Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A Change of Heart A Change of Actions

When Christ has changed us into a new creation, that means He changed the way we think, the way we think changes our responses to life. We no longer think they way we used to think.

Our thought life shapes our interpretation of things, our responses and our actions. Two people can see the same situation, one will interpret it as very negative and even be angry, while the other saw the value in it and is grateful for it.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ."

Without the wisdom of God, our mind tends to interpret circumstances based on how we would think, not on what is really happening. A bitter angry person will take the simplest and innocent matter and make it ugly and empty, because their view of life is inaccurate. A reasonable person who wants to know truth, we not be concerned about the small matters, but are looking at the bigger picture. Ungodly people tend to be petty, causing trouble often. The godly person who thinks with the mind of Christ, doesn't see the small matters, they are looking through God's eyes to the foundational truth.

Our actions and attitudes must be shaped by God's truth or we will tend to see life through our own lens of perverted twisted thinking. God clearly said we should "think with the mind of Christ." The only way to do that is to know His Word, the Bible, while praying continually that God would show us truth.

If we know the Bible, even every single detail in it, but have not asked for Him to show us truth, then we will have a lot of details in our head but possess little of His wisdom to interpret them in truth.

James 1:5-6 "5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."

Those who have lots of details about the Bible but lack wisdom and understanding tend to negate many of God's principles while cherry picking those they like, ignoring those they don't like. This is a continual problem in the last days apostate church.

Proverbs 20:5-6 "5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out. 6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?…"

Psalm 118:7-8 "…7 The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.…"

Often those who are offended by God's truths, will deliberately ignore the wisdom of believers, even attempting to negate truth and those that are following hard after Christ.

John 3:19-21 "…19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

In recent years it has become clear that many who love this worldly life, their elevated sense of superiority and their materialism, will be the most critical of believers. They will often chastise us for telling the truth, even for doing good things God has commanded us to do, to negate us in any way possible.

Titus 1:10-13 "For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith."

As difficult as it is to maintain loyalty to the Word of God in a world that hates us for doing so, the more staunch we become for Christ the easier it gets. When we see that nothing else and no one else takes priority over the principles of Christ, it is easy to follow that which we love.

Ezekiel 3:18-19 "If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul."

We are called to know His Word, obey it and warn believers of the consequences of disobedience and the eternal consequences of rejecting Christ for the non-believer.

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