Tag: christianity

How to Continue as Salt and Light in a Corrupt Society

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” (Ps 11:1–7)

David wrote this Psalm when Saul was seeking his life (1 Sam. 19). Knowing that Saul had a hit out on David, led David’s friends to tell him to flee to the mountains. It was his only hope of safety. The society was corrupt. The judges in the king’s pocket. Everyone was against David and out for his life. If he wanted to survive, he needed to leave and never come back.

Against all odds and in the face of great danger, David did the opposite. He didn’t leave, instead, he stayed. The reason was because he took refuge in God, trusting that His righteous judgment would prevail.

We too should trust in the Lord, even though our society is trending more and more liberal and anti-Christian. Even though the foundations are being destroyed (becoming lawless under lawless leaders), we can stay and not flee. No matter what men do, our God still sits on His throne in heaven and judges the evil in our world. We don’t have to flee or hold up by ourselves. We can confidently be salt and light in a godless society, trusting the Lord to care for us even if men are out to get us.

Admittedly, this is easier said than done, but our God is great. He is the Creator of the heavens and earth. He is the just Judge who reigns over all, and nothing happens outside of His control. We should, then, place our faith and trust in Him, running to Him as our refuge.

Question for Reflection

  1. Is God your refuge?

Resource

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Do You Hope in a Big God?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn QuotesLeave a comment

When our God seems small and our circumstances appear to be overwhelming it’s because we’ve lost touch with reality. The reality is: our circumstances are small, the nations are a drop in a bucket, and our God is massive. And so if our circumstances are horrible but small and our God is good and huge, then there is every reason for hope and there is a mountain of evidence to keep going. And to keep going with hopetimism – in touch with reality, even the brutal facts of reality at its bleakest, and yet confident and positive about the future.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Is your view of God big or small?
  2. How does your view of God affect your outlook on your circumstances?

Resources

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Quote from Wisdom in Leadership, Craig Hamilton, 165

How Can You Increase Your Faith?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:5-8)

Lately, I have been meditating on this text in order to increase my faith in God.

What is faith?

It is popular to think of faith as a blind leap in the dark, but faith is far from a blind leap in the dark. It not only involves knowledge and belief, certainly those things are necessary for faith to exist. We can’t exercise faith in something we don’t know about, nor can we exercise faith in something we don’t believe is true, so we must have knowledge and belief.

Faith, however, involves more. Faith involves us actually trusting in and relying on God, His promises, His plan of salvation, which means we can say we are exercising faith until we take our hands off our life and allow God to guide and direct us. Faith requires us to fully trust in God for life and godliness. It involves us relying on Jesus alone for salvation, trusting that He really did pay the penalty for our sins on the cross, and He really did restore our relationship with the Father. There are no works left to be done, no debt left to be paid, Jesus has done it all, He has paid it all.   Faith requires full surrender. It requires us to fully and completely trust in and rely on God for everything in our life including His plan for our salvation. When we do those things, we are exercising faith.

Faith, then, requires us to fully trust in God for life and godliness. It involves us relying on Jesus alone for salvation, trusting that He really did pay the penalty for our sins on the cross, and He really did restore our relationship with the Father. There are no works left to be done, no debt left to be paid, Jesus has done it all, He has paid it all. Faith requires full surrender. It requires us to fully and completely trust in and rely on God for everything in our life including His plan for our salvation. When we do those things, we are exercising faith.

With that in mind I hope you can see why this passage is so powerful. How it can help us grow in our faith. The more we know about God, His character, promises, and the more we see Him fulfill His promises, both in Scripture and in our lives, our faith in Him will grow.

If you are struggling in your faith or want to grow your faith, as we all should, take some time this week to meditate on this Psalm with me.

Question for Reflection

  1. What are you doing to grow in your faith?

Resources

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How Our Generation Can Learn From the Older

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, PastoralLeave a comment

Old Man Legs

What does it take to learn from the older generation? How can our generation be taught by the previous? These are questions our generation should be asking and answering.

Recently, I posted an article entitled: A Call to Maturity: How the older generation can train the youth of today. One of my readers asked if I would write a follow up post discussing how the youth of today can learn from the older generation. I have given that question some thought over the last week. What follows are a few suggestions.

How Our Generation Can Learn from the Older

(1) Be open and teachable

A learner is someone who is open to learning. If you are to be taught by the previous generation, you must be open to them speaking into your life, which means you must be teachable. While self-esteem counsellors have puffed us up, telling us we are the smartest, most talented generation yet, we’re not. Actually, we have a lot to learn, and those who have come before us have a lot to teach.

(2) Look for those who model biblical manhood and womanhood.

Instead of finding your role models in pop culture, you should look in your church. As you do, look for those who model biblical manhood and womanhood. Ask questions like: Are they kind and respectable? Do they live according to God’s Word, even if it could impact them negatively in the community? Do they love their spouse? Do they serve the church and community?

(3) Look for those who are accessible. 

While you may learn a lot from your favorite podcaster or blogger, chances are you don’t have direct access to them. But you do have access to the faithful saint sitting next to you in the pew on Sunday. While they may not be as famous, they are accessible and most likely able to teach you just as much, if not more. So instead of looking global, look local.

(4) Ask for advice on decisions

One way to start a mentoring relationship is simple to ask for advice on decisions in your life. Don’t assume advice will be handed out unsolicited. Instead, ask for it from others, and then ask again.

(5) Work toward maturity

If you are not working toward maturity, you will not be interested in learning how to be mature. Actively working toward maturity in Christ is a necessary part of learning from others.

Question for Reflection

  1. What would you add to this list? How would you counsel the youth of today to learn from the older generation?

Resource

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A Call To Maturity: How the older generation can train the youth of today

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, Pastoral4 Comments

March 2013’s edition of Table Talk Magazine covers Youth Culture. In an article entitled A Call to Maturity, Robert Carver challenges the older generation to train up our youth in the way of the Lord.

While there is a cultural divide between the older generation and the up and coming youth, godly saints still have a lot of wisdom to offer. Walking with the Lord for 30, 40, or even 50 years bears a lot of fruit. Fruit that needs to be shared. Even though formal instruction exists in homes, schools, and churches, informal day-to-day opportunities are available. Carver offers three practical ways to take advantage of the everyday.

How to Take Advantage of the Everything

(1) Love Them Genuinely And Patiently

The younger generation needs to know that the older generation is not estranged from them. The church is a body made up of many members, young and old – all valuable to the functioning of the whole.

In Ephesians 4, Paul describes the saints as growing from spiritual immaturity “to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13). This process is accomplished “when each part is working properly, mak[ing] the body grow so that it builds itself up in love’ (v. 16).

If we are to have an impact on the young, we must love them, and they must know that we do.

“Love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

If you are a part of the older generation, don’t be hesitant to tell the up and coming youth you know that you love them (corporately and individually). To love them genuinely and patiently is to love them as God loves us.

(2) Share With Them What Is Most Important to You

One thing that should be important to you is God’s Word. Let the youth see your passionate love for God’s Word as it instructs you, guides you, encourages you, and convicts you. Let them see how vital of a component it is for your everyday life.

“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

Share specific passages that have gripped your life recently.

Also, convey to them the essential nature of prayer. Help them to see that it is an activity Christians can’t live without. Do this as you pray with them and for them. Le’ts Paul’s testimony of Epaphras be yours. In Colossians 4:12, Paul testified that Epaphras was “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12).

Without fail urge them to fight the good fight, to battle tirelessly with sin, and to flee youthful passions (2 Tim. 2:22) that wage war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).

Furthermore, challenge them to see God at work in all events, including the details of their lives. Encourage them to constantly thank God for all they have and for them to never forget to give Him all glory.

(3) Invest In Them

Buy them books that have made a spiritual impact on your life, and offer to study these books with them. Offer to take them to conferences and other Christian gatherings. The investments we make in their spiritual lives will pay everlasting dividends.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days (Eccl. 11:1).

Conclusion

After offering three practical suggestions Carver closes by saying:

So, “to what shall I compare this generation?” Surely it is a generation like no other. But it is also a generation that needs to know Christ’s redeeming love, and needs to shine as lights in the world in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation (Phil. 2:15) – just as we of the older generation needed to do back in our day (and now). May God help us to be examples and loving instructors to them, and may they do likewise.”

I believe Carver’s call and suggestions are helpful and must be heeded. I can speak from personal experience in saying that the older generation has influenced me. I am thankful men have stepped up and spoke into my life. I am afraid though that is a rarity, but it doesn’t have to be.

May those in the older generation feel God’s call to train up the youth of this generation to be the men and women of Christ that they have become.

Resource

Table Talk Magazine March 2013, A Call to Maturity, 23-25.

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How Should Christians Work? – Part 5

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, PracticalLeave a comment

Work, it’s something we do a lot of. I am not sure if you have ever figured it up, but on a 40 hour work week, you will spend over 2,000 hours a year working. Over 30 years that amounts to roughly 62,000 hours or 2,600 straight days at work. I think it is safe to say that work is a big part of our lives.

Work is also a necessary part of our lives because without work we wouldn’t survive. We have to pay for the place live, the food we eat, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, and the things we do. So work is not only a big part of our lives, it’s a necessity.

Since we work so much, and retirement is far away for most of us, it’s important we have a biblical understanding of work.

How Should Christians Work?

(5) As Christians, employers must recognize they are ultimately accountable to God

In the second half of verse 1 of chapter 4, Paul says this,

“…knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” (Col 4:1b)

Just as employees are accountable to God and should work for Him, so should employers. They too have a master in heaven that they are answerable to. Knowing they are accountable to God should drive how they treat and interact with their employees.

Conclusion

So as we have seen, work is a big part of our day and life. We are going to spend at least 62 thousand hours working. As Christians, we can’t separate our church life from our work life. They two have to be one. We have to allow the Bible to influence the way we work.

While we don’t have time in this post to cover all the ways the Bible should influence our work, applying these five ideas are a good start.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you working from a Christian perspective?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon How Should We Work from a Christian Perspective?

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