What to do with your past

In my last blog post I began to talk about “Mental Darkness”. So many people are in a dark place in their mind. The greatest battle most of us will fight will take place in our mind. If the devil can control your mind then he can control your entire person. The Bible teaches how important this principle is. In fact we are told that the church is like a body, Christ being the head or the mind. We are encouraged to pray to have the “mind of Christ.”

I have stated that there are many things that will cause a person to be in a dark state of mind. In my previous blog I wrote about burdens. In this one I want to talk about something else that will cause you to be in a dark mental place, your past.

When you look back over your shoulder what do you see? Do you see things that bring you joy and satisfaction, or do you see things that bring sorrow and heartbreak? One thing that we have to learn to do is to forget the things that are in the past. Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:13-14 that the best thing to do with your past is to “forget about it.”

This is easier said than done. God has blessed every one of us with a special gift called a memory. A memory is a blessing. It’s great to remember your child’s first steps, the day you were married, or the day you were saved.

While there are things that we are supposed to remember there are other things that we are to forget. Too many people go through life crippled by the things that they have done in the past. Let me give you a few things that you should forget.

Let me quickly list a few things you should just forget about.

Stupidities – Let’s face it, we have all done some pretty stupid things. We are going to make mistakes. No doubt there are things in your past that you wish you could change. Sometimes it seems that we can’t do right for doing wrong. You’re not alone if you feel this way.

Remember the story of Peter. Peter was good at two things. One, he was good at making stupid mistakes. Second, he was good at picking himself up, brushing off his pants, and going on. In Matthew we are told the story of Peter walking on the water. You know the story; he takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. I would imagine when Peter makes it back to the boat, and climbs back in he is soaked with water, shivering from the cold and shocked and embarrassed. If that would have been me I maybe would have just quit, but not Peter. We all know the story of Peter denying the Lord on three occasions. We also know the story of Peter standing up on the day of Pentecost. Peter preached one of the greatest messages the world has ever heard and 3,000 people gave their life to Christ. Peter messed up from time to time, but he did not quit.

If you have done something stupid in the past, don’t quit. Pick yourself up, make it right with God and move on. Just forget about it.

Sensitivities - Our world is filled with competition, rivalries, and people with different personalities. It is going to happen; people are going to get their feelings hurt. Many times when we get our feelings hurt we are not able to move forward from it. We stew over it, make plans to get even and carry ill feelings. You would be surprised how many people today are holding onto a grudge.

If you continue to hold onto that grudge it will not be long before you find yourself in a very dark place. The best thing that you can to with those hurt feelings, is just forget it. Forget those things that are behind. Your sensitive nature is hurting you more than anyone else. Your sensitive nature may be inhibiting your walk with God, damaging the relationship you have with your spouse and splitting your family apart.

Remember the story of Haman in the book of Esther? When Mordecai would not bow to him it hurt his feelings. Haman refused to let go of those hurt feelings and eventually it turned into bitterness and anger. This bitterness led him to attempt to have all the Jewish people killed, just to get back at Mordecai. As I said however, your sensitivity will hurt you more than anyone else. Haman was the one who lost his life, along with the lives of his ten children. What is your sensitive nature costing you?

Sorrows - This can be hard to do, but if we are not able to forget about past sorrows then it will bring us to a dark place. Perhaps this year death has knocked on the door of your family. If death did not knock on your door, it will soon. If death did come let me say as loving as I know how, “forget it.” Let me clarify and say that I am not asking you to forget your loved one. I’m asking you to forget your sorrow.

If you are in a dark place please read the story of David in 2 Samuel 12:15-23. The life of David’s child hung in the balances. David wept, fasted and prayed for a solid week. If you read the story you will find that the child eventually dies. Once word came that the child was dead, David picked himself up, cleaned his face, ate, and worshipped God.

If this is you then maybe you need to pick yourself up, and move forward. You can’t bring them back, but one day you will see them again. They can’t live again, but you can live. That is what you should do, live.

Sin - The Bible teaches us that we are all going to sin. The Bible also teaches us that when we sin, we should confess those sins and then move on. I wonder if God gets tired of us reminding Him of our past.

“Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.”   Jeremiah 31:34

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”   Psalm 103:12

One of the hardest things in the world to do is to forget the past, but it may be the best thing you can do.

You can watch this lesson taught live by clicking on the link to the right.

Darkness: Physical Darkness

Darkness is something that each of us have experienced. It gets dark each night. In some parts of the world it is dark for months at a time. Darkness is something that we are so used to that we do not pay much attention to it. I have found that darkness is a pretty interesting topic in the Bible.

Darkness is Made by the Divine

In the book of Genesis we are told that in the beginning the earth was without form, it was void and that darkness completely covered the earth. It remained dark right up to the time that God moved upon the face of the earth and created light. Before the first tree, the first insect, the first animal, one thing covered the earth. When the earth was made God created darkness to cover it.

We know in the account of creation, God looked upon the earth and determined that it was not good for the earth to be in a constant state of darkness so he created great lights to rule over the day and night. These great lights are the sun and the moon. But, before God created the sun or the moon He created darkness.

Some have said that there is no such thing as darkness there is just the absence of light. Others believe that darkness is not something God created, but rather something that was just always here. I would ask you to consider the following verses.

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”   Isaiah 45:7

“Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.”   Psalms 104:20

It seems that darkness is one of the Lord’s greatest creations. Have you ever considered that without the creation of both light and darkness we would be unable to determine the time of day, the days of the week, the weeks of the month or the months of the year? Everything God does is done with order, therefore one of His first, and greatest creations was darkness.

Darkness is Measured in Degrees

Darkness is referred to in many different ways in the Bible.

Great darkness – In Genesis 15:12 we find the story of God speaking to Abraham, as He did so many times. Abraham was praying for a child, when God speaks to him and commands him to look into the sky. God then challenges him to count the stars, promising that his children will be innumerable just as the stars are innumerable. As they are speaking back and forth it keeps getting later and later into the night. At this point the Bible says that “an horror of great darkness” came upon Abraham.

Have you ever been outside and it was not just dark, but it was really dark? This is great darkness.

Darkness that could be felt – In Exodus 10:21 we find that God punishes the hard hearted Pharaoh and his people with a punishment of darkness. This darkness was so great the people could not leave their homes for three days. It is said that this darkness was so great that you could actually feel the darkness.

God will use the punishment of darkness again. According to the book of Revelation God will punish the wicked with darkness on three different occasions.

Thick darkness – When God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses we are told that He spoke to Moses out of “thick darkness.” You can read this story in Deuteronomy 5:22

Gross darkness – In Jeremiah 13:16 the prophet warns the people to glorify God. If this people continued refusing to give God the glory He rightly deserved the result would be “gross darkness.”

Extreme darkness – The most terrible form of darkness is “extreme darkness.” Extreme darkness is the darkness found in Hell. In Matthew 8:12 we are told of those that were to be cast into “outer darkness.” The word “outer” means to be extreme. Those that go to hell will suffer many punishments; one of them will be the punishment of extreme darkness.

Darkness is Miraculously Displayed

There are several times in the Bible when God performed miracles of darkness.

Sinai – As mentioned God spoke to Moses out of darkness. We also read in the book of Hebrews that the mountain itself was covered with darkness. Anyone who touched the mountain, or came close to the darkness would die.

Egypt – I have previously mentioned the punishment of darkness, but it more than just a punishment, it was a miracle. It was a miracle that the Egyptians could not see to leave their homes, but the Jews had light in their homes.

Calvary – We all know the story of the cross. While the Lord hung on the brutal cross, God caused the sun to become dark for three hours. How miraculous it must have been when all of a sudden God just turned the lights out.

Just after the tribulation – One last time the Lord will perform a miracle of darkness. According to Matthew 24:29 just after the tribulation God will turn the lights off. When he does this the earth will shake, stars will fall from the sky and the heavens themselves will shake.

The next time its dark I hope you think of this lesson and realize that you are experiencing a creation of God. God created all things. All things are created for His pleasure. He has a purpose for all of His creations, and will use them in whatever way needed to bring glory to Himself.

Looking Ahead to 2011

Well it’s almost 2011. That means it’s time to celebrate the passing of one year and welcome in another. I spoke to my kids tonight at church about this very thing. I thought I would share with you some of the things that I shared with them. These are things that we should be thinking about as we look forward to the year ahead of us.

When you think about New Years and the celebration that goes along with it there are a few things that come to mind. This time of year we have the symbols of the baby representing the birth of a new year. There is the symbol of the old man representing the old, outgoing year. Many of you will eat black eyed peas hoping that it will bring you good fortune or luck next year. (I like the Danish tradition better which is to eat doughnuts on New Year’s Day.)

 

As many of us do, we will watch the ball drop in Times Square and countdown to a new year. (I asked the kids tonight how many of them had ever watched Dick Clark count down the New Year and they looked at me like I was crazy. So, I had to ask how many of them had watched Ryan Seacrest count down the New Year.)

The biggest tradition of the New Year however is the “New Year’s resolution.” The number one resolution made by American’s every year is to lose weight; the second is to stop smoking. Those of us that are Christians should resolve some things for this year as well. We should resolve to read our Bible more, to pray more, to be a better witness for Christ. We should resolve to be more loving, compassionate, and patient. In essence we should resolve to be more like Christ.

In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul tells the church that he is pressing forward in his walk with Christ. In so doing he will be forgetting the things of the past and focusing all of his attention on the future. I wish this year we would learn to let go of the past and look to the future. Many of us cannot move forward for Christ because we are looking over our shoulder at the past. The past is the past and there is nothing that can be done to change it. I suggest that you do as Paul did, and forget those past things that are weighing you down. You may say, “You don’t know what I’ve been through.” This may be true. I may not know what you have been through, but I do know the only way you can move forward is to forget it. Forget your past stupidity, past sorrow, past sin, past suffering, and move forward.

The problem with resolutions is that we do not follow through with them most of the time. Someone will resolve to lose weight so in January they will spend time at the gym and eat plain baked potatoes. In February however they will spend time watching American Idol and eating potato chips. Paul knowing that this would be a problem gives us three pieces of advice in the following verses.

1. Help each other (verse 17) - As much as we like to think we can do things on our own, we truly need the help of others. If I am encouraging you, and you are encouraging me then together we will be helped.
2. Keep away from those that will distract you (verses 18, 19) - If there is something that is inhibiting your walk with Christ then stay away from it. It may be a person, a thing, a place. What ever it is, stay away.
3. Keep your eyes on God (verse 20) - If we keep our eyes on the Lord then He will always lead us in the right direction.

I hope this is the best year you have ever had.

Three Wise Men (Fact and Fiction)

Well let me begin by saying “Merry Christmas.” I hope you have a wonderful day with your families, but most of all I hope at some point today you remember what we celebrate this day. Today the greatest gift was given, the gift of Jesus Christ.

Since it is Christmas I thought I would give you something to think about. Something that has interested me for several years is the story of the “Three Wise Men.” This story is so interesting because what we believe about these men is not totally true. The story of the wise men goes something like this, “Mary delivers the baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. Just after the baby is born a group of shepherd show up, followed by three wise men with gifts.” When we set up nativity scenes there is the baby, Mary, Joseph, some sheep, a shepherd and three men with crowns. Let me give you four things to think of.

Myth #1 – Why “three” wise men? The Bible never tells us an exact number. All the Bible says is that a group of wise men came from the east in search of the Messiah. The Bible never says that there were three of them. There could have been three, but there could have been thirty, or three hundred for that matter. The reason we have always assumed there were three is because there were three gifts given (gold, frankincense and myrrh.)

Myth #2 – Would it surprise you if I told you that the wise men were never at the manger in Bethlehem? Well, they weren’t. In fact when the wise men found Jesus he could have been as old as two years. Sometime after these men saw the star they came to Herod, according to Matthew chapter 2, and asked Herod where the young child was supposed to be born. Of course Herod did not know the answer, so he asked some scholars who told them in Bethlehem. Herod asked what time they saw the star appear, and asked them to come back and tell him where the baby is once they have found him.

In the same chapter of Matthew we are told that the wise men find Mary and the baby in a house, not a manger. They enter the house and worship the baby, presenting unto him gifts. Of course Herod wanted to harm the baby, not worship him, so the wise men never returned him. When Herod determines that the men are not coming back he has all the young children two years old and younger killed, trying to kill the baby king. It very well could be that at this time Jesus was as old as two, since this was the age of the children Herod had killed.

Fact #1 – These men were wise. These men knew what many others in Jerusalem should have known. If a group of men from the east could figure out that the Messiah was born, then why could God’s people in Jerusalem not figure this out? What a shame that the people of God were not looking for Him. Daniel figured it out; the people in Jerusalem should have as well.

It has been said that wise men still search for Jesus. What a shame it will be when one day soon the Lord Jesus appears to call His church home, and God’s people are not looking for him. It will take many by surprise when Jesus comes to the earth the second time.

Fact #2 – These men were determined. It took these men up to two years to find this child. They were determined that no matter how long it took, or how far they had to journey, they would find the Messiah. Because they never gave up they were blessed with the experience of seeing the Son of God. They worshipped Him, and no doubt they went away telling everyone the experience they had with God.

How determined are we to find Him? Are we determined enough to take the time to look for Him? So many times we give up because the journey is long and difficult. Those who are determined enough to continue to search for Him are rewarded with a wonderful experience, the experience of seeing, worshipping, and forever having their lives changed by the presence of the Son of God.

Some of the greatest doctrines in the Bible. (You may be surprised.)

Titus Chapter Two

If you were to hear a preacher mention biblical doctrine what would you think of? Maybe you would think of the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of the grace of God, the doctrine of eternal security. While these are all true biblical doctrines these are not the doctrines that Paul wanted Titus to teach to his church. Many times bible doctrine is more practical than we realize.

In this chapter four groups of people will be mentioned. As these four groups are mentioned Paul will give them some good advice on how they should conduct their lives. These practical doctrines are as important as is the doctrine of the grace of God. The problem is that we don’t enjoy hearing these things because they might ruffle our feathers.

Older Men

Titus was a younger man; therefore it would have been easy for him to neglect the older men in the church. Paul wants him to spend some time teaching these older men how their lives should be led. He begins by telling them that they should be “sober”. To be sober means to be serious or self controlled. It may seem funny but these older men had probable retired from physical labor and therefore they had more time on their hands to get into trouble. Therefore they had to be warned to exercise some self control.

Next they were told to be “grave.” To be grave means to be dignified. Those of us who have small children will often remind our kids to be respectful to their elders. Let me say with all due respect, that an elder should conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of respect. It is hard to respect someone who does not conduct themselves in a dignified manner.

 

These older men were to be sound in their lives and in their faith. They were to be sound in love, faith, and patience Paul says. They should know what they believed, and why they believed it. They should have convictions about the word of God. It is sad to see a 70 year old baby in the church. Some people get older, but they do not grow up. A godly saint will be an encouragement to the younger members of the church. Be someone that others can look up to.

Older Women

Now I know that I’m going to lose some of you right here. Before you click this blog away please hear what the Bible says. Don’t take my word for it. Get your Bible down and read it for yourself.

The word “likewise” in verse 3 seems to mean that the older women were to have the same qualities as the older men. They were to behave themselves in a manner that displayed holiness. Beyond that they were told not to be “gossipers.” I am convinced that one of the biggest sins in the church today is the sin of gossip. Over and over the bible warns against the sin of gossip.

They are not to be “drunkards.” This seems to be pretty obvious. I don’t think there is a lot of explanation needed for this one.

Paul not only tells them what they should not be, but also what they should be. These older women were to be teachers. They were to teach the younger women to be “keepers at home”. This is more than just teaching the younger women how to keep up the house, it means to instill in the heart of the younger women the right spiritual attitude toward their home.

The greatest responsibility that God gives to a woman is her home. The younger women needed to learn to love their husband, love their children and how to have a successful marriage. This may not sit well with some but the bible is clear that the woman’s first responsibility is her home. It is serious business to take care of your children and your home. There is an old saying which says “A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.”

If God has given you children and a home then the most important business in the world is taking care of them. This is your ministry, and it is a gift from God. I’m not saying that woman is to be a prisoner in her own home. The bible is saying a woman should be able to manage her home. A husband who can trust his wife to care for the home is blessed.

Let me further point out that while it is the wife’s job to manage the home, it is the husband’s job to lead the home. This may be a big pill to swallow but the husband is to be respected by his wife and children as the leader of the home. Verse 5 tells us that the woman is to be “obedient to their own husbands.”

The idea of being obedient means to “respond” to her own husband. I wonder how many men misuse this verse. They will say something like this “the bible says that you need to mind me better.” Sir that is not what the bible says. The bible says that she is to respond to you. When was the last time you told your wife that you love her? Just as the natural man responds to the love of God, so does the wife respond to the love of her husband. A home that has little trouble with love will have little trouble with obedience.

Young Men

While it is the responsibility of the older men to set a good example it is up to the young men to live up to the example set before them. One day these young men will be the ones setting the example, so it is important to live up to the godly standard set before them.

We teach others by the pattern of the lives we live. If a pastor wants his church to be something, he must be that something first. If you want your children, grandchildren, to be something then you must be that something first. These godly men had set an example now the young men were to fashion their lives after them.

Servants

Paul spends a good deal of time in the New Testament speaking to this particular group. The reason he does this is because there were a lot of slaves in the church. Paul warns them not to forsake their responsibilities to their master. Here are three rules they should follow.

• They should be obedient. They should try to please their masters.
• They were not to talk back. They were not to gripe about their master to others. This gives a poor testimony
• They were not to steal. The word “purloining” means to steal. This goes without saying, but you should not steal from your work. Paul tells them to show “good fidelity” which means to be faithful.

These are very practical doctrines, but they are very important doctrines. Please don’t overlook the practical doctrines of the bible. These practical doctrines will have more of an impact on your church and your community than any other doctrines in the bible.