Spiritual Viewpoints

by Rick Smith

Christian Life

Becoming

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We must become something different, to do something different, in order to have something different. Jesus exampled this when he did the seemingly impossible. God became flesh and gave up heaven, made himself nothing, took the form of a servant, humbled himself, and obediently died on a cross. As a result, the Father  exalted him and gave Him the name that is above every name. (Phil. 2:6-11)

For us to have the attitude or mind of Christ, we, too, must become something different and do something different in order to have something different.

To become something different is a work in progress. It begins the minute I choose to change my bad habits into Christ-like habits. Anyone involved with a Twelve Step Program knows this happens one day at a time. You overcome addictions by putting one day at time together until there is a string of them. That’s also how you overcome selfishness, rage, impatience, and anything else that is ungodly or unworthy of a disciple.

Becoming something different, that is, becoming more like the Lord, is one of those goals we should tack onto our mirror or refrigerator. You might want to write out a verse and place it where you have to see it daily. Imagine facing yourself in the mirror each morning along with “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). It would remind you of what you have become — one of God’s chosen; what you should do — put on clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; and what you have — a Father that picked you.

 

A Holy Hunger?

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VIEWPOINTS
Thoughts To Encourage Godly Living
April 26, 2002

A HOLY HUNGER?

The way some “saved” people live, it’s no wonder there are so many skeptics. Who can blame an honest seeker for coming up empty when the finders have nothing to show? The truth is, people don’t want to see our dusty truths as much as they want to see our God.

Jesus was asked “Where is your father?” and he replied “You do not know me or my Father,…If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 8:19). Jesus’ answer is what we should be searching for. If we haven’t found Jesus, and therefore, God, in our lives, we need to lead the search party!

I’m afraid we aren’t offering the bread of life because too many of us are starving for it ourselves. Comfortable church assemblies and Cocoa Puff sermons haven’t answered man’s deepest longing — the need for a Savior. The best song leader, the finest Praise Team, or the most convincing preacher cannot take the place of the crucified Christ. What lost person cares if we can eloquently articulate the principles of interpretation? Seekers want to see the Holy Spirit living in us.

Are we looking for religion or spirituality? Many have plodded through decades of religion with its rules and regulations. We tell people the Old Testament law was fulfilled, and attempt to satisfy them with a New Testament law. That isn’t what they want or need. They want God. They want a Savior. They need Jesus and we give them a book. The Bible is inspired and important, but the emphasis should not be put on memorizing the genealogy, but rather on where the genealogy leads us. The preacher, Phillip, didn’t own a New Testament and was still able to begin in Isaiah and tell the Ethiopian about Jesus (Acts 8). Too many of us start in Acts, walk right past Jesus, and head straight for the water. We have to ask ourselves, “Are we trying to convert sinners to a plan or a man?” That begs the question, “To which have we been converted?”

Our church patter seems patented. We’ve got the “plan of salvation”, the “five steps”, the “five acts of worship” — where is Jesus? We sound more like parrots and mockingbirds than Spirit-led men and women. We’ve got the “spin”. We’re just missing Him.

Ask yourself, “What is the Lord doing in my life?” Am I really one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread, or am I one of the starving who has never known Jesus? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). We need a holy hunger before we’ll ever be satisfied. And then we’ll share the Savior!

The Chair and a Book

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VIEWPOINTS

Thoughts To Encourage Godly Living

March 26, 2002

 

THE CHAIR & A BOOK

I watched him work on the chair.  It’s an old brown one with a leather seat. This chair is special because John Henderson made it. John’s hobby was carpentry. John, and his wife Weezy (Elouise), were two of the best people I’ve ever known. They both have gone home, and I look forward to seeing them again in heaven.

This old chair sits in my house in the reading room. It was a gift from John. Upon this chair sits a black NIV Study Bible. Every morning around 5:30, another wonderful person picks the Bible up from this chair and reads. That would be Betty, my wife.

I have great memories of John and Weezy. John was a man who lived for God, and for his wife. He lived during Weezy’s sustained illness, helping her every step of the way. She died, and within days, John died from the cancer of which he never complained. He was too busy caring for Weezy to talk about his pain.

Everyday my wife picks up her Bible from this old brown chair. I’m so thankful for her. I know some of what John must have felt for Weezy. It’s wonderful being married to a Christian. How many husbands have their wives share what they learned from God’s word each day? I want to be a better man because I’m married to a better woman.

Proverbs says, “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10-12).

The chair and book remind me of something sacred – a friendship with a man who taught me how to love the woman who owns the Bible.

Godly friends and a Christian wife have given me a glimpse of heaven

Because of Calvary,

Rick

 

Christian Control Freaks

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Do you know what God and control freaks have in common? They both love you and have a wonderful plan for your life.

This control thing may not set well with God. We know He makes plans for us. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'” (Jeremiah 29:11). Still, we pray, “Lord, bless what I am doing,” instead of “Lord, help me do what you are blessing.”

What if my plans and God’s don’t coincide? This is one of the problems we have in giving God unconditional trust, isn’t it? He might take away something we love, or not give us something we want. What if our plans clash with His? We have a big problem trusting God when we want to be in control!

I know Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). Yet, my greatest fear is that God will want my life before I’m ready to give it; or, that he will allow someone dear to me to die before I’m ready to let them go.

I don’t know if I’m ready to let God control the Universe. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis quotes a schoolboy who was asked what God was like. The boy responded, “The sort of person who is always snooping around to see if anyone is enjoying himself, and then trying to stop it”. That answer speaks to our fear. We think life is too good. I’m enjoying myself too much. Soon, God is going to put the brakes on. It’s frightening to place complete trust in God at any given time when we know His plans may differ from ours.

Oswald Chambers wrote, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.” Total surrender is the goal we must seek. We need to know the One who is in control. Trust him. Love him. Understand that our ways are not always his ways. His are better. If you’re a control freak, turn loose and let God lead.

Getting In The Way Of Prayer

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“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (I Peter 3:7).

“It’s hard to be humble when you’re so good.” I know a few men that really think that way. They’re married to unhappy women. When a man treats his wife as though he is God’s gift to women ~ he isn’t. What kind of a lug-headed dimwit would treat the woman he loves like a slave? Do I see any hands?

Consideration is the first thing we must give our wives. Thoughtfulness, kindness, respect, tenderness, warmheartedness, compassion — all of these words illuminate consideration. Husbands need to be attentive to their wives’ needs. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Jesus died for the church — too many husbands have an “undying” love for their wives. The truth is that our wives don’t need us to die for them — they need us to live for them. When chivalry goes out the window, you know consideration went before it. When the husband never opens his wife’s car door, never vacuums the floor, never takes out the trash, never does something thoughtful that shows his love — he needn’t bother to pray because God won’t hear you.

When men wonder why their prayers aren’t being answered, it may be that they are hindering them. God says to be considerate and treat wives with respect. Do it or don’t bother praying. If there were no other reason to treat wives with consideration and respect, keeping prayers from stopping at the ceiling would be good enough. Actually, it’s not good enough. God commands men to treat their wives with holiness, in the form of consideration and respect, recognizing them as having a feminine quality deserving of such dignified treatment. He wants husbands to be aware that wives are heirs with us of God’s gracious gift of life. If husbands ignore God on this — He will ignore our prayers. There, I said it again.

Husbands, we can bring God glory by lifting our wives up to Him in prayer. We can love our wives by the considerate words we speak and by our respectful attitudes. “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22).

Trailer Trash

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Our church building was about two miles from the campus trailer court where Betty and I lived. It was our first year of marriage and my second year of college. One Sunday morning we were sitting in church which was just across the street from the college. A man dressed in shabby clothes, who lived in our trailer court, led the closing prayer. His prayer was simple: “Lord, forgive us for we are but worms. Amen”

After his “Amen”, two stylish looking older women sitting directly ahead of us turned to each other with up-turned noses and said something very uncomplimentary. In today’s vernacular it would be like saying, “Trailer trash”.

We weren’t certain whether his prayer or apparel caught their attention ~ probably both. After hearing the comments, I knew his prayer was right-on. So, I figure it was his shabby looks.

God is quite adamant on this subject. The prophet Samuel would have anointed Eliab instead of David as King because he mistakenly judged him on his looks. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him (Eliab). The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7). God looks through our Armani’s or J.C. Penney’s finery directly into our hearts.

God continues looking at hearts in the New Testament, “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (I Timothy 2:9-10). It seems as though a damper is put on fancy apparel and modesty alone is required.

The Holy Spirit puts an exclamation mark on the heart when He inspires the following: “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:2-4)

Trailers or shabby clothes don’t make trash out of people. Besides wanting people to dress modestly, with decency, and appropriateness, God’s interest is in our hearts. The only show He wants to see is the demonstration of a good heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)