INTEGRITY

   

 This thought has been rolling around in my spirit for the past few days so I finally decided to share it. It’s about a particular word and its definition is often not fully understood. This word often became a subject of strong discussion, especially in our Ministry or Biblical Leadership classes when I was an instructor at a Bible college. The word? INTEGRITY…

     One question that kept surfacing was, “Why is that so many pastors, church & ministry leaders are lacking in this area?”  By the way, my former students agreed that integrity should be a strong character trait for any Christian, not just leaders.  Another question asked was, “Why do so many people not follow through with doing things they said they would do?” That leads to distrust.

     The dictionary definition of integrity is: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.  SYNONYMS: honesty, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics,morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness,scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness.  "I never doubted his integrity" "He is known to be a man of integrity"

     Look at Proverbs 11:3 -  The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

     Dr .Richard J. Krejcir says “The (character of integrity exhibits the obedience and practice of the moral code of ethics, morals, values, and precepts from God's Word. In practice, integrity will produce honor, truth, and reliability. It will allow one to keep his or her word and do the best even when no one else is aware. This is essential for deeper relationships, and of course for developing other people's confidence in you and Christianity.”

     I totally agree with that statement!       What does this look like in our everyday lives? Here are a few things to consider:

·         Do I follow through with what I say?

·         Do I keep promises I’ve made?

·         Does my character line up with biblical attributes?

·         Does my language sound redeemed?

     Am I saying that we have to be perfect, that mistakes never happen? No. But as Hebrews 12:14 says: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”.

     Now that you know a little more about the word integrity.  Make sure you can follow through with the promises you make to others before speaking them out.

     This post is by no means a complete study on this subject, rather just a little something to chew on, especially in light of all the political promises we have been hearing about for months now. One thing we know, Jesus never fails and He keeps ALL His promises!

Guard Your Heart

 

    “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”  As I pondered this scripture my thoughts turned toward on of the promises Jesus made. The promise is that he is coming again for those who have believed his word and accepted him as Savior and Lord of their lives - "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:3)

Recently the Lord took me back to Proverbs 4:23 which says

     However, while we know that he will return, the time of his return is uncertain - "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Matt 24:42)  No one knows the exact time of the return of Jesus Christ, but we can recognize the times we’re living in.  With all that is happening prophetically all around the world it’s obvious that the time is short. I often challenge myself with this question; “What do I want to be found doing with my life when the Lord returns?’ This helps me to keep my life and priorities in perspective.

     Looking back to the verse I started out with, Proverbs 4:23. How do we guard our hearts? Let’s look at a few thoughts on keeping a guard in our lives.

     Guard our Attitudes – “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23) We need to make sure we’re building these characteristics into our lives on a daily basis. This will help us to walk in the Spirit rather than in our flesh, meaning our own thinking.  See Galatians 5:16

     Guard Against a Deceitful Heart - 9"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings”. Jeremiah 17:9-10 

     Daily ask the Lord to show you what needs to be purged from your heart.  Remember, as believers we are in the world but not of it.

     Guard Your Tongue – “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”  (Proverbs 21:23) and  "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. (Matthew 15:18) Check out Matthew 15:18 in the New Living Translation – “But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.”

     Guard Your Family – “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”  Psalm 127:1 – As the verse clearly shows, without the Lord leading us in our homes we will not do the best we could do.  There is so much in the world today that wants to tear apart families and best protection against these evils is the presence of the Lord in our lives.

     Guard Your Testimony –“… so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.” Philippians 2:15 NLT

The bible talks a lot about living a holy life separated from the ways of those who are not disciples of Jesus Christ.  As Christians we are to be different than the world, not like them.  My husband often says “ No matter where you are you’re being a testimony for either God or for the devil. You make the choice.”

     Guard Your Love – “So he answered and said," 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)   We must love God with every area of our lives. Remember, he loved us enough to send his son to die on a cross for our sin, so that when we come to him in repentance we can be forgiven and spend eternity with him in heaven.  Let’s not be like the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:4 who bore the indictment of leaving their first love. Let’s love God and those around us.

     In closing, as you see we have much to guard in our lives. So, until next time think of your life in the light of eternity.

Getting God's Attention

      

The other day I found myself singing this song to the Lord. “There is none like you, no one else can touch my heart like you do. I could search for all eternity long and find there is none like you.”  Oh, how I found that to be true in my life. The flip side of this is when we get impatient, expecting God to do something great in our life.

     Upon reading the bible we see some of the great feats God did for his people and find ourselves wondering why we don’t see things like that in our lives.  When we don’t see God doing spectacular things we tend to think he isn’t with us.  Take for instance, Abraham. He has some great victories, but do you realize that God only “showed up” about every fifteen years in Abraham’s life?  Or look at the life of Joseph. He was falsely accused, thrown in prison. Forgotten by key people, yet he remained faithful to God. Yet look what Genesis 39:21 says, “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” The Lord was with Joseph through all his trials.

     Let’s look at another perspective of God being with a person.  There was no doubt that God was present with the Psalmist David.  He had won many battles personally and on a national level. But when you read 1 Chronicles 14 where David has an opportunity to go defeat the Philistines again. He doesn’t just go up in his own strength, or with the attitude “I beat them before I’ll do it again.”  No, David inquire of the Lord if he should go to battle and asks the Lord to go with him. (Verse 10 & 14)  David didn’t rely on past methods/traditions of victory. He wanted God to move in a very “present” way.

     My question for us today is do we really believe God wants to touch our lives and are we willing to build godly characteristics that will draw God’s attention to our lives? Let’s briefly look at three things we need to trust God’s presence to be with us in everyday life.

Relationship

     “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18

     We must build an intimate relationship with the Lord. It begins the moment we accept Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Savior of our life. Then like any relationship we must nurture our relationship with him. Here’s another example from David’s life.  We may not see the tings happening “we” think should happen right now, but let’s not forget the blessing we’ve already received from the Lord. Look back on your life and see the progress you have made with the Lord’s help. Then be encouraged to know that he will continue to help you make progress in your life. The key can be found in Matthew 6:33.

Delight

     3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

 Psalm 37:3-5

     As parents we experience a special joy when we see that our children delight in being blessed by the things we do for them. God is no different. He takes great joy when we appreciate the blessings he brings to our life. And it makes it a joy for him to bless us again.

Recognition

     "Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” 2 Samuel 7:22

     We must recognize God for who he is and what he has done for us. The question now is are we able to sing to him from our heart “There is none like you. No one else can touch my heart like you do. I could search for all eternity long and find, there is none like you.”  Take time today to reflect on God’s goodness in your life. Think of the time he protected you from danger, the time he came through with finances to pay a bill, the time he kept you from getting involved in the wrong things, etc.  He loves you and has a good plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11) But he won’t force himself on you; you must invite him into your life.

     In closing, I haven’t arrived to being all I know God wants me to be, but I do know that no one can touch me like he can! How about you?

Empowered by the Spirit

   

     In thinking about the Easter once again and the power of the Resurrection, it is my prayer that we ALL be more empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do as individuals and within in each local church fellowship.  That took me to Acts 2:37-42, one of my favorite passages of scripture which says; “42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

     If we allow ourselves to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in 2016, I believe we can have the following six characteristics personally and corporately in our churches.

We have a Sanctified Hunger in our lives - v42 – “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship…”  These early Christians were devoting themselves to the things of God. There was a hunger in them that fed on Spiritual things. Things pertaining to the Kingdom of God held the biggest priority in their lives. What about us? What’s ruling our lives? Where do we spend most of our time and resources? What is really important to us?

We have a Powerful Presence – v43 – “Then fear came upon every soul...” They were focused with a sense of awe as miracles, etc. were happening all around them. Actually if we just stay in awe of Jesus, these things will naturally flow out of our lives. It’s one thing to be in awe of the things God does for us, but quite another to be in awe of Him!

We have Intimate Fellowship – v44 – “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common.”  The fellowship of this early Church was extraordinary. They didn’t just worship together they cared about each other, they spent time together, they shared, they prayed, ate together. There fellowship was much more than just a “Sunday thing.” These are the signs of healthy faithful group of believers.

We Have Real Worship – v46 – “Day by day continuing with one mind in the Temple”. These folks loved to worship. They loved to spend time in the presence of God through worship. They were hungry for the fellowship of the word, and worship. Today church has become one responsibility among many. When our lives are filled with the Spirit – worship is not work it’s what we live for.

We have an Impacting Testimony – v47 – The testimony of this church was making an impact on their community.  If your church doors closed, would the community miss it? How about your personal life? Is it making an impact for the Lord? The people in your workplace, in your neighborhood, at the gym… Do they know that you are a Christian? Do they know that you are about the Father’s business?

We Have True Growth – v47b – “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” That is the true focus of the Christian life. We have come to believe that Church is about us – We’re supposed to about winning the lost, bringing people to understand that they can have a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is true church growth, when we see many souls coming for salvation.

    If we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us our lives we will demonstrate

more fruit of the Spirit. We will be more and more conformed to the image of Christ. Our prayer life and study of God's Word will become more meaningful. We will experience greater power in witnessing. We will be prepared for spiritual conflict against the world; against the flesh; and against Satan & his evil spirits.  And, we will experience Holy Spirit power to resist temptation and sin.

     In closing… Just think; if every born-again believer in our city would become more Kingdom focused and Holy Spirit empowered;  things would forever change in all of our communities, churches, schools, etc. I am ready for the challenge, how about you? Brothers and sisters, let’s go for it!

   

THINKING ABOUT EASTER

       

With all that happened just before the crucifixion of Jesus and afterwards, the disciples and other followers experienced a wide range of emotions. As we look at these feelings they had let’s see how we can apply some principles to our life today. Our main test is  Luke 24:1-4 but we’ll be going throughout the whole chapter. It reads, “1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee...”

Confusion: Luke 24:1-4

     In the original Greek language the word perplexed means “to be left wanting, to be

embarrassed, to be in doubt, not to know which way to turn.” Imagine the thoughts they must have had swarming around in their minds. Could this really be?  What if it isn’t, where is his body? Thankfully, Jesus isn’t bothered by our questions. He doesn’t condemn us for having questions. He would rather us ask the questions than to ignore him.

Fear / Sadness: Luke 24:17 & Luke 24:5 –

     What were they afraid of? I think they wondered if they had been duped by Jesus. Was he really who he said he was? Did he fool us? They fear for their lives wondering if they would be arrested, even killed also because of their association with Jesus. Think about it,

Peter denied Jesus  You might say, “Well I would never deny the Lord. But have you ever had an opportunity to speak up for him and didn’t because you were afraid of being embarrassed?

Joy: Luke 24:30-32

     Think about this – right in the middle of their sadness Jesus was right there and they didn’t even know it… until He opened their eyes. Once we recognized that Jesus is revealing Himself to us and we acknowledge him, great joy comes into our lives. I don’t know about you, but before Jesus was in my life I had no joy, no hope... just negative thoughts and feeling down all the time. As believers joy should be a mark of our lives. That’s not to say we never have tough times but that we don’t have to allow the tough times to steal our joy.

Doubt: Luke 24:9-11 & 35-38

     Ever have someone tell you something and you’re like “yeah right…” And then later you found it to be so? I can only imagine the doubts that must have flooded their minds when things happened as they did. After hearing testimonies they wondered; “Is it true that he’s risen?” Just like us, they didn’t remember the promises he had given. How many times do we go through a trial and we forget about earlier trials that God brought us through? Doubt… we all experience it at times. 

Adoration: 47"and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48"And you are witnesses of these things. 49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." 50And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.” Luke 24:47,48 51-53 (Emphasis added)

     This is the heart of the Easter Story – WORSHIP – We’re to worship Jesus as King of Kings  & Lord of Lords…. He is risen indeed! According to verses 47 & 48, once we have received Jesus into our lives it gives a sense of mission. We’re now to be his witnesses telling other of the hope found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. And in our mission we’re to preach verse 47 – “repentance and remission of sins.”  You see my friend, one cannot experience the joy and worship of the Lord until they first have repented of their sin and surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. Does that mean life is problem free after salvation? Not at all! But, we now have the Lord to walk with us through those difficult times.

     I would like to close with a quote from a pastor (Tom Lovorn) that was used in a recent sermon I read. “ With hope, you can claim the Holy Spirit's guidance and power. And, with mission, you will have a reason for being where you are. You'll be purpose-driven to win your world for Jesus. Your whole image - the way you dress, talk, and walk; your attitude and outlook; your reaction to people and things – everything about you will be different. When people ask you, "What happened to you?" You can answer, "Easter happened, that's what!"

     Until next time, let’s rejoice that we have a risen Savior!