I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-31)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

PEACEMAKING
One of the characteristics of having spiritual wisdom is, owning
an attitude that loves peace. James expounds on the topic of peace
and the benefits of being a peacemaker.
    Peacemakers who sow in peace
    reap a harvest of righteousness.
    (James 3:18)

In our daily choices we either ‘sow to the flesh’ or ‘sow to the Spirit’.
Our thoughts and actions plant the seeds that affect who we are and
the impact our lives will have for God. The ‘flesh’ wants to live without
the Lord and act independently. This attitude of independence doesn’t
go away when we are saved. We still have a nature that wants to be in
control and have everything we want, when we want it.

However, the Holy Spirit frees us from slavery to the flesh. When we
are sowing to the Spirit, we are accepting God’s truth into our heart
and mind. When we feed our spirit with the things of God, we become
stronger in our faith and we behave in a more Christ-like manner. We
also learn that we are not designed to be independent, but are to rely
on God to fill our minds with thoughts and actions that are pleasing to
Him.

James tells us that those who live by God’s wisdom not only ‘love peace’,
but they also ‘make peace’. Look at what Jesus says about peacemakers.
    Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
    will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

What could possibly be better than being called a ‘child of God’?
People can call us all kinds of names,
but I doubt that many would refer to us as a child of God.

James also says that we stand a better chance of living a righteous life
‘if we have a peaceful attitude’. He could be referring to an inner peace,
as well as peace with others. We can easily lose our inner peace whenever
we yield to temptations from Satan.

There are things that can jeopardize our peace with others, such as ego,
pride, envy, anger, bitterness, gossip, being judgmental and holding a grudge,
just to name a few. The underlying cause of most of these can be attributed
to selfishness. Selfishness wants everything its own way and any time it doesn’t
happen, character flaws like the ones just listed will often surface.

James has given us a lot of things to think about. If we want to measure our
status and consistency as a Christian, we should ask ourselves the following
questions:
    By what standard do I measure
    myself – the world’s influence, or God’s Word?

    How honest am I about recognizing my own faults?
    Do I spend a lot of time pointing out the fault of others?

    How consistent am I in what I say?
    Do I gossip, use profanity, etc.?
    Am I rude and inconsiderate of others when they are speaking?
    Do I spend most of my time speaking about the things I have and my
    own accomplishments, or do I ask questions of others and give them
    an opportunity to tell me what is going on in their lives?

    How consistent are my attitudes and actions?
    Do I let changing circumstances
    change my relationship with God, or with others?
    Can others depend on me, or do they know that
    my dependability is affected by my mood or circumstances?

    What kind of example and testimony is my life?
    Can others see the characteristics of the Lord in me?
    To what degree do I reflect Christian attitudes and actions?
    To what degree do I reflect non-Christian attitudes and actions?

    What impact does my life have on the non-Christians who know me?
    What influence does my life have on children, youth, and new Christians?
    What impact does my life have on members of my own family?

    If I were the only Christian a person knew, would my words and actions
    lead him or her to Christ, or would they lead them away from the Lord?

    What do I do when I recognize inconsistencies in my life?
    Do I confess my sins to God,
    or do I try to find ways to justify my actions and attitudes?

    Do I seek God’s help in overcoming
    my weaknesses and developing a Spirit-filled life?

    Do I try to maintain control of my life,
    or do I surrender control to the Holy Spirit?
    Note:
        When we submit to the Holy Spirit, we give Him control of our words,
        attitudes and the decisions we make. We also allow Him to guide us
        in our interactions with others and in our prayer life.

INTERNAL BATTLES
During biblical times the people experienced all kinds of strife,
however it is safe to say that in our world today, we also see
problems of all kinds. There is rebellion between children and
their parents. We see the breakdown of family relationships,
and especially in homes where there is no father figure, or the
father is there, but irresponsible.

The population of single parents continues to grow by leaps and
bounds as couples (sometimes just one spouse) lose sight of their
marriage commitments. We have seen a steady decline of morals
and an increase in immoral activities. The proliferation of cults
continues; existing ones are increasing in membership and new
ones are being created.

With the implementation of so many government giveaway programs,
there are many who have become freeloaders with no desire to earn
a living. Instead they have an expectation that everything should be
given to them for free. Even with the actions over the years to level
the field for everyone, racism is still a problem in our society. Every
individual has the same opportunities to succeed, however those who
do not want to try, still make excuses and continue to blame it on issues
that no longer exist.

Some of the causes of strife include conflicts between countries,
corporate greed, selfishness, power struggles due to ego and
arrogant pride, and disobedience and rebellion, just to name a few.

If we take the time to analyze the possible causes of problems,
it appears that selfishness is the underlying reason for conflict
and strife. When reviewing God’s Word, we can see that James
has the same rationale.
    What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they
    come from your desires that battle within you? (James 4:1)

James asks a question and then answers it in the form of a question.
In essence he is saying, “Doesn’t it make sense that quarrels and
strife comes from the selfish battles within you?” What ‘desires that
battle within you’ is he talking about? Since he is addressing believers,
more than likely he is referring to the many evil desires trying to control
us – the battle between good and evil.

The primary reason believers have turmoil is that we know God’s will
but we choose to do the things we want to do anyway. Think about the
things you do, that you would not do if your pastor stopped by for a visit.
Would you drink, smoke, take illicit drugs, watch ‘R’ or ‘X’ rated movies,
have arguments with your family, curse, etc.? Most would answer, “No”,
however some of the same people say things like,
    “Sure, I would drink a beer (or do something else) if Jesus was with me”.

Think about what that means.
    We have more respect for our pastor than we do for the Lord. We have
    lowered God to our level, instead of humbly trying to rise to His level.
    Why? Because we want to do what we want to do, and we will justify
    our actions, because we don’t physically see God like we do out pastor.
    But we need to remember that God still physically sees us (and hears
    what we say), and when we casually make statements about being okay
    with doing things in His presence that we know He does not approve
    of, we are walking on thin ice.

    We cannot become insensitive to the things that are unrighteous in His
    eyes and expect to have a close relationship with our Savior. If we have
    become desensitized to the things that are wrong, it should cause us to
    have questions about our profession of faith, and our surrender to the
    Lord. In other words, have we really surrendered to His will in our life?

For non-believers, there isn’t necessarily a battle between good and evil
since they are already children of the devil. They will remain this way until
they ask the Lord to save them and they become His adopted children…then
the battles begin. For believers there is the constant struggle between what
we know is right, and what Satan tries to convince us we should do to please
ourselves.

It bothers Satan to see peaceful believers, so his desire is to create as much
turmoil as possible. True believers know firsthand the problems Satan can
cause, and especially if he is successful in convincing us to yield to temptations.
    Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,
    to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war
    against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

    So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good,
    evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight
    in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging
    war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner
    of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:21-23)

    For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and
    the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict
    with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
    (Galatians 5:17)

Why does this battle continue after we become children of God?
Because Satan wants to destroy our desire to serve the Lord. He
does not want us to be effective witnesses for God. The unbelievers
are already his, so he has no need to spend any time trying to discourage
them. But if he can discourage believers, then he can successfully have a
negative impact on their efforts to serve the Lord.

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