Action

We as Christian men and women view our lives as an opportunity to serve the Lord in an active manner.  Even though out salvation is not based on our "works" we strive to be consistently trying to win others to Christ and build the kingdom of God.  As we do our "normal traffic pattern" of life, we strive to help others in building their faith in God and then sending them out as spiritual multipliers to win even more.  In this manner we are consistently winning and building others for the cause of Christ.  This is the "action" which Jesus Christ called us to when He commanded us to "go into all the world..." helping to fulfill the Great Commission and help to change the world.

In Luke 19:10 Jesus says "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  Here are some other verses that talk about "action.  Acts 26:18; Col. 1:10, 3:23.  And what about Philippians 1:27 which says: "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel..."  Paul was obviously very serious here in his dissertation about our need to "act" upon our faith.

If you follow Christ then you are of "one mind" with all the others who strive to take "action" toward the spread of the gospel of Christ.

See ya,

Dave

Direction

I don't know about you, but I can't find my way out of the Mall if I've been inside there more than 10 minutes.  That's why I only go when my wife makes me go.  I'd never find my truck without her.

With all the road blocks and things in my life, I NEED direction.  And so the Spirit-directed Christian depends on the Word of God for direction and guidance in every circumstance.  He accepts the Bible as his final authority; his source of knowledge about God, others, and himself.  I know I do.  My Bible has become, although very "tattered", the most valuable GPS system for my life.

Look at Joshua 1:8 & 9; "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous!  Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  What an appropriate verse for my "Mall" illustration.  It's like, I am strong and courageous and I do not tremble and am not dismayed at the Mall, as long as Barb is there with me...LOL.

Let me offer you additional study verses:  [Ps. 119:5 & 6;  Matt. 4:4;  Col. 1:9;  1 Thess. 5:15;  2 Tim. 2:15].

Okay everyone, grab your Bible.  We're going to the Mall.  You know I've had the opportunity to walk through a few malls presenting the Gospel of God as I went.  What a great time.

Dave

Obedience

Do you find yourself strongly desiring to obey God daily?  Yeah, I know.  It is difficult for me, too.  However, as the Christian understands the commands and desires of God, he is willing to submit to them and make them his own desires.  You've heard the old saying "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"?  Yeah we're on the same page here!  The Christian realizes that obedience to his heavenly Father involves submission to those who are placed in authority over him.  Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (good memory verse...of course they all are).   Kind of like golf.  I can drive a golf ball a long way, but I have a wicked "slice".  However when someone shows me how to stand just right, nice and straight, right down the fairway.

How about a couple more verses to bring this point home:  [Matt. 26:39;  John 4:34;  8:29;  Phil. 2:5-8;  Heb. 5:8].

See you tomorrow,

Dave

Prayer

The fourth characteristic of the Man or Woman of God is "Prayer".  Probably one of our most usable and defensible tools in the quest to become "more like Christ".  The Spirit filled Christian, following the example of our Lord, the disciples, and Christian leaders throughout the centuries, places a special priority on prayer and on his daily communication with God.  I remember long ago a friend of mine, Denny Scott, said "Well David!  If you are driving down the road and you, by faith, recognize that the Lord is with you always, you don't want to ignore Him now, do you?  So we talk...EVERYWHERE!

The Christian realizes that God delights in his fellowship, desires his worship, and welcomes his requests.  Well, what the heck.  You've got a powerful God who can grant you all of your wishes according to His will...it would be a terrible waste to not confide in Him.  Right?

Matthew 26:41 says,  "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Ain't that the truth.  You know, I've heard it said that for the average Christian man, the devil continues to stride down the street wearing very "tight" jeans.  You talk about not entering into temptation...What a great time to strike up a conversation with God, huh? 

Here's a few more scripture verses to study:  [Acts 5:4;  Eph. 6:18;  Phil. 4:4-7;  Col. 4:2].

Your well on your way to developing solid Christians characteristics.

Dave

Power

In using the word "Power" here, the Christian allows the Holy Spirit, who indwells him, to control his daily life.  That includes EVERY aspect of life, i.e; Job, Family, Church, Relationships, Money, Possessions, etc.  So he becomes more and more in character like our Lord Jesus Christ.  Second Corinthians 12:9 says, And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."  Wow, that's a pretty bold statement.  We experience a weak moment in life, ask Jesus to handle it, and His power is perfected in us, THROUGH OUR WEAKNESSES!  What a gift!   He gives us power to allow the Holy Spirit to control all of these areas of our life and then Jesus tells us that "His grace is sufficient...". 

Here are some additional verses to review concerning the "Power" in a Christian life:  [Eph. 3:14-21;  Phil. 4:13;  Col. 1:29).

Are you starting to get the picture of how much the Holy Spirit directs us?

Later,

Dave

Stewardship

The Spirit-directed Christian allows Christ to be Lord in EVERY area of his life--his mind/body relationships, talents, and material possessions.   He recognizes that all he has is ultimately a gift of God, and he considers himself a responsible steward of these blessings.  Romans 12: 2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

The use if the word here "transformed" is similar to the cocoon and the butterfly.  You see the caterpillar knows that there is a far better life in store for him/her and so as an act of obedience and of course it's nature, he wraps himself up in a cocoon and waits patiently on the Lord to "transform" him into the beautiful creature that his original creation was designed to turn out to be.  The same thing applies to us as Christians.  By "Faith" we wrap ourselves in the Holy Spirit of God and it is He who "transforms" our minds and spirits as we follow Him.

Here are some other verses that will help to better understand: [1 Cor. 2:16; 6:20;  Phil. 4:8;  1 Peter 4:10;  2 Peter 1:5-8]  (and everyone always believes that stewardship is "forevermore" the discussion of money, Ha, Ha!)

Dave

Character Traits of the Man or Woman of God (Part 1)

Tonight I want to do something constructive and give new Christians and "seasoned" Christians more "food for thought" as they walk through this life with Christ as their Lord. I'm going to list 11 attributes or characteristics of the individual Christian and hopefully it will produce more study and desire to learn more about their walk. Hope this is useful.
From the very second you became a Christian you begin a life-long adventure of becoming conformed to the image of Christ Jesus. Each day, as you surrender moment by moment to the lordship of Christ and give Him full access of your life and allow the fullness of His Holy Spirit to live through you, he helps to manifest the character qualities of Himself in you. Make no mistake! This is a difficult task and takes dedication and endurance with the desire to please Him in our every day lives.

Over the next 11 nights, I will try to list some of these attributes and give references where this study can be brought to life in you. In Phil. 1:6 Paul said, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus".

I. FAITH: The Spirit-directed Christian is consistently aware of the character of the Triune God (three in one), on God manifest in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit He draws upon the infinite resources of God by faith in order to live the Christian life (very difficult to live "Christlike" without faith). You understand that faith is your response to all that God is and all that He promises to those who trust and obey Him. Look up and review these scripture verses for affirmation: [Rom. 10:17, Gal. 2:20, Phil. 3:7-11, Heb. 11:6; 12:1 & 2]

See you tomorrow night!

Dave

PS. Your comments welcome.