Tag: God

How Do I Know If I Am Envious?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

Marriage Ring

Envy, jealousy, or covetousness can have devastating effects. It is what led Cain to kill Abel. It is what leads to conflict at work. It’s damaging affects should lead us to ask: How do I know if I am envious?

How do we know if we are envious?

We know we are envious when:

  • We can’t experience joy at the success of others.
  • We think of doing something that would hinder another’s success.
  • We think of doing harm to another.
  • We resent the praise they receive because we think we deserve it.

How can we kill the sin of envy?

Pray – Repent and ask God to remove our envious hearts.

Remind – Remind ourselves an envious spirit births from a desire for others to praise and accept us.

Gospel – Remind ourselves we are more accepted than we could ever imagine in Christ. Man’s acceptance pale’s in comparison to the acceptance we receive from God in Christ.

Summary

By praying, reminding, and preaching the gospel to ourselves, our envious hearts can be killed. We must act fast because envy moves to anger to verbal or physical harm quickly.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you envious of another?

Resource

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Adapted from my sermon The Fate of Those Who Persist in Sin

Do You Desire to Appease or Worship God?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals11 Comments

Church Worship

How do you view God? Is He someone you worship? Or is He someone you seek to appease?

Background

In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines prepare to return the ark of the Lord to Israel. They captured the ark seven months earlier and it has been ravishing their people and their gods ever since.

Originally, they placed it in the house of Dagon. He ended up face down in front of the ark with his head and hands cut off. The ark then went to Gath where the people broke out in tumors. Ekron was the next city on the circuit. They experience the same thing as Gath. Since God’s hand was heavy against the Philistines they decide to send the ark back to Israel.

Appeasement Not Worship

As they prepare to send the ark back, they forge five golden tumors and mice. These were placed in the cart with the ark to appease the Lord. The Philistine Priests say in verse 5:

So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you and your gods and your land.

The Philistine Priests did not counsel the people to turn from their idolatry and worship the Lord. Instead they counseled them to appease the Lord. Their reason was simple. They wanted to freely worship their own idols and do as they pleased. Israel’s God was getting in the way, so they sought to appease Him with offerings of gold.

Application

The Philistines acted in a pagan way. Offering gold to God in order to appease Him so they could do as they wanted.

Americans often act the same. No, we don’t offer gold to God, but we offer acts to Him. We go to church on Easter and Christmas, or even every Sunday with the intent of appeasing God. We do this thinking He will allow us to do what we want the rest of the year or week. We serve and give for our own benefit, so that we can pursue our own way of life and our idols.

These actions show we don’t understand who God is. We don’t understand He is the Creator of heaven and earth, the one true God. He is the Redeemer, sending His Son to die in our place so that we might be release from the bondage of sin, Satan, and death. When we offer acts of appeasement to God, we show we don’t understand these things about God. We show we don’t understand Christ’s work. We show we don’t understand the gospel.

Instead of appeasing God so we can continue to worship our idols, we should bow to Him in worship. Freedom from the slavery of idolatry is possible with God. Quit thinking like the Philistines. You don’t have to appease God. Jesus does that for you on the cross.

His work on the cross, however, doesn’t free us so we can live as we please and worship what we desire. Instead, His cross work frees us to worship the one true God. So then, worship God!

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you appease God or worship God?

The Valley of Vision: Devotion to God

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments 
Valley of Vision
God of my end,

It is my greatest, noblest pleasure
    to be acquainted with Thee
    and with my rational, immortal soul;

It is sweet and entertaining
    to look into my being
    when all my powers and passions
    are united and engaged in pursuit of Thee,
    when my soul longs and passionately breathes
    after conformity to Thee
    and the full enjoyment of Thee;

No hours pass away with so much pleasure
    as those spent in communion with Thee
    and with my heart.

O how desirable, how profitable to the Christian life
    is a spirit of holy watchfulness
    and godly jealousy over myself,
    when my soul is afraid of nothing
    except grieving and offending Thee,
    the blessed God, my Father and friend,
    whom I then love and long to please,
    rather than be happy in myself!

Knowing, as I do, that this is the pious temper,
    worthy of the highest ambition, and closest
    pursuit of intelligent creatures and holy Christians,
    may my joy derive from glorifying and delighting Thee.

I long to fill all my time for Thee,
    whether at home or in the way;
    to place all my concerns in Thy hands;
    to be entirely at Thy disposal,
    having no will or interest of my own.

Help me to live to Thee for ever,
    to make Thee my last and only end,
    so that I may never more in one instance
    love my sinful self.

Resources

The Valley of Vision, Devotion, 236-37 (leather bound edition)

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No One is Above Culture’s Influence

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Culture's Influence

No one is above the influence of their culture. Even Samuel, the great prophet of God was not above the influence of his surroundings.

Samuel Not Above the Culture

1 Samuel 16 tells of Samuel’s journey to anoint the next king over Israel. After traveling to Bethlehem, escaping the suspicion of Saul, and convincing the elders he came in peace, Samuel calls the elders and Jesse’s family together for a sacrifice.

After they gathered, Samuel noticed Jesse’s son Eliab. He was tall and his appearance was pleasing. He stood out from the rest. Samuel thought he was God’s next king. He was not, however, the one the Lord would anoint as king. Sure, he looked the part, but his heart was not right. He was not a man after God’s own heart; that would be his brother David.

Samuel’s thoughts and the Lord’s declaration tells us something important. No man is above their culture’s influence. When Saul was installed as king, Israel praised and exalted him because he looked the part. He looked like all the surrounding kings. Samuel’s thought shows culture rubbed off on him; it influenced him.

Understand Culture’s Influence

If we are honest with ourselves, we are all influenced by our culture and traditions in one way or another. Knowing that anyone can be influenced by their culture, we must ask ourselves:

  1. How does our culture influence us?
  2. How does our traditions sway our thinking and decisions?
  3. How does God’s Word tell us we should act?

It is important we ask ourselves all these questions when approaching a decisions, especially the last question because God’s Word should be our guide in everything we do.

Question for Reflection

  1. How have you noticed your culture influencing you?
  2. How do you deal with its influence?

Resource

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Pray, Love, and Serve: Moses’ Example

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral3 Comments

Pray Love Serve Cross

How do you react when those in your church, family, circle of friends, or community act contrary to God’s Word? Do you throw up your hands and give up? Do you brow beat them? Or do you lovingly correct, pray for, and serve them?

Last night at Bible Study, we briefly discussed Deuteronomy 9. It is Moses’ reminder to the people why God is giving them the Promised Land. He wants to make it clear it is not because of their righteousness. Rather it is because the Lord wishes to drive the wickedness out of the land and honor His promise to their fathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (4-6). To show the stubbornness of the people, Moses recounts the story of the Golden Calf and their failure to take the land.

The Golden Calf

After spending forty days and nights on the mountain with God receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses comes down to find the people worshipping an idol – a Golden Calf. The same people who just witnessed the great power of God in the Exodus. The same people the Lord just redeemed as His own possession. The same people who watched Moses ascend to the top of the mountain to commune with God. In just forty short days and nights, they forgot the Lord and turned to worship an idol.

The Failure to Take the Land

The second story Moses recounts is their failure to trust the Lord to give them the land. If you remember, they sent spies into the land. After gathering the requested items, they returned with a daunting report. Those in the land are giants and too numerous for us to overtake. Again, they forgot the power of their God, even as He was providing for them in the wilderness and telling them He would give them the land.

Moses’ Example

Talk about being frustrated. I am sure Moses was livid, in a righteous way of course. His actions though are surprising and act as an example for us. Yes, Moses corrected the people, but he also interceded for them and continued to serve them.

Why would he do a thing like that? Why intercede for them asking the Lord to preserve them when they were blatantly rebellious?

He did so because he loved and cared for them. Even though they were rebellious, he desired they experience the blessings of the Lord, worship the Lord, and glorify the Lord. For those reasons, Moses twice spent forty days and nights prostrate before the Lord in prayer, continually corrected and served them.

The Challenge

Do you love those in your church, family, circle of friends, or community enough to seek their welfare? Do you desire to reach out to them with the gospel? Do you desire to pray the Lord would not destroy them, but change their hearts and make them His? Do you serve them in a way that shows the love of Jesus? I know those are tough questions, but they are crucial questions.

If we find we do not love those around us in a way that causes us to reach out to them with the gospel, pray for them, and serve them, we need to get on our knees and ask that God would change our hearts.

Moses did not manufacture his love for the people. God changed his heart as he communed with Him. Likewise, as we commune with God through prayer and Bible study, He will change our heart.

So then, if you are having trouble loving, praying for, and serving those in your community, open His Word and seek His face in prayer, asking that He would change your heart.

Question for Reflection

  1. How could you motivate those in your church to reach out to, serve, and pray for those in your community?

Resource

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Do You Know Your Identity Idols?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Books, PracticalLeave a comment

Idol

What are your identity idols? In other words, what do you find your identity in besides Christ?

That question is a broad one, but it is one we can answer with a little information. In order to help you answer it, and provide a follow up to my last post on Identity, let me offer five categories of Identity Idols from Mark Driscoll’s latest book: Who Do You Think You Are? 

Identity Idols

(1) ITEMS – Car, clothes, technologies, home, jewelry, furniture, etc.

If our idol is our items:

  1. Our possessions define our identity.
  2. We are driven to obtain certain items to gain status and prestige with our peers.
  3. Our possessions are not valued by their usefulness, but in how they increase or decrease our status and prestige among our peers.

Our identity and our drive to gain status and prestige are why we fought our parents in school to buy us Polo and Air Jordan’s instead of Wal-Mart brand clothing and shoes. We wanted to fit in. Have our friends think of us in a certain way and Wal-Mart shirts were not going to cut it.

If we are honest with ourselves this drive to fit in has not subsided. It has just gotten a bit more expensive since we have traded our Air Jordan’s for Mercedes’ or BMW’s. Seeking status is why most Americans are in perpetual debt and are constantly overpaying.

So you may ask yourself:

  • Why am I in debt?
    • Is it because I am a bad steward of my money?
    • Is it because I am seeking status and prestige?

Answering those questions honestly may be your ticket to financial and spiritual freedom.

(2) DUTIES – The things we do – Job, hobby, sport, parental and grandparent duties, marriage duties.

If our idol is our duties:

  1. We will always be searching for something to excel in.
  2. When we find the thing we can excel in, we will become overcommitted and extremely competitive.
  3. Winning puts us on top of the world, but losing crashes our world, which can result in depression and others not wanting to be around us.
  4. Winning consumes us so we don’t care about others.
  5. Pride will creep up and we will only boast in ourselves.

Those who find their identity in their duties often lose their compassion for others because being better than the next person is all that matters. It is all about winning.

Not only does compassion decrease, if our idol is our duties, but selfishness increases. Activities then tend to be focused on us as well as conversations as we fish for the praise of others.

(3) OTHERS – Broadly in our identification with a collective tribe. Narrowly in our individual relationships.

Our tribe is the greater community we closely identify with, which can be our family, city, school, class, sports team, nationality, race, gender, ethnicity, culture, income level, hobby, political party, theological affinity, or even sexual orientation to name a few.

Don’t get me wrong community is good, but community can easily be turned into an idol.

When we make our tribe into an idol we:

  1. Demonize other tribes.
  2. Are devastated when our tribe loses or fails.
  3. Push for our tribe to win/succeed at any cost.

Tribal idolatry often results in hostility between tribes. Think high school football rivalries or the demonization of another political party.

Not only does tribal idolatry result in hostility, but it also results in a desire to win at any cost. Breaking God’s Law, hurting or using others doesn’t matter. It is all about winning. No price is too high to pay.

Alternatively, when we find our identity in individual relationships, we make personal relationships unhealthy because we turn them into an idol and a place where we find our identity.

When we find our identity in others we typically:

  1. Give into peer pressure
  2. People please
  3. Have a codependency problem
  4. Fear man
  5. Change appearance and/or behavior depending on the group we are around.

Idolatry of individual relationships is why peer pressure is so powerful. Acceptance and subsequent identification is why a person may perform acts that are out of character. As well as it is why they may act a certain way around their church friends but another around their neighborhood or school friends. The desire to fit in by pleasing others is powerful and can only truly be combated with the cross.

Identity with relationships can manifest itself in one of two ways: Independence or Dependence. 

Some signs you find your identity in being independent are:

  • You want nothing to do with others.
  • You avoid close relationships so you won’t be hurt.

Some signs you find your identity in dependent relationships are:

  • You can’t be alone.
  • You have unrealistic expectations of relationships.
  • You are demanding, smothering, and needy.
  • You are easily inflated by praise or deflated by criticism.
  • One word either makes or breaks your day, giving others god-like control over you.

(4) LONGINGS – It is a hope that tomorrow will bring something better.

We all have longings. Our longings are what get us up in the morning, cause us to pray to God, and keep us hoping for Christ’s return. These are good longings to have.

Even so, our longings can become an idol when they become the source of our identity. When our longings become our identity, our life becomes excessively governed by our feelings and future, rather than our present, and God’s past, present, and future work on our behalf.

Living for the future can cause our identity to be based in getting physical healing, getting married, having children, fulfilling our vocational ministry goals, achieving financial security, or reaching the next season of life, just to name a few.

An unhealthy idolized view of the future can cause our life to shift in a moments notice leaving us:

  1. Feeling powerful and hopeful when we are healthy, receive good news, or receive an achievement.
  2. Feeling powerless and hopeless when we are sick, receive bad news, or fail to achieve a goal.

In addition, when we live for the future, our identity is always out there and governed by what will happen next. When we set our identity in who we will be in the future, we sin because we are not trusting in who we are in Christ right now. As well as we are setting ourselves up to be swayed by our feelings and future.

Often longing idolatry is most evident when people are diagnosed with a terminal disease. If their world comes crashing down and they become depressed, that may be a sign their future was their idol. However, those who stand strong in the face of death prove they do not find their identity in who they could become in the future, but in something else. Hopefully, that something is Christ and who He has made them right now.

(5) SUFFERING – Emotionally, financially, mentally, physically, relationally, spiritually.

We will suffer in this world in many ways. When we suffer, our hurt and pain can become our identity if we are not careful. My mom constantly dealt with her suffering becoming her identity, as do a number of guys at my church.

While my mom fought Scleroderma, several men in my church are fighting back pain. Their constant pain is a real struggle for them physically and mentally. As they quietly suffer, the one thing they tell me over and over is that they refuse to allow their pain to take over their life. In other words, they refuse to allow their pain to become their identity, which in a real sense it could.

Since suffering often presents itself front and center, we must fight especially hard against this identity idol when presented with the temptation.

In Christ

Instead of finding our identity in our idols we should find it in Christ. He is the One who has made us a new creation, gives us hope, joy, satisfaction, and eternal life. We should not, then, find our identity in our sins, occupation, addictions, hobbies, items, duties, others, longings, or sufferings.

Christ defines who we are by what He has done for us, not what we do, or fail to do for Christ. In Him we are a new creation and a child of God. Being God’s child is one identity that will not let us down. Instead it will change us so that we are able to accomplish our purpose in this life – to glorify God.

So then, as Christians we can say we live from our identity in Christ, not for our identity.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Which category or categories do you fall into?
  2. Does understanding what could be your identity idol help you fight for your identity in Christ?
  3. Are there any other categories you might add?

Resources

Post adapted from: Who do you think you are? Ch. 1

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