by David Brenneman
In the opening passages of Ecclesiates King Solomon refers to himself as The Preacher. In his writings he shows that he is using the wisdom of God with which he was given...and fell into many a trap when you look at how his kingship turned out.
Anything man-made can be a trap towards sins sometimes unimaginable. Anyone can have great intentions going into something and have the bottom fall out of it.
Commercialism has taken what was a good and acceptable work and much harm has befallen the holidays as they used to be.
Some, in our world today, intentionally bring harm to others either by way of psychological or physical just to create content for their social media. Justified in their own eyes to do what they think their so-called audiences want.
Vanity of vanities all is vanity is what the Preacher said in his book.
I have read through the book of Ecclesiates many times and wondered how different it might have been had he taken the Apostle Paul's writings to heart and guarded his heart and mind in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some disagree that a testimony can be ruined. Yet the evidence declares otherwise. An unreasonable, unrepentant, person can very well ruin their testimony, their reputation, among men and women.
Displaying the character of Christ isn't a sometime thing. It's to be a 24/7 365 thing.
The Fall and Winter months are severely overlayed with extremely emotionally charged things. King Solomon wrote early on in Ecclesiates of looking at things through the eyes of wisdom from God.
I encourage you to do this as well.
Temptations are always everywhere and the temptation of compromise is the greatest in many ways.
Should a Christian join himself or herself to a cause or some event that is sure to tarnish the world's views of Christ?
A lot of people whom I have met separate their Christian life from their life in the world. Didn't the writer in the New Testament say to let your yes be yes and no be no that anything else is not from God?
Honestly it's incredibly embarrassing to see Believers behaving as they do in public or on social media. Do they not realize they are on display before Christ in those moments as well?
The schemes of the devil are by his design to twist, pervert, malign, the work of the Spirit of God in you and I.
To seek the character of Christ in your life means a 24/7 365 commitment. There's no taking off the new self in Christ because of something going on in our lives then attempting to put it back on again after we've done or said what we have.
This might indeed mean severing connections with hobbies and interests you have had for a long time. This might mean even losing friends because they won't agree with your reaffirmed commitment to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Knowing full well that it was going to mean His agonizing death on the cross, 3 days in the heart of the Earth, and raising up to life again. Knew that He was going to make mortal enemies of much of mankind.
Was reading something last night that I never knew. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold was a gift for royalty. Frankincense was for priests to atone for sins and myrrh was for embalming.
Our character is on display before all whom God brings into our lives.
Sadly only a small part of the character of Christ is really celebrated during this time of year.
The world is increasingly getting more and more selfish and all the rest that Paul wrote to Timothy that the world would be like.
Jesus came to save you and I when we had no hope on our own.
Taking every thought captive is a 24/7 365 game changer challenge.
Do we seek the approval of man over God? Honestly even your reasons for gift giving this time of year can answer that question.
As a brother in Christ said yesterday at our Men's Group...Jesus is the vine we are the branches. We are to be displaying the fruit of the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23
Are you displaying these in your life? Not just sometimes, not just before and after a game, not just before and after a movie that probably was inappropriate. Not just before or after doing something, saying something, that you really wouldn't be caught saying or doing with Jesus standing there?
That phrase stays with me: consider your ways.
Like it: standing firm in the Lord.
Putting on the full armor of God.
Putting on the new self, putting off the old self with its evil practices.
May the Spirit transform your life this Christmas season.
As always my hope and prayers for these posts is to either turn people to Jesus or get them to come back to Him.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment