In the Interest of Others
September 15, 2022
In the Interest of Others
Philippians 2:3-5
Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Perhaps the one ingredient in human nature that is the most detrimental to our living in peace and harmony is our selfishness. The more inclined people are to live only for their self-interest the more it breaks down the harmony of relationships, of families, communities and society as a whole. It is interesting to see the evidence of this in our own society even through the last century as we have moved from a more rural society to a more urban one. The basic values of our society have changed and of course I speak in generalities. We see it in the areas of basic honesty and integrity, in our willingness to serve others, in our work ethics and in our general outlook and philosophy of life. It has become much more about looking out for “number one” than what can I do to help others. The golden rule we learned was “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We jokingly heard it changed to “Do unto others before they can do it unto you.” Unfortunately, it has become more of a reality than a joke. So often I think many of us are guilty of hurting and offending people and we don’t even realize that we have done it. Even in the little things, I see myself so often guilty. When people send an invitation to me for some event, do I always bother to respond? When I set an appointment, do I always keep it or notify them if I can’t? Do I give my word I’ll do something and then back out or make excuses as to why I can’t? Am I as courteous, thoughtful, and giving to others, as I would want them to be to me? Our selfishness is not always about the big things in life. More often than not, it is about a culmination of little things that are inconsiderate or self-centered. Why is our divorce rate at around 50% for Christians and non-Christians alike? The root of it is in our selfishness.
If we could all begin to lay hold of the principle that the apostle Paul is communicating here in Philippians, we would be living out so much more of the nature and character of Christ. If others were at the forefront of our interests and their well-being was as important or more so than ours, then we would be walking in love and living out the golden rule. The sad thing about our selfishness is that when good and giving people are taken advantage of and used often enough because of the selfishness of others, they too, begin to withdrawal and become less giving. They become hurt and offended at the selfish attitude of others who only want to take, but rarely give back. Everyone wants to be appreciated and respected for what they give. It’s not that they need great recognition or accolades, as much as they just want to know that it is appreciated, because it meant self-sacrifice in some area for them.
As the body of Christ, we are the ones responsible for setting the standards in these areas. If we are all in a mindset of watching each other’s backs and not just our own, we will all be more fully and richly blessed. At the heart of this attitude of looking out for others is the Love of Christ. His love is never demonstrated in our selfishness and self-will. He demonstrated it to us throughout His life through His self-sacrifice. Even when He was weary, tired and hungry, His love for others overruled His own needs and wants. Herein lies the irony of our God. Though our God is Lord and Master over all, He is a servant God, continually serving His creation, because His nature is love and love seeks not it’s own, but the good of others. He loved us so much ‘He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).’ If God is willing to lay down His life for us, does He expect any less of us in regards to others?
Let us all examine our hearts today with regards to looking out for the interest of others. It is not about condemnation for our selfishness, but in reality, we will only work to change that which we are aware of. If we judge ourselves, most of us will see areas of selfishness we all have that are obstructions to the love of God flowing through us. There may also be some that are out of balance the other way. They are giving themselves so much to things or people that they are robbing their own well-being or that of their family. There is to be a balance in all that we do. May the Lord lead each one of us into a greater depth of His love to truly serve, care for, honor and respect one another.
WWJD (What would Jesus do?)
Blessings,
#kent
Sacrifice
February 10, 2022
Sacrifice
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
Sacrifice is a reoccurring theme and subject throughout the Word of God and at the core our faith. The simple definition of sacrifice is “victim”. Those who are familiar with the Bible see the progression of sacrifice from the first time in the Garden of Eden when animals were sacrificed to clothe Adam and Eve after they had sinned. We see it as a means in which man approaches God through sacrifice or offering something as a means of establishing relationship and atoning for sin. Then there is quite an elaborate structure of sacrifice that is established under the Law of Moses.
The message here was “the wages of sin is death”, sin carries with it a death penalty. If the person committing the sin does not pay it then a victim or sacrifice must pay it. Hebrews 9:22 says “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” God’s economy requires blood (representing life) to be shed for sin. Jesus, of course, was the ultimate lamb and sacrifice for men’s sins. Everything before Him was only a type and shadow of the only one whom could take away our sin through His precious, sinless blood. He became the victim for us. He took the death penalty for us so that we would not have to spiritually remain dead and separated from God, but now could be united with Him through Christ to experience divine life and relationship with our awesome God.
This has all been a prelude to the question: “If Jesus was the sacrifice and paid the price what further meaning does sacrifice have for us?”
Jesus is the prototype or firstfruits of all that should follow Him. The Cross, which is the symbol and implement of Christ’s suffering and death, becomes the believer’s as well. United with Christ by faith we identify not only with His resurrection life, but also with His suffering and death as well. There is both bitter and sweet in this walk with Jesus. The first thing we must recognize, which the scripture from Romans 12:1 brings home to us, is that we are not our own any longer, nor are we the servants of sin and death any longer. We were bought with the price of the Blood of Jesus and we are now His servants. Servants of righteousness, which means our lives are given willingly, lovingly and obediently to live for His purpose and for His glory, being conformed to the mind of Christ. We become the living sacrifices, which is our reasonable or expected service to God. The long-standing joke in the Church world is “the trouble with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off of the altar”, which is humorous, but sadly true. Presenting ourselves a living sacrifice is our pledge of allegiance and commitment to our Lord. It is saying the life you gave me both physically and spiritually I now give back to you in obedience and submission to whatever you would require of me. The life I now live, I live as a sacrifice to Your glory and honor, no matter what the cost. Christ sacrificed all for us, shall we offer back less to Him?
Blessings,
#kent
Count it all Joy
December 8, 2014
James 1:2-4
Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. 3Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. 4But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. (Amplified)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (Message)
Count it all Joy
I don’t know about you but I think most of us think about joy and gladness coming with blessing, prosperity, good health and divine favor. So when the Word comes and says count it all joy, a sheer gift, when trials and temptations come upon you, that goes against the grain of most our thinking and paradigms. Why should I be glad about that? That is exactly what I have been praying to get out of.
As much as we all love the good times and the blessings of this life most of us know by now that it isn’t in these places that we grow spiritually. In fact it is in these places that we usually grow complacent and our heart generally moves away from God and onto ourselves. It becomes about us and not Him. The joy of the trials, temptations and tribulations is that it exposes our weakness, but reveals His strength. It forces us into that place of dependence and trust in Him to do in us and through us what we could not produce in ourselves. The “sheer gift” of our trials is the working of the divine nature in us, because we are compelled into a place where we must walk by faith and not by sight.
Does it seem joyful at the time we are going through it? Probably not, until we see God show up. When he shows up in the midst of our weakness, our failures and our struggles then we so appreciate who He is in us and what we are not in ourselves. These trials and testing are the boot camp of our faith. They strengthen our resolve. They train us for war. They teach us how to endure with patience under pressure and hardship. They reveal to us our true nature and where we are at with our walk in Father. When we see where we truly are then we can see where we truly need to be. As we start moving in the direction of godliness and dependence we are being exercised and finding more and more that Father is our strength and provision in these difficult circumstances. The circumstances of life are not our enemy; they are simply the tools to exercise and increase our faith and maturity. The old saying goes we can never have a testimony unless we have first had a test. God wants to show His faithfulness to us. We will never experience His rest until we come to the place where we realize that our self-efforts and abilities can never measure up to produce what only God Himself can produce in us and through us as we yield fully and unconditionally to Him.
I am of the firm conviction that many of us in the body of Christ are going through great financial hardship in this time so that we may learn the rest and faithfulness of Father. It is pressing us into a place of maturing in areas where we may have always had plenty. We have grown up with our dependence upon the economy of this world and now God is weaning us off of that bottle and beginning to feed us the meat of a kingdom economy that operates out of faith and not works. Most of us are out here crying, “Give us back our bottle Father”. The earthly things are passing away and Father wouldn’t be showing us His love if He left us in that desolate place. Rejoice in Him, because He loves you so much He is teaching you a higher way and we have to relinquish the old to embrace the new. While we may be struggling now, we will be those who help others who are struggling when this world economy fails. Your struggles today are God’s answer to someone else’s struggles tomorrow. Because of your testimony to the faithfulness of God and the principles that He has taught you someone else is lifted up to where you are. God brings us into maturity not for our benefit. Maturity means you are moving from selfish to selfless. You are the giver and not the taker. You are the example and not the follower.
Precious people of God, get down and get happy because all of the various trials and temptations are here to perfect your faith, teach you endurance, mature and develop you into your destiny and purpose. Rejoice, for these are the tools that bring forth the Christ in you!
Blessings,
#kent
Hope, Joy and Crown
November 24, 2014
Hope, Joy and Crown
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
When we selflessly plant ourselves into other people’s lives what is our gain if they can’t reward us and we see no earthly or monetary benefit? What do we hope to see in our children through the years of raising them, nurturing, teaching and mentoring them? It is not for what they can pay us back in material gain that we do it. It is a labor of love and the harvest we long to see, that we continue to pray for, hope for and believe for are lives that are healthy, productive and that produce a legacy. A parent’s greatest reward is to have children that love and respect them, but also that hold to the values of faith that were instilled in them and that they in turn instill those same values in their children. We long to see a perpetual legacy of generations that follow on to know and obey the Lord.
The churches that the apostle Paul established were his children. He taught them, mentored them and raised them up in the faith and knowledge of Christ. It wasn’t a job for him; it was his life, his purpose and his joy. When he stood before the Lord there was no greater testimony to his faithfulness and his greatness as a servant of God than those that he had raised up in Christ. He was able to stand with the Lord and look through the generations at the harvest he had been instrumental in producing in the earth. This stood as Paul’s greatest, hope, joy and crown. This was his greatest reward.
Our greatest reward in heaven won’t be about our businesses, our finances or our status in the community; it will be about what we planted in others. It will be about what we sowed into their lives through our faithful commitment and walk with Christ. We want to see it in our children and our grandchildren. We want to see it in the ones that we helped disciple and bring to Christ. Nothing breaks our heart more than to see what we have treasured and nurtured stolen and destroyed by sin. It is for this reason that our Lord Jesus ever stands as our high priest making intercession on our behalf. He too, longs after us to be His hope, joy and crown.
Let us not grow weary or complacent concerning the awesome responsibility that we have toward those who under our spiritual authority or influence. We must remember that we are the priests of our home and have the responsibility to pray, intercede, teach and persuade our families in the ways of righteousness and salvation. Be faithful to the gift, the calling and instrument that God has created you to be. How we respond and use what He has created us to be and how that translates into the lives of others will be our hope, our joy and crown. Our legacy is our glory and our joy.
Blessings,
#kent
The Blessing of a Spouse
November 20, 2014
Proverbs 18:22
[Whoso] findeth a wife findeth a good [thing], and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
The Blessing of a Spouse
Many of us are blessed with a wonderful spouse that is a blessing to our life in many ways. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have our trials, our disagreements and differences, but a good spouse is a compliment to our life. Sharon and I are so different in so many ways and yet she brings a compliment and qualities to my life that I need to complete who I am. A good spouse is someone you can confide your heart with. Someone who sees and knows all of your weaknesses and shortcoming and yet loves you anyway. We are not there to judge and criticize one another’s weaknesses, but to be their strength in that weakness. Sometimes there is nothing that we can do to help, but we always have prayer and the power of God.
When scanning through the TV channels the other day I briefly came across a panel of wives whose husbands were millionaires and the host was asking them what was the one thing that they felt that they personally contributed most to their husband’s success. The the theme I kept hearing is that they supported them, they really listened to what their needs were and that they were a team. It is hard for any of us to be successful when the other partner is always negative, finding fault or complaining about all that is wrong. Your spouse is not your enemy, you are the key to one another’s success, salvation and prosperity. Nothing destroys our blessing like division and strife. Marriage should never be a one way street with one person always getting their way. It should be a compromise and blending where each partner is looking for what is best for the other. It can’t be built on selfishness, but rather selflessness. I can’t tell you how many times my wife has gone out bought me things that I wouldn’t even buy for myself to support me, help me and just to bless me. We all have different needs, but it is important that we get in tune with our spouse’s needs and be there to help them and support them
In conclusion allow me to leave you with the words of 1 Peter 3:1-7 which speaks to both wives and husbands. We are in this together. We are heirs of life and salvation together. Together let’s be a blessing and a strong support for our spouse. Always respect and value the one God has given you.
“Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”
Now if you will excuse me, I need to go spend some quality time with my wife. 🙂
Blessings,
#kent