Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
I don't know about you, but every day I fight a war with myself inside my mind. I love this verse in Philippians, and I try to remember it every time my thought life takes a dive (which is often, believe me); but it is quite hard to put into practice! When God speaks something to me and gives me a peace about a situation, it doesn't take long for me to forget that He did that for me and pick those thoughts back up again.
My mind doesn't just wander... it hitchhikes. And before I know it, it's on the back of a pickup truck headed for Tijuana! And I think to myself, "how did I get here? These cacti sure don't look familiar..." The point is, it's easy for our thoughts to get away from us. We have to endeavor to guard our thoughts at all times. And it's not easy! But when we let those negative thoughts creep in, and we begin to dwell on them, it isn't long before we've ventured into terrain we're unfamiliar with... somewhere we never intended to be, somewhere we weren't meant to go.
This especially true when it comes to judging our brothers and sisters in Christ. In Philippians 2, Paul writes,"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." I was talking with my mom the other day about the fact that our judicial system has a stance when it comes to convicting someone of a crime: "innocent until proven guilty." An attorney has to bring enough evidence against a defendant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person did what he or she is being accused of. However when it comes to the body of believers and our opinions of each other, our stance seems to be "guilty until proven innocent." Brothers and Sisters, this should not be! The Bible says to esteem others as better than ourselves, not as worse! Yet, we often will be quick to believe the worst about someone because it makes us feel better about ourselves. That goes against what God wants for us- unity.
We are so much stronger when we are together; the enemy knows this. That's why he likes to plant the seeds of doubt and dissension and watch us flounder as we try to see just how many fingers we can point at everyone but ourselves. All because we let one negative thought creep in. Have I completely learned my lesson? No. And I probably never will... after all, I'm not perfect. But God has been teaching me four things over and over these past few weeks: 1. It doesn't matter in the light of eternity, 2. He's got it all under control anyway, 3. It's not my job to fix everyone's problems, and 4. Let it go!
Showing posts with label philippians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philippians. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Don't Pull the Weeds!
Matthew 13:24-30
The Parable of the Weeds
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
I wish I could claim this encouragement as from my own head- it's THAT good. But this little slice of wisdom comes from the mind of my amazing pastor (oh, and God's Word). I love the parable of the weeds. Granted, I didn't remember it until Wednesday night Bible study when Pastor read it; but now, it is definitely one of my favorite parables. The wheat in this parable are the believers and God is the Sower. The devil comes in the night to plant the weeds, the unbelievers who do his work. These weeds from biblical times are known as tares (in the KJV), or darnel.
From Wikipedia, "Lolium temulentum, typically known as darnel or cockle, is an annual plant that forms part of the Poaceae family and part of the Lolium genus. The plant stem can grow up to 1 meter tall, with inflorescence in the ears and purple grain. It grows plentifully in Syria and Israel. It usually grows in the same production zones as wheat and is considered a weed. The similarity between these two plants is so extensive that in some regions cockle is referred to as "false wheat." It bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. It is also gives its name to another edible grain, aquatic cockle, known as "false rice." The plant is mentioned in the Parable of the Tares in the Gospel of Matthew."
We learned this week that as wheat, it is not our job to point out the darnel in our field. Our only responsibilty is to grow as tall as we can and bear as much fruit for the Sower. I know I needed to hear that. I am one of those people who tends to be a litttle too self-righteous sometimes. I see people not conducting themselves "in a manner worthy of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27), and I am so quick to judge. But guess what? I'm not the harvester, so I have no right to pluck the weeds. It's not even my business to find out whether they are truly wheat or darnel. I am here to glorify the Father and Him alone.
I also noticed another interesting point here. Do you ever hear people say, "How could God let this happen?" or "Why is God doing this?" Does it ever just tick you off? God is not the planter of the weeds; He didn't cause the trouble in our lives. The devil came in the middle of the night, while we were all sleeping, and planted his seeds of envy, anger, destruction, despair. None of the struggles we have in our lives come from God. They are from the devil. God does let us walk through them, though... because it makes us stronger. The darnel doesn't harm the wheat. They grow and thrive together. I just love that picture!
So I'll leave you with one thought this week. Be wheat. Grow strong. Ignore the weeds!
The Parable of the Weeds
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
I wish I could claim this encouragement as from my own head- it's THAT good. But this little slice of wisdom comes from the mind of my amazing pastor (oh, and God's Word). I love the parable of the weeds. Granted, I didn't remember it until Wednesday night Bible study when Pastor read it; but now, it is definitely one of my favorite parables. The wheat in this parable are the believers and God is the Sower. The devil comes in the night to plant the weeds, the unbelievers who do his work. These weeds from biblical times are known as tares (in the KJV), or darnel.
From Wikipedia, "Lolium temulentum, typically known as darnel or cockle, is an annual plant that forms part of the Poaceae family and part of the Lolium genus. The plant stem can grow up to 1 meter tall, with inflorescence in the ears and purple grain. It grows plentifully in Syria and Israel. It usually grows in the same production zones as wheat and is considered a weed. The similarity between these two plants is so extensive that in some regions cockle is referred to as "false wheat." It bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. It is also gives its name to another edible grain, aquatic cockle, known as "false rice." The plant is mentioned in the Parable of the Tares in the Gospel of Matthew."
We learned this week that as wheat, it is not our job to point out the darnel in our field. Our only responsibilty is to grow as tall as we can and bear as much fruit for the Sower. I know I needed to hear that. I am one of those people who tends to be a litttle too self-righteous sometimes. I see people not conducting themselves "in a manner worthy of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27), and I am so quick to judge. But guess what? I'm not the harvester, so I have no right to pluck the weeds. It's not even my business to find out whether they are truly wheat or darnel. I am here to glorify the Father and Him alone.
I also noticed another interesting point here. Do you ever hear people say, "How could God let this happen?" or "Why is God doing this?" Does it ever just tick you off? God is not the planter of the weeds; He didn't cause the trouble in our lives. The devil came in the middle of the night, while we were all sleeping, and planted his seeds of envy, anger, destruction, despair. None of the struggles we have in our lives come from God. They are from the devil. God does let us walk through them, though... because it makes us stronger. The darnel doesn't harm the wheat. They grow and thrive together. I just love that picture!
So I'll leave you with one thought this week. Be wheat. Grow strong. Ignore the weeds!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Perserverance > Procrastination
Philippians 3:13-14
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Hebrews 12:1
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Well, it's appropriate that I was late on the devotion this week. I've had a request for the topic, and to be honest, I didn't want to do it. Mostly because I know it's something I need to hear most. Procrastination is something that many people deal with on a daily basis. But what are the reasons behind our unwillingness to do things? Or maybe it's not that we're not willing, but there is a hesitancy that lingers.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Good advice, but for many it's hard to live by. The truth is, deep down we all know what we need to be doing and when it needs to be done. We make excuses and put things off because of the selfish nature or our flesh. We really don't want to do whatever the task is at all. We don't want to confront the nastier side of ourselves that the Holy Spirit is bringing to light. Because it's hard. It goes against everything our human nature wants. But it's also what's best.
When we persevere, the rewards are great. I know it's easy for me to say that, but we all know it's true. We have all reaped the benefits of trudging through something we didn't really want to do and seeing the end results. The best thing I can think of that would help is to visualize the goal and find something to motivate you. Talk yourself up, buck up, and do it! Sometimes we as Christians need to stop being whiny babies and "press on toward the goal." Jesus did it for us- can't we give it our best for Him?
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Hebrews 12:1
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Well, it's appropriate that I was late on the devotion this week. I've had a request for the topic, and to be honest, I didn't want to do it. Mostly because I know it's something I need to hear most. Procrastination is something that many people deal with on a daily basis. But what are the reasons behind our unwillingness to do things? Or maybe it's not that we're not willing, but there is a hesitancy that lingers.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Good advice, but for many it's hard to live by. The truth is, deep down we all know what we need to be doing and when it needs to be done. We make excuses and put things off because of the selfish nature or our flesh. We really don't want to do whatever the task is at all. We don't want to confront the nastier side of ourselves that the Holy Spirit is bringing to light. Because it's hard. It goes against everything our human nature wants. But it's also what's best.
When we persevere, the rewards are great. I know it's easy for me to say that, but we all know it's true. We have all reaped the benefits of trudging through something we didn't really want to do and seeing the end results. The best thing I can think of that would help is to visualize the goal and find something to motivate you. Talk yourself up, buck up, and do it! Sometimes we as Christians need to stop being whiny babies and "press on toward the goal." Jesus did it for us- can't we give it our best for Him?
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