Category Archives: Christianity

I’ve heard it said that we need to “stand up for what we believe in.”Other times I’ve heard that we just need to “sit down and shut up.”This especially comes into play in the area of politics. Everyone has asay on what should be done, or how we should live, even if what theyare saying is “keep your business out of our business.”

You will hear how the “liberal media” does this or that, the “religiousright” does something else, and the “fundamentals” are doing somethingcompletely different.

Conservative/Liberal. Republican/Democrat. Fundamental/Non-Fundamental.Whatever other polar label you can think of gets thrown around as thelatest lingo. Where should we stand with all this going on?

I like the song that has the lyrics:
“On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”

That is the only thing we should be standing on. The rest should be handled on our knees.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves andpray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hearfrom heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

First, we need to recognize who is being referred to here.In the original context it was the children of Israel who had becomelost in their sin. This also applies to us, though. We are God’speople, and we are called by His name. We have been grafted into thevine through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

God tells us what we should be doing. We should be humbling ourselves.When does a humble person stand up? In a society that always teaches usto stand up for what we believe, to put ourselves before anotherperson, it can be hard to find humility. Even so, this is what Godcalls us to do.

In that spirit of humility, God next calls us to pray and seek Hisface. Does it say to pray and try to influence political decisions? No,it says simply to pray and seek God’s face. Our prayers should alwaysbe seeking God and His will, not what we believe we should be doing. Inthat attitude of humility we are receptive to what God wants to teachus.

Turning from their wicked ways is another tough one to consider. Afterall, God can’t be talking about us. He must be talking about all thesinners in the country. No, He is talking to His people that are calledby His name. That means He is talking to us. What are we doing in ourown lives that is wicked in the eyes of the Lord? When we are humblebefore the Lord in prayer, we need to go to Him and ask Him to revealany unclean way within us, and lead us back to the path ofrighteousness.

Next comes the “THEN.” Yes, God often times will have conditions. Ifyou do this then I will do that. His love towards us is unconditional,but there are certain actions He will only do if we are faithful to dowhat He asked us to do. In this case God says He will hear from heaven,forgive our sins, and heal our land.

Are we so preoccupied in standing up for what we believe that we forgetGod? Are we so turned off by the world that we sit down and forgetabout our land? We shouldn’t be either of those things, we should be onour knees, constantly in prayer, looking to God first and letting Hiswill rule our lives.

Now, what does this mean for the Christian in the political arena? Doesthat mean we remain silent while injustices are going on? Absolutelynot! We should be participating in the political arena making our voiceheard. At the same time, though, we need to realize that we will notchange our nation by standing up for our rights. We need to be on ourknees praying, changing the world one soul at a time.

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Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 NKJV

7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 8 There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Accountability is something I haven’t seen much discussion on, but I think it is a very important topic. So many people have posted at different times about claiming the promises of the Cross, or relying on Christ through their trials. These are true statements, but there is more to it than that.

I can already see what some might be saying. “Why are you making it more difficult than it really is?” or “It is Christ alone.” or even “That is what the church body is for.” The thing is, this topic isn’t making things more difficult, or changing other of the other statements. It is much more personal and uplifting.

Look at the passage I quoted from Ecclesiastes. The person working and toiling alone is called vanity and a grave misfortune. That person has no one with which to share in his labors. It goes on to say that “two are better than one.” The reasons given go to the heart of accountability.

“…If they fall, one will lift up his companion…”

Anyone who has ever been hiking in the woods knows never to hike alone. Why? What if someone falls and injures themselves? If they were alone, they would be trapped, but with another, that person can either help them walk, or go to get help.

Our Spiritual Walk is no different. If we’re trying to go it alone, we may fall into sin or temptation. To think that we will always do the right thing is fooling ourselves. Yet, if we have a Spiritual brother or sister along with us on our walk, they can lift us up when we fall. They can pray for us when we are weak. They can keep us accountable to God.

“…Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him…”

Look at a high school wrestling match. One wrestler against another. They struggle and fight until finally one is overpowered and pinned to the ground. You don’t know at the beginning who will win, so there is no guarantee of the outcome. Yet if two people were to take on one person at the same time, the two would overpower the one.

Let’s look at our Christian walk. Paul compares our fight to a wrestling match. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Are we strong enough to wrestle this alone? Sure we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but aren’t we in a situation like that of the previous wrestling match analogy? We might win a few matches, but we’ll lose a few as well, and wind up getting Spiritually beaten up along the way. That is why we need a Christian brother or sister to stand beside us. To be in the ring with us, so to speak. They will be able to fight along side of us, lifting us up in prayer, reminding us of the Lord, and comforting us when we are feeling spiritually beaten up.

“…A threefold cord is not quickly broken…”

Have you ever looked at a section of rope? It is made up of a number of strands weaved together to give it strength. If you take one of those strands, it can break fairly easily. Adding a second strand gives it more strength, and a third is stronger still.

In our Spiritual walk, the threefold is ourselves, our accountability partner, and our Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose of having an accountability partner is to keep both people focused on the Lord. Christ is the glue that holds us together and keeps us strong. Without Christ in the equation, nothing else matters.

What about the married couples? I’m talking about the ones where both husband and wife are believers? Yes, they do have each other, and that is great. I still contend that they should each have a separate accountability partner, a male friend for the husband and a female friend for the wife. Maybe even another Christian married couple, which would be preferred. Why is that? It is simple, a married couple is one body in the eyes of the Lord. Get a second couple in there to strengthen the walk with the Lord and keep Christ in the center, and now you have two more families that Satan will have a harder time of destroying.

1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Final words regarding accountability. Have you ever seen a lion stalk its prey. Maybe on the National Geographic channel or out on some African Safari? If it were going after a herd of zebras, it would charge out and try to scatter the herd. As the herd runs, it will attack the straggler that gets separated and left behind.

It is no coincidence that Peter calls the devil a “roaring lion.” Satan will try to divide and conquer, and when one is alone, that is the one that is struck. That is why it is so important not to get caught alone, but to have that accountability partner. That brother or sister in the Lord that will stand with us, pray with and for us, and have the strength of character to correct us when we are wrong, and be humble enough to accept reproaches to draw each other into greater communion with the Lord.

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Romans 8:18 NKJV – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV – And lest I should be exalted abovemeasure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh wasgiven to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted abovemeasure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times thatit might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient foryou, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore mostgladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christmay rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

James 1:2-4 NKJV – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But letpatience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,lacking nothing.

Whether you are facing physical, mental or spiritualbattles in your life, these are three passages of Scripture that speakabout our attitudes relating to those battles. For some people, it iseasy to look at struggles in life, and cling to God through the trials.Some find it easy to praise God and can easily see the light at the endof the tunnel.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to do that. Some struggle withinthemselves, trying to make sense of a life that seems to be crumblingaround them. I look at the health problems my wife has been sufferingthrough the past couple years and as of yet, there seems to be no endin sight. She struggles with this, and those three verses make no senseto her. I wonder how many other “God Fearing” Christians have the samestruggles through their trials, regardless of what trials they may befacing.

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV – “Cometo Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly inheart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy andMy burden is light.”

Christ is ready and willing to take our burdens from us.The question then comes “How do we give them to Him?” Some might answerwith a catch-phrase such as “Let go and let God” but there are manythat still don’t understand how to let go. Their trials may be so heavythat they can’t see God, nor will they know how to let go and trust inGod. So we need something practical and simple to help those that arestruggling, without throwing catch phrases that mean little to them.

Of course, what I’m writing here can apply to anyone, not only forthose struggling, but for those who are stronger in their faith. It isa faith building exercize that will help us draw closer to the Lord.

Requirements:

• Notebook
• Pencil or Pen
• Bible
• A Quiet Place

Takeyour notebook, pen/pencil and Bible into your quiet place. Start byopening the notebook and writing down as many of God’s blessings inyour life as you can think of. Not only the spiritual blessings, butthink of tangible blessings as well. They can be big or small, itdoesn’t matter.

Once you have a list of all the blessings you can think of, then go tothe Lord in prayer, recognizing He is our Father in heaven that lovesus more than we can imagine. Thank Him for all the blessings you havelisted in your notebook, and ask Him to show you other blessings youmay have forgotten. Spend some time in silence, listening for Hisanswer and write down any additional blessings He has reminded you of.Thank the Lord for those blessings as well.

After your prayer of thanksgiving, take a passage of Scripture. Itdoesn’t have to be long. Write that Scripture in your notebook and prayover it. Ask God to show you who He is through that Scripture, Hisnature and His love. Ask God how you can apply it to your own life, andwrite those answers you receive down as well.

After the prayer of thanksgiving and the time reading and meditating onthe Word, write your needs and wants down. Try to keep needs separatefrom wants in the list, but don’t hesitate to list everything. When thelist is complete, go to the Lord recognizing that God will provide forall of our needs. Pray asking for those things on your list, believingin God’s promises. Thank God once again for the blessings as you closein prayer.

You might also want to close with some worship, either singing a songor two from memory, or singing along to a worship CD. That is up to you.

The purpose of all this is to learn to put God and His Will first. Aswe do this on a daily basis, we will see the blessings increase, andour needs/wants list decrease from God’s answered prayer. As we seethis, it will also increase our faith and our trust. Some things mightbe instantaneous, others might take some time. The important thing isto recognize the blessings and keep going to God for the needs andwants. God will take care of the rest.

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