Q: You know what is so cool about Jesus? The cool thing about Jesus is every time we pray He intently is Listening to every prayer we say to Him big or small..I remember as a kid in a 3rd grade sitting in the middle of the floor saying these words to Jesus, “Jesus one day I would like to make a touchdown in a pro football game to tie it up the score”…That was all I said..20 years later; Check out the football video clip and find out what happened…I hope this encourages you that God is “listening” to every prayer you say to Him.
A: I remember when I as a teenager and said the most serious prayer of my life. I said to God, "if this is getting to know you, I will never know you." I was raised in a Christian home and attended church at an extremely well-known denomination. However, I wasn't a born again Christian. I knew of Jesus, but didn't know Him. When I was 11, my father had a stroke. Personally, I think the trauma from that drove my family back into their religion for various reasons. However, even as a teenager, I could see an emptiness and a separation between what was called church and what they claimed about the Lord. I could get no connection with God and got even less out of my "church" experience. I remember talking to God about wanting to know Him, but not wanting to go through some physical trauma, like my dad, or lose someone to death, in order to get there. Typical kid. I want to know you God, but not if it is difficult :-) Anyway, some ten years or so later, there I was going through a difficult break up with an ex-girlfriend. The emotional trauma eventually led me to Him and I accepted Him as my savior in 1996. And true to my prayer God came through for me. I finally got to "know Him," but I didn't suffer any physical trauma or the loss, to death, of someone close to me. Even my ex and I are still friends. It is proof that "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (1 Thes 5:24)."
Q: What does it mean to have the "mind" of Christ?
A: To have the mind of Christ means to have the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." This is the conclusion reached by Paul based on everything said leading up to this point. Paul says we"speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing (1 Cor 2:6)." The Bible talks plenty of times of how the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. When Christians talk about the Lord and what we see going on in the world, the world balks at us and thinks we are crazy. We say Jesus is the way. The world says there are many ways. We see the world groaning with birth pangs waiting for its redemption. The world says we must "save" the world through various environmental pursuits and by harmonizing different religions. We say man is evil by nature. The world says we are good by nature. This is how we see the wisdom of this age compared to the wisdom of the Lord.
Paul goes on to says, "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Cor 1:9-10)." Whether it is revealing the meaning of Scripture to us or discerning what goes on in the life around us, it only comes from the Spirit. It is as if the world is walking around in a cluttered dark house unable to see the obstacles in front of them. Whereas we are walking around in a room with the light on, able to see things as they truly are and make proper decisions. That is the Spirit teaching us and guiding us. Ultimately, because of what we have in Christ we are able to understand what God has given us to meet the deepest desires of our heart, Himself. Therefore, we are able to engage the world with what we have to offer it, Jesus Christ, rather than look to the world to what it can offer us, sin. And in the midst of all that we have the Lord teaching and guiding us which brings us to a better understanding of Himself and who we are in Him. It is not that we now ask "What would Jesus do?" It is now ask "What would the Father have me do?" Jesus did nothing unless the Father instructed Him to do so. Now, in Him, we are able be the same way because have His mind. Be blessed.
Q: Believer or disciple? ANY DIFFERENCE?
A: I think we run the risk of splitting hairs on this question. For the most part the terms mean the same thing in as much as they are used to describe the same type of individual; a Christian. Jesus said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I p...ray also for those who will believe in me through their message (John 17:20)." He later said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)." The term believer and disciple seem to describe the same individuals. In Acts we read, "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26)." Later in Acts it says, "He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer (Acts 16:1)." The terms are used almost interchangeably throughout scripture. When James says, "Even the demons believe that—and shudder (James 2:19)," he is talking about believing in one God, not necessarily about believing in Jesus. But, that is another subject. The question that should be asked on this topic is "what should a disciple believe?"
Countless so called Christians will say they are believers or disciples, but upon further examination nearly all of them believe different things about Jesus. You have Catholics disagreeing with Protestants. Within Protestantism you have all the different denominations all claiming to be disciples, but teaching different doctrines. Then throw in religions like Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses and you are hard pressed to discover what the truth is. Therefore, while we can try and find if there are differences between the two terms, it is meaningless apart from discovering the foundational truth we believe in and are disciplining others to believe in as well. "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus (Romans 15:5)." Like Paul, my prayer is for a spirit of unity which comes from allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to us. We are truly disciples when we believe the same things about the Lord and who we are in Him. Then we can boldly go forward and fulfill the Great Commission as one, unified, body. Be blessed.
Q: When "temptations" come, how can we as Christians keep from "yielding" to temptations?
A: The answer is to know what you already have in Christ. But, first, you must understand that you are occasionally going to succumb to temptation no matter how hard you try. It is just a sad fact of being in these fallen bodies. But, two, you must get your focus off of temptation, sin, etc and realize that God is not counting your sins against you. "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin (1 Jn 3:5)." If you are in Him, God does not see your sins. We have to look at ourselves from God's perspective not from ours. Back to the question. God created us to have the need for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life. He created us this way so that He was the only One who could fulfill those deep desires of our heart. Ask yourself this question: "What is your motivation for sinning?" If you are like me, we sin because we are deceived into believing that through sin those desires of our heart will be met. If you think back to the times you sinned, most likely you did so because you were looking to be loved, accepted or trying to find meaning and purpose to your life. But, here is the key. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him (2 Ptr 1:3)" and "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3)."
If you have everything you need for life and godliness and every spiritual blessing in Christ, what can sin offer you that you don't already have through faith? When you don't believe you are getting the deepest desires of your heart met through a relationship with God you will look to get it from the world through sin. And that is where temptation comes in. Just like Satan asked Eve in the Garden, "Did God really say....?" he tempts us the same way. "Did God really say you you have everything?" And if we don't know the truth and aren't experiencing it we will stumble. Thankfully, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin (Heb 4:15)." God knows what we experience and He has provided a way out when temptation comes. The way out is the knowledge of what we have in Him. Temptation comes, our response is, "What is it that this sin offers that I don't already have in Christ?" The answer is obvious, sin offers you nothing in comparison because "my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19)." And, again, if even after knowing all that you still "yield" to temptation, you are already forgiven. You can't lose. As you understand all you have in Christ the sins in your life will diminish as you learn to be trust in and be dependent on Christ and all you have in Him. Bel blessed.
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