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  • Don’t Grieve Holy Spirit, The Helper

    Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

    As we make decisions about doing what is right or wrong, we have a helper, called the Holy Spirit!  When we become believers, we get a new resident in our lives as the Holy Spirit indwells us.  Jesus told His disciples as He was preparing to leave that He would send them the Helper.  In the Book of John, we have several verses that talk about the Helper or the Holy Spirit and what His role would be.

    John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
    John 14:26  But the Helper, (the Holy Spirit), whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
    John 15:26  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.
    John 16:13  When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.

    With the Holy Spirit, the helper, living within us we have one who speaks truth to us and guides us to practice the truth, to do what is right.  

    The Apostle Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit will give us the power to resist any temptation.  He writes in Galatians 5:16 for us to “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

    As we come to Ephesians 4:30, we learn that we can grieve the Holy Spirit, the helper.  To “grieve” is to make sad or sorrowful, to bring about a heaviness. Having read what the Holy Spirit, the helper, does for us, I would think we can understand how He is grieved when we sin.  In His role, He has helped us to know the truth of what is right and what is wrong.  In His role, He helps us to resist the temptations to do wrong.  When we do what is wrong the Helper has to feel rejection as we reject the truth, and we reject the help He offers.  

    Ephesians 4:30 is a verse that serves as a filter for decision-making.  I want the actions I take, even the attitudes I display, to be pleasing to God.  I don’t want to disappoint Him, and I surely don’t want to grieve the Holy Spirit.  

    Now it is worth noting the promise that comes in this verse.  While we can, and do at times grieve and even quench the work of the Holy Spirit, we stay sealed by Him for the day of redemption.  

    As you make decisions how much weight does the Holy Spirit and His “feelings” have before displaying an attitude or taking an action?

    Bring pleasure, not pain to the Helper!

    Continue strong relying on the Helper,
    And remember to DATE The Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 30 we challenge you to read Malachi 4.

  • The Christian Convert Has a New Conversation

    Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

    In Ephesians 4 believers learn that there is to be a difference in how one lives. From verse 1 the believer is “to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called!” From verse 17 the believer no longer walks as the rest of the Gentiles walk, “in the futility of their mind.” In verse 22 the believer is to “put off the former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,” In verse 24 the believer is “to put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Without question, the believer lives differently.

    One may ask then how does one live differently?  There are several answers in Ephesians 4. 

    Ephesians 4:25 tells us to stop lying
    Ephesians 4:26 we are to stop losing our temper.
    Ephesians 4:28 we are to stop stealing and go to work, so we can earn an income to live and give. 
    From Ephesians 4:29 we live differently with our conversation. A life changed by Christ means our communication changes. Instead of corrupt, rotten, unwholesome, filthy communication coming out of our mouths that harms others, we have clean, wholesome, edifying language that helps people.  Our words convey respect for and the dignity of people.  Instead of using words to tear people down, the believer carefully chooses words to build others up!

    Jesus takes very seriously what we say about others.  From Matthew 5:21-22 He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

    Are you careless with your words as you speak to and about others?
    Are your words corrupt? Do you call people names that are not fitting?  Does your word devalue another person? 
    Are you cruel with your words as you speak to and about others?

    Let us remember that our words, in so many ways, reveal our hearts.  It goes to reason that a clean heart will bring forth clean words and a dirty heart brings forth dirty words.

    What are your words saying to others about your heart? 

    What are your words doing for the listener?  Are they built up by your words or torn down by your words?  Are they harmed or helped?

    If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything!  

    A great prayer to pray is Psalm 19:14. It says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” 

    Continue Strong building others up with wholesome words,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 29 we challenge you to read Acts 4.  

  • The Christian Lives Radically Different

    Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

    Becoming a Christian and living the Christian life is about living differently. Ephesians speaks of our past life being radically changed by Christ as we go from being dead to being alive. It then speaks of our present life where we are living radically differently. I use the word “radically” because of verses like Ephesians 4:28. In this verse we start with a person who is a thief and is taking from others and we end with a giver who is generous and helping others.  In this one verse, we see a radically changed person.  One might even say this person is transformed!

    Going into the verse a little deeper the Apostle Paul is teaching in Ephesians 4 about how a Christian does live.  As a new person in Christ, one does not steal.  Reading that should bring to your mind the 8th Commandment of the Ten Commandments.  It says, “You shall not steal.” Stated in the negative we look at it from the positive.  A person is to value and respect the possessions of others!! 

    Paul’s instructions to the believer is to have a noticeable, if you will, radical change. The one who has been stealing is no longer stealing but working.  The one stealing from others is now to earn a living by industry and integrity. (working with your hands what is good. They are not to be a taker but a worker!  

    This is not the only time the Apostle Paul addressed the subject of work. Notice:
    1 Thessalonians 4:11  and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,
    2 Thessalonians 3:10  For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
    2 Thessalonians 3:12  Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

    Now Paul instructs the new person in Christ to really think and live differently.  He not only tells the thief to stop taking he instructs them to change from harming others but to be helpful to others.   While earning a living and providing for oneself and for one’s family the new person is earning to have something to give to someone in need! The one who was a taker before Christ is now a giver!!!! 

    For me, two things stand out from Ephesians 4:28.  

    This verse reminds us of how Christ radically changes a person’s life.  If you are in Christ you should have a testimony of a changed and a changing life.  

    Secondly, if you are stealing, being a taker, you are to stop and go find a job. Then, as you work to earn a living and be a provider, you are not to be a keeper but a giver. You are instructed from this verse to be working so you can help others.  

    Continue Strong living radically differently as a believer,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 28 we challenge you to read Zechariah 4.

  • Take Appropriate Action Now

    Proverbs 4:27  “Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.” 

    Throughout April, we have highlighted several verses from Proverb 4 as this is one of the most instructive chapters in the Bible on taking actions that bring life and prevent death.  It opens with an appeal to hear and be fully attentive to the instruction.  Proverbs 4:1-2 says “Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.”  Then comes the strongest advice to acquire wisdom as wisdom is the principal thing.  A person needs to get God’s insights and instructions for living life. These insights and instructions are called wisdom!  Get wisdom!

    As we move toward the end of the chapter, we learn how to stay spiritually healthy. Proverbs 4:23 may be one of the most important verses to be learned and applied as we are told to guard our hearts with all diligence for out of it comes the very issues of life.  To guard our hearts calls for putting the right things in and keeping the wrong things out.  

    To be spiritually healthy we must put the Word of God in our hearts.  

    To be spiritually healthy we must be watching our words, keeping our conversation clean, and telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  

    To be spiritually healthy we must be watching what we watch.  Just as we set a guard on our mouth, we set a guard on our eyes.  We make the commitment to set nothing wicked before our eyes.  (See Psalms 101:3)

    To be spiritually healthy we must be watching where we walk.  If we are to have the right practices we will need to be at the right places.  Too often, we yield to temptation because we are in the wrong places.   Proverbs 4:26 tells us to ponder our path so that we don’t put ourselves in places where we are prone to fall. 

    The chapter concludes with remove your foot from evil. We have here the call to take personal responsibility for all of our actions.  Based on the previous instructions the reader is now informed on what is right.  Now is the time to own your decisions.  Removing your foot from evil means to stop doing it.  It means to cut it out!  It means to quit it. 

    This closing call to take personal responsibility for yourself leaves no room for excuses.  Proverbs 4 has told of the damage that evil brings, and you have been told to AVOID the highway to hell.  Proverbs 4 has informed us of the benefits of walking on the path of righteousness. 

    The question now is how do you respond?   What actions do you need to take now?

    Continue Strong doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 27 we challenge you to read Ruth 4.

  • Oh Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go!

    Proverbs 4:26 “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.”

    Wrong practices so often happen because of being with the wrong people and being in the wrong place. There are warnings issued from the very start of the Book of Proverbs to stay away from places where one will be tempted to do wrong.  Proverbs 1:15 says, “My son, do not walk in the way with them (sinners of verse 10), keep your foot from their path.”  We have seen in Proverbs 4 the instructions to avoid the path of the wicked. Proverbs 4:14 says, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.”

    In staying safe we teach that it is important to know where you are and know your surroundings.  More importantly, though, you need to think about where you will be going.  To ponder the path of your feet is to be proactively thinking about what possible temptations could be at certain places.  

    A wise person does not put themselves in places where they are prone to fall! 

    In “establishing” your ways consider some benefits when you choose the “right” path. 

    Proverbs 10:17  Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
    Proverbs 12:28  In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway, there is no death.
    Proverbs 15:19  The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
    Proverbs 15:24  The path of the prudent leads upward bringing life, that he may turn away from hell beneath.
    Isaiah 26:7  The path of the righteous is level; You make level the way of the righteous.

    From Proverbs 4:18 we are told that things get brighter for the righteous:  “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

    As you ponder where your feet are going to take you ponder with prayer. Psalms 119:35  is a good one to pray for it says, “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.”  Of course, the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to ask the Lord to lead us not into temptation!  When we pray these prayers we can expect our Shepherd to lead us in paths of righteousness!

    Continue Strong being careful where you go!
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 26 we challenge you to read Mark 4.

  • Guard The Eye Gate To Guard Your Heart!

    Proverbs 4:25 “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids look right before you.”

    As one reads Proverbs 4 one will learn how to be spiritually healthy.  To be spiritually healthy one needs to be proactive in acquiring wisdom that is then applied to one’s life.  (Proverbs 4:5-9) To be spiritually healthy one must avoid the highway of evil.  Proverbs 4:14 says, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. 15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.”

    As one moves to the end of chapter 4, one learns how vital the heart is to our spiritual health and is told to guard the heart with all diligence.  To guard the heart there are several actions to take.  For instance, there are things to put in the heart and there are things to keep out of the heart.  From Psalm 119:11 we learn what to put in our heart as it says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” 

    To be spiritually healthy you must be putting God’s word in your heart.  Getting personal and practical, what is the last Bible verse you memorized?

    Our verse, Proverb 4:25, calls for guarding our eyes to keep wrong things out of our heart.  We need to know that what comes in through the eyegate can have a significant impact on our hearts.  If we are going to be diligent in guarding our hearts, we must be diligent in guarding our eyes.  

    How do you guard your eyes? David helps here as in Psalm 101:3 he wrote a conviction regarding his eyes.  He wrote, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes.”  In Psalm 119:37 he prayed for God to “Turn away his eyes from looking at worthless things.”  This is a prayer we should be praying!  

    Job offers this conviction regarding his eyes in Job 31:1 stating, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?”  I remind you that temptations must be met with convictions!  Let us learn from Job to have a conviction about our eyes!

    To drive home the point of just how important the eyes are notice this from Jesus: Luke 11:34 says, “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

    The children’s song Oh, Be Careful tells us to be careful with our eyes. It is a song to sing daily and to live minute by minute.  

    Are you watching what you watch?  To be spiritually healthy you will need to discipline your eyes as to what they see! 

    Continue Strong with Godly Eyesight,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 25 we challenge you to read Nehemiah 4.

  • Tell The Truth The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

    Proverbs 4:24 “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you.”

    Very few topics in the Word of God receive as much attention as being honest. For instance, when you look at the Ten Commandments, you find that two speak directly about honesty, as we are told not to steal and not to bear false witness.  

    When you come to the Book of Proverbs you find that it addresses the topic of honesty numerous times.  There are verses about lying compared to truthfulness, like Proverbs 12:22, that tell how God feels about these two opposites. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are His delight.”

    There is verse after verse in Proverbs about not being a false witness.  For instance, in the list of things God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19), He hates “A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.”

    Proverbs 19:5 warns the one who thinks lying will help them escape consequences that it will not happen. It says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.”  Proverbs 25:18 tells just how harmful a false witness is.  Read carefully as it says, “A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.”  In Proverbs 11:11 we learn how destructive the deceitful liar can be as it says, “When God blesses his people, their city prospers, but deceitful liars can destroy a city.” 

    We find God’s Word speaking clearly in the New Testament about honesty. Colossians 3:8 tells us to put away obscene talk and verse 9 says to stop lying to one another. As well Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.”

    Let us be honest here.  While we do not want someone telling a lie about us let us make sure we are not telling lies about others.  

    Our verse also demands we put perverse lips far from us. Tied very closely to being deceitful, the idea of speaking perverse or perverted is to twist.  The perverse person twists the truth.  They don’t just mishandle the truth, they seek to mangle the truth.  They want the truth to be hard to find.

    The deceitful mouth will seek to cover up the truth.  The perverse lips will seek to confuse one on what the truth is. 

    As God finds lying an abomination, He also finds the perverse person an abomination.  Proverbs 11:20 says, “Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD.”  The great danger of the preserve person is they stir up strife as Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse man sows strife,”

    We are to be telling the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about ourselves and others!   Don’t cover up the truth with deceit and don’t twist the truth to bring confusion! 

    Are you being careful with your words to ensure they are truthful?

    Continue Strong speaking Honestly,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 24 we challenge you to read John 4.

  • It Is Heart Awareness Day For Your Spiritual Heart

    Proverbs 4:23  “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

    Before us is one of the strongest statements in the Bible about the need to pay serious attention to a critical area of our lives. The verse starts with guard and then says what is to be guarded is to be done with all diligence.   With these bookends, we have something that demands we wake up and pay serious attention to it.  

    What is so vital that it demands such attention?  It is our heart.   

    While we should take care of our physical heart we are not talking about our physical heart. Proverbs 4:23 speaks of the seat of our emotions and will.  The Bible refers to the heart as where we make our decisions.   You might recall, for instance, that Jesus said in Matthew 15:19 that “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

    Because of how important our decisions are then we must make certain that we have a heart that is clean, not corrupt.  Based on what our heart takes in determines what will come out.  The old saying goes “Garbage in, garbage out.” 

    What does it mean to guard with all diligence your heart as our very life depends on it?  The heart disease that we must avoid is sin.  How do we keep our hearts from sinning?  I am glad you asked. The answer is found in Psalm 119:11.  It says, “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”  

    Solomon will give the instructions to his son, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;” (Proverbs 4:20-21)

    To guard and protect your heart, you will need to fill it; yes, you need to saturate it with the Word of God.  Saturating your heart with Scripture is one of the surest ways to stop sin!  

    Someone said, “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible!”

    I must add that hiding God’s Word in your heart is only the first step.  With the hiding, there must also be the heeding or obeying of God’s Word.  Proverbs 3:1 says, “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep or obey my commands.”  

    Taking care of your heart is priority one!  Guard it by guarding your eyes for what you look after impacts it.  Guard your ears, for what you listen to impacts it.   Guard your thinking as what you think about impacts it.  Regarding your thinking and your heart let me give one more verse for keeping your heart healthy. It is Psalms 19:14. It is a prayer.  It says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” 

    What actions do you need to guard with all diligence your heart?

    Friends, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.   In taking care of your heart, getting saved is the most important decision you will ever make!

    Continue Strong with a Clean Heart,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 23 we challenge you to read 1 Peter 4.

  • Memorial Monument of Memorable Moments

    Joshua 4:22 “Then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’;”

    As Joshua leads the children of Israel into the promised land they would cross the Jordan River.  Instead of swimming or treading through the waters or building a build over the river, God did a miracle for them in that the waters were held back.  Joshua 3:17 tells us, “Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”  

    Having completely crossed over God now tells Joshua to get twelve men to get twelve stones out of the middle of the river and bring them to the place where they were camping in the Promised Land.   God tells Joshua the reason as He wanted a memorial monument of this most memorable moment so that generations to come would know what God did!

    Notice Joshua 4:20-24. “And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21  Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying:  When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying,  What are these stones? 22  then you shall let your children know, saying,  Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land; 23 for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24   that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that His hand is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

    Just as we have monuments to commemorate national historical moments, we need to have spiritual monuments to remind us as well as use to tell others, especially family members, of God’s work.   For me, I have made various purchases of what one might call souvenirs that I place in various places in our home.  For instance, I have a large wooden giraffe that reminds me of an incredible time of ministry in Kenya.  I also have numerous pictures that show of a time when God was working at a place in very special ways.  

    Drawing from our verse, we must be intentional to have things that will create teachable moments for the generation to come, and as they ask about those past moments, we can challenge them to trust God and see Him do miraculous things for them.  Make the decision to make memorial monuments of significant spiritual moments.

    Remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 22 we challenge you to read Joshua 4.

  • Loving God Means Loving People

    1 John 4:21 “And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must love his brother also.”

    1 John 4:21 is in so many ways a summarization of I John 4 where John has over and over stressed that loving God will mean loving one another. He has tried to make it as clear as possible that the two go together. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is He said for us to love God and to love our neighbor. Jesus is so adamant about us loving one another that He told His disciples that our love for one another is the distinguishing mark of being His disciples. Recall from John 13:34-35 that He said,  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have a love for one another.” 

    If you claim to be a follower of Christ, you will love God and you will love people!  Your Christianity is to be called into question when you boast of a love for God but not following through with not loving people.

    John’s message of loving God and loving people here is also seen throughout I John 1.

    1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

    1 John 3:23 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

    1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

    1 John 4:8  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

    1 John 4:11 says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

    1 John 4:20  If someone says,  I love God,  and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

    You may love people and not love God, but you cannot say that you have experienced God’s love and that you love God without loving people. And let us be clear again; the time a person needs love the most will be the time they deserve it the least.

    Love God!  Love People!
    And Remember to DATE the Word

    Bonus: In the 4th month of the year, April, we are extending a 4 x 4 challenge and encouraging you to read a chapter 4 each day of April.  For April 21 we challenge you to read 1 John  4.