What Are The Christian Values That The Bible Teaches?

We hear about Christian values in the media and our faith community. Does the Bible list a set of Christian values?  Are some more important than others?

The Bible gives several lists of values. Here is one.

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14.

THEREFORE...
The context of this passage is that Paul encourages those who are made alive in Christ to set their hearts on things above. As he expounds on the idea that in Christ, we focus on heavenly things, he makes it practical for how we live here on earth.

CLOTHE YOURSELVES...
Clothing is a word picture for covering yourself. In this context, it is to say let all your acts be wrapped up in these things.

This is a beautiful teaching illustration. You must willfully put on clothing. He did not say, "Let your servant clothe you" or "Let clothing happen."  To say, "clothe yourselves" requires a purposeful act. we must become intentional in practicing the following virtues.

COMPASSION...
An act of grace when it is in your power to exercise justice or punishment. It is an act of sympathetic understanding.

KINDNESS...
An act of good mercy when it is in your power to withhold it.

HUMILITY...
Take the servant role and esteem others as better than you are.

GENTLENESS...
An act that considers another's weakness and approaches them with care.

PATIENCE...
Enduring over and over the weakness of others.

BEAR WITH EACH OTHER...
Holding others up in times of difficulty or to carry them in their weakness.

FORGIVE AS THE LORD FORGAVE YOU...
The highest standard of forgiveness one could have. The Lord forgave sinners who rebelled against him, even those who died for their redemption. If that is our example, we must never hold a grudge or seek revenge.

OVERALL...
We are to put on these virtues, but over them like an outer garment, we put on love. These wonderful virtues are wrapped up with the one that is above all and holds all other values together. It is the supreme governing rule of conduct and is the one thing that is our default behavior. If in doubt, this is the one to do.

PUT ON LOVE...
As we put on the other virtues, we are especially admonished to put on love; we must intentionally choose to do it.

PERFECT UNITY...
Love is the most powerful and binding of virtues and brings balance where one value may become overemphasized, and others neglected. When love is the binding value, we must practice all the values sincerely and without hidden motivation.

To learn more about how to have a relationship with God, CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 6/24/16

How To Overcome Problems In Forgiving Someone Colossians 3:13

They say everyone is normal until you get to know them, but you find they annoy or even offend us.  We know we should forgive them but sometimes it is just too hard.

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13.

BEAR
This verse begins with the phrase "to bear." If we have this attitude in all our relationships they will become easy.  To bear is carry, or to endure; we are to carry not only each other's burdens but their weaknesses.

EACH OTHER
It goes both ways, you bear with them and they with you, no matter who- the rich or poor, wise or uneducated.  No group is left out.  Besides if it is hard for you to bear with them remember they are being asked to bear with you and it is unlikely that you are perfect.

FORGIVE
To forgive is to grant grace, it is to overlook an offense, but not only that it must not hold any back; you can't say, "I'll forgive but I won't forget," that is not forgiveness.

GRIEVANCE
A grievance is a deep-felt argument, and it is like an open wound. We can carry a grievance a long time if we are not careful. It can fester and affect all areas of our life and relationships.

AS THE LORD FORGAVE
You expect God to forgive you graciously and utterly, so in that same way, you must forgive others. No matter how deeply you are offended the Lord has experienced a deeper offense.

     * The Lord forgave sacrificially.
     * The Lord forgave completely.
     * The Lord forgave lovingly.
     * The Lord forgave without recrimination.
     * The Lord forgives for all time.

Can we forgive the same way the Lord does?  No one can!  The good news is that when the Lord comes into your life you have His power to live and forgive.  In Christ, you can forgive the same way that He forgave sinners.

When He is in your life he will change your heart.  We must keep growing closer to him through prayer, His Word, service, and fellowship; then as we grow in Him we grow in the power to forgive.

To know more about how to have God in your life follow this link to my other blog.

(c) Adron 11/28/15

What is The Secret To Living The Abundant Christian Life? Colossians 2:6

Some of us receive Jesus as Savior but then become frustrated with the promise of abundant life and the struggle we experience.  What are we getting wrong?

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him," Colossians 2:6. 

JUST AS YOU RECEIVED
Our lives are to be consistent.  This salvation and new life is given as a gift and it is the beginning.  Our lives that follow are also received as a gift and are to be lived in the same way of receiving by faith.

CHRIST JESUS AS LORD
Jesus Christ is more than just our Savior, we didn't receive a license to live any way we want but we received Jesus as Lord as well.  A lord has rights over the servant and we are obligated to obey him.  He is your master and more he is your king.  When we receive him as savior we must receive him as the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords we must give him our obedience.

CONTINUE
To continue is to not stop but to keep on.  We are to continue to live our Christian life in the same manner in which we came to it.  Faith is personal and there are different ways of expressing it, sometimes when we try to express how we became saved we might say that we asked Jesus into our lives or we accepted the Lord; whatever expression you use to express how you came to be saved it is the same terms that you continue in salvation.  If you think of salvation in terms of trusting the Lord then you may want to express growing in the Lord as trusting in the Lord for growth.  If you express salvation as accepting the Lord then you may want to think of having an abundant Christian life as something you accept in the same way.

Those that do not continue to live in faith will struggle between the world of faith and this present world.  1 John says that those who do not continue with us demonstrate that they were never really on of us. (1 John 2:19).

TO LIVE YOUR LIVES IN HIM
We are given life but we are indebted to the giver of that life.  This salvation and new life is the beginning.  Our lives ever after are also a gift and are to be lived in the same way of receiving by faith.

(c)Adron Dozat 4/5/15

How to Become a Better Person.

We want to do good, but seem to keep on doing bad. What can we do to be better people?

"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices. And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator." Colossians 3: 10.

SINCE YOU HAVE...
When we come to God through faith in Christ, some things happen. First, we receive eternal life and a relationship with The Father, and, among other things, we begin a new life, which means we must progressively choose to put off our old way of life and put on a new one. It is more than just putting away bad habits and developing new, better ones; it is so complete that it is like putting off your old you and putting on a new you.

BEING...
This is stated as a fact that something is actually happening in the life of the believer- a true believer in Jesus is growing, and if there is not a progression of positive change in his life, there is a question whether his faith is genuine.

RENEWED...
The past tense of this word points out that things have happened and are ongoing.  This ongoing thing is a change from death to life. When we come to faith, we are brought from death to life, but we are also in the process of becoming more alive, more like Jesus.

Renewal is a process, so it is not done in one go. Our struggle with the sinfulness inside us is an expression of the ongoing progress.

KNOWLEDGE...
One of God's purposes is that we know God. We were made for Him and we are fulfilled in Him, to this end we must know Him. There is more than one kind of knowledge; some knowledge you get from books, but the best comes from experiencing something. God wants us to experience Him.

IMAGE...
To know God, we must be like him in some way to relate to him, and God made us in His image for that purpose. Man's sin has tarnished the image of God in us, and to fully know God, we need renewal and restoration.

PUT ON...
Choose to put on the new self that God has given us in Christ, and reject the old self, and you will be able to have fellowship with the Father and live a life that pleases Him and you.

In practical terms, you may want to identify those old ways and turn from them and think about the good you would do instead, but we must do this in Christ. Express in prayer to Christ that you, by faith, put off the old you and receive the new you by faith.

Then go out and do good to those you meet.

To learn more about coming to God, see my other blog.

(c) Adron 8/11/14

How The Lost Work Ethic Could Save This Country.

Our world is looking for help on many fronts, financial, social, political, etc. The solution is not a better tax, or a program or a new approach to the deficit.

WE ONCE HAD A GOOD ETHIC
The first settlers came to America to find a place of worship. Their life ethic was worship, not materialism. They felt that all of their actions should be praise to God. Because their ethic was worship and service to God they were blessed by God with material blessings. Those earliest settlers would have said, “All work is an act of Worship to God.” America has abandoned the worship and service ethic for the “American Dream ethic” which is self-worship. Today we work and live to fulfill our own desires and seek our own pleasure. This is the opposite of the purposes of God in our lives.

WHAT GOD INTENDED FOR MANKIND
God put Adam in the Garden and gave him the task of “…to work and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15). God could have done that but gave work as the means to provide fulfillment and blessing to man.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working to the Lord, not for men,” Colossians 3:23 

WORSHIP
Work should not be for profit, status, or wealth, it should be an act of worship and to please our Maker.

ASK YOURSELF
     * If God intended for my job to be a vehicle of worship and I do a sloppy job can I expect God’s blessing?
      * Is God worthy of me taking extra-long breaks and poor performance and a bad attitude?
      * If my job is service to God then shouldn't I perform the best work ever done.

If my job is cleaning dishes or taking the toll at a booth or sweeping the streets and I am doing it to the Lord then I will do it cheerfully, accurately, diligently, and thoroughly. I should complete every assignment with the question, “Is God pleased with how I performed this task?” My morning prayer would be that my work will please God, and my evening thanks will be gratitude for the opportunity to demonstrate my love for God by doing my work well. The work of my hands may be a more valid action of worship than the Sunday Church service.

Our lives are meant to be lives of service and worship. We find fulfillment in worship and service to God. If America returns to this “Christian work ethic” then God will again bless America.

Let us stop chasing the American Dream and again pursue God.

A Workers Prayer.

Dear God and Master, You deserve my best service.
Forgive me for working only for myself,
Forgive me for thinking my life was only mine,
And for thinking work was only a means,
And that my job was to serve my interest.

O Lord, may my work not bring shame to Your name.
Help me to not look for profit or reward
Help me to view all work as worship to You
I pray that my efforts will be worthy of You.
I pray to honestly thank you for today’s task.

When others see my work may they give You praise.
Thank you that my work shows my love for God.
 

(c) Adron 1/5/10