Fools
 
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Fools for Christ

1 Corinthians 4:10

"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised."

When Paul said, "We are fools for Christ's sake..." he was talking about how the world looked at the lives of the apostles. The world thought those men were fools to give up what they had for the sake of Christ. The world thought the way they lived was foolish. The whole reason why they thought they were fools was because their lifestyle was different. Paul was not saying He was a fool for living for Christ, only that the world portrayed them as fools.

If you openly live for Christ, you will often be called foolish or weird. However, let's consider what is really weird or foolish. When people go and get drunk and the next day are hugging a toilet getting sick, that is foolish and weird. When people go to dance floors and make weird body gyrations and pick up on others whom they don't even know, now that is foolish. When people go to ballgames and take their shirts off in the middle of winter, that is foolish. When people let cameras follow them around twenty-four hours a day and have no privacy because of a reality television program, now that's weird. When people will open up to someone whom they have never met over a social networking site, that is foolish. We could go on with a lengthy list, but what the world calls fun and normal is really very foolish or weird.

On the other hand, don't tell me living for Christ is foolish or weird. A person who stays faithful to their spouse their entire life is not weird or foolish, but wise. A person who doesn't partake of the vices this world has is not foolish or weird especially when you look at how unhealthy these vices are. A person who goes to church three times a week to learn about the Saviour Who paid for their sins is not wasting time but is learning invaluable truths that will help them in their life. A person who will give up riches for the sake of giving their life to full-time service so that they can help people is not weird or foolish, but wise. A person who won't put tattoos all over their body is not a weird person, but a wise person who realizes that one day they will get old. A person who doesn't practice body piercing is not weird, but wise when you look at some of the health reports that talk about the dangers of body piercing. A person who keeps their virginity until they are married is not strange or weird, but they are wise when you consider the STD's that spread throughout this world.

Christian, don't let the world shame you into thinking that our lifestyle is the strange lifestyle. I have often said that the Christian life is common sense living. Yes, the Christian life may seem foolish to the world, but we know there is a place called Heaven where Christians will be rewarded for the works they do for Christ on this Earth. Don't get caught up in the world's way of thinking. The world's way of thinking is nothing short of foolish. It is foolish anytime you leave God's prescribed way of living in the Scriptures. If living for Christ makes you a fool, then go ahead and be a fool for Christ. However, we will find out who was truly foolish at the Judgment Seat.

Gaining

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Gaining Strength Through Hardships

Psalm 138:3

"In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul."

Going through hard times is good for you if you will approach them the right way. In fact, the hard times will make you a stronger person if you take the proper steps while enduring them. When I was in high school I had the privilege of playing several sports. One of the things I did not enjoy was the preparation it took to get ready for the game or event. Everyday when we practiced for a game we would have to run wind sprints. Though none of the players enjoyed these, their hardness created an endurance that helped us to stay fresh through the fourth quarter. You could say that we became stronger through hardship.

When you read the Psalms, you will see the Psalmist expose his feelings and actions through his hard times. At times you can see him in despair, and yet at other times you will see his overcoming spirit. However, in each hardship that the Psalmist faced, you will see that he got stronger. The verse above shows us the pattern that he followed when the hardships came.

Let me first say that hardships will come. There would have been no reason for the Psalmist to cry out if there were not hardships. Though I don't mean to be a prophet of doom, I do know that everyone will face hard times. You must not go through life thinking that you will escape them, but you must prepare yourself as to what you will do before they come.

Second, you will notice that the Psalmist felt helpless. He said, "...when I cried..." This no doubt was the Psalmist facing the darkest hour of his hardships. When you go through hard times, you will come to a point when you will feel that it is hopeless. Not only will hopelessness set in, but despair will also come. It is when you are at this point that God can finally help you. The reason is because you have come to the end of yourself, and now God can show you His strength. Christian, God cannot help you until you realize you are helpless.

Third, when you come to the point of realizing you are helpless, cry to God. Nobody can help you like God can. He knows what you are facing at this very moment. Don't be afraid to pour your heart out to God. He wants you to come and expose your heartfelt feelings to Him.

Fourth, God will answer your prayer. The Psalmist said, "...thou answeredst me..." God will answer your cry only if you call upon Him. He cannot answer your prayer if you don't pray. I encourage you to call on the LORD, for He will answer your prayer.

Fifth, he did not quit. Though the Psalmist felt hopeless, he did not quit. Too many Christians quit before they have the opportunity to see God work. You have to get past the quitting point if you want to see the LORD work. Yes, hopelessness and despair may come, but you have to keep on going knowing that God will answer and help you.

Last, strength came because he kept on going. The Psalmist said, "...and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." When God answered him, he found that God's answer was strength. For what was the strength? It was to help him face his hardship. Christian, you will find if you will call on God, that God will deliver you from your hard time, but probably not in the way you think He will. He will deliver you by giving you strength to go through it. When you have the strength to face the hard times, then the hard times may be hard, but not overwhelming.

Call on God and you will find that He will give you strength. Don't quit in your time of hopelessness, but keep going. When God answers, strength will be given to help you through your hard time.

A Word

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A Word Which Is Able to Build You

Acts 20:32

"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."

It seems that every generation fights the authority of the Word of God. It all started in the Garden of Eden when Satan questioned the authority of God's Word. Since that time many so-called experts have questioned the authority and validity of God's Word. Why they would do this is beyond my imagination. We need every word in the Scriptures to be the Christians that God wants us to be.

The importance of an every word Bible is found in this verse. You will notice that the only way a person is built up in the LORD is through Scripture. Notice the wording of this verse says, "...and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up,..." God made it very plain that a Christian will only grow through the Word of God. Let me give you a few thoughts about this important subject.

First, don't let the experts intimidate you. Just because they may have a few degrees behind their name does not mean that they are smarter than God. God promised that He would preserve every word when He says in Psalm 12:7, "Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Therefore, when a so called expert says that God's Word is not inspired or that there are errors in It, then they are wrong and God is right.

Second, God says in Proverbs 30:5, "Every word of God is pure:..." If every word is pure, then it would be important for God to preserve each of those pure words. It is important for every word to be preserved because if they were not, then we would have an impure Bible. It is the combination of every word that makes It pure. If you were to take one ingredient away from what makes It pure, then the only thing you would have left is impurity.

Third, we need every word so that we can grow in the manner in which God wants. If one word was taken out of the Word of God, then that one word would keep us from being built up. Some may think this is extreme, but we have an extreme God Who believes His Word is worthy of preserving. He preserved It not just so that His Word is true, but also so that we can properly grow. Imagine if one promise were left out of the Word of God. That one promise would hinder our faith from being built. Imagine if one sin was left out from being named. That one sin being left out could cause us to go into sin, thus hindering our ability to be built.

Christian, it is important to have every Word of God. The importance is so that you can be built as a Christian. Therefore, if God's Word is what builds your Christian life, then be sure to read and follow every word that God gives you so that you can be built up in the manner in which God wants you to be built.

Circumstances

 
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Overcoming Your Circumstances

Acts 16:25

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."

Life is filled with adverse circumstances, but your outcome from those circumstances is completely up to you. Paul and Silas faced some difficult circumstances, but they did not allow their circumstances to destroy their spirit. Because they chose to control their circumstances, they were able to see the miraculous conversion of the jailor. There were three keys to Paul and Silas overcoming their circumstances.

First, they looked inward instead of looking outward. Instead of looking at being in prison, they looked at something that nothing from the outside could take away; their salvation. Your disposition should never be determined by outside circumstances. You may face many adverse circumstances in your life, but you must not let them determine whether you are going to be on top side. In order to overcome circumstances, you must learn to dwell on the inside. Once you were saved, your salvation is yours forever. Therefore, because nothing can take your salvation away, you must learn to dwell on it while going through adverse circumstances. Sickness cannot take away your salvation. Disease cannot take away your salvation. Financial struggles cannot take away your salvation. Loss of job cannot take away your salvation. False accusation cannot take away your salvation. True accusations cannot take away your salvation. Parents being divorced cannot take away your salvation. Your spouse leaving you cannot take away your salvation. Put your situation at the front of these sentences and you can always say that it cannot take away your salvation. If you will dwell on your salvation and the Holy Spirit of God Who dwells within you, then you can stay on top of your circumstances.

Second, they prayed. When they decided to look inward, they knew that the next step was to pray for God's help through their circumstance. Likewise, when adverse circumstances come your way, you need to learn to pray. Griping and complaining about your circumstance is not going to change it, only God can change your circumstance. Too many Christians tend to gripe and complain about their circumstances for the purpose of getting pity from others. Your circumstances do not change when others have pity on you. This is why you need to stop looking for pity from others and talk to God, the One Who can change your situation.

Third, after praying they sang God's praises. Singing is a great way to help lift your spirit in times of adverse circumstances. Of course, you are not going to be able to sing until you have poured your burdens upon God. After you have prayed, then find some uplifting Christian songs to sing. Even though you may not feel like singing, you need to force yourself to sing. The reason is because singing directly affects your spirit. When you sing, it is like giving a vitamin B12 shot to your spirit. Singing uplifting songs will direct your spirit from looking outward at the circumstances to the inward of your salvation.

Notice the result of Paul and Silas following these three steps was that God intervened and others were helped. When you follow these three steps, you will also find that God will be inclined to help you, thus you will be able to help others. Stop letting your adverse circumstances dictate what your spirit is and follow these three steps so that you can overcome your circumstances and help others.

Perspective

Keeping the Man of God in Right Perspective

Acts 10:26

"But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man."

The story from the verse above is about a man named Cornelius who waited a long time for Peter to come and preach the Gospel to the Gentile world. The Scriptures say that Cornelius gathered a group of people to whom Peter could preach. When Peter walked into the house of Cornelius, he fell down at Peter's feet to worship him. However, Peter immediately told him to stand up and reminded him that he was just a man.

I was recently talking to a preacher, and our conversation was about different men of God who were used in a great way. Our discussion was how people were so attracted to the great works of these men that they would nearly worship them. This preacher made a statement to me that every Christian needs to grasp. He said that there were no great men, but that there were men whom God has used in a great way. If every person would grasp that mentality about men of God, it would keep them from ever becoming disillusioned with men of God and from following them into error.

Men of God are sinners like everyone else. One of the mistakes we make is that we forget that preachers are men as well. If you are not careful, you will place a preacher higher in your estimation than you should. No preacher should be worshipped. Only one person should be worshipped and that is God. God is the only One Who deserves the worship of man. Therefore, be careful about lifting a man up to deity level. Remember that all men are fallible.

On the other hand, the man of God deserves respect and honor, not because of who he is, but because of the position that he holds. The position of a man of God is a lofty position. It is lofty because of Whom they represent. Therefore, you should be very careful with your treatment and respect of the man of God. The Scriptures teach that the position of the man of God deserves honor and respect. Yes, you should love your preacher, but you should also respect and honor him because of his position.

Finally, because all men are sinners and fallible, remember that everything they teach and preach should be based upon the Word of God. The danger of lifting a man of God higher than you should is that you will take everything he says as gospel. There is no preacher who deserves a blank check to do or teach whatever he wants. He represents Christ, therefore he should only teach and do what the Scriptures command him to do.

If you will keep your preacher in proper perspective, then you will keep yourself from being disillusioned and from being taken into false doctrine. Be sure to respect and honor your pastor, but remember that he is a man and he will make mistakes at times. Don't crucify him when he makes a mistake, but remember he is still a man. However, be sure that you treat him with the respect that his position deserves.