I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-08)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-08)

MEASURING OUR FAITH:
As believers, we may read, study and meditate on God’s Word
frequently, but how can we determine how much we are learning?
The same thing happens in the secular world – some people spend
the majority of their life reading and studying, but never realize how
much they have learned, or even “if” they have learned. An excellent
way of measuring how much we have learned as believers, or in the
secular world, is to put into practice the things we have been taught.
Consider it as a kind of “life test”.

When we are in school, we read and study the topics we are given
but how are we measured? In order for the instructors to determine
their success in teaching us and our success in learning, we are
tested periodically. Without these tests, how would we, or the
instructor, know how much we have learned?

This is exactly what we do whenever we put into practice the things
we have learned from the bible – we “test” God’s principles. When
we understand what the scriptures say about avoiding the pitfalls of
sin and receiving God’s blessings, then we need to practice obedience
in order to see the positive results. The more we experience the ‘truths’
of God’s Word, the more we will have a desire to experience more of
His ‘truths’. Incidentally, when we refer to the “truths” of His Word,
we are talking about two specific areas for believers:
    1. His guidelines for living day to day.
    2. The blessings He provides for us when
        we show our love for Him through our obedience.

So how do we experience the benefits of being obedient to the Lord?
We start by making the necessary adjustments in our lives. As we
continue to adjust our lives, we begin to develop the kind of spiritual
maturity that all believers should desire.

Some areas where we can make adjustments are:

    OUR ATTITUDES.
    It is easy to get into an “attitude rut” of many different flavors.
    Some can have a negative attitude that causes others to want to
    avoid being around them. Negativity is not an attitude that God
    prefers for His children. A negative attitude arises whenever we
    fail to see and appreciate the blessings the Lord has given us. The
    primary problem is, we tend to measure His blessings against our
    wants. If we feel the Lord is not fulfilling our wants, we decide
    that we are not receiving His blessings. What we should be doing
    is appreciating how many of our needs He is providing, such as
    food, clothing, shelter, jobs, talents, skills, etc.

    OUR HABITS.
    We can fall into a routine of bad habits and especially ones that are
    in opposition to God’s Will. Initially we receive early warnings to
    avoid a particular act of disobedience, but we make the decision to
    ignore these warnings and do what we ‘want’ to do, even though we
    initially feel uncomfortable. The next time it is a little easier to make
    the same decision because we don’t feel the same level of uneasiness.

    As we continue to “give in” to our wants over His desires, we become
desensitized to His warnings. As a result, we start to believe we are
enjoying what we know we should have avoided in the first place. In
the end, what we knew was wrong, has become a habit in our life and
once a habit has been established, it is very difficult to break. Ask
anyone who is addicted to smoking or drinking.

    The first puff of a cigarette causes a cough that serves as a warning
    that inhaling smoke is not good for our body. As we continue to
    smoke, the coughs subside as our body adapts to an unhealthy and
    possibly deadly habit.

    The same thing is true when drinking alcohol for the first time – our
    body warns us that the substance causes us to lose control physically
    and mentally. Physically we slur our speech, stagger when we walk,
    and have involuntary convulsions as our body tries to expel the alcohol.
    Mentally we make bad decisions that we would not make if we were
    sober. The more we drink, the more we think we are adjusting to the
    alcohol. However, that doesn’t mean that it is not damaging us now,
    and later in life. Every organ alcohol passes through can be damaged
    since they are not designed for processing alcohol. It’s not long until
    Satan persuades us that God is okay with our drinking (or smoking)
    and we start justifying our actions (and sometimes get angry with
    anyone who says, or implies, that what we are doing is wrong). But
    what does God say about things that are harmful to our bodies?
        Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,
        who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
        your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with
        your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

    Bad habits start out as a temptation. They gain a toehold, then a foothold,
    and finally develop into a stronghold that is difficult to reverse. If most
    people were completely honest, many would admit that they wish they
    had never yielded to a temptation in the first place. Avoiding an unhealthy
    and unrighteous habit is much easier than trying to break it. The danger is,
    once a person feels “tainted” with sin, they get discouraged and lose their
    desire and determination to reverse their direction. It can create a kind of
    hopelessness in us; we think will never be able to rid ourselves of something
    that should never have been a part of our lives. The truth is, in our own
    strength, we cannot experience victory over the habit that has made us
    a slave. We need the power of the Lord to be victorious.

    OUR SELFISHNESS AND CONCERN FOR OTHERS.
    When we are small children, we have a “mine” mentality. We
    want what we want without concerns of sharing with others.
    My grandson calls it being a “Mineasaurus”, which is a pretty
    good description since it means that we can be “monsters of
    selfishness”.
        A toddler’s rules of possessions are sort of like this:
            If I like it, it’s mine!
            If it’s in my hand, it’s mine!
            If I can take it from you, it’s mine!
            If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine!
            If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours!
            If I’m building something, all the pieces are mine!
            If it looks just like mine, it’s mine!
            If I saw it first, it’s mine!
            If you are playing with something and put it down, it’s mine!
            If it is broken, it’s yours.

    If we continue listening to worldly advice, there is a strong likelihood
    that we will have a selfish attitude for much, if not all, of our lives.

    Now, let’s evaluate Jesus regarding selfishness. Was He selfish?
    We can’t find anything in the scriptures that indicates He was
    selfish as He walked the earth in human form. In fact, we see
    quite the opposite. No matter what mission He was on,
    He always had time to stop, listen and minister to others.

    How many times have you heard someone say (or you may have
    said it yourself), “I don’t have time for them right now” or, “I’m
    too busy and have too many things on my plate right now”. If
    Jesus was selfish about anything, He was selfish about His desire
    for everyone to know His Father. The message to believers is clear;
    we need to exchange ‘selfishness’ for ‘selflessness’. The following
    scripture is very brief and blunt about selfishness and our concerns
    for others (it is applicable to friendships and to marriages).
        Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
        Rather, in humility value others above yourselves
        (Philippians 2:3)

    OUR HUMILITY.
    How many times have you seen others make a transformation from
    being humble and grateful for all they have, to an egotistical and
    possibly arrogant person who feels they deserve everything they own?
    Many times it can be a result of the successes they have experienced.
    For instance someone may start out in a company in a non-management
    position and rise to the level of Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, they
    may decide that they have achieved this status through their education
    and performance. The problem with this thinking is, they fail to recognize
    that the Lord was the One Who provided them with their ability to learn
    and perform.

    Pastors certainly run a risk of making this transformation as people
    gather at least once a week to hear what they have to say. If they are
    not very careful, they can start taking credit for everything they share
    from the pulpit. This is the reason we need to pray for them fervently
    and often (and any others serving in a similar capacity, such as teachers).
    If you are a believer, when is the last time you prayed for a preacher
    or teacher? How often do you pray for them now? How often do you
    tell them you are praying for them? How often do you encourage them
    to keep serving the Lord faithfully and consistently? Remember, they
    sacrifice a lot of personal time preparing to share what the Lord wants
    to communicate through them.

    If you want the Lord to speak to you about a specific topic,
    then doesn’t it make sense that you should pray for the one
    He has chosen to deliver you His message? If the messenger
    is not closely aligned with the Lord, then the message delivered
    could be something other than what the Lord intended. Without
    intercessory prayer, a messenger may start developing his own
    message instead of allowing the Lord to speak through him.

    When you pray intercessory prayers for preachers and teachers,
    you can be instrumental in helping them avoid the pitfalls Satan
    continues to put in their path. Your prayerful efforts to protect
    and encourage them can be instrumental in helping them to avoid
    some devastating consequences that result from taking credit for
    the Lord’s work. The scriptures are very clear about trying to take
    credit for anything that is of the Lord (such as our talents, our skills,
    our abilities, our needs, etc.). We can see the consequences King
    Herod experienced when he failed to give God the credit for a
    speech he delivered.
        On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes,
        sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the
        people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of
        a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise
        to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he
        was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:21-23)

    If we are honest with ourselves, we might readily admit that humility is
    not one of our strongest characteristics. If that’s the case, then what
    should we do? Wouldn’t it make sense that we should make changes
    to our perspectives? We need to develop a new attitude that appreciates
    how the Lord has blessed us with all we have been given. If we truly
    want to become more humble, then we need to recognize God’s
    involvement in all that we do and all that we have. This type of
    change in our thinking can help us in our efforts to become more
    humble, and to develop an appreciation for the Lord’s blessings.