Giving In the Hard Times

 

    No one enjoys the hard times in life, but they do have a way to showing you what you value, who you really are, and hopefully ways to change.  When hard times are thrust upon you it is natural to bunker down and go into survival mode.  What God is trying to teach us is to break that natural behavior and lean into Him instead.  

    Hard times have a way to showing you where you don't fully trust God.  In every Christian walk, people will approach a financial fork in the road.  You can trust God to provide and continue to tithe as an act of faith or you can hold onto your money and watch it slip away anyway.  Money reveals the heart faster than anything.  Where you put your money is where your heart desires to be.

    Not all hard times are financial.  There are relational, physical, aging, natural disasters, and other types of hard times.  They all take an emotional and spiritual toll.  When the hard times comes, it won't be fun, but you can look at it as an opportunity to not hold back.  Show your love, devotion, and trust in God.  

    No matter where the struggle is, you can't outgive God.  Give what you have and watch Him work.  If He is not working, then it may mean that you need to repent, release, or turn to God in a new way.  He is always working for your benefit, but you have to do your part too.  When you follow obediently, you will discover that you will go much further than you ever expected to go.

    Abraham understood all of this.  He never hesitated.  He never questioned God on what to do.  His walk with God gave him confidence to act as he saw a need.  We can all have that same confidence to take action without hesitation.  It just takes time to mature in your relationship with God.  

    Abraham's actions helped a king that was not Godly.  The king tried to give material things to Abraham, but he had all he needed thanks to God.  Instead of taking the glory, Abraham turned it all back to God.  His victories were because God provided what was needed to succeed.  

    Abraham's first action after the crisis was to tithe.  It is the first record of anyone ever tithing to God.  All he did was give a little back of what God had given him.  Abraham was wealthy.  It was easy for him to give, but to do it in the way he did was unprecedented.  People would have thought he was frivolous, crazy, or foolish. 

    God never said only give me your money.  He only cares about your heart being humble and open to Him.  We need to be grateful for what we have and allow the gratitude to drive our giving.  It puts the focus on God instead of what He has blessed you with.  You give from what you have: time, money, or material things.  We have to stop caring about what other people things and only focus on what God thinks.

Genesis 14:17-24

The First War

    The world had fallen to sin, but it had never experienced war.  It took many generations and the world being populated with more sinful and selfish people for war to happen.  The people had divided into their own groups that became nations.  They elected leaders that became kings.  There were five southern kings over Babylon, Ellasar, Elam, Tidal, and Goiim.  They fought against the five northern kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar).  

    Once war began, it never ended.  The first war took was between nations.  Then it became about the northern kings rebelling against the one king that ruled over them:  Kedorlaomer.  It was considered more of a rebellion.  That war happened near the Dead Sea.  That war was four kings against five kings.

    The war led to vicious plundering.  Some of that happened in the land that Lot had chosen.  It had been years since Lot and Abraham had separated and Lot had established himself in the land.  He was very worldly, but still held onto the roots of his faith.  His actions said that he cared more about wealth than family.  I doubt that God allowed the war to just teach Lot a lesson, but God did allow Lot to loose everything in the war.

    Lot needed Abraham who dropped everything to come to his aide.  Lot and his family had been kidnapped to be ransomed or turned into slaves.  It was not a good place to be, but when Abraham heard about what had happened he did not hesitate to go rescue his nephew.

    Abraham never abandoned his family.  He stayed faithful to God over all other distractions.  God found favor with Abraham for his faithfulness and was with him in his pursuits.  That included rescuing Lot, his family, and his stuff.  

    Melchizedek was the king of Sodom.  He blessed Abraham and desired to give him riches, but Abraham declined.  Abraham was not trying to be rude, but his wealth came from God, not man.  No matter what happened Abraham was always going to put God first and that meant sometimes being in uncomfortable situations with people that would never understand.

Genesis 14:1-16

Controlled by Faith

 

    The best life to live is a thriving life full of faith.  When you allow faith to control your life, then you have the proper perspective that God is in control.  It doesn't change life, but it takes the pressure off of your life.  It frees your mind from worry and anxiety that will stop you from making clear and righteous decisions.

    When you start being more concerned about your witness in life over how your life looks to people, you are able to focus on God's perspective of your life.  You start to understand that wealth is nice and makes certain aspects of life easier, but it is nothing compared to your relationship with God.  

    When you give your perceived control over to God, you will find yourself in fewer strife.  When He is in control He moves or removes things on your behalf.  It is human nature to want to be in control, so we have to fight our own nature until God's nature becomes more natural.  

    How you live your life matters.  Protect your testimony because you want to protect your relationship with God, not because you like your life how it is.  Protect the unity of your family, work, and church.  Spend that energy that your gave to God on becoming more Christlike.  

    Living your life controlled by faith is living out your trust in God.  That is the only way to live faithfully.  Build your altar for God in your heart and allow your human nature to be the sacrifice to honor God.  He will bless a faithful life.

Genesis 13, Matthew 13:11-15

Saved Soul, Lost Life

 

    In Lot's life there was no outward evidence of his salvation.  He did not surrender everything to God.  His faith was shallow and weak because he chose personal desires over everyone else.  Living out your salvation sometimes requires sacrifice.  You live like a servant because you put other people's needs above your own at times.

    Lot did not live out his Christianity well, but he was still blessed by God.  He was selfish and held onto his world a little too tightly.  He could have been blessed more if he would have looked beyond what was in front of him and toward the eternal.

    In today's society, Lot would be considered a Sunday Christian.  He would have attended Church, but would not have invested into the church.  He would have only sought God out on Sunday, but forget all about Him by Monday.  He chose the excitement of the evil world instead of investing into a pure life and heart.

    When people become Christians they are excited.  They jump right in, but then things get hard.  If they do not anchor themselves into God's Word, then it is easy to fall away from God.  It only takes a few small choices and the next thing you know you are right back in the lifestyle that you lived before you became a Christian.

    Sin is happy to grab your attention.  Once it has your attention, you start giving it your time and energy.  The next thing you know you find yourself at a great distance from God.  You never wanted that, but you had stopped investing that time and energy into him.  A Christian living a lost lifestyle happens in stages.  It is slow with every choice that they make.  

Genesis 13

Spiritual Vs Cardinal

 

    There are two different kinds of Christians: Spiritual and Cardinal.  The best examples laid out relationally are Abraham and Lot.  They were both true believers, but they lived out their faith very differently.  Abraham was faithful in his walk with God.  Lot was walked more cardinally which means his faith was true, but he allowed the world to influence how he lived more.

    The goal of a true Christian is to faithfully grow in their relationship with God, but we all go through times of being cardinal as we mature in our walk.  Cardinal Christians live in the flesh revealing a lack of growth or awareness in faith.  

    Abraham was not perfect, but he tried to do everything in God's will.  He made bad choices in life, but he is still considered a spiritual Christian.  He even became a forefather for the Christian faith.  He was a leader that showed people how to follow God.

    Lot was Abraham's family, so Abraham always wanted what was best for him.  Lot was righteous in his faith, but he followed Abraham's example instead of turning to God himself.  He never got in the habit of practicing faith or working it out to make it stronger.  This means he had a profession of faith without practicing it.

    Christianity is not inherited.  It is not going to church every time the doors are open.  Church is good and you should learn a lot, but it is about investing your time and energy in your relationship with God.  It is learning discernment to see the advantages of following God over the worldly path.  

    Just because you were raised in a Christian home and always went to church does not mean that you are a Christian.  It is a choice you have to make for yourself based on faith in Jesus.  You can't live to follow God and follow the world at the same time.  You have to decide for yourself.

Genesis 13:5-18

Anguish

 

    Anguish is intense suffering, pain, or distress to the mind, body, or spirit.  It can be related to excessive grief, remorse, and despair.  Anguish in Hebrew is tsa'ar (צַעַר).  It references dolor, misery, and sorrow.  In Aramaic the word is "oy".  In Greek it is agonía (αγωνία).  In Latin it is angustia.  This is where we get the English word anguish.  It was introduced in the 13th century.

    Moses relayed God's message to the Hebrew nation, but they refused to listen.  They were in anguish causing them to be discouraged.  In their opinion, God's timing was taking too long.  The generations of slavery had taken a heavy toll on the people's moral, so God sent Moses to the Pharoah to request letting God's people go.  This was not a task that Moses wanted.  He knew the people he was going to confront and understood the difficult task ahead, but God would not relent.  It had to happen for things to change.

    Job spoke of his anguish.  It was so severe that it had to be expressed.  His soul was bitter and it was eating him up inside.  He saw himself as a monster placed under guard.  He wanted sleep to find peace, but he only found a different kind of misery.  His life was a terrifying vision to the point that he rather had been dead than to live another moment in that anguish.  He hated his life and could not see an end to the misery.

    It was God's plan for Jesus to be crushed.  Jesus came to earth to live in grief, but that was part of his life being an offering for sin.  Jesus enjoyed his life for the most part.  He understood that God's plan was good that his anguish would fulfill it.  Jesus was the righteous servant that made salvation possible because he bore the sins of everyone: past, present, and future.  He became the victorious soldier when he rose from the dead.  His victory is that his anguish interceded the sins of rebels who chose to believe and follow him.

    Stubborn people refuse to turn from their sins and store up a terrible punishment.  The day of God's righteous anger is coming and will reveal true justice.  He judges according to our deeds.  Those that will have eternal life with him seek His glory, honor, and immortality.  He will pour His anger and wrath on everyone else.  If you refuse the truth, then you will have an eternity of anguish.  God does not show favoritism, so you can trust that His Word is true.

    It is a choice to bring grief or not to bring grief to other people.  Causing other people grief really only brings grief upon yourself.  It is pointless.  Choose to bring joy into the lives of other people and you will be joyful.  Even in great anguish and a troubled heart, you can choose to do good unto other people.  You may cry your tears, but act in love instead of selfishness.

Exodus 6:9-13, Job 7:11-16, Isaiah 53:10-12, Romans 2:5-11, & 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

Angry Part 3

 

    Jesus was the best teacher about how to handle being angry.  It is in the 10 commandments not to murder.  If you murder someone, then you will face judgment.  Jesus explained what murder was a little better.  If you are angry with someone, then you are subject to the same judgment by God as if you had actually committed murder.  

    If you call someone an idiot, then you are in danger of going before court.  If you curse someone, then you are at risk of entering hell.  It comes down to your heart.  If your heart is hateful, then it will be judged.  If you heart is seeking God, then you will stay pure.  

    If you have an issue with someone, then take care of it before you go before God as if you are pure.  God wants us to fix relationships instead of allowing bitterness and hatred to build.  If you do that, then you can face God with a clear conscience.  

    One day some parent brought their children to Jesus, so that he could touch them and bless them.  His disciples had his best interest at heart, so they tried to send the people away and not bother Jesus.  This made Jesus angry.  Who are we to turn people away from Jesus?  

    Jesus commanded that the children should be allowed to come to him.  We all need to go to Jesus with the child-like acceptance and openness.  Jesus took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads to bless them.  If we go to Jesus like a child, then we will be blessed.

    Jesus' ways are greater than the ways of people.  We only have an earthly perspective.  We speak of earthly things.  Jesus came to earth to testify about all he had seen and heard.  Yet, only a few believe.  If you accept His testimony, believe that He is God that was human for a while, sent by God the father, and gave you the Holy Spirit, then you will be a part of God's family.  You will understand love.  Anyone who rejects Jesus will remain in God's angry judgment to never escape.

    Jesus called out hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy made him angry and he was not going to allow people to be influenced by it without at least revealing truth.  It reveals the heart when a person becomes angry with the truth being revealed.  Look beneath the surface, so you can judge correctly.

    After Jesus left the apostles, they carried on his ministry.  They taught the truth and freedom.  Peter and John endured and told the believers what they learned while in prison for following Jesus.  The assembly prayed and involved the Holy Spirit.  They sought peace among a nation angry with them for following Jesus.  People prepare for battle while Jesus' followers gather to pray and live life together in harmony.

    Do not lie.  Reveal the truth no matter how hard it is.  Do not let your anger control you.  Do not allow yourself to stay angry.  Resolve the issue before you go to bed, so that your heart does not grow hard.  Anger is a foothold for Satan.

    Complete the work that God gives you.  Only become a leader if ordained or commissioned by God.  There are very strict rules for a church leader.  They are expected to live at a higher standard because they are ones that show the church the way.  Elders (or deacons, pastors, and teachers) are to live blamelessly.  They are to be faithful to their spouse and raise children to obey God.  They manage God's house, so he can't be arrogant or quick-tempered (easily become angry).  He can't be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.

    We all need to live with integrity and hold ourselves accountable.  That means we need to learn to be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry.  Think before you speak.  Hear all of the truth and figure out where the gaps are before reaching a hasty conclusion.  Human anger does not produce righteousness.  Get rid of everything that places evil on yourself.  Humble your heart and allow His righteous power grow in your soul.

Matthew 5:21-26, Mark 10:13-16, John 3:31-36, 7:21-24, Acts 4:23-26, Ephesians 4:25-27, Titus 1:5-7, & James 1:19-21