I like to look at where something is made whenever I’m deciding on a purchase or researching a product. Today it seems as though everything has “Made in China” stamped on it. It also is interesting to see where it’s made and even “how it’s made.” The process is determined by the one(s) who design it. As a Christian we have a “designer” and He has determined the process of how it’s made. And of course we know that to be “made in Christ” is not an assembly line process but it is a very detailed process.
2 Peter 1:2-5 give a very descriptive introduction to what God’s purpose is for Christians, in fact as you read these verses you may find yourself getting excited about what’s in the plan. For instance, Grace and peace are multiplied through our knowledge of Christ. The more we learn about Him, the more we experience His Divine power whereby He has given us “all things” necessary for earthly living. And on top of that the “great and precious promises” that we can “partake” of by His Diving Nature! And then the understanding that by this that we escape the corruption of the world that once was so important to us. In other words “lust” is what distracts or turns ones attention from one thing to another. We need things that the world has, but God through His design gives the believer a way to have those things as our possessions and they are blessed (uncorrupted) when provided for by Him! Well hopefully your faith is rising and looking toward Him by the time you absorb those first verses but now we come to the “condition” of this truth.
2 Peter 1:5 encourages us to turn our faith completely toward God and His promises so the “process” can begin to “make us in Christ” and produce these great promises through us. How? Begin to allow God to change some things on the inside of the believer once faith has been established. Add to your faith VIRTUE. Virtue is a word that describes or defines “character.” Character is “who you are” when nobody else is around. It’s why you get up and keep going when you’ve been knocked down. It’s what determines the outcome of your faith! And our character is formed by His Divine Nature! When you look at the account of the woman with an issue of blood who touched Jesus in the crowd and the Bible says that Jesus knowing that “virtue” had gone out of him is the same as saying “who he is, or his character went out of him” and flooded her whole being with Himself!
Most of the time we want all that God has promised, but we just want to “add faith to our character” and have God conform to us. This will not work now or ever! We have to begin the process of changing into His character which will require diligence on our part. We must understand that you can “cover up” character with “personality” but remember character is “who you are!” You don’t define your character, your character defines you! What are some of the characteristics of Christ that we must learn to conform to?
- Forgiving nature, where we learn to forgive even our enemies. Jesus teaches in Matthew 18:21-22 to forgive completely and continually! Then in Matthew 5:44 he takes it to another level of character by saying we have to “love your enemies, bless them who curse you and do good to them who hate you and pray for them who despitefully use you! Now that takes some doing my friend! Someone said, “when I forgive someone do I have to hang out with them?” The answer is no! Look at what Jesus did to his enemies, the Pharisees, He loved them, forgave them, prayed for them, but he didn’t hang out with them!
- Fearless nature, so we can live in a “scary” world without worry, and fear. You’ll have to allow His nature to develop this kind of faith through the character he is building in you. Fear will destroy any faith and it must be taken out of your character.
- Humble nature when we Subdue pride! God resist the proud who possess the nature of self-sufficiency. Pride is a product of human nature but God wants it changed by His divine nature. Pride is the original sin and since then man will try to rely on his own ability to conquer problems. Look at how Christ completely humbled himself to the Father’s will and never accepted man’s offers, much less satan’s offers! Faith is simple, yet vulnerable to characteristics that can destroy it.
To be “Made in Christ” is simply a label that every believer needs “tattooed” on them! The world will take note of the Church when we allow the Holy Spirit to produce His Character in us. The hope of having all of the promised victories, and dreams accomplished will be possible by allowing God to do his work from within the heart of the believer as we “add His character to our faith!”
Blessings,
RB
Last Updated: April 28th, 2008 |
Before your “faith journey” begins you’ll always want to make sure you have “planned” well. We know that the definition of faith is found in the book of Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen.” The things you HOPE FOR are the “destinations” of what you want from Faith, or you can say the things you need for your life that God has promised you in His Word. I use the analogy of planning a flight from a pilot perspective. The one thing you want to be sure you have working properly is the “compass.” On every airport there is a place designated for compass calibration or recalibrations. The airplane is moved onto this spot and a techician calibrates the “accuracy” of the instrument.
Once while I was planning a trip to Camaguay Cuba, I knew I would travel over 180 nautical miles of water from Miami Florida to Camaguay Cuba. I also was aware that over water you have zero references for ground navigation in case some of your instruments malfunction, so I was compelled to make sure the one instrument that was “accurate” was my compass. Over the path of my journey there is little navagational help from Cuba because of the lack of technology we’re used to here in the States. And taking into consideration the fact that Cuba is an island, I wanted to be sure that I was lined up with my destination should anything malfunction along the way. I’m sure you get the point by now, so I’ll move on.
Of course I’m not talking about planning a trip in the natural, but a spiritual journey of faith that will arrive at a destination if you’ve planned well. Faith demands “accuracy” when you are believing for an answer and haven’t seen the result manifest as of yet. The “faith compass” requires accuracy and calibration from time to time because we tend to think that God overlooks some of the area’s we do not think are important. The book of 1 Peter helps us to “calibrate” our faith compass of morals, as well as ethical practices. It says in 1 Peter 1:25 that, “the word of the Lord endureth for ever.” That means we can trust it for accuracy. Then it goes on to 1 Peter 2:1-3 and helps us to get to that “place,” (the Word), so we can be sure we are calibrated properly, or make the necessary adjustments to allow accuracy for our journey.
These 5 area’s are very important if they have been overlooked in our character and should be given attention before we begin our quest for the “things we hope for” from the promises of God. First, we see “malice” as a variance to adjust if we have it in our heart. Malice is simply “ill will” or “desire to see someone injured.” This is common when we have had our feelings hurt in a relationship and it will affect our faith. Then, we see “guile” as a factor to recognize which is “deceit.” We should never be deceptive in a relationship if we want our faith to be acceptable by God. Next we see “hypocrisies” as a contention which is “play acting” or “role playing” and pretending to be what you are not. Lastly, “envy” and “evil speakings” are mentioned as hinderences to receiving God’s grace.
If you begin a faith journey leaving these kind of things uncheck and do not “recalibrate” your faith you may find yourself “off course” and miss God’s best all together. Make sure you are aware of these area’s before you pray and believe for your need to be fulfilled by God’s promises.
Last Updated: April 15th, 2008 |
If there were one person that you could be like, or you would want to be like, who is alive today, who would it be and why would you want to be like them? I recently talked to a friend of mine and in our conversation I asked him about someone we both know. He began to fill me in on this mutual friend and he made the comment, €śman, I€™d love to be like him!€ť Another friend was saying something about Brett Farve retiring and how he would love to €śbe in Brett€™s shoes.€ť Sometimes people will reveal who their €śrole models€ť are without even asking that question.
As a Christian we would probably all say we want to be like Jesus, but who do you know that would be most like Him? We really want the LIFE that Jesus came to provide for us and we know that means to be like Him we must spend time with Him. We want our lives to €ścount for something.€ť As John 10:10 says, Jesus came to give us LIFE, and to give it to us €śmore abundantly.€ť By using the acronym of the letters in €ślife€ť we€™ll try to express this lifestyle.
First is what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 5, €śye are the LIGHT of the world.€ť To support that in Ephesians 5 Paul encourages the church to €śwalk as children of LIGHT.€ť So how does that help me to understand my part? Well there are three simple truths about light that I can apply to my life, such as light is €śunchangeable,€ť and next light is €śunaffected by conditions,€ť and €śnatural life depends on light to exist!€ť If you combine all of those facts and relate them to our life it would simply be €śalways be consistent€ť in life. Conduct yourself as a child of light everyday, whether at home, or work, or CHURCH!
Then the next letter would be €śINHERITANCE.€ť Ephesians 1:18 says we have an inheritance in us through Christ. That inheritance needs to be €śseen€ť by the world that we are €śjoint heirs€ť with Christ. Next would be €śFAITHFUL€ť as a believer. We should be trustworthy, reliable, truthful with one another, honest, and dependable. We want all that God has for us and we need to look at Matthew 24:45-47 and we€™ll see that to make our life count God is looking for faithfulness! Lastly, we should strive to be an €śEXAMPLE€ť to all. 1 Peter 5:3 gives us this truth and we need to apply it in order to fulfill the life given by Christ to His Church. We all want our lives to count for something and God wants it to count for something because He paid the ultimate price for us to have it more abundantly. I hope this blesses you as it has blessed me. We have a whole series of messages on the subject if you would like to get the full revelation of it, contact the church and we€™ll send it to you. Have a great day!
Last Updated: April 3rd, 2008 |
