ALL – Psalm 34:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 21:13
OT – Nehemiah 9:22-10:39
NT – 1 Corinthians 9:20-10:14
Interesting passage for the day: Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside. – 1 Corinthians 9:27, The Living Bible
Thought: Discipline is really a simple matter of learning to say ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ One aspect of discipline is learning to say ‘Yes’ to great goals, great teachers, great pursuits. We want to fill our lives with greatness.
But sometimes in our zeal to say ‘Yes,’ we forget that we are limited, finite people. And we continue to say ‘Yes’ not only to what is great, but even to what is good…or what seems good…or what feels good…or what may not be good, but ‘I deserve a break!’. And the more we say ‘Yes’ to more options and opportunities, the less time we have for our loftiest pursuits.
That’s why we must learn to say ‘No.’ Saying ‘No’ is not only a statement of discipline, but of humility. To say it, we have to be humble enough to realize that we can’t do everything we want to do—not even every good thing we want to do! But saying ‘No’ can feel terrible! Often it feels like we’re missing out on life or depriving ourselves of good things. Paul wrote that he treated his body “roughly” to train it to do what it ought to do.
In some areas of life it matters less than in others. But when we’re talking about our relationship with Jesus Christ and our service to Him, this whole issue of discipline really counts! Too often we say ‘Yes’ to Jesus, but then we say ‘Yes’ to distractions, too. Without a willingness to discipline our lives, we end up being useless for the One who gave His life to save us.
Question: Perhaps you haven’t said ‘No’ to Jesus. Perhaps you’ve simply said ‘Yes’ to activities that use up your time so that you have very little time left for Him. What could you say ‘No’ to so that you can be more free to live a ‘Yes’ life for Jesus?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Showing posts with label self-control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-control. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Putting Things in Perspective
ALL – Psalm 24:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 20:12
OT – 2 Chronicles 29:1-36
NT – Romans 14:1-23
Interesting passage for the day: You have no right to criticize your brother or look down on him. Remember, each of us will stand personally before the Judgment Seat of God. – Romans 14:10, The Living Bible
Thought: I’m about to preach on 1 Corinthians 5, a passage where Paul (the same author who wrote Romans) says that it is our business as Christians to judge those inside the church. So how can he say both? How can it both be our business to judge fellow believers and not be our right to criticize our brothers?
One reason for the difference is that the “sins” to be judged are different. In 1 Corinthians, a man is being sexually immoral—and with his own father’s wife! If ever there were an obvious sin, this would be it. Here in Romans, the issue is that some people are eating meat sacrificed to idols, and some people are observing Jewish religious days. The “sins” are less obvious—in fact, Paul says that they don’t exist!
So in 1 Corinthians, Paul was dealing with real sin. Real sin is serious. But in Romans, Paul was dealing with consciences. It is important that we all stay within the bounds of our consciences. But Paul insists that we should not impose our consciences on other people. We are not to judge and criticize others for things that are not sin. Instead, we are to love one another enough to bite our tongues and trust that God is able to guide all of us! The second greatest command must be our guide: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” One of the ways we like to be loved is to have other people assume the best about us. Let’s do that for one another.
Question: I’m someone who tends to impose my conscience on others too quickly. What lessons have you learned that might help someone else to be less critical and more understanding?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 20:12
OT – 2 Chronicles 29:1-36
NT – Romans 14:1-23
Interesting passage for the day: You have no right to criticize your brother or look down on him. Remember, each of us will stand personally before the Judgment Seat of God. – Romans 14:10, The Living Bible
Thought: I’m about to preach on 1 Corinthians 5, a passage where Paul (the same author who wrote Romans) says that it is our business as Christians to judge those inside the church. So how can he say both? How can it both be our business to judge fellow believers and not be our right to criticize our brothers?
One reason for the difference is that the “sins” to be judged are different. In 1 Corinthians, a man is being sexually immoral—and with his own father’s wife! If ever there were an obvious sin, this would be it. Here in Romans, the issue is that some people are eating meat sacrificed to idols, and some people are observing Jewish religious days. The “sins” are less obvious—in fact, Paul says that they don’t exist!
So in 1 Corinthians, Paul was dealing with real sin. Real sin is serious. But in Romans, Paul was dealing with consciences. It is important that we all stay within the bounds of our consciences. But Paul insists that we should not impose our consciences on other people. We are not to judge and criticize others for things that are not sin. Instead, we are to love one another enough to bite our tongues and trust that God is able to guide all of us! The second greatest command must be our guide: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” One of the ways we like to be loved is to have other people assume the best about us. Let’s do that for one another.
Question: I’m someone who tends to impose my conscience on others too quickly. What lessons have you learned that might help someone else to be less critical and more understanding?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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