Scripture Memory Challenge – Week 7

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

How did you do with memorizing Scripture last week? If you did not do so well, or you did not know what Scripture to start memorizing, I invite you to take up the Scripture Memory Challenge with me. You can read more about it, and get started with week one’s memory verses, by clicking here.

Memory Verses

This last week, I memorized Jeremiah 32:17-19. I challenge you to do the same.

Jeremiah 32:17-19

Ah, Lord God! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 

Resource

Image

Respectable Sins: Discontentment | Part 2

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

Are you discontent with your possessions and money? Does your current circumstances cause you to be unhappy and unsatisfied? If so, you may be sinning.

In my last post in this series, I defined discontentment and gave a few areas where it is healthy to be discontent. Today, we turn our attention to sinful discontentment.

Why We Need to Deal with Sinful Discontentment

When we are sinfully discontent, we show that we do not believe God to be all wise, nor do we accept God’s sovereign control over our lives.

We also show that our thinking about our purpose in life is flawed. Instead of viewing our purpose in life as to bring glory to God, we believe life is about our glory. When a lack of finances, possessions, or difficult life circumstances do not work to bring us glory, then we become discontent.

These things are major issues. Issues that must be dealt with. For if they are not, they not only result in a rejection of God’s wisdom and sovereignty, along with a continued flawed view of our purpose in life, they also can lead to other sins such as resentment or bitterness.

Areas of Sinful Discontentment

(1) Money and Possessions – When we are unsatisfied or unhappy with our money or possessions, we are sinfully discontent.

The reason we are discontent in this area is because we have a desire for more. A constant desire for more reveals that our money or possessions have taken the place of God in our lives. When this happens, we no longer find our acceptance, comfort, joy, protection, and peace in God. Rather, we find it in our possessions and money, which is a problem and something we need to take action against.

Scripture

When discontentment in our finances and possessions surface, we need to remind ourselves of the truths of Scripture. Here are just a few passages to meditate on:

Hebrews 13:5-6

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

We Learn

We are not to trust in our money or possessions. Rather, we are to trust in the Lord for He alone is our helper.

Luke 3:14

Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

We Learn 

We are to be content with our wages, and we are not to extort others by threats or false accusations if we believe our wages are not enough.

Luke 12:15

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

We Learn

There is more to life than the possessions we own. The parable that follows in vs 16-21 teaches us that it is ultimately our soul that we should be concerned about.

1 Timothy 6:6-10

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

We Learn

Contentment is great gain. Knowing that we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing with us, should cause us to look at our possessions and money differently. Paul tells us that food and clothing is all we need, and we should be content with those things. As well as we learn that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.

(2) Circumstances – When our circumstances are not what we expect, we can become discontent.

In his book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges provides a list of possible circumstances that might cause us discontentment. Here is what he says:

  • An unfulfilling or low-paying job
  • Singleness well into midlife or beyond
  • Inability to bear children
  • An unhappy marriage
  • Physical disabilities
  • Continual poor health [1]

While this list is not exhaustive, it should be enough to get you thinking about the circumstances in your life that could lead to discontent.

When we are not content in our life circumstances, we show that we do not trust in God’s unerring sovereignty. And that is not ok, because we are rejecting God’s rule over our lives.

Scripture

The best way to deal with circumstantial discontentment is to remind ourselves of the truths of Scripture. Here are just a few passages to meditate on:

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We Learn

Our current circumstances do not occur outside of God’s will and control, which should cause us to give thanks, knowing that somehow He will use even the most difficult circumstances to sanctify us, build our trust in Him, and to bring glory to His name.

Philippians 4:10-13

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We Learn

The secret to contentment lies in trusting God, knowing He will provide for us and strengthen us to face every situation.

Psalm 139:16

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

We Learn

God has ordained all our days for us, and nothing happens outside of His will, knowing that should provide us with comfort. Even though we may not understand how God is using our current circumstances, we can rest assured that they are apart of His overall plan for our lives.

Commenting on this verse Jerry Bridges says,

“God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose. And His purposes, however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good” [2].

So no matter what we are facing, whether it be unhappiness about our looks, or our job, we should find rest in the fact that God is in control. He has knit us together in our mother’s womb, ordaining our days for us.

Looking Forward

In my next post in this series, I will offer a few ways we can deal with sinful discontentment. Until then, meditate on the Scripture above and ask yourselves the questions below.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you currently discontent about your finances, possessions, or life circumstances?
  2. Do you believe the things you are discontent about have taken the place of God in your life?
  3. Do you believe God is all wise and loving?
  4. Do you believe God is completely and unerringly sovereign over your life?

Resources

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 71-72.
[2] Ibid., 74

Post adapted from: Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 71-77.

Image

Respectable Sins: Discontentment | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins2 Comments

Are you content? Are you happy with your possessions and your circumstances? Admittedly, it is difficult for us to be completely content all the time, but that is no excuse because discontentment is a sin. A sin we often overlook, but one we need to deal with.

In my next few posts, I will deal with this sin. But before we deal with discontentment as a sin, we need to realize it is not always sinful to be discontent. There is a healthy form of discontentment, which we will look at today. Before we do, let’s get started by defining discontentment.

Discontentment Defined

Discontentment occurs when we are dissatisfied or unhappy with our life, whether that be our circumstances, money, or possessions.

Healthy Discontentment

There are areas in which we can be discontent and not sin. Here are a few:

(1) Spiritual Growth – Not being satisfied with our spiritual growth is a form of healthy discontentment. If we are to continue to grow in our Christian walk, then we cannot be completely satisfied with our current growth. For if we are, we will remain stagnant.

(2) Injustices and other evils – We should not be content with injustice, nor should we be content with the evil in the world. Rather, we should be discontent with the way the world is currently, which should cause us to long for the world to come. It should also motivate us to work to eradicate as much injustice and other evils as we have power.

Looking Forward

While there are certain areas in which we should be discontent, there are other areas we should not. When we exhibit discontentment in these areas, we are sinning. I will look at these areas in my next post.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you content with your spiritual growth?
  2. Are you content with your churches spiritual growth?
  3. What can we do to continue to grow spiritually?
  4. What can we do to eradicate injustices and other evils in the world?
  5. Can you think of other areas where it may be healthy for us to be discontent?

Resources

Post adapted from: Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 71-77.

Image

Scripture Memory Challenge – Week 6

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

How did you do with memorizing Scripture last week? If you did not do so well, or you did not know what Scripture to start memorizing, I invite you to take up the Scripture Memory Challenge with me. You can read more about it, and get started with week one’s memory verses, by clicking here.

Memory Verses

This last week, I memorized Psalm 103:15-16. I challenge you to do the same.

Psalm 103:15-16

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 

Resource

Fighter Verses Set 2 Week 9

Image

Diagnosing Our Ability to Serve

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

How do we serve our city? What needs can we meet? Who needs the most help? These are questions that can get you started when looking to serve your city, but what else should we be asking? That is where Matt Carter and Darrin Patrick’s book, For the City, comes in.

In their book, they offer a number of questions that can help you and your church diagnose your ability to serve your city. Here is a modified list that I handed out to my church.

Questions to Ask

(1) What are the needs of our city?

(2) Out of the needs we are aware of in our city, who has God called us to serve? (This will primarily be determined by the skills of those in the congregation)

  • Immigrants?
  • Young families?
  • Seniors?
  • Particular Ethnic group?
  • Singles?
  • Poor? How do we define this group:
    • Homeless?
    • Underemployed?

(3) What are the pressing needs of the group we are called to serve?

Spiritually –

Financially –

Emotionally –

Physically –

(4) What do we possess that would be beneficial to this group?

  • Particular skill?
  • Disposable income?
  • Flexible schedule?
  • Other?

(5) Where is God already working? Where can we join in where God is working?

(6) Where are the people gathering who we are called to serve?

(7) In what do those whom we are called to serve find their sense of identity of purpose?

(8) How does the gospel address the needs of the group we are called to serve? If they were to define good news, what would that definition look like?

Resources

Darrin Patrick & Matt Carter, For the City, 115.

Image

Respectable Sins: Anxiety, Worry, & Frustration

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins2 Comments

Recently I began a series on Respectable Sins, you can read the introductory post here and week two here. This week, we will deal with the second of many sins we as Christians ignore, that being anxiety, frustration, and worry.

Definitions

Anxiety, worry, and frustration are common terms that we use everyday, but what do they mean?

  • Anxiety | It is the feeling of nervousness or unease, which generally occurs when an event is imminent or something is uncertain.
  • Worry | While a synonym for anxiety, it tends to be associated “with more long-term difficult or painful circumstances for which there appears to be no resolution” [1]. 
  • Frustration | It is the feeling of being upset or annoyed especially because you do not have the ability to change or achieve something you would like to change or achieve.

Why are these Labeled as Sins?

Anxiety and Worry

When we are anxious or worried, we show that we are fearful of the future, whether that be immediate or long-term. We do not trust that God’s sovereign plan is right.

Frustration

Frustration is similar, but it does not involve fear. Rather, it involves us being upset or even angry at someone or something for getting in the way of our plans. When we do this we forget that God is sovereignly in control of everything that happens in our lives. Instead of trusting in God, we trust in our own intellect or know how [2].

Summary

All three, anxiety, worry, and frustration, are sins because they show a “distrust in God” and “a lack of acceptance of God’s providence in [o]ur lives” [3]. They also are closely akin to ungodliness because during these times we are living as if God is not in control of our lives [4].

How Does Anxiety and Frustration Manifest Itself?

Anxiety and worry manifests itself in many different ways. Here are just a few examples:

  • Being uneasy and constantly thinking about making your connecting flight.
  • Being uneasy and constantly thinking about if you will have a job in order to provide for your family.
  • Being uneasy and constantly thinking about if you will be able to have kids when you and your significant other start trying.
  • Being uneasy and constantly thinking about a public speaking engagement, interview, date, conversation, etc.

Frustration manifests itself in many different way, as well. Here are just a few examples:

  • Being angry and upset when your computer will not print so you can turn in your paper on time.
  • Being angry and upset when others do not see your point of view or agree with you.
  • Being angry and upset when you are sitting in five o’clock traffic and only moving one inch every few minutes.

Remedy

We can begin to rid these sins from our lives:

First, by realizing God will take care of us in times of need.

Matthew 6:25-34 is a perfect verse in which to turn, when we are anxious or worried. Six times we are told not to be worried or anxious. Instead, we are to trust in God, realizing He is the sovereign Lord, who will take care of us.

Second, by meditating on Scripture.

Take for instance, Psalm 139:16, it can help us remember God is in control when we get frustrated, anxious, or worried. The Psalm reads,

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

We learn from the Psalmist that God does have a plan for our lives. While His plan may not be our plan, we can trust Him in every situation, believing that His plan for our life is perfect and holy.

Psalm 139 is not the only Scripture we can look to when we are anxious, worried, or frustrated. Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7, Ephesians 4:31, and James 1:19-20 are a few others that would be helpful for us to meditate on during seasons of frustration, worry, or anxiety.

Third, by learning to rest in the fact that there is a reason for everything that happens.

Since no event is purposeless, we should take that opportunity to ask God what He would have us learn. It may be that God is using a situation to show us that we lack trust in Him, that we want to plan things on our own, or that we are living our life with no regard for His will.

“Sometimes God uses events that tempt us toward frustration [or anxiety] to get our attention, or even to push us further in an area we need to grow in. In any case, there are no events in our lives that do not ultimately come to us from the invisible hand of God, even though they come through some visible cause [5].”

Fourth, by praying.

We should pray that the Holy Spirit would work in our lives to remove our anxiety, worry, or frustration, allowing us to react to a situation in a godly manner. We should also pray that God would provide us with the practical wisdom we need in order to handle the situation. If our printer is broken, we need to know how to fix it or where we can go and print our document, so we can meet our deadline [6].

Scripture to Memorize

Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalms 139:16; Ephesians 4:31; James 1:19-20

Questions for Reflection:

  1. What causes you to worry, be anxious, or get frustrated? Is there anything you can learn from these situations?
  2. Do you write these sins off, thinking they are natural for everyone or are apart of my temperament, so they must be ok?
  3. Does knowing that God is sovereign help you when it comes to these sins?
  4. Do you believe frequent frustrations show you have a control issue?

Resources

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 67.
[2] Ibid., 69-70.
[3] Ibid., 64.
[4] Ibid., 69.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.

Structure of post taken from Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 63-70.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net