are made for community and fellowship with God and cannot be whole until we are found whole in Him.
Jus' Sayn.
Upon returning from yet another successful campaign against the Philistines, the Israelites greeted David with singing, praising him for his military victories: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Sam 17:7).
David had been King Saul's champion, now he was his enemy. From this point forward, Saul sought to destroy David for the sin of being successful in battle and therefore honored by the people. The Green-Eyed Monster of jealousy had raised it's ugly head in Saul's heart.
Saul was a victorious military commander in his own right, but as king, he chose to send David to lead his troops into battle. David's success reflected on Saul's sound choice of leadership for the armies and any victories were his - but his ego would have none of it - he could not rejoice in the success and subsequent praise of another.
Aren't you glad we're not like Saul? Isn't it good to know that we have set our petty pride aside and rejoice with the success of others, even when we're not getting the recognition were think deserved or desired? Oh, I'm sorry, was I speaking out of turn? Is that Green-Eyed Monster still among us? Do you find it difficult to join in the praise for others around you or those working for you? Do you think that you are more deserving but less acknowledged?
Would you be surprised to know that you really don't deserve the praise and that neither does the other guy/gal? Would you be surprised to know that everything you have, including your abilities and opportunities are gifts from above - that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (Jas 1:17)? What if we gave all the glory to God and just lived together in gratitude? Jus' Askn.
There were times, when I was a youth that I thought my parents lay awake at night thinking up new ways to make me miserable. They were constantly telling me what I couldn't do aor must do instead of just letting me do whatever I wanted. Did you have parents like that?
They didn't allow me to climb on top of the house or barn or the church building (I'm not saying I didn't, but they didn't allow it). They didn't allow me to smoke, even though the Marlboro Man showed how cool it was. Why, they wouldn't even allow me to chew tobacco (although my Grandpa gave me a chew of his once - not a pleasant memory).
They insisted I go to school. My Dad wouldn't even let me drop out when I was a senior to join the military - he refused to sign the waiver - can you imagine? They insisted that I go to church with them. They made me do chores - lots of them! My Dad was insistent on forcing a work ethic upon me. Can you imagine parents trying to mold your mind, body and spirit?
You know, God is just like that. He has things that He insists ought to be done and things He tells us we ought not to do. The Bible is full of stuff we are to avoid and things we are to engage in. God, like so many parents, wants to mold and develop us. He wants to direct and warn us. He wants to parent us.
And do know why? All because He wants us to have the good life - not the life we would have when do just what we want and neglect anything that doesn't seem appealing - but the life that truly blesses us. Just as Moses proclaimed to Israel, "All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God" (Deut 28:2.
Jus' Sayn.
In Luke 17:11-19, the story is told of ten men with leprosy, who cried out to Jesus for healing. He told them to present themselves to the priest. As they were going, they were healed. "One of them came back, ...praising God...and he was a Samaritan" (vv. 15, 16).
Luke stresses the fact that the one who came back to thank Jesus was a Samaritan, a non-Jew, someone who would have felt his distance from God and have no expectation of healing, only profound thanks for this grace. The other nine, by contrast, Children of Abraham, who would expect favor from God, did not have the same level of gratitude.
Individuals who grow up attending church, studying their Bibles and generally living decent lives, often do not have a profound conversion experience. Having lived a life of faith, they are not surprised that God would save them and may not feel much has changed in their lives, having simply taken the next logical step, expecting God's acceptance.
The non-church going individual, especially one who has lived contrary to biblical moors and decency, perhaps even criminally, will typically have a life-altering conversion experience, for which he is both surprised and extremely thankful. Having no expectation of grace or mercy or forgiveness, his level of gratitude is often "off the chain."
The truth is, however, none of us deserves forgiveness for "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and "no one is righteous, not even one" (Rom 3:10). God's grace is, for everyone who embraces it, always and only a gift that has not been and cannot be earned - it "...is not from yourselves...not by works...[it is] God’s handiwork" ( Eph 2:8-10).
Jus' Sayn.
