I've been praying about the title for this series. Should it be called Eight Principles for Life, Eight Principles for Living, or something else. As I spent time with the Lord yesterday, He took me to a couple of verses on joy.
You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. Psalm 16:11
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Psalm 126:5
I realized this is the perfect title - Eight Principles for a Joyful Life. Jesus said in John 15:11: I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
God had to work out a lot of junk in me so I could live with the joy Jesus desired for me. But it was so worth it! So hang in there and keep working through these eight principles with me. May the Lord cause your tears to bring forth songs of joy!
Showing posts with label principles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label principles. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Eight Principles for a Joyful Life- #3
I'm doing a series called Eight Principles. These are things God has taught me since coming to Christ 31 years ago. These are familiar principles, but it's good to remind ourselves of truth.
So far we've looked at Principle #1 (Fall in love with Jesus) and Principle #2 (We become more like Christ in proportion to how much time we spend with God in His Word).
Principle #3 is:
Let God change you from the inside out by replacing old thought patterns with biblical truth.
Prior to my conversion to Christ, I saw myself as dumb and ugly. After God saved me, He began changing that. One of the first verses I learned was Philippians 1:6 which says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
That was a critical verse for me because I felt overwhelmed at the thought of so much in me that needed to be changed. I had made a total mess of my life before Christ. So, every time I had thoughts like, "You're so dumb," I started quoting Philippians 1:6 to myself and thanking God for the good work He began in me and for His promise to keep doing it. It was no longer me trying to change myself (impossible!) but God doing it in me. After a few months of doing that, I no longer had thoughts about being dumb and ugly.
Romans 12:2 says,
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.
For years I had tried the way of the world to change myself. I worked for a positive thinking company; I tried careers that put me in the spotlight; I tried secular counseling. Nothing worked!
Only God can change us from the inside out when we trust Christ as our Savior. He does that through our relationship with Him in His Word, prayer, and through His Spirit.
I love Psalm 119:73 which says,
Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.
And also Psalm 139:13-14:
For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
As God changes us from the inside out, He changes our motivations, our desires, and our view of life. We become authentic followers of Christ rather than those who do things to gain attention. Jesus said in Matthew 23:27, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean."
As a new Christian, I looked good on the outside, but inside I still had a lot of junk like selfishness, bitterness, and pride. Slowly God began to heal hurts, reveal sin, and clean me up from the inside out. It's a lifelong process where He keeps peeling back layers to get to things that need to be changed.
Let me pray for us:
Father, we praise You for never giving up on us, even when change looks hopeless in our eyes. Help us remember Your promise in Philippians 1:6. Thank you for being patient, loving, and gentle with us. We pray that as you make us more like Christ that You will increase our fruitfulness in Your kingdom.
In Jesus' precious Name,
Amen
So far we've looked at Principle #1 (Fall in love with Jesus) and Principle #2 (We become more like Christ in proportion to how much time we spend with God in His Word).
Principle #3 is:
Let God change you from the inside out by replacing old thought patterns with biblical truth.
Prior to my conversion to Christ, I saw myself as dumb and ugly. After God saved me, He began changing that. One of the first verses I learned was Philippians 1:6 which says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
That was a critical verse for me because I felt overwhelmed at the thought of so much in me that needed to be changed. I had made a total mess of my life before Christ. So, every time I had thoughts like, "You're so dumb," I started quoting Philippians 1:6 to myself and thanking God for the good work He began in me and for His promise to keep doing it. It was no longer me trying to change myself (impossible!) but God doing it in me. After a few months of doing that, I no longer had thoughts about being dumb and ugly.
Romans 12:2 says,
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.
For years I had tried the way of the world to change myself. I worked for a positive thinking company; I tried careers that put me in the spotlight; I tried secular counseling. Nothing worked!
Only God can change us from the inside out when we trust Christ as our Savior. He does that through our relationship with Him in His Word, prayer, and through His Spirit.
I love Psalm 119:73 which says,
Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.
And also Psalm 139:13-14:
For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
As God changes us from the inside out, He changes our motivations, our desires, and our view of life. We become authentic followers of Christ rather than those who do things to gain attention. Jesus said in Matthew 23:27, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean."
As a new Christian, I looked good on the outside, but inside I still had a lot of junk like selfishness, bitterness, and pride. Slowly God began to heal hurts, reveal sin, and clean me up from the inside out. It's a lifelong process where He keeps peeling back layers to get to things that need to be changed.
Let me pray for us:
Father, we praise You for never giving up on us, even when change looks hopeless in our eyes. Help us remember Your promise in Philippians 1:6. Thank you for being patient, loving, and gentle with us. We pray that as you make us more like Christ that You will increase our fruitfulness in Your kingdom.
In Jesus' precious Name,
Amen
Monday, January 25, 2010
Eight Principles for a Joyful Life - #2
The first principle was Fall in Love with Jesus. Here's another obvious principle:
We become more like Christ in proportion to how much time we spend with God in his Word.
For too many years I viewed my Bible time as something to get through rather than focusing on my relationship with God. Too often (though we won't admit it) we view the Bible as boring, hard to read, or not relevant to our lives. But it's not! The Bible is full of exciting stories that relate to our lives. We learn what to do and not do from people in the Bible. God encourages us with verses that comfort, teach, and give us hope. The Bible discerns our heart and our motives and corrects us when we need it.
Here are some suggestions on how to make the Bible come alive for you.
a. Come to the Bible with expectancy. You're meeting with God. Ask him to reveal truth and give you understanding of the passage.
b. Put yourself in the story. Imagine the sounds, smells, sights, and feel of what's going on. Think about Jesus and the triumphal entry. Can you hear the crowds cheering Jesus, feel the breeze of the palm branches, feel the press of the crowds, smell the donkeys? What are you wearing? What are you thinking?
c. Substitute your name in verses like Philippians 1:6. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in Connie will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
d. When I was a student at Dallas Seminary, I took Howard Hendricks' Bible Study Methods. During the course we received "Prof. Hendricks' 9 Questions to Help Apply Any Scripture Passage to Your Life." This invaluable tool has helped me zero in on what God is wanting me to learn from the passage I'm studying. Prof says to:
Ask Yourself, Is There. . .
1. An example for me to follow?
2. A sin to avoid?
3. A promise to claim?
A prayer to repeat?
5. A command to obey?
6. A condition to meet? (Ex: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." (Jn 15:7)
7. A verse to memorize?
8. An error, heresy, or danger to expose?
9. A challenge to face something in your life?
e. Read the passage out loud. There's something about doing this that focuses your mind on what you're reading. Try dramatizing the stories. I love the story of the man born blind that Jesus healed in Matthew 9:1-41. As you read it, put yourself in the different roles (blind man, Pharisees, disciples, man's parents) and read it with the voice and tone that you think each one would have used.
f. There are many good books to help you with Bible study. They include:
Living by the Book (Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks)
Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods (Rick Warren)
How to Read the Bible as Literature & Get More Out It (Leland Ryken)
The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study (Oletta Wald)
g. Another thing I do is write out the passage and break it down into main thoughts. (I learned this also in Prof's class at DTS). Doing this helps me grasp the intent of the passage. Let's look at Romans 5:3-5.
Not only so,
but we rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out
his love into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit,
whom he has given us.
When I look at the passage this way, I can better understand why we rejoice in our sufferings and also what I can expect God to do through my sufferings. It helps me to meditate on this passage when tough times come.
We will never comprehend all that God's Word contains, but God is faithful in opening our eyes to truth if we approach the Bible with humility, a teachable spirit, and a desire to obey what God shows us.
I pray that as we spend time with God in his Word that we will do so with excitement,anticipating the things God will teach us as he makes us more like Christ and increases our fruitfulness!
We become more like Christ in proportion to how much time we spend with God in his Word.
For too many years I viewed my Bible time as something to get through rather than focusing on my relationship with God. Too often (though we won't admit it) we view the Bible as boring, hard to read, or not relevant to our lives. But it's not! The Bible is full of exciting stories that relate to our lives. We learn what to do and not do from people in the Bible. God encourages us with verses that comfort, teach, and give us hope. The Bible discerns our heart and our motives and corrects us when we need it.
Here are some suggestions on how to make the Bible come alive for you.
a. Come to the Bible with expectancy. You're meeting with God. Ask him to reveal truth and give you understanding of the passage.
b. Put yourself in the story. Imagine the sounds, smells, sights, and feel of what's going on. Think about Jesus and the triumphal entry. Can you hear the crowds cheering Jesus, feel the breeze of the palm branches, feel the press of the crowds, smell the donkeys? What are you wearing? What are you thinking?
c. Substitute your name in verses like Philippians 1:6. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in Connie will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
d. When I was a student at Dallas Seminary, I took Howard Hendricks' Bible Study Methods. During the course we received "Prof. Hendricks' 9 Questions to Help Apply Any Scripture Passage to Your Life." This invaluable tool has helped me zero in on what God is wanting me to learn from the passage I'm studying. Prof says to:
Ask Yourself, Is There. . .
1. An example for me to follow?
2. A sin to avoid?
3. A promise to claim?
A prayer to repeat?
5. A command to obey?
6. A condition to meet? (Ex: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." (Jn 15:7)
7. A verse to memorize?
8. An error, heresy, or danger to expose?
9. A challenge to face something in your life?
e. Read the passage out loud. There's something about doing this that focuses your mind on what you're reading. Try dramatizing the stories. I love the story of the man born blind that Jesus healed in Matthew 9:1-41. As you read it, put yourself in the different roles (blind man, Pharisees, disciples, man's parents) and read it with the voice and tone that you think each one would have used.
f. There are many good books to help you with Bible study. They include:
Living by the Book (Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks)
Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods (Rick Warren)
How to Read the Bible as Literature & Get More Out It (Leland Ryken)
The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study (Oletta Wald)
g. Another thing I do is write out the passage and break it down into main thoughts. (I learned this also in Prof's class at DTS). Doing this helps me grasp the intent of the passage. Let's look at Romans 5:3-5.
Not only so,
but we rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out
his love into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit,
whom he has given us.
When I look at the passage this way, I can better understand why we rejoice in our sufferings and also what I can expect God to do through my sufferings. It helps me to meditate on this passage when tough times come.
We will never comprehend all that God's Word contains, but God is faithful in opening our eyes to truth if we approach the Bible with humility, a teachable spirit, and a desire to obey what God shows us.
I pray that as we spend time with God in his Word that we will do so with excitement,anticipating the things God will teach us as he makes us more like Christ and increases our fruitfulness!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Eight Principles
As I read my Bible, I'm often amazed at how often people through the ages just didn't get it. I shouldn't be surprised,though, because repeatedly in my Christian life I didn't get what God was trying to teach me. Thankfully he doesn't give up on us!
This morning I read Acts 1:6 which says, So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
This is right after Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift (the Holy Spirit) the Father had promised. Rather than being excited about the Holy Spirit, the disciples focused on the kingdom being restored to Israel.
Jesus had just spent three years teaching them about the kingdom of God which included suffering, spreading the gospel, and his second coming. In addition, after his resurrection, Jesus told Peter what kind of death he would experience in order to glorify God. The disciples seemed to forget all they had been taught.
In my next post I'm starting a series called Eight Principles for a Joyful Life. These are things God has taught me during the 31 years I've been his child. This is for my benefit as much as everyone else's. Like the disciples, I find myself sometimes focusing on earthly things rather than "going about my Father's business." Most likely the Lord has taught you these things too. But it's always good to remind ourselves of truth!
So join me next time when we'll get started on Eight Principles for a Joyful Life!
This morning I read Acts 1:6 which says, So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
This is right after Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift (the Holy Spirit) the Father had promised. Rather than being excited about the Holy Spirit, the disciples focused on the kingdom being restored to Israel.
Jesus had just spent three years teaching them about the kingdom of God which included suffering, spreading the gospel, and his second coming. In addition, after his resurrection, Jesus told Peter what kind of death he would experience in order to glorify God. The disciples seemed to forget all they had been taught.
In my next post I'm starting a series called Eight Principles for a Joyful Life. These are things God has taught me during the 31 years I've been his child. This is for my benefit as much as everyone else's. Like the disciples, I find myself sometimes focusing on earthly things rather than "going about my Father's business." Most likely the Lord has taught you these things too. But it's always good to remind ourselves of truth!
So join me next time when we'll get started on Eight Principles for a Joyful Life!
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