Tuesday.  Very cold.  Good thing I only have to work in my warm office all day.  Before I get started, I wanted to say that God has blessed me particularly today.
    
    Last night I hung out with my family and watched a movie that gave me a whole new outlook on my profession; a fresh perspective.  I'm a lawyer and along with many other people, sometimes I doubt the nobility and Christ-like character of my profession.  But I was reminded, in watching this movie, that there are many times as a lawyer where I get to help someone out of a bad situation.  And I was proud all over again to be a lawyer.  Proud of my practice and what it has grown into.  My desk used to always be squeaky clean.  But now thick files and papers cover it.  I'm blessed to be busy and I'm blessed to work in this profession.  Thank you, God.

Encouraging Others to Keep Faith and Avoid Sin

    The Daily Bible Verse for today is from Hebrews, a book in the Bible wherein an unknown author attempts to tell believers not to slip back into Judaism.  In fact, Hebrews actually explains how so many parts of the Old Testament actually paved the way for Christ.  I find it interesting that this book of the Bible, written so long ago, can be used perfectly today for you and me.

    I really like this message and I think it involves self-reflection.   Here's the verse:

    "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

                                                        Hebrews 3:12-14

    I find it most important to first remember that this is the Word of God.  Anytime I read the Bible I force myself to think critically that I'm reading God's words, spoken and written through humans He chose.  I also try to pray before my first reading of it each day, asking God to help me understand it.  I also pray that I can use His word to help others and to glorify Him.
   
    In this particular passage, I think that God is telling us to make sure we do not allow sin to push us into a state of disbelief in Him; to stay with Him.  And He tells us to encourage each other every single day, so that we may all remain out of the reach of the lies involved with sin.  And the last line is really important.  When we first become believers, our confidence in God is very strong.  But believers are often put in situations where they can let themselves doubt God if they stray.  How does a believer stray?  By not praying for one day or two weeks or months or years.  By letting Satan and sin permeate their soul. 

    So in my opinion, this last line of the passage is saying that even when sin is trying to grab onto you, remember and hang onto that sense of confidence you had in Christ at the very beginning of your believing life, all the way until the end.  Only then do we as believers truly share in Christ.  This message is found all throughout the Bible. 

    Jesus said that a true follower of His words is like a seed growing in rich earth with deep roots, or like a house built on rock.  Many can start life as a Christ follower and do it for a little while.  But it takes true faith and trust in God to maintain the Word in your life.  And when you are able to do that, to praise God whether you win or lose, only then will you truly see the Truth and reap the benefits of God's love for you.  That's how I see it.  And I see it that way because I have actually experienced exactly what I just described.

    The encouragement part is where it gets tricky, because we let our worldly view of what's acceptable regarding our faith get in the way. We worry about offending people.  We don't want to be politically incorrect.  That is a yucky phrase, isn't it?  We don't want to "push" our beliefs on others.  Here's what I wonder:  What does God think of that?  What does the Creator of all life, of my life, think when I worry about offending someone by talking about my God and glorifying Him?  Well, considering the entire Bible states that God commands us to glorify Him, He probably doesn't like being pushed under the rug like that.

    So think for a second about just encouraging others to stay strong in the Word and stay away from sin, without any thought of whether it may be offensive.  Scary thought?  Well then in my opinion maybe you're thinking about it with too much worldly perspective.  And I understand that because I'm guilty of doing it, too.  We're humans.  But I'm working on speaking out for God and talking about my love for and my relationship with my Jesus more often.

    I encourage you to do the same.  But I feel that you have to know your audience.  I suggest this tactic and I admit I'm stealing this line from both my pastor and a radio host I listen to. 

    Plant the seeds of Christ in the minds of others. 

    Think about that.  Planting a seed is a non-invasive way that will yield better results than forcing Christ upon someone.  Jesus did it.  And Jesus was very blunt about it.  But he didn't force anyone into a corner and threaten them or judge them for believing or not believing.  He simply taught people about God and living for Him and loving and serving others.  That is going to go farther than pushing.  And in my opinion, that will glorify God more because you will be helping non-believers grow into believers in a mature fashion rather than guilting weak people into doing something they really don't want to do.  Who is going to remain in Christ for the long haul?

    I hate to think about it like that.  As I've said before, I've reached a point in my faith where it truly breaks my heart that people not only avoid Christ, but actually rebuke Him.  But I know the Truth.  There are going to be people that refuse to believe.  Not everyone on this earth will be saved.  I wish that were different, but the Bible makes it clear that men and women will be disobedient and refuse to be saved through Christ.  So my point here is to save the ones you can reach.  If someone absolutely refuses you, plant the seed and move on.  It's up to them to either nurture it or let it die.  Sad, but true.  Now back to Jesus and his method of teaching or "planting the seeds."

    People were drawn to Jesus.  They learned from Him, watched his example, and became disciples of Christ.  I love it when I read those words in red that say, "I tell you the truth..."  Because Jesus wasn't saying, "Look, you HAVE to believe me, here's the deal."  Instead, though he was frank about the reality of God and living to glorify Him and serve others, Jesus taught in a very polite and even manner. 
   
    But even Jesus proves that there is a time to stand up for God and maybe get a little angry when people are flat out not glorifying our Father.  Read about Jesus overturning tables and chasing the money-changers out of the temple in Mark 11:15-17.  What this means to me is that though we are to love and serve others and spread the Word and witness for Christ by planting seeds, sometimes it may be necessary to take a different approach. 

    Real world example?  Let's say I have a fellow believer friend who has seen God work miracles in their life, do wonderful things for them, answer prayers.  Yet this person has sort of turned their back on God to give into sin because they have fallen on hard times.   And this person's decisions have only made their life more difficult.  This person knows this is because they are not living in God's way, and sadly has admitted that they are aware of this.  But this person just says, "I need some time to work through my issues." 

    This is when I took on the role of overturning tables and chasing people out of my God's temple.  Only for me it comes in the form of sort of getting passionate with this believer and asking, "Why are you rebuking the Word of God for sin and deceit?  You are being selfish and ignoring your God simply because worldly hurts and desires have led you astray!  You should pray for God's help and forgiveness, not ignore Him!"  Now, I have to be careful not to judge, because that would be a sin for me to do.  But I can encourage my fellow believer to get back to the Word and trust in God to help them out. 

    Of course before I do and say such things I better not be the pot calling the kettle black.  Meaning who I am to tell someone else they are straying if I am straying too? 

    At any rate, my goal after reading this verse is to not become a judgmental hypocrite but to become more aware of the people around me who need encouragement.  And when I locate one, or maybe I even see it in myself, I will remind them or myself that keeping the faith in God and trusting Him, walking with Jesus, even when life goes wrong, is the key to truly reaping the benefits of life through Christ.  We should praise Him when we win and praise Him when we lose.  That will keep us away from the lie in sin and closer to the light of Truth.

    Until tomorrow.

    Come Believe...

   
      

I love that, "praise Him when we win and praise Him when we lose". It is so true, but not so easy to do as a selfish sinner. It is so easy to praise Him when things are going good, but not so easy for me when life gets tough. I am slowly learning to look at things from a different perspective. The "deeper" I get in his word, it all makes a little more sense. I am starting to really believe that the "bad stuff" in life is just part of my journey. It is now easier for me to trust Him and know that I have to go through the lows to get to the highs, and it is so awesome to know that He is right there with me through it all. What an amazing God!! He is GREAT!!