Forget You

 

    

Phil 2:2-4

 

then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. 3 Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. 4 Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

(THE MESSAGE)

 

Has there ever been a more self-centered culture than our own?  Every  magazine you pick up in the check-out line has self-focused articles headlining the entire front cover.  "Get What You Want out of Life." "Twenty Easy Steps to a New You."  "How to Get Fulfillment from Your Marriage."  You get the idea.  It is  about ME and how to get what I want, need, desire, and most importantly DESERVE!

 

The humanistic mindset has swept America, and unfortunately, has crept in the church as well.  Be honest here.  How many times have you gone to church hoping to "get a blessing"?  Hear a word you need?  Receive a word of appreciation for all you do? Get to sing the great new song you have been working on?

 

If  you are like the average Christian, you can probably admit that it happens pretty often.  Instead, when was the last time you went to church determined to find someone who needs a hug, an encouraging word, a prayer?  How often do you go into a restaurant and "sneak  pay" for someone's meal?  When was the last time you sacrificed money you had saved for something you wanted and met a need of a friend?

 

These questions  are meant to get us to thinking, not to be condemning.  Being a blessing is not something that just happens.  The best "blessers" I know are intentional givers who seek out opportunities to minister to a need.   After a while, it becomes a lifestyle of giving rather than getting.

 

Our attitude can be that if you do not "look out for Number One, no one else will."  But is that really the truth?  We have a heavenly Father who looks down  on each one of us, standing ready at any given moment to meet our need, to send a blessing or a word of encouragement our way.  He sees our sacrifices- those done in secret.  And He chooses to reward us openly. I  dare to postulate that if we will make it about Him and meeting the needs of others, He will see to our promotion, fulfillment and deepest needs.  We do not have to struggle to "get" the blessings of God.   He will add them to us effortlessly if we can just grab hold of the concept of being His hands extended in a hurting world.

 

Dear Lord, I repent of the sin of being self-focused. Help me to be more concerned  with Your Kingdom.  Thank you for being a loving Father and diligent provider.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

Love Plus Truth

 

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:  Every  spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.  But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard is coming and  even now  is already in the world."  I John 4:1-3

The  belief that all roads lead to the same God is refuted by this passage of Scripture.  Religions  that acknowledge and exalt Jesus lead  to God,  whereas religions that deny Jesus are simply not from  him.  In our quest for "tolerance" and open-mindedness we have abandoned the idea  that there is a right or wrong answer.  This humanistic mindset seems positive, friendly and welcoming, but it is deadly to those who embrace it.   And unfortunately, humanism has crept into the church world as well.

We do not hold to the teachings of Jesus because we are hateful, intolerant and unloving.  Rather, we hold to them because we believe in the infallible truth of the Word of God.  Consequently, our love for the world for which he died, urges us to proclaim the truth to all, that all might be saved.  Humanism is a powerful enemy of truth and most likely will never be fully squashed, in fact, it paves the road for the Antichrist to arise in the end times.  But we can combat this type of teaching by declaring the truth of the Bible, while simultaneously displaying the love of Christ.  The world portrays Christians as hateful.  Unfortunately, some overzealous people have depicted us in that way by bombing abortion clinics,  holding signs declaring contempt for different types of people, or by using hate-filled speech.  This is not the way of Jesus!  He always loves the sinner, while hating the sin.  We must pair kindness and love with the rebuke that truth brings.  Let us strive to walk in humility and love toward all men.

Dear Lord, help me to avoid any of the antichrist teachings.   Enable me to aptly represent you in this world.  Grant us a harvest of souls.  In  Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri