HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Our Heavenly Father didn’t send His son to take on the sins of mankind so that those who believe in Him can hide their faith.  I love this analogy in Matthew 5; refusing to let God’s love shine throughout your life is just as pointless as turning on a light in your house and then covering it up.

It does no good and it’s not being used for the purpose it was created for.

Are you ready for a life question, because here it comes.  Are you hiding your faith from the world?  Are you living out the purpose that God created you for?

God displays His children to the world like a city on a hill (Matt. 5:14). The light given off from such a vibrant city can be seen for miles. In the same way, followers of Jesus should let their faith be evident in such a way that other people will be able to see our good works and honor God.

A Christian’s “faith light” is evident through his deeds. We want co-workers, friends, and others in our sphere of influence to sit up and take notice of the way that we live. The reason? Because once they see we’re not simply “out for number one,” they’ll want to know why. And that’s when they will begin to connect the dots, with thoughts like:He helps others even when it’s difficult . . . He says he does this because he’s a Christian . . . His God must by worthy and good.

The more people see believers doing good works, the more glory goes to God.

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

It’s important for us as followers of Jesus to understand that faith and works go hand in hand. True faith in our Savior will compel us to love others, serve others, and take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). He’s not saying that we must earn our faith or keep our faith through works (because of God’s grace, salvation is a gift). James is telling us to think long and hard about Jesus. Faith in God, who gave His life for sinners, can only result in obedience to Him who loved us.

Faith in God will be in your heart, but it will also be lived out in your life. Your love for Jesus will be evident in what you do, how you act, and how you speak. When you remain in Christ, you cannot help but bear fruit (John 15:1-17).

It’s by this fruit that Christians are able to be recognized, which includes acts of service for Him and for others. God rescues people from sin so that they can live out the purposes that He has for them (Eph. 2:10).

And just in case you’re getting cold feet about how you’re going to accomplish everything that God has for you, have peace in this knowledge:  The same God who calls us to work in His name also provides us with the necessary resources. Paul tells us that the Lord makes grace abound in us so we will have an abundance for every good deed (2 Cor. 9:8).

If that’s not enough to put you at ease, know that we are equipped by His Word and strengthened and guided by His Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

2 Corinthians 9:8-11
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

Most likely, we have heard that God is Love; it’s a very familiar passage from 1 John 4:8. The question you need to ask yourself is do you truly understand what this scripture means?

Another passage in God’s word that ties a nice bow on the subject of His love is John 3:16: God loved sinful, rebellious humanity so much that He came down to earth in human flesh [Jesus] and died an excruciating death to bring us back into a relationship with Him. This love is not shallow, it’s the deepest, truest love of all.

Some people have a hard time accepting God’s decision and they question the sacrifice that Jesus made. Because they can’t understand it, they think that God could have come up with a different way to offer salvation. But these people are forgetting two of the Lord’s unchangeable attributes.

First, the Lord is holy by nature. This means that He cannot look upon sin with approval, therefore He must condemn transgression. Second, God is just. And as a result of being just, all sin must be punished – there is no exception (Rom. 6:23). Every action the Lord makes will always be consistent with His nature.

Because our sinfulness makes us fall short of God’s perfect holiness, He is unable to accept us in our fallen state (Rom. 3:23). But even though we’re sinful and rebellious, God still loves us (Rom.5:8).  Our heavenly Father desires an everlasting relationship with us,which is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So He provided the solution by sending His Son Jesus to earth—to live as a man, to die on the cross, and to rise from the grave into life with God. This is the ultimate expression of love. As 1 John 4:10 states, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The wise person will accept the free gift of salvation. That is, they will receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and commit to follow Him. What is your response to His amazing love?

John 3:16-21
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Paul went into the desert for 3 years after his conversion on the road to Damascus (and after a short stay with the Apostles). It was during these years in the desert that the Holy Spirit taught Him about God. When Paul returned from the desert, he was ready to preach the Word of God.

It’s important for us to know that not everyone’s road to discipleship and spiritual maturity will look exactly the same. We can learn from one another’s experiences instead of trying to replicate Paul’s (or anyone else’s) spiritual journey.

God speaks to His children so they will know His truth, conform to His truth, and speak His truth. These steps form a type of road map for disciples to follow while they’re seeking closeness with God. What happened to Paul in the desert wasn’t the completion of his discipleship, it was the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of God and the process of being renewed and transformed into the image of Christ.

For the Paul, his change started when he connected his biblical knowledge to the realization that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

As Christians, we should allow our lives and spirits to be shaped and formed by God; we should submit to His will.

Galatians 1:11-17
“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.”

God is mighty, Nothing can separate us from Him

When we’re faced with difficult circumstances in our lives, it’s easy for us to think that God is far away from us, or that He’s abandoned us. “After all”, we think, “if God were around, he would have done something to stop this bad stuff from happening.”

And while God has the ability to perform miracles and do literally whatever He desires, as we learned yesterday, being a Christian doesn’t remove every difficult situation from our lives.

Although feeling separated from God during hard or troubling times might be a natural human reaction, today we’re going to read about how NOTHING can separate us from God.

NO EVENTS
Not a single problem can separate us from God’s overwhelming love. Instead, we can conquer any situation through Him who loves us! (Rom. 8:35-37). Today’s passage also teaches that any present sufferings cannot be compared to His coming glory (v. 18) and that God’s holy purpose is our transformation into the image of Christ (v. 29). When we truly understand and believe this, we will gain a victorious eternal perspective, which will produce perseverance and hope (vv. 24-25).

Romans8:37-39
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Take some time and read this entire passage. Romans 8:18-39

Is a Christian's life void of hard times?

Breaking News:  Being a Christian does not assure that you will have an easy life.

But being a follower of Christ does assure that we’ll always have God with us, no matter what we face in this life.  THAT should be our joy, even while facing difficult circumstances.

BELIEVE AND TRUST THE LORD
Many people say this, read this, and sing this on Sunday morning. But do you live as though you trust the Lord?

Have you ever heard of the term Christian Atheist? It’s more of a commentary of how American Christians tend to live their Christian lives. A person might be described as a Christian Atheist if they say they have faith and trust in the Lord, but actually only really trust in their own abilities, their job, their financial resources.

A person like this usually only considers God when things go wrong.

Only by living life from a scripture-based perspective can we understand God’s purposes in our affliction and trust His wisdom in allowing it.

James 1:2-8
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

This is a tough question.  Are you content?

And if the answer is”sometimes” or “not really”, then the follow-up question has to be “What’s your motivation?”

For many people (including Christians), contentment comes when their environment and circumstances merge into a controllable situation that doesn’t rock the boat. But that sure wasn’t the case for Paul.

Paul learned to be content in every situation; with much or with little, he was able to live with a sense of thankfulness and satisfaction no matter what his circumstances were. And we’d be smart to learn from Paul. There’s no way we can avoid every difficult situation that comes our way, so we might as well learn how to face everything with a peaceful spirit instead of frustration and anger.

CONTENTMENT ISN’T GOVERNED BY EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If you seek happiness through your current situation, you will experience only sporadic satisfaction instead of constant contentment. It’s simply a matter of how you think, not what you have.

CONTENTMENT FLOWS FROM AN INWARD ATTITUDE
Paul’s contentment came from a mind and heart focused on Jesus. He chose to fully trust his Savior no matter what he faced in his life. He allowed the Holy Spirit within him to rule his emotions and shape his responses, something we can all learn from.

CONTENTMENT IS LEARNED THROUGH EXPERIENCE
Don’t think you can acquire contentment from one lesson, one sermon, one book, or even this one Bible study. Living with contentment will come with learningmore and more how to trust God gully in every situation we’re faced with.

When our faith grows and matures, contentment will follow.

Paul learned about contentment when he was on his missionary journeys – in persecution, suffering, and in prison. The Lord used every difficulty to transform him.

Philippians 4:10-13
“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

God’s word assures us that the Holy Spirit will guide us to make wise and righteous choices.  As Christians, we have an obligation to live obediently and follow God’s direction.

But when we ignore the Spirit’s leadership and fail to listen, the temptation to follow our sinful nature can take hold of our hearts.

Imagine Eve standing there looking at the tree of knowledge after the serpent had tempted her with sin.  (Gen. 2:17; 3:3). No matter what her ideas about the tree were before this event, her eyes were changed and her thoughts about the tree would never be the same again.

Genesis 3 shows us how the forbidden tree (along with Satan’s lies) invited Eve to ignore God’s command: 1) it was good for food, 2) it was pleasant to look at , and 3) it would give her wisdom.

The tree offered an answer to three human desires: a good meal, beauty, and wisdom. And while there’s nothing wrong with these three appetites when they stand alone, our flesh tempts us to seek them in unholy ways . . . ways that are sinful according to God’s word.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us in His ways. But Satan works hard to corrupt our hearts and tempt us into sin. Understanding this and seeking God’s strength can go a long way in helping believers choose obedience over our fleshly desires.

Ephesians 2:1-7
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

This passage from Genesis shows us what happens when believers stop listening to God. It won’t always involve fruit and serpents, but you can be assured that failure to listen to God and failure to follow Him in obedience will result in sin.

Eve knew what instruction the Lord had given her. She knew it so well, in fact, that she was able to repeat it almost word for word back to the serpent.

But when faced with temptation, she ignored what God had said and chose to listen to the voice of the temptation of sin.

Fast forward to our lives today. How many voices are we faced with every waking moment? Music, movies, entertainment, magazines, advertising, celebrities, self-help professionals, family, friends, and a slew of others.

There is plenty of information to give our attention to. As believers, we need to have a filter in our minds and hearts that removes all of the fruitless voices around us.

Sometimes, we think that we’re above any outside influence. We believe that we can listen or watch whatever we want without being changed. We tell ourselves that we’re different, that we won’t let it affect us.

Don’t be fooled.

Eve only paused long enough to hear the serpents words. After the serpents words were spoken, Satan twisted God’s instructions in an attempt to throw her into error.

Remember, you can’t un-hear and un-see what you let into your world.

Genesis 3:1-5
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

When Jesus took the time to teach His disciples how to pray, he told them to use the words “Our Father”. Before this lesson, the disciples had heard Jesus use the term “My Father”, but now the disciples were able to share in this most intimate relationship.

And here’s the best part, all of us who have been born again into new life with Christ have this same right . . . to call the God of the universe “My Father”.

But we’re human and sometimes our perspectives can get messed up from time to time. And since our concept of God as our Father gets shaped somewhat by our relationship with our biological father, we tend to have different perceptions of Him.

When our definition of God as Father get’s a little skewed, we can look to Jesus, who has the only completely accurate understanding of God as our Father.

God Stays: Our heavenly Father is not an absentee parent. He will never leave us or forsake us. (Deut. 31:8).

God Provides: God assures us that He will meet all of our needs. We just need to ask Him for wisdom to be able to tell the difference between wants and needs (Phil. 4:19).

God Loves: Our Father’s love is truly unconditional. His love ss based on His perfect nature instead of our performance (1 John 4:16).

God Disciplines: And just like my 2-year-old little boy can’t quite understand how our discipline as parents is really for his own good (teaching him how to behave), it’s sometimes hard for us Christians to understand that God’s discipline is also for our good. But God disciplines us so that we can share in His holiness and learn how He would have us live (Heb. 12:5-11).

God Protects: The Lord shields us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. He filters every experience through His sovereign fingers. (Ps. 121:1-8).

God Listens: No matter what you may think, God does hear you when you pray. You can be sure that He gives us His full attention when we come before His throne of grace in our times of need(Ps. 55:16-17).

God Guides: We cannot forget that God is the one who directs our path when we put our faith in Him (Prov. 3:5-6).

Through scripture, we can learn about who God truly is, not matter how our ideas of a father might have been distorted down here on earth.

Matthew 6:8-13
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”