Category: Practical

Respectable Sins: Anger | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins3 Comments

Angry Birds

In the last post in this series, I answered the question: How are we supposed to respond when others sin against us? Today I will look at how we show our anger and how we should handle our anger in a God honoring way.

How Do We Show Our Anger?

Different people show their anger differently. Here are three different ways people show their anger:

1. Some externalize their anger with strong emotional responses and hurtful language.
2. Others externalize it by making belittling or sarcastic comments about or to a person who is the object of their anger.
3. Yet others, tend to internalize their anger in the form of resentment.

These are not all the ways people show their anger, but it is a start. With that in mind, let’s answer our second question: How do we handle our anger in a way that honors God?

How Do We Handle Our Anger in a God Honoring Way?

First, recognize and acknowledge our anger as sin.

We cannot deal with anger until we recognize our actions as anger, and recognize that anger is a sin.

Second, ask why we became angry.

Did we become angry because of our pride, selfishness, or desire to be in control? Is there an idol we are protecting?

Third, change our attitude toward the person by forgiving them.

Meditating on Scriptures may help to change your attitude toward the person. Here are a couple I recommend: Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

Fourth, if our anger was outwardly directed toward someone, we need to ask the person to forgive us. 

We cannot let our anger fester, nor can we allow our sin against another. We must deal with it quickly before it escalates. Anger and unreconciled relationships only cause disunity in the church and hinder our ability to worship God.

Finally, we need to hand over to God the occasion of our anger.

Jerry Bridges says,

“We must believe that God is absolutely sovereign in all the affairs of our lives (both the good and the bad) and that all the words and actions of other people that tempt us to anger are somehow included in His wise and good purposes to make us more like Jesus.” [1]

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you handle your anger?
  2. Do you recognize your anger as sin?
  3. Are you willing to seek out and ask others forgiveness?

Looking Forward

In the next post in this series, I will talk about why we often get angry at God.

Resources

Post adapted from Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 121-28

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 126.

Image

What Faith Does | Hebrews 11

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical5 Comments

What Faith Does

Every Friday a group of men from our church meet at IHOP to discuss a chapter in God’s Word. For the last few months we have been working through Hebrews. Today, we met to discuss chapter 11, which is commonly known as the Hall of Faith.

What Faith Does

During our study, one of the men shared a list he jotted down about the things faith does. Here is the list he shared:

  • Faith is Evidence of things hoped for | God’s promises.
  • Faith gives us Understanding | Knowledge of creation.
  • Faith results in Action | Abel’s righteous sacrifice; Noah built an ark.
  • Faith is Obedient | Abraham left his home; he placed Isaac on an altar.
  • Faith gives Strength | Moses overcame his fear.
  • Faith changes our Desires | We now seek a heavenly home.
  • Faith results in Miracles | The crossing of the Red Sea; the defeat of Jericho.
  • Faith obtains Promises.
  • Faith obtains Victory.
  • Faith Raises the dead.
  • Faith allows us to both Receive and Endure torture and persecution.
  • Faith allows us to Persevere through poverty and hardship.
  • Faith is required to Please God.

As you can see, our faith does many things, which is the key. It is an active faith; a faith that works. It is not a faith that sits by idle. It changes our heart and causes us to act, which is why James tell us faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you see your faith working in your life?

Resource

Co-Author Mike Blankenship – Mike is a member of Sycamore Baptist Church, where he serves as a Deacon, as well as a teacher of our Adult II Sunday School Class. 

My 2013 New Year’s Resolutions

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year! It’s official 2013. The Holidays are over and many of us are gearing up to face yet another year. As we do, resolutions will be made. Some will be kept, while others will be broken. Perusing a poll of New Year’s resolutions this morning, I find most dealing with weight loss, fitness, making more money, or quitting a habit – smoking, drinking, gambling. Instead of making a perfunctory resolution, let me offer you a few well thought out resolutions I am planning to keep, Lord willing, this year.

My New Year’s Resolutions

(1) Read the Bible – I have always wanted to finish one of those read the Bible through in a year plans, but I always lose steam. It’s not that I haven’t read the entire Bible, I have. It’s not that I don’t study the Bible in-depth, I do. I just haven’t ever finished a plan. The beginning of the year is great. All the boxes are checked, and I even make it through Leviticus and Numbers, but somewhere after that I fade off. This year is going to be different.

I recently subscribed to Table Talk Magazine, and I plan to do their daily devotionals each day, along with their read the Bible through in a year plan. If you are in the market for a solid devotional magazine, one that cuts out all the fluff, will help you deepen your understanding of God’s Word, and set you on a path to read the Bible in a year, I would recommend Table Talk.

(2) Read Calvin’s Institutes – Calvin’s Institutes represent a lifetime of thought and study. Even though they were written in the 1500’s, they are readable and useful for modern man. In order to accomplish my goal, I am participating in a Calvin’s Institutes Reading Group. A group you can participate in as well. If you have always wanted to read the Institutes, but like me, they have been sitting on your shelf for some time, join the group. We are planning on reading The Institutes in a year and discussing them along the way.

(3) Love My Wife Better – My wife is amazing! She is smart, intelligent, and funny. She loves God and our family. Even though I have great wife, I have to confess I don’t love her as well as I should. This year, I am repenting and loving my wife better. I am armed with my Bible, Tim Keller’s recent book The Meaning of Marriage, Justin Buzzard’s Date Your Wife, and Joel Beeke’s Friends and Lovers. Other than the Holy Spirit convicting me and God’s Word teaching me, I am hoping to learn much from these godly men about loving my wife better.

Final Thoughts

Those are my resolutions for this year. I share those with you in order to encourage you to think through your resolutions, and so you can pray for me and hold me accountable as the year goes on. Your prayers and a timely comment or two throughout the year asking how things are going might just be the encouragement I need to keep at it.

Resource

Image

My Top 10

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Top 10

We are closing in fast on the New Year. Soon it will be 2013 and 2012 will be a thing of the past. Before we venture into the New Year, a time of reflection is in order. With that in mind, today I want to highlight my top 10 posts from this last year. These are not my favorite posts, but yours.

How did I determine your favorite posts? Not through complicated metrics or surveys. I simple looked at the stats to see which ones were viewed the most by my readers. Some of these you may remember, others you may not. Either way, these were the ones you clicked on the most last year. Without further ado, here are my top 10.

#10 A Christian View of Social Justice

#9 The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit (part 1)

#8 Thoughts on Seminary from a Graduating Seminarian

#7 Faith + Nothing = Salvation

#6 For He has Risen, as He Said!

#5 What Does it Mean to be Godly?

#4 Colored Eggs, Scavenger Hunts, or the Resurrection

#3 Christian Meditation: What is it and What does it Involve?

#2 Celebrate the Savior for He has Risen

#1 The Keys to Unity

Resources

Image

Why Should I Repent?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical12 Comments

Castle

In Matthew 4, Jesus begins his ministry. His first act is to preach, and His first message is:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Not necessarily a motivating message by today’s standards, or is it?

While many pastors desire to motivate their congregations to commit to Jesus with promises of health and wealth, Jesus motivates in a different way. Even though His call to repent and be His disciple is radical – He calls us to choose Him over our family, give Him the right to direct our career, our entire life, allowing Him to use us as His instruments for His purposes – it is worth it.

What is Our Motivation to Repent?

In the simple message Matthew records for us, Jesus provides us with motivation for why we should turn from our sins and become His disciple. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” He proclaims, making the Kingdom of Heaven our motivation to repent.

Why is the Kingdom of Heaven a motivating factor?

(1) The Kingdom of Heaven is ruled by God Himself and is a perfect kingdom.

There is no injustice or unrighteousness in it, no oppression or poverty, no disease or sickness. It is a perfect kingdom. A kingdom for which we all long, and it is here now.

Jesus has come to put everything right. Where the fall marred the perfect kingdom as sin entered the world, hindering relationships and bringing death and disease, Jesus has come to set class struggle, family breakdown, disease, sickness, and death, right. He has come as the perfect King to establish a new and perfect kingdom. A king and kingdom for which we all long.

(2) All those not in the kingdom will be judged and sentenced to an eternity in hell.

John the Baptist is the forerunner of Jesus. His preaching minister preceded Jesus’, preparing the people for Jesus’ arrival. In his messages leading up to the ministry of Jesus, he provides us with our second motivation for repentance. He tells those who came out to him:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matt. 3:11-12)

He pictures Jesus with a winnowing fork in hand separating the chaff from the wheat. The chaff is burned, while the wheat is put in the storehouse. John’s message tells us that those who do not repent will be sentenced to eternity in hell. While those who do repent, will experience eternal life with Jesus in His kingdom.

For at least those reasons, we are motivated to repent of our former way of life and turn to the Lord.

Challenge

While the biblical motivation to repent differs from that of the world, it is right and good. So today, if you have never repented and turn to Jesus as your Savior, want you do so now? Turn from your sins toward the Lord. Call on Him as Lord and Savior. Submit to His rule over your life. Make the perfect King your King today!

Questions for Reflection

  1. Does knowing that Jesus is a perfect King who rules over a perfect Kingdom motivate you to follow Him?
  2. Can you think of other biblical motivations to repent?
  3. Can you think of other worldly motivations?

Resources

Image

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

Recently, an article of mine was published at Gospel Centered Discipleship. I want to highlight that article today on the blog, so you will have access to it. Here is how it begins:

America is a hard working nation. The average workweek is no longer 40 hours a week, but 50, 60, or even 70 hours a week. Why do we work so hard and for so long? We have been told no one is going to do it for us and so we operate under the mentality that we have to go out there and earn it ourselves. While that is partly true in the secular world, it is not true when it comes to salvation found in Christ. Sadly, many have applied this concept of ‘earning it yourself’ to Christian life. They live by the motto ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ If we do our part, then God will do his part. Even though that may sound right to our ears and in our culture, it is not true.

You can read the rest of my article here.

Resource

Image