:: To Worship Him ::

 

   The Book of Proverbs 29:11, 20, 22 says: “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back…..Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?  There is more hope for a fool than for him….An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot tempered man abounds in transgression.”  Titus 3:9 says “Avoid foolish controversies.”

 

   Most people know that losing one’s temper is not advantageous, yet sometimes when we are in our flesh and the Spirit of God isn’t, we indulge ourselves.  It even feels good to react like a child who in their fit falls on the floor, kicks and screams until they get their way, or else a spanking.  The Word says we are a fool when we lose our temper.  Truth is, our days are few and far better spent when we are peacemaking and not disputing over little matters.  If we are involved in maintaining good works, that should about consume all of our time and there would not be time for contentions and needless conflicts. 

 

   Galatians tells us that ’self-control’ is one of the fruit of the Spirit.  When we turn our care into the hands of the Holy Spirit, our lives change.  Someone said that there is no clearer way to measure the Spirit’s control in our lives then to examine the presence of anger.  If there are situations that happen that have tendencies to upset me, how I react to it measures how much the Holy Spirit is in control.  If I am walking in the Spirit, I am not dominated by events, circumstances and how others treat me or my environment.  I hardly notice trouble makers because I walk in forgiveness and love. This takes a lifetime to perfect but the more we practice peacemaking, both by our lifestyle and example, and avoid foolish controversies, the wiser we become.  So, the question is; who controls our life?  The flesh or the Holy Spirit?  In our worship to Him we must daily surrender the control of our will, our thoughts and our emotions to the Lord.  We must daily call upon the Holy Spirit to keep us in check so that we are able to walk in love and forgiveness. 

 

   Yesterday I did a posting on the ‘perfection of a Christian lifestyle.’  In the meantime I found this ‘funny’ which has absolutely nothing worthwhile,  spiritual or otherwise, but I thought sharing it would give you a chuckle for the day, hopefully.

  

   The Perfect Story:  There was a perfect man who met a perfect woman.  After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding.  Their life together was, of course, perfect.  One snowy, stormy Christmas Eve, this perfect couple was driving along a winding road when they noticed someone at the roadside in distress.  Being the perfect couple, they stopped to help.  There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys.  Not wanting to disappoint any children on the eve of Christmas, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their vehicle.  Soon they were driving along delivering the toys.  Unfortunately, the driving conditions deteriorated and the perfect couple and Santa Claus had an accident.  Only one of them survived the accident.  Who was the survivor?

   Answer:  The perfect woman.  She’s the only one that really existed in the first place.  Everyone knows there is no Santa Claus and there is no such thing as a perfect man.

   A Male’s Response:  So, if there is no perfect man and no Santa Claus, the perfect woman must have been driving.  This explains why there was a car accident.

 

   In Ephesians 2:1,2 the Word of God says; “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”  Here Paul distinguished between the three types of people; the natural person, the spiritual person and the fleshly person.  Verse 3 says that “among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

 

   We see that the natural person lives independently from God, spiritually dead.  They have a soul, but their minds and emotions and will is directed by their flesh, completely separate from God.  The natural person would probably tell you that they are free agents, able to choose their own behavior, but they are deceived.  They are imprisoned by their own choice; to live in the flesh and walk according to the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).  Their behavior is completely controlled by the natural world.  Most of the time the natural person will always struggle with a lifetime of guilt, worry and doubt, insecurities, inferiority and feelings of inadequacies.  And most of the time they are not  ‘happy campers.’

 

   In the age in which we live, life is stress anyway you turn it, however, the only way to live in victory and harmony is to walk in the Spirit.  Romans 8:11 says; “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  Verse 13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.“  The natural person who lives independently of God and His plans and purposes cannot respond to a life harmonious with God’s plan for himself.  The natural person has no spiritual base for coping with life, or making those life changing decisions.  The good news is: the natural man has a way of deliverance!  “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”  Deliverance comes when one wants deliverance.  Deliverance is a decision the natural person makes to walk away from the past life (natural) to a walk with the Spirit of God (spiritual).  Put your hand in the hand of God today!

 

   “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”  Hebrews 6:1

 

   “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”  1 John 5:18

 

   “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48

 

   I am awfully glad that Jesus said that those who are born of God are to go on to perfection. I don’t happen to know anyone in the state of perfection right now, but I do know many who are on their way.  Perfection is the process of sanctification; a work of grace. It is spiritual growth under the umbrella of grace.  Wesley said that Christian perfection is “purity of intention, dedicating all of one’s life to God, enabling one to walk as Christ walked.”  It is loving God with all our heart and loving our neighbor as ourselves.  Perfection in the Christian life does not imply bodily perfection or an infallibility of one’s judgment.  It also does not mean that we no longer fail or violate the will of God.  As Christians we will still be subject to temptations, we will still have to battle the enemies of our souls,  and we will daily have our cross to bear.  Mainly, perfection represents a life change, a freedom from willful rebellion against God, and the ability to have a choice to sin or not.  Wesley wrote this poem to further his teaching on Christian Perfection.

 

     Do all the good you can,

     to all the people you can,

     at all the times you can,

     in all the ways you can, 

     in all the means you can,

     as long as ever you can.

 

   Well said!  Amen and amen!  Let us go on to perfection in worship to Him!