Posted on 03/26/2019 7:05:21 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason” (Proverbs 26:16 KJV).
Occasionally I will sit down behind my keyboard and begin to work on a devotion without any thought of asking God for spiritual guidance and understanding of a passage or verse. I manage to write the daily work without so much as a, “help me Lord!” And then I present it as something from God when it is nothing more than my own thoughts. I thank God that He somehow blesses anyway, but then I catch myself and chastise myself by asking, “What? I don’t need God’s help? Do I think that I can act independently of God and expect His blessing?”
It may not be a popular thought, but true nevertheless, that Christians can be sluggards in many areas of our spiritual life. How about the believer that will not feed himself on God’s word? He doesn’t study his Bible, but rather depends upon his preacher and Sunday school teacher to tell him what to think and impart their wisdom instead of digging in the Scriptures for himself?
Paul told the believers to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15 KJV).
There is so much contained in this one verse that one could spend months mining out the great truths. All Christians want God’s approval, but they are unwilling to study His Word which is the source of that approval. They are hoping for something with little effort on their part. Christians hope that when they face God one day, they will not be ashamed, while their Bible lays unread on a coffee table or back seat of their car—only to be opened on Sunday in the church. And then they are so excited about the blessed hope of the church—the return of Jesus Christ—but yet they fail to understand God’s dispensational program for His church. God tells us that we must be able to “rightly divide” His Word.
The Christian that is a sluggard knows that he has eternal life and that he cannot lose his salvation, but he doesn’t see any necessity to study and grow in the Lord. And because he doesn’t know the difference between Jesus’ ministry to Israel and Paul’s ministry to the church, he struggles to explain what “enduring to the end” means in relation to one’s remaining in relationship with God. Because he does not recognize Jesus’ specific teachings dealing with the Millennial kingdom, he gets confused with those that would trip him up with the “sermon on the mount.”
Friends, all that we have and all that we are is because of God and His love for us. We are nothing apart from Him, and the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling us for power and for service. Let us take heed to Paul’s warning: “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:14-21 KJV).
Let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread!
If anyone would like to be added to the ping list, please let me know either by post or by p.m.
In our experience oriented, God is going to bless us no matter what culture, people today just want a feel good, euphoric experience of *being filled with the Spirit* without the discipline and obedience that’s required to be in right relationship with God.
It’s considered legalism to expect disciple out of anyone, and as a result, the church is in pathetically sad, powerless shape.
The Bible is as current as today’s newspaper. The church is more interested in their “rights” than they are in fixing their wrongs.
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:14-22).
That passage so describes the state of the church today.
It is so materialistic and self-centered and self-absorbed that it’s ridiculous.
The entitlement mentality I see expressed today is staggering, and honestly, I’ve even had to fight getting sucked into that myself, and not always successfully.
The false *prosperity gospel* is the worst.
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