March 5, 2015 PRACTICE THESE THINGS
Philippians 4: 9b: “practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you.”
God is super-natural and the life of a believer is a supernatural life. However, the scriptures give very clear, concise and practical insights on how to live this supernatural life. Thank God that there is not some “secret code” we have to figure out, but God has made His ways understandable and do-able; and we have been given the ability to respond to God. We can know the ways of God and we can respond to God only by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. In the verse above, there is a promise; a promise that if we put into practice “these things”, the God of peace will be with us. It is not enough to “know” what to do, or to just “know” the truth-that’s the point Paul is making. In Philippians 4, Paul lists a number of things we are to “practice”; including such things as: rejoicing in the Lord, forbearing, being anxious for nothing, praying, being thankful, thinking on the right things (see verses 7-9). In Romans 12, we find other things to put into practice, including; presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, not conforming to the world but being renewed in our mind, not thinking to highly of ourselves, exercising the gift that God has given us, loving without hypocrisy, abhorring what is evil, devoted to one another in brotherly love, preferring others, being diligent, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, giving to those in need, practicing hospitality, blessing those who persecute us, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, being of the same mind toward one another, associating with the lowly, not paying back evil with evil, feeding you enemy if he is hungry, and not being overcome with evil, but overcoming evil with good. We find many other admonitions and things “to practice” throughout the scriptures. All of these things we are to “practice”, reflect the very nature of God and as we do practice these things, we reflect the character of God. The main idea is that we have been called, not to be God, but to be like God in our thoughts and in our conduct. Indeed, the good news of the gospel is that we have not only been forgiven of our sins, we have also been made new people-people who can know God and can be expressions of Him on planet earth. In the New Testament we find several occasions where there were words of correction to some who were not putting into practice the things given in scripture and in one place James proclaims: “My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” (James 3:10) We need to understand, or be reminded of the fact, that we are not our own and that we have been called to represent Him with the life we live. It is a serious issue when we choose to live or act in a way that contradicts our calling to be like Him and not to live according to the new person that we have been made to be. At times we will act or think in such a way that is contrary to our calling, and when we do, we can simply confess that to our Father knowing that we have His forgiveness. It is so critical that we welcome any word of needed correction that God, or perhaps another person, gives us- knowing that it is for our own good. I think that how we respond when we realize we are wrong is one of the big tell-tell sings of our spiritual health. We do not have to live in fear of not pleasing the Lord; the emphasis is on discovering our new identity in the Lord and living accordingly. Let us choose to “practice these things” so that the peace of God will be with us.
James 1:25: “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”
John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Philippians 4: 9b: “practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you.”
God is super-natural and the life of a believer is a supernatural life. However, the scriptures give very clear, concise and practical insights on how to live this supernatural life. Thank God that there is not some “secret code” we have to figure out, but God has made His ways understandable and do-able; and we have been given the ability to respond to God. We can know the ways of God and we can respond to God only by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. In the verse above, there is a promise; a promise that if we put into practice “these things”, the God of peace will be with us. It is not enough to “know” what to do, or to just “know” the truth-that’s the point Paul is making. In Philippians 4, Paul lists a number of things we are to “practice”; including such things as: rejoicing in the Lord, forbearing, being anxious for nothing, praying, being thankful, thinking on the right things (see verses 7-9). In Romans 12, we find other things to put into practice, including; presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, not conforming to the world but being renewed in our mind, not thinking to highly of ourselves, exercising the gift that God has given us, loving without hypocrisy, abhorring what is evil, devoted to one another in brotherly love, preferring others, being diligent, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, giving to those in need, practicing hospitality, blessing those who persecute us, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, being of the same mind toward one another, associating with the lowly, not paying back evil with evil, feeding you enemy if he is hungry, and not being overcome with evil, but overcoming evil with good. We find many other admonitions and things “to practice” throughout the scriptures. All of these things we are to “practice”, reflect the very nature of God and as we do practice these things, we reflect the character of God. The main idea is that we have been called, not to be God, but to be like God in our thoughts and in our conduct. Indeed, the good news of the gospel is that we have not only been forgiven of our sins, we have also been made new people-people who can know God and can be expressions of Him on planet earth. In the New Testament we find several occasions where there were words of correction to some who were not putting into practice the things given in scripture and in one place James proclaims: “My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” (James 3:10) We need to understand, or be reminded of the fact, that we are not our own and that we have been called to represent Him with the life we live. It is a serious issue when we choose to live or act in a way that contradicts our calling to be like Him and not to live according to the new person that we have been made to be. At times we will act or think in such a way that is contrary to our calling, and when we do, we can simply confess that to our Father knowing that we have His forgiveness. It is so critical that we welcome any word of needed correction that God, or perhaps another person, gives us- knowing that it is for our own good. I think that how we respond when we realize we are wrong is one of the big tell-tell sings of our spiritual health. We do not have to live in fear of not pleasing the Lord; the emphasis is on discovering our new identity in the Lord and living accordingly. Let us choose to “practice these things” so that the peace of God will be with us.
James 1:25: “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”
John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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