by Charles R. Swindoll  

Philippians 2:12-13

Want to know God's will for your life? Let me ask you to stop, look, and listen. God makes His desires known to those who stop at His Word, look in with a sensitive spirit, and listen to others. When we go to His Word, we stop long enough to hear from above. When we look, we examine our surrounding circumstances in light of what He is saying to our inner spirit (perhaps you prefer to call this your conscience). And when we listen to others, we seek the counsel of wise, qualified people.

1. Stop at the Scriptures

The Bible tells us that the entrance of God's Word gives light (Psalm 119:130). That it is a lamp for our feet and a light that shines brightly on our path (Psalm 119:105). God has placed His Word in our hands and allowed it to be translated into our tongue (both were His determined will) so we could have a much more objective set of guidelines to follow than our dreams, hunches, and feelings. Sixty-six books filled with precepts and principles. And the better we know His Word, the more clearly we will know His will.

Precepts. Some of the statements that appear in the Bible are specific, black-and-white truths that take all the guesswork about God's will out of the way. Here are a few:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:15-18)

These specific things are stated to be the will of God. There are even times that suffering is directly the will of God for us.

First Corinthians 7 says a lot about remaining single as well as being committed to one's marriage. Clearly, this chapter (along with 2 Corinthians 6:14) states that a Christian is definitely not to marry a non-Christian. These are finely tuned precepts that reveal God's will.

Principles. But the Bible also has principles, general guidelines to assist us through the gray areas. Not so much "do this" and "don't do that," but an appeal to use wisdom and discretion when such are needed.

We have both precepts and principles in our traffic laws. The sign that reads "Speed Limit 35" is a precept. The one that reads "Drive Carefully" is a principle. And that principle will mean one thing on a deserted street at two o'clock in the morning, but something else entirely at three-thirty in the afternoon when children are walking home from school.

Just remember this: A primary purpose of the Word of God is to help us know the will of God. Become a careful, diligent student of Scripture. Those who are will be better equipped to understand His desires and walk in them.

2. Look Around and Within

Philippians 2:12-13 presents a good cause for our cooperating with the Lord's leading:

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

These verses highlight three specifics: There's a willingness to obey. There's the need to "work out" or give ourselves to doing our part with a sensitive spirit (fear and trembling). And then there's the promise that God will "work in you" to accomplish His plan. As we remain alert to His working, paying close attention to doors He opens and closes, He directs us into His will.

Closed doors are just as much God's leading as open ones. The believer who wants to do God's will must remain sensitive and cooperative, not forcing his or her way into areas that God closes off. The Lord uses circumstances and expects us to "read" them with a sensitive, alert conscience.

We must stop and check His Word. We must look around and within. And there is one more helpful piece of advice to remember. We must . . .

3. Listen to the Counsel of Qualified People

Solomon the wise once wrote:

A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding draws it out. (Proverbs 20:5)

Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another. . . .

As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man. (Proverbs 27:17, 19)

Like a quarterback, fac

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by Charles R. Swindoll 1 Kings 11:6, 9-13 Solomon planted seeds of willfulness and independence that reaped a harvest of age-old rebellion in his heart. Let's see what God did in response to Solomon's defiance. Read 1 Kings 11:9-11. His very first reaction was a strong statement of divine anger. Right off the bat: "Now the LORD was angry with Solomon" (v. 9). What a refreshing balance, what a clean breath of air! Of course God was angry! Week after week we hear of the love of God. We are told of the compassion and the mercy and the grace of God, and we surely should be. But to the exclusion of His anger? I think not. How easy to forget that He is holy. How seldom we hear teaching of the wrath and the anger of God, of the jealousy God has for the purity of His people. Mark it down in bold print: Defiance still makes God angry. Not too long ago, I did a scriptural study on divine anger. To tell you the truth, I was amazed at how often the word anger appears in the Bible in relation to God. Usually, the word kindled accompanies the term. His anger is often kindled. Our English word has in mind the idea of arousing or stirring something up or starting embers to glow. It's usually related to the kindling of a fire. The Hebrew word translated kindled comes from the root verb that suggests "to be heated to the point of vexation." It vexes God when He sees His children walk against His plan. I repeat, it still makes Him angry. I have several old Puritan books. Every time I read them, I find myself reminded of the holiness of God. God stands ready to deal with His people, modern-day teaching notwithstanding. We need the reminder that He is still jealous for our hearts, and when we walk against His way, He deals with us. The Bible is replete with illustrations such as these. Is He patient? Yes. Loving? Of course. Merciful? Always. But holy? And jealous? Absolutely. Never, ever forget that when we serve the idols of our own lives, the Lord becomes angry because our hearts are turned off to Him. Even His longsuffering has a limit; His patience reaches an end. It's like what my folks used to say when I finally went too far. In a tone clearly reserved for finality, they would say: "Charles, THAT'S IT!" Oh---those awful two words! "That's it!" How I would long for a place to hide . . . or the coming of the Lord for His own! At times God says to His children, "That's it! No more!" And He moves right in. Defiance, I find more often than any other attitude, is the thing that kindles God's anger. Let us never forget that our defiance gives Him every right to be angry. We've broken His holy plan for us. He wants us to walk in the light, in fellowship with Him, just as He is in the light. Did you notice how God said He would remove Solomon's kingdom? According to verse 11, He would "tear" the kingdom from him. T-E-A-R. That, my friends, is a serious stress fracture. When we exhibit defiance, forcing the Lord to step in and deal with us, it's a tearing experience. It's a ripping away of things that are very important to us. Our peace and calm are disturbed. Our diplomatic relationships with people are stirred up. We don't get along with our parents. We don't get along with our kids. We don't get along with our peers as we once did. All of that is a tearing away of kingdoms that were built in defiance. Let's not overlook the Lord's mercy here. He says in verses 12 and 13: "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." Those are hard, strong words. Frankly, defiant people only hear hard, strong words. They are not listening to the whisperings or the quiet movements of God. So, we see that God responds to defiance with righteous anger. He also takes action. We'll talk about that in Part Four. This devotional is part three in a five-part series. Excerpted from Stress Fractures, copyright © 1990 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

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2 Chronicles 7:13-15

The history of great civilizations reminds me of a giant revolving door. It turns on the axis of human depravity as its movement is marked by the perimeter of time. With monotonous repetition each civilization has completed the same cycle, having passed through a similar sequence of events. One man summarized it like this:

From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great courage
From great courage to strength
From strength to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to leisure
From leisure to selfishness
From selfishness to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependency
From dependency to weakness
From weakness back to bondage

Whether Roman or Athenian empires . . . Egyptian or European cultures, the chronicle tells its own tale. Regardless of geography, origin, achievements, or level of prosperity, each one has sunk deeply into the vortex of ruin.

Consider Babylon. It can hardly be found today. It is nothing more than a lonely whistle stop along the Baghdad railroad. Its beauty and significance now lie buried beneath tons of dirt, rocks, and debris in a forlorn and forgotten land. How she has fallen!

Israel can also teach us the same lesson. Inquire at the gate called Judges. That place reaffirms the truth of humanity's cyclical habit. Time after time---for over three hundred years---the Jews went through the succession of events mentioned above. Like pawns on a chessboard, they lived under the bondage of superior powers until God gave them a deliverer, who fired the furnace of spiritual fervor . . . which inflamed their courage . . . which kindled military strength . . . then liberty . . . then abundance . . . then leisure---and then right back down the tube again into bondage. The age-old path of that same revolving door has etched itself upon the tablet of Israel's antiquity.

It was about two hundred years ago, while the thirteen colonies were still part of Great Britain, that Professor Alexander Tyler [sometimes referred to as Alexander Fraser Tytler] addressed himself to the fall of the Athenian Republic. He declared:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves excessive gratuities from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the treasury, with the result that a democracy collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.

It's a stunning fact of history that the average age of the world's great civilizations has been approximately two hundred years. According to that reckoning, America may be living on borrowed time. The age-old revolving door is turning and we are---as I see it---somewhere between apathy and dependency on the historical cycle. It doesn't take a meteorologist to predict rain if the sky is black and drops are starting to fall. Neither does it take a prophet to predict future bondage if we are now a majority of apathetic and dependent people!

Hope for our great nation rests upon independent thinking and individual effort. The revival of discipline, integrity, work, determination, and healthy pride is not a national matter but a personal one. Inward change and godliness are not legislated by Congress---they are spawned in the heart and cultivated in the home before they are bred in the land. Frankly---it boils down to one person, you.

A revolving door has to be pushed by those within it. When we stop pushing, it will stop turning . . . but not until.

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life. Of that I am sure. When she left over nine years earlier, something of him died as well. And so---to her he has been joined and they are, together, with our Lord. In the closest possible companionship one can imagine.

In this my sister, my brother, and I find our greatest comfort---they are now forever with the Lord---eternally freed from pain and aging and death. Secure in Jesus Christ our Lord. Absent from the body and at home with Him. And with each other.

That night I said goodbye. You'd think it would have been easy, since his illness had persisted for more than three years. How well I remember the Sunday he suffered that first in a series of strokes as I was preaching. God granted him several more years to teach many of us to appreciate the things we tend to take for granted.

He leaves in his legacy a well-marked Bible I treasure, a series of feelings that I need to deepen my roots, and a thousand memories that comfort me as I replace denial with acceptance and praise.

I await heaven's gate opening in the not-too-distant future. So do other Christians, who anxiously await Christ's return. Most of them anticipate hearing the soft strum of a harp or the sharp, staccato blast of a trumpet.

Not me. I will hear the nostalgic whine of a harmonica . . . held in the hands of the man who died that night . . . or did he? The memories are as fresh as this morning's sunrise.

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Joshua 24:14-15

I like Joshua's style in Joshua 24:14-15. Like a good leader, he laid out the facts. He exhorted those about him to get off the fence and get their spiritual act together. He encouraged personal authenticity and strong commitment . . . but not once did he pull rank and fall back on intimidation to get his way. He risked being ignored and rejected when he left the final decision up to them. He respected their right to follow his advice or walk away when he told them, in so many words, "Make up your mind!" But there was never any question where he stood. He had weighed the evidence, considered the alternatives, and come to a settled conviction---he and his family were going to serve the Lord God, no question about it. But what others would do was strictly up to them. They would have to decide for themselves.
 
Unusual combination. A strong leader who knew where he was going, but gave others the space they needed to choose for themselves. No threats. No name-calling. No public put-downs. No exploitation or manipulation or humiliation. He didn't play on their emotions or attack their alleged ignorance or use some gimmick to gain strokes in defense of his position. He knew what God would have him do, and he realized the consequences of their choosing differently . . . but they needed to weigh those issues for themselves. It needed to be their decision, not his. At that point, he backed off and said, "Now you decide."
 
That's not only smart, it's an evidence of two admirable virtues: security in himself and respect for others. Today, it is clear to all of us that Joshua made the right decision back then. From our objective perspective, he chose the correct alternative . . . as they also did later on. But note again that he didn't hurry his people to opt for his position. Joshua knew that if they didn't wrestle with the issues on their own, the resulting decision might be superficial . . . fragile . . . a commitment that might very well melt under the inevitable heat of difficulty and trial.
 
Nevertheless, there will always be some who want others to make their decisions for them. Many individuals in Christendom are continually looking for some evangelical guru or superstar pastor or bionic authority figure to cosign for their lives.
 
It takes the restraining power of the Holy Spirit to withstand such tempting invitations to take control. It is helpful to remember that every time we yield to that destructive desire for power we retard others' growth toward maturity. Making one's own decisions develops healthy mental muscles. But I repeat, there will always be a few who crave to be told what to do. They are the ones who remain so indecisive their favorite color is plaid.
 
We'll talk more about acting decisively tomorrow.

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by Charles R. Swindoll

1 Peter 1:13

Eagle thinkers ask the hard questions, take strategic risks, search hard for the whole truth, and soar high above mediocrity. Parrot people enjoy the predictable, routine, rehearsed words of others.

As we discussed yesterday, the church is overrun with parrots and virtually devoid of eagles. Too harsh? You decide. Who are the eagles today who offer fresh-from-the-mountain insights about world missions, biblical doctrines, evangelism, Christian education, apologetics, and the disciplines of the faith? Who are those who forge out creative ways of communicating the truths of Scripture so that it's more than a hodge-podge of borrowed thoughts and rehearsals of the obvious which tend to paralyze the critical faculties of active minds?

Eagles are independent thinkers.

It's not that they abandon the orthodox faith or question the authority of God's inerrant Word . . . it's simply that they are weary of being told, "Stay on the perch and repeat after me." Eagles have built-in perspective, a sensitivity that leaves room for fresh input that hasn't been glazed by overuse.

The church today is in desperate need of eagles---people who come to their tasks with the abandonment of that keen-minded Jew from Tarsus. If you need an illustration, read Romans. Like a careful midwife, Paul assists in the birth of doctrine, allowing it to breathe and scream, stretch and grow, as God the Creator designed it to do. And he isn't afraid to say it for the first time, using a whole new vocabulary and style that is as original as it is accurate. There's not as much as a parrot feather on one page of that one-of-a-kind letter.

So then, which will it be? If you like being a parrot, stay put. But if you're an eagle at heart, what are you doing on that perch? Do you have any idea how greatly you're needed to soar and explore? Do you realize how out of place you are inside that cage? Even though others may not tell you, eagles look pretty silly stuck on a perch picking over a tasteless pile of dried seeds.

I've never heard anybody ask, "Eagle want a cracker?"

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Psalm 42:1-2

The Bible is filled with references to water. From the creation account where we read that "the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters" (Genesis 1:2), all the way to the last chapter of Revelation where we're told of "a river of the water of life, clear as crystal" that is flowing from God's throne (Revelation 22:1), we find literally hundreds of occasions where water is mentioned in the Scriptures. Because water plays such a major role through so many scenes found in the Bible, it should not be surprising to us that water is vital to our health and well-being. It not only cleanses our bodies from impurities, it refreshes and satisfies us when we are thirsty.

But we must not overlook a spiritual dimension. We read in the ancient book of Psalms,

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2)

Do those words express your feelings? Do you find yourself thirsty for a deeper relationship with the living God? Has your world become parched and barren, leaving you like that deer, panting for the kind of water that can satisfy your soul?

Jesus once made a statement that is worth serious consideration: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38). Be sure that you don't overlook the importance of "living water" in your inner life as you become aware of the value of water in your physical body. Those who hope to be fit to serve God need to keep both in balance.

Before you move on with your day, pause and ponder this: am I giving sufficient time and attention to the cultivation of my inner life? If not, what changes are needed to bring my inner life and my outer life into balance?

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Genesis 4:7

We've all heard the expression "mind over matter." For the sake of our thinking today, let's alter the saying to "mind over emotion." To tie it in even more directly to a story from the Bible where these words would really apply, we should change it to "mind over madder."

Adam and Eve's firstborn was a son they named Cain. Their second, you'll recall, was named Abel. Cain grew up to be a farmer. When Abel became a man, he was a shepherd. It came time for an offering to be made to the Lord, so Cain brought some of the fruit he had grown while Abel brought of the firstlings from his flock. We read in Genesis 4:4 that the Lord accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Rather than accept the Lord's decision, we read, "Cain became very angry and his countenance fell" (Genesis 4:5). Interestingly, in the Hebrew sentence the term translated "countenance" is literally the word for "face." Cain's face fell. Unable to hide it, his anger was reflected in his face.

Let's not go deeply into why the Lord rejected Cain's offering, except to say that it was the wrong kind of offering to bring. He brought one that pleased him but not the Lord. What really interests us here is Cain's emotional reaction to what happened. Plain and simple, he got mad.

The Lord didn't simply look the other way; He chose rather to confront it head-on: "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance [face] fallen?" (Genesis 4:6). He then adds a comment that I find extremely important. "If you do well, will not your countenance [face] be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it" (4:7).

The Lord knew that if Cain allowed his anger to simmer and seethe, it would dominate his life and lead to violence---like a bloodthirsty animal crouching nearby, ready to pounce. How could Cain call a halt to that happening? Go back and read God's advice: "If you do well, will not your [face] be lifted up?" (4:7, emphasis added). By doing what's right, Cain would gain the mastery over his anger and experience relief. He would feel so much better . . . even his face would show it! Best of all, he would not take revenge through out-of-control rage by allowing his anger to fester.

Here's the principle: our mind must take charge of our emotion, which will prompt our will to obey. That's the only way to live! But if we allow our emotion (in this case, anger) to continue, something much worse can happen; in fact, it will happen. And what is that? As God warned Cain, our beast-like nature will ultimately leap into action.

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by Charles R. Swindoll

1 Peter 2:12

Mediocrity is fast becoming the byword of our times. Every imaginable excuse is now used to make it acceptable, hopefully preferred. Budget cuts, time deadlines, majority opinion, and hard-nosed practicality are outshouting and outrunning excellence. Those forces seem to be winning the race. Incompetence and status quo averages are held up as all we can now expect, and the tragedy is that more and more people have virtually agreed. Why worry over the small stuff? Why bother with the genuine now that the artificial looks so real? If the public buys it, why sweat it?

To make it painfully plain, why think clearly since most folks want someone else to think for them? Why live differently in a society where it's so much easier to look the same and swim downstream? Why fight fiercely when so few seem to care? Why stand courageously if it means risking ridicule, misunderstanding, or being considered a dreamer by some and a fool by others?

Why, indeed? To quote young David just before he took on that Philistine behemoth in the Valley of Elah, "Is there not a cause?" Must we wait for someone else to establish our standard or to set our pace? Not on your life! It is my firm conviction that those who impact and reshape the world are the ones committed to living above the level of mediocrity. There are still too many opportunities for excellence, too much demand for distinctiveness, to be satisfied with just getting by.

Excellence is a difficult concept to communicate because it can easily be misread as neurotic perfectionism or snooty sophistication. But it is neither. On the contrary, it is the stuff of which greatness is made. It is the difference between just getting by and soaring---that which sets apart the significant from the superficial, the lasting from the temporary.

A commitment to excellence is neither popular nor easy. But it is essential. Excellence in integrity and morality as well as ethics and scholarship. Excellence in physical fitness and spiritual fervor just as much as excellence in relationships and craftsmanship.

Since it is the living Lord in the final analysis who appraises our excellence, it is He whom we must please and serve, honor and adore.

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

The world in which one person lives is too limited and restricted. When rubbing shoulders with another, we gain a panoramic view, which allows us to see the whole picture. "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man" (Prov. 27:19). That's so picturesque! People provide a clear reflection of what is in the heart. A mirror goes only skin deep. The counsel of a friend reflects what is down inside.

I'm talking about people who love you too much to let you play in dangerous traffic. They also love you too much to let you start believing in your own stuff. When they spot conceit rearing its head, they say so. But they also love you too much to let you be too hard on yourself. Like Jonathan with David, they are messengers of great encouragement.

"He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm" (Prov. 13:20). That statement is not a verse written to teenagers in high school, though it certainly would apply. I clearly remember my high school years, don't you? Many of us ran around with others who were tougher than we, so we could cover up our own feelings of inadequacy. My mother kept saying to me, "Charles, every time you run with the wrong crowd, you do wrong. When you are with the right crowd, you do right." Her counsel is still true. If I were to run with the wrong crowd, I would be tempted to do wrong.

And it doesn't stop when we turn twenty. It goes on into adult years as well. If you choose a wrong set of co-workers, you'll practice wrong things in your business. If you choose a wrong set of friends, you'll practice wrong things in your social life. Run with those who do drugs, and you'll wind up doing the same.

But---the flip side---those who walk with the wise learn from them. You need someone who will say, "I'm not sure how healthy that is. I'm glad you asked me. Let's talk about it." And that person will help point out the traps you could fall into if you keep tracking in that direction.

Other eyes, more perceptive and objective than ours, can see traps that we may fail to detect.

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Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

A Prayer for Today

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Job 12:16

Picture for a moment the barrenness and bleakness that happens in a life when compromise occurs. It doesn't come immediately. At first it's fun to run with the wrong crowd. There's some zip, a little excitement; there's a measure of thrill and pizzazz in being a part of the in-group. But inevitably the fleshly investment starts to yield its carnal dividends. And when that happens you suffer as you've never suffered before.

Perhaps the words "very low" paint a picture of bleakness that describes you at this very moment. You have ignored God's warnings and pushed your strong convictions aside as you associated with the wrong crowd. But now you are at the end of your rope. You're discouraged. You have failed miserably. You're thinking, What a terrible way to live!

All of us have spent time in that miserable camp called Reaping What Was Sown. En route, there's enough pleasure to make it seem like fun, but when it's all said and done, it's downright awful. There is no discouragement like the discouragement that comes from self-generated wrongdoing. Enduring the consequences of one's own irresponsibility creates feelings of grief and discouragement that defy description.

That's enough about the problem. What we really need are specific suggestions that get us back on track. First, you need to openly acknowledge what caused your condition. Openly admit that you have failed to stand alone as a true child of God. You see, you weren't built to live that way. You have allowed someone else to call your cadence. You're marching out of step with your Instructor. And the Lord speaks directly: "You have not obeyed Me."

Second, focus directly on the Lord, not on the odds against you. Everything depends on where your focus is. You must discipline yourself to focus directly on the Lord, not on those odds!

Get this straight and never forget it: You will not stand alone when outnumbered or stand tall when tested or stand firm when discouraged if your focus remains on the odds. Your eyes must be trained on the Lord.

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by Charles R. Swindoll who />has already determined what it will take to encounter and triumph over life's enemies. And what will it take? A few strong, quality-minded champions whose commitment is solid as stone. And the cost will be great.

Ephesians 5:15-16

I think we need to sign a mental declaration of independence. Let's put our names on the line, pledging ourselves with firm resolve, much like those brave men did on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia when they signed the Declaration of Independence.

Did you know that of the fifty-six courageous men who signed that original document in Philadelphia, many did not survive the war that followed? Five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Nine others died in the Revolutionary War, either from its hardships or its bullets. Twelve had their homes sacked, looted, burned, or occupied by the enemy. Two lost their sons in battle. One had two sons captured. Yes, the price of freedom was high indeed for those men. But deciding to be free, to think and live independently, to soar above the masses is always a costly decision.

In today's vernacular, committed individuals live with shallow tent pegs. They may own things, but nothing owns them. They have come to terms with merchandise that has a price tag and opted for commitment to values that are priceless.

Denying oneself is not to be equated with losing one's uniqueness or becoming of no value. There have been great people in each generation who modeled self-denial as they made significant contributions to humankind.

Chief among those models in history is Jesus Christ Himself. He is our champion of self-denial, the One to whom we look for guidance and strength in such a great task. And He is the King

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Isaiah 44:22 NLT

If I choose not to risk, if I go the "safe" route and determine not to promote either salvation by grace or a lifestyle of grace, what are the alternatives? Four points come to my mind, all of which are popular these days. I'll share two points with you today and two points tomorrow.
 
I can emphasize works over grace. I can tell you that as a sinner you need to have a stronger commitment to Christ, demonstrated by the work you do in His behalf, before you can say that you truly believe. My problem in doing so is this: A sinner cannot commit to anything. He or she is spiritually dead, remember? There is no capacity for commitment in an unregenerate heart. Becoming an obedient, submissive disciple of Christ follows believing in Christ. Works follow faith. Behavior follows belief. Fruit comes after the tree is well rooted. Martin Luther's words come to mind:

No one can be good and do good unless God's grace first makes him good; and no one becomes good by works, but good works are done only by him who is good. Just so the fruits do not make the tree, but the tree bears the fruit. . . . Therefore all works, no matter how good they are and how pretty they look, are in vain if they do not flow from grace.

I can opt for giving you a list of dos and don'ts. The list comes from my personal and/or traditional preferences. It becomes my responsibility to tell you what to do or not to do and why. I then set up the conditions by which you begin to earn God's acceptance through me. You do what I tell you to do . . . you don't do what I tell you not to do, and you're "in." You fail to keep the list, you're "out." This legalistic style of strong-arm teaching is one of the most prevalent methods employed in evangelical circles. Grace is strangled in such a context. To make matters worse, those in authority are so intimidating, their authority is unquestioned. Rare are those with sufficient strength to confront the list-makers.

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by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Acts 9:26--30

The disciples feared Saul. They couldn't bring themselves to believe he was a disciple. "But Barnabas . . . "  Isn't that a great opening? Out of nowhere comes Barnabas to encourage Saul and be his personal advocate. How did Barnabas know Saul needed his help? We don't know. Yet we do know that God is sovereign and has his Barnabases in every town, every church, on every college and seminary campus, and even on the mission field. Each Barnabas stands ready at a moment's notice to come to the aid of someone in need of encouragement.

So rather than operating out of fear and prejudice, Barnabas stepped up and "took hold of him." Saul was willing to accept his assistance. That's a healthy dependence. Barnabas took Saul under his wing and said, "Come with me, I'll set this thing straight with these men. They trust me." So off they went, and the sacred narrative says that Barnabas "brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus" (v. 27). That's what I call divine intervention through a lesser-known saint! Barnabas basically said, "I've checked this guy out---he's the genuine item. He saw the risen Christ, just like all of you. The man is on our team. Make room . . . relax!"

The next statement describes the result of Barnabas's action on behalf of Saul: "And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord." For the first time in his ministry, Saul spoke freely about Christ in Jerusalem, in the company of respected disciples---set free to be himself for the glory of God. What made the difference? Barnabas!

You may be a Barnabas today. Do you know someone who has been kicked in the teeth because he has a bad track record? Someone who can't get a hearing, yet she's turned her life around and nobody wants to believe it? I urge you to step up like Barnabas did for Saul. Look for those individuals who need a second chance---a large dose of grace to help them start over in the Christian life. Everybody needs a Barnabas at one time or another.

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  We hear a lot about detoxing our physical bodies today from all the chemicals, bacteria and pesticides in our foods. It does our body good to go through deep cleanses and rid our bodies of toxins. In the same way, there are all kinds of toxins that can build up in our mind. When we go around dwelling on the wrong thoughts, thinking about what we can’t do, how somebody hurt us, what someone said we couldn’t do, and how we’ll never get ahead; those thoughts are toxic thoughts. And toxic thoughts left alone become like toxic waste. It will eventually contaminate our whole life. It affects our self-image. It affects our attitude and our level of confidence. It becomes a part of who we are.

  That’s why it says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else guard your heart for it affects everything you do.” The writer is saying to make guarding your mind a priority. Put this at the top of your “To Do” list because if your mind gets polluted, your whole life is going to be polluted. Every morning when we get up, we should go through this cleansing and detoxing. Forgive the people that have hurt us. Let go of every disappointment. Detox low self-esteem. Detox the negative words. Detox little dreams. If you will guard your mind and not let these toxic thoughts take root, but keep it full of faith-filled thoughts,  you’re going to rise higher and higher into new levels with God!

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Excellent Post. God Bless.

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