Spiritual Weight Lifting

Spiritual Weight Lifting

Nehemiah 8:10

"Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

One activity that many young men like to do is lift weights. The purpose of lifting weights is to gain strength. Strength is important for many parts of life. A strong body is a healthier body. However, just like our physical bodies need strength, our spiritual bodies need strength as well. If you are going to be spiritually strong so that you can fight off the attacks of Satan and the world, then you need to be sure that you are spiritually strong. God shows us three things that are like spiritual weight lifting for the Christian. If you will do these things, then you will find that you will gain strength.

The first way to gain spiritual strength is to make God happy. The verse above says, "...for the joy of the LORD is your strength." You will notice this verse is not talking about the Christian being joyful, rather, it is talking about the LORD being joyful. Though I believe a Christian who is joyful will add strength to their life, this verse is dealing with the Christian giving God joy. In other words, the Christian gains strength by giving God joy.

You may wonder how you can give God joy. The best way to give God joy is to live right. It pleases God when you do right. Therefore, by doing right you give the LORD joy. Living right will not only keep you from having to suffer sin's punishment, but it will give you strength in your Christian life. This is one reason you need to stay away from sin. The more you stay away from sin the more strength you will gain to fight the Devil.

The second way to gain spiritual strength is to wait on the LORD. Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Notice that waiting on the LORD gives strength. Waiting is serving. When you go to the restaurant, the waiter is your server. God is teaching that when the Christian serves Him, it is like adding weight to a barbell to gain strength. Yes, living right will give you strength, but serving the LORD will give your strength as well.

The third way to gain spiritual strength is to rest in God. Psalm 28:7 says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." Going to God for protection and comfort in times of struggle and heartache will give you strength. Christian, when you face hard times, run to God. He alone will give you the strength you need to make it through your tough times.

Furthermore, if a weight lifter wants to gain more strength, then they will add more weight to the barbell. Likewise, if the Christian wants to gain more spiritual strength, then they need to do more of these things. There comes a point in your Christian life when you need to get rid of more sin. There comes a point in your Christian life when you need to do more for God. By doing more for God, you will find that you will become stronger as a Christian.

I challenge you today to start your spiritual weight lifting program. Start by laying aside sin, and replacing that sin with serving God. Then, when you face tough times run to God and ask Him for His help. These three things will add strength to your Christian life.

So I Prayed

So I Prayed

Nehemiah 2:4

"Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven."

Nehemiah is one of the great Christian leaders we read about in the Scriptures. When you look at the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah never cowered from the great task. However, one of the things that is overlooked about this great man is his prayer life. I believe the reason Nehemiah was successful in building the walls of Jerusalem was because of how he prayed. Yes, there were other characteristics that were involved in helping Nehemiah to be successful, but the greatest reason why he succeeded was because he prayed.

No Christian will ever be successful in the Christian life without a prayer life. You can try every method to be successful in the Christian life, but you will fail if you don't have a prayer life. You can try to get the greatest education in the world, but without a prayer life you will fail in the Christian life. You can know all the influential people who can help you succeed, but without a prayer life you will fail in the Christian life. You can have the greatest charisma and attitude, but without a prayer life your Christian life will fail. The Christian life will only succeed if the Christian daily spends time in prayer. You cannot do a spiritual work and succeed without getting God involved. Nehemiah recognized the importance of getting God involved in the great work of building the wall of Jerusalem, and because of this he succeeded. Let me show you some of the times when Nehemiah prayed.

First, he prayed when facing great tasks. In Nehemiah 1:11, Nehemiah prayed that God would help him as he started the endeavor to build the wall of Jerusalem. Whenever you endeavor to start something, be sure to ask God to help. You may succeed without God's help, but you will succeed in a greater way with His help. Every great work in history was bathed in prayer. I believe one of the great lacks of our day is that we don't spend time in prayer before we start an endeavor. Be sure to pray before you start your day. If you want to be successful in what you do every day, then pray.

Second, he prayed when faced with tough questions. In the verse above, the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, and before answered he asked God for help. When people ask you questions, always whisper a prayer for God to help you answer their question correctly. I find myself asking God for wisdom many times throughout the day when I am asked a question. I'm amazed how God gives me the wisdom to give the right answer to these questions. Likewise, God has the wisdom to give you the right answers to every question that you face if you would just ask Him.

Third, he prayed when his enemies ridiculed and attacked him. When you're faced with ridicule on the job or in the school, be sure to pray and ask God for help. When others attack and try to destroy your character or work, run to God in prayer, for He is the One Who can help you through these times.

Fourth, he prayed when he needed encouragement. In Nehemiah 13:22, Nehemiah prayed when he saw that the people allowed the enemies of God to permeate their work. Christian, complaining and whining about your problems will not help you, but asking God in prayer for encouragement will. You will be amazed how God can encourage you if you will simply run to Him in prayer.

Is prayer the first thing that comes to your mind when faced with different circumstances each day? Learn to be a person who whispers a prayer to God throughout your day for help and wisdom to accomplish what you need to do. A little whispered prayer to God before you face circumstances each day will reap great benefits towards your success.

Good in Bad

Keeping a Good Attitude in Bad Times

Habakkuk 3:18

"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

When you read the verse above without looking at its context, you would immediately agree with Habakkuk. However, this statement when taken in context is much greater than one would imagine. He made this statement after he prophesied of the evil that would come upon Israel. Some of the things that were said before this statement were that the fig tree would no longer blossom, troops would invade the land, the flocks and herds would be taken away and the people would be taken captive. These were certainly bad times that Israel was going to come across. Habakkuk was teaching them in this verse how to keep a good attitude in bad times.

First, he said that he would "...rejoice in the LORD,..." The word "rejoice" means to re-joy. In other words, when looking at circumstances in bad times, you must look to the past to get your joy. Times may currently be bad, but they have not always been bad; therefore, you must look to your past circumstances to get joy.

When you look to the past, you can certainly see that the LORD has blessed you. When you look to the past, you can see how the LORD provided your needs in the past. When you look to the past, you can see how the LORD was there for you during your tough times. When you look to the past, you can see all the blessings that the LORD sent your way. Though dwelling on circumstances is rarely advised, if you choose to dwell on your circumstances, then you must also look to the past. Every person has a way of forgetting the bad in their past. It is amazing how many people talk of their past as if everything was perfect. Why? Because time has a way of causing us to forget the hard times. Therefore, you can keep a good attitude in bad times by looking at past circumstances.

Second, you can keep a good attitude in bad times by dwelling on your salvation. Habakkuk said, "...I will joy in the God of my salvation." Notice that it is a choice to dwell on your salvation. He said, "I will..." There will be times when you have to will yourself to dwell on your salvation. Your flesh wants to dwell on circumstances, but you must will yourself to dwell on your salvation. Your flesh desires to mope around seeking sympathy for the bad times, but you must will yourself to dwell on your salvation.

How does dwelling on our salvation help us to have a good attitude in bad times? It helps because nothing can change your salvation. It doesn't matter what you are facing, it cannot change your salvation. Bad finances will not change your salvation. Home foreclosures will not change your salvation. Bad health will not change your salvation. Losing your retirement will not change your salvation. Whatever you face in life cannot change your salvation. When you dwell on your salvation, you will find that you can have joy, for joy comes from within.

Finally, it is interesting that when dwelling on circumstances we must go to the past, but when dwelling on our salvation we can live in the present. One causes you to live in the present without having to look at any circumstance. Of the two, dwelling on your salvation is the best. It is rarely good to dwell on circumstances, for if you do you will find your emotions will be up and down. However, if you must dwell on circumstances, then choose to rejoice in your past circumstances. The best way to keep a good attitude in bad times is to take your eyes off the circumstances and place them on something that will never change, your salvation. By dwelling on your salvation you will find a well of joy that will never end. It won't matter what you face when dwelling on your salvation, for nothing can change it; thus, you will find yourself constantly having a good attitude in bad times.

An Explanation

An Explanation Please

Micah 6:3

"O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me."

When you read the verse above, you can see that God simply wanted an explanation from His people for why they left Him for other gods. In fact, when you read the previous verse you will see that God had a controversy with the people. The word "controversy" means a debate or dispute over something that happened. In other words, God asked the people to give Him a chance to explain His position. It is apparent that God could not figure out why the people were upset with Him. The people should have given God the dignity He deserved by giving Him an opportunity to explain His side of the story.

It is sad that many times God is never given a chance to explain His position to us. Too often people get angry at God over something that someone else has done. Just because a preacher has done something to you does not mean that God had any part of it. Just because a fellow Christian has hurt you does not mean that you should hold it against God. Christian, if you are not careful, you will hold something against God for which He had no part. You should always give God the benefit of the doubt and allow Him to explain Himself. You may wonder how does God explain Himself? God explains Himself through time. Like a preacher once told me, "Time always tells." If you will be patient with God, you will see that God will explain Himself by how He deals with your situation.

I remember years ago a preacher who had deeply wronged me. This man made it his agenda to try and destroy my ministry. At first I did not understand what God was doing. Because it was early on in my evangelistic ministry, it would have been easy to quit evangelism and move on to something where I could make better money. Yet, because that preacher told me that time always tells, I waited on God and He explained Himself to me by revealing to everyone the faults of the offending preacher. In time, God vindicated Himself to me by blessing my ministry through that situation. If I would not have given God the chance to explain Himself, I could have easily stayed bitter towards God for many years to come.

Let me take this thought one other direction. When you feel someone has wronged you, you should be sure to give them a chance to explain themselves. Many friendships are destroyed because one person held something against a friend that they never did. If they had given that person a chance to explain themselves, that friendship could have been salvaged. Yet, because the one who was hurt never gave them a chance to explain themselves, they allowed false information to cause them to hurt, hinder and destroy a good friendship.

Be careful that you always give people an opportunity to explain themselves. Matthew 18:15 commands, "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." Always remember that when you don't give your brother a chance to explain himself, then you are not only opening yourself up to bitterness, but you are also disobeying God. Be a good Christian and learn to always give others a chance to explain themselves.

Bitter

Bitter and Poisonous

Amos 6:12

"Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:"

When God pronounced His judgment upon Zion, He gave His reasoning for why He judged them. God said that Zion "...turned judgment into gall,..." Gall is anything that is extremely bitter. In other words, these people disliked God's judgments. These people were not interested in justice prevailing, they were only interested in having their own way.

Furthermore, God said the reason He would judge Zion was because they turned "...the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:" Hemlock is a poisonous plant. It is a plant from which you would avoid any fruit, for it could cause you to get very sick or even die. However, God said that the people of Zion made righteousness like the fruit of hemlock, very poisonous. In other words, they avoided righteousness like you would avoid poison. They had no desire for righteousness to prevail for they simply wanted to live life their own way.

One of the dangerous things every Christian must be wary of is getting to the point in their life where they only want to have things their way, whether or not it is right or wrong. Many Christians have gotten so wrapped up in themselves that they are not interested in justice prevailing, they are only interested in what they want. There are many Christians who are more interested in getting their way then they are about whether their way is right or wrong. The only thing about which they are concerned is getting their way.

Christian, when your way is the only thing about which you are interested, then you are at the point where you will soon face the judgment of God. When you are not interested in righteousness prevailing over your own desires, then you are in a dangerous position. You must always realize that justice and righteousness should always take precedence over your desires.

One area where you must be very careful that you don't let justice and righteousness become bitter and poisonous is with your family. I have watched many good people get to the point in their lives where their family can do no wrong. Their desire for their family to do well on a job or in acquiring position causes them to be blinded to their sin. These families will literally set aside what they know is just and right for the sake of preserving the family name. You cannot let sin go unpunished in your family, even if it may bring shame to the family name. Justice and righteousness must always prevail when dealing with your family.

Likewise, a church must be careful about getting to the point where it doesn't care what it must give up to get big. Setting aside justice and righteousness for the sake of getting big is never right. A church that is willing to set justice and righteousness aside for the sake of numbers is a church that will compromise and eventually face the judgment of God.

Finally, be careful about becoming the type of Christian who only wants your own way. Always keep in mind that life is not about your way. It is about justice and righteousness. When justice and righteousness are practiced, then God's way will be followed. Don't ever allow yourself to look at justice and righteousness as bitter and poisonous because you didn't get your way. Always be willing to let justice and righteousness change what you do, even if it means that you won't get your way.