How Should Christians Behave Toward Those Who Oppose The Gospel?

Our world is in such a mess and the morals of our society are getting worse all the time. How should we act toward those who are against God's message of love and even want to do away with the things Christians cherish? The Bible gives direction in Titus 6:2

"To slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone." Titus 3:2.  

These words were written by the apostle Paul during in the days of Roman persecution.

SLANDER
In ancient times and in places today people of faith were and are persecuted. There is a temptation to decry those who persecute others for their beliefs. It would have been easy for the faithful under Roman oppression to speak against the rulers who oppressed them. It is just as easy to look at our leaders today and say bad things about the people who are shaping our society.

Paul the apostle said do not slander or speak evil of those leaders even if they are oppressors. We should not speak ill of our leaders even if they are enacting laws that we feel are wrong.

PEACEABLE
Our Lord Jesus came with a gospel of peace between God and Man and a message of brotherly love: it is redundant to say we should be peaceable, but unfortunately, we need the reminder. The believers under Rome were victims of grievous wrongs but they were not to seek revenge and were to leave justice to the Almighty One.

Jesus said as much when on the sermon on the mount taught that if someone were to strike you on one cheek to turn the other for them to strike it too, (Matthew 5:39).

CONSIDERATE
To be considerate is to put another's interest ahead of your own; it is to see someone else's point of view and to understand their need or pain. It is brother to compassion. We are to walk in the way of Jesus who was compassionate. He was aware of people's pain and weaknesses and was thoughtful of them. He did not condemn but understood and acted for them

GENTLE
"Gentle toward everyone" is a broad statement that leaves no one out. We are to be gentle to our friends and brothers in faith but we also should be gentle to those who hate Jesus and do not believe in God. We are to be gentle to the people who oppose the message of God's love.

HOW
Where does one get the power to live in such a gracious manner in this wicked world? It comes from having Jesus living his life in you.  To learn more about how to have Jesus in your life see my other blog.

(c)Adron Dozat 10/30/13

What is God's Message For Me?

Does God have a message for us; is there something He is asking us to do?

"Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk, without money and without cost."Isaiah 55:1. NIV.

COME
God Says, "come." four times. God wants us to come to Him.
We may sense a need in our lives,
     * It may be a deep hunger for some meaning,
     * It may be a sense of loneliness.
     * It may be a lack of joy in life.
For these and any other longings, we must come. Our biggest need is the need of salvation, and God offers it with a word- come.

God wants "all" to come, He makes no restrictions.  No matter who we are, what we have done, or what sin we are guilty of, He still beckons us to come.  All we need to do is to bring our need, our thirst.

WATERS
It not just to a fountain or a spring, but to the "waters."  These "waters" are many, deep, and offers satisfaction that far exceeds our need, like an ocean stretching across the horizon. These waters are no less than God himself.

WITHOUT MONEY
No matter how broke we are we can buy without "money," We can come empty-handed, and still buy. What can we give to God that will match the riches of salvation and fellowship with the Almighty? Salvation and its blessings are priceless; no man can earn it or deserve it, therefore, if any were to obtain salvation it must be by a gift of God.

WINE AND MILK
When we read, "wine and milk," we think of the wine of joy and the milk that completely nourishes, this is a picture of joy and satisfaction.

Put it all together, we can buy and eat," we can come to the "waters," and get the "wine and milk," these pictures speak of all our needs fulfilled, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

COST
Why is it, "without money and without cost?" Because Jesus already purchased our salvation by His death on the cross, and with salvation, he gives us all we need for life and Godliness.

God invites us to come to him to be saved and we must not stop coming to him, but always seek him to fulfill our needs and to find blessings.

If you want to know more about coming to God follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat

 

What Does the Bible Say About Negative Thoughts? Philippians 4:8

We often have struggles in our thoughts, sometimes we have thoughts of gloom, regret, sorrow, depression and failure. They weigh us down and hold us back until they suck us dry.

"Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think on these things." Philippians 4:8. NIV.

CONTEXT
The verse quoted above is part of a closing of a letter written by the Apostle Paul. He gives instructions about unity, rejoicing, prayer, and this encouragement to think on a list of virtues.

WHATEVER
God's Word does not teach positive thinking as much as it encourages directive thinking. We are directed to think about specific virtues. This "whatever" embraces all things of a kind so we may give our thought to anything that fits the virtue of truth, noble, right, pure lovely admirable excellent or praiseworthy.

LIVING THOUGHTS
Our lives follow our thoughts. When we focus our thoughts on negative things we drift into patterns and habits that reflect those thoughts. When we focus our thoughts on specific virtues we find ourselves reflecting those virtues in our deeds and words even our very outlook.

WHERE TO FIND WHATEVER
So we should think about the true and noble, the right and the pure, but where are they? The pages of the Bible are full of these things and a good beginning is to read the Word of God and think on the truths found in it. There are many admirable and excellent things in our lives if we take the time to consider them.

We may have been focusing on the negative so long we are conditioned to blindness to the good around us; we must make an effort to see the good.

     * Make a list of the good things that surround you.
     * Keep a journal where you record the lovely and pure things in your life.
     * Pray daily a thankful prayer. Take ten minutes and pray where you only giving thanks.
     * Ask The Lord to show you the noble and true things to think on.

AN EASY COMMAND
The Scriptures places this instruction in the same emphasis as a command. It is one that is easy to obey.

THE RESULT
We will be happier people for directed thoughts. We will be closer to God and Jesus. We will enjoy life more. We will experience blessing.

To learn more about finding the Truth follow this link: Click Here.

To read Philippians 4 in its entirety click this link.

(c) Adron 4/27/13

What Does Jesus Call Us To Do?

There is much confusion about what Jesus is asking of people. People say one thing and another, but few look at what Jesus himself said.

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28, NIV.

COME
If Jesus had a catch-phrase it would be the word, "Come." Over and over he says to persons and groups, Come to me..." His life was an open invitation to all. This invitation is to come to a person, Jesus, not a series of rules and regulations.  We come to the Man of Galilee not a creed or system of philosophy. Many find this to be difficult, because it is a relationship and relationships take work, unlike a cold impersonal set of rules to live by.

ALL
Christ invites all to come, all who are weary and burdened. No matter who we are, what we have done, or have experienced, Jesus welcomes us. No one is too bad or too wicked; there is not exception clause, he says all may come.

REST
Jesus offers something no one else ever does, or can, and if they did it would be insane. He offers rest. He says, "I will give you rest," this is a strange use of the word rest.  We would say, "Take some rest or get some rest;" but Jesus is saying something new and different here- he is the source of rest.

Christ offers the end of the struggle with guilt, victory over pain, and the finish of shame. If we rest in a chair it is temporary but Jesus offers a new, unending, and fully complete rest because in his next sentence, recorded in verse 29, he defines it as rest for your souls, this has to be a deeper, more complete, and more fulfilling rest than any other we could ever find.

WHAT AN OFFER
If we are weary of the struggle of our pain and burden he invites us to bring it to him. If we are tired of trying to solve our problems, and if the burdens of our hearts are too heavy to bear then Jesus is calling each of us. No matter what guilt, or shame, or pain we carry he says, "Come."

(c)Adron Dozat

What is the Answer for Worry? Matthew 6:25

Worry can really cripple us, emotionally spiritually and in practical life. If your worries are little or big Jesus' teaching points to the perfect answer.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they?" Matthew 6: 25, 26. NIV.

In history's greatest sermon Jesus deals with many issues; one of which is worry. Many things constitute worry. We might be worrying if we...

     * Take things and turn them over again and again in our imagination.
     * Take a situation and start to imagine all the different ways it could turn out.
     * Dwell on all the "what ifs" about a thing.
     * Wear out a subject in our mind.

HELP
Christ points out several basic things people worry about, they are legitimate like the need for food, water, and clothes. There are lots of other worries he could have listed like public safety, old age, disease, and finances. In our modern complicated world we have many more things to worry about, like school, career, the effects of technology on our daily lives, city life, loneliness- the list can go on and on. Some of these worries are monumental to us.

WHY
Jesus said "do not worry," and gives a good reason. If Our Heavenly Father does such a good job of taking care of birds that are small what about humanity who are more important to God than birds. It is genus that Jesus chose birds as his example since some birds eat many times their own weight each day. God does a good job of caring for his creation so what about us who are so much more valuable than birds?

LOVE
People are the object of God's eternal love. He sent his Son to pay for our sins and there-by fulfilled our greatest and deepest need; if he did that out of His love and care for us what else is he willing to give or do? (See Romans 8:32.)

COMMAND
The way Jesus said, "do not worry," is like a command. If we continue to worry we are breaking a command and need to confess that sin. We need to...

     * Pray and confess
     * Tell God my concerns.
     * Acknowledge that he is in charge.
     * Receive His peace.
     * And leave it all with Him.

May you find all your cares are fulfilled by his loving provision today and always.

If you are interested in know Jesus as your savior see my other blog follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat

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Adron

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Where To Find Personal Peace, John 14:22

We all want peace, not just world peace but peace within ourselves that is free from guilt, shame and regret. Where do we find it, and personally have it?

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; I do not give to you as the world gives." John 14:27, NIV

PEACE
Peace is the absence of strife and conflict.  We want to have the peace that enables us to get along.  The peace the world gives socially is never more than temporary.  As society evolves instead of a golden age of thought and technology which blesses mankind with tranquility we have an age of warfare and strife unprecedented in recorded history.

You would think today we would have personal peace and fulfillment, yet we struggle to have peace from guilt and shame.  We search for it in education, philosophy, materialism, self-gratification, and even medication.  Still, we find personal peace eludes us.

THE OFFER
Jesus offers us peace for he said, "Peace I leave with you..." He had an intentional act of leaving peace behind when his work was done, it was his purpose.  He left it to us as a trust, a gift, and as something to share.

A DIFFERENT PEACE
He said it is "My peace."  It can only come from him.  Jesus of the Bible was a man of personal peace which was felt by those around him.  He lived a perfect life and had no sin to condemn him before the Father who is the judge of the living and dead.  His crucifixion was a substitution for our sins, he took our punishment and bought us peace before God and that gives us access to peace.

Jesus Gives Peace

He does not give the way the world gives, for what he gives is forever.  The best the world offers is temporary peace, with the fear of danger lurking in daily events. The peace Jesus offers transcends worldly peace.

We do not find his in a religion, or philosophy; we do not earn it, merit it, or even deserve it.  It is a free gift offered by the one who bought the gift with his blood on the cross.

COME TO PEACE
Jesus offers inner and heavenly peace, a unique peace that only he can give, a peace that comes from his life, work, his death and resurrection.  He offers peace within and without, with humanity and peace with God. Jesus said, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11.28. JKV.

The Prayer For Peace
Dear God, I confess I am troubled in mind and heart
I am troubled and fearful for today and tomorrow.
I know Christ is the Prince of Peace sent from The Father.
I know his death on the cross paid for all my sins
I know his resurrection is the assurance of victory.
I know you offer peace to those who accept it by faith.
I do now ask for this peace and receive it by faith.
When I rebel and embrace worry forgive me,
And guide me back to You and Your promise of peace.
I thank You now for the peace You will give me
And the blessings that this peace in me will be to others.

(c) Adron 4/30/12

The Simplest Source Of Happiness. Proverbs 16:20

Who doesn't want to be happy? King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived had much to say about happiness. His wise advice was simple to understand but hard to do.

"Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord." Proverbs 16:20 NIV.

WHOEVER
This verse is addressed to "Whoever," in other words- anyone. Prosperity and happiness is available to everyone; not just the wise, smart, educated, rich, a certain class or race but whoever does what this verse teaches.

HEED
What does it mean to heed? To heed something is to listen to instruction or advice and to yield to what you listened to, it is more than hearing but doing. There is much in God's word that we find difficult and contrary to our modern thinking. We read it and say that is outdated, and that our modern ideas are more open and progressive. Then why are we not happy? Why do we spend our lives searching for something more and better and satisfying?

The Bible is the Creator's instruction manual for the created-us, it makes sense to heed it.  Children do not heed their parents because of immaturity; our spiritual immaturity keeps us from heeding the Bible. As adults we heed the instructions of someone we have a relationship with like a teacher or boss, perhaps we have not come to a relationship with God through Jesus that explains why we do not heed God's word. We heed the civil authorities because we recognize their authority over us as citizens; maybe we have not recognized the authority of the our Creator and lover of our souls; if we did it would cause us to heed His Word. Whatever the reason the fact is if we do heed we will be happy.

BLESSED
The word "blessed" often equates with the word happy; the popular paraphrase of the verse says, "Whoever listens to what God Teaches and believes in him will be happy." Trusting The Lord makes us happy for many reasons,
     *We are made to trust God by design.
     * His power on our behalf gives comfort.
     *  He delights to bless those who trust in him.
     * Trusting in God takes away our worry, fear, and stress.
     * When we trust in God our plans are governed by his grace.
     * When we trust in God we start to see his hand working in our behalf.

It is not blind trust it is happy trust, let us heed God and trust him.

To learn more about how to have a relationship with God follow this link: Salvation.

(c)Adron Dozat 6/3/11

What the Bible Says to do During Times of Peace And Quiet 1 Chronicles 22:17-19a

Are you looking forward to a time of peace and quiet, or a time of relaxation, maybe a vacation or a retirement? If so, how should you spend that time?

"Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them, 'Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God..."

1 Chronicles 22:17-19, 

A LITTLE CONTEXT
The words above conclude King David’s life. He explained that God is with them and has granted peace or rest to them on every side. So, in other words, they were entering a golden age; all the battles were behind them, they had peace on every side and on every level. They were entering a time free of enemies, dept, woe, famine, and fear; it was a time of prosperity, rest, and plenty- a time of blessing.

TIME OF PEACE
What were they to do during this time of peace? Were they to improve their golf swing, vacation on the beach, or scrapbook? No, they were to seek the Lord. In times of trouble, even the hardened seek God, but there is a purpose for peace and plenty; it is a time to seek God. We want to take our rest and use the golden days to enjoy ourselves and reward ourselves for our toil, but God's design is for the time of peace to be a time of seeking Him. It is in the time of peace that the temple was built.

DEVOTE
The words above leave no doubt about the emphasis in words, "Devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord." This is not a halfway measure. It is not just a Sunday morning thing, but to devote yourself is giving yourself something. There is no stronger emphasis than to devote heart and soul to the task at hand. This means all our intellect, strength, emotions, time, energy, and resources are exclusive to seeking God.

Maybe we come to some days or seasons of peace and quiet in our lives. They are the golden opportunities to seek God. Indeed they are days designed by our very Creator to be used for seeking him. No matter what season you are in, a place of danger or a golden day of blessing, the purpose of God is that we seek Him.

To know more about finding God, read this other post. CLICK HERE.

© Adron  2/23/11

A Treaty of Peace with God. Romans 5:1

The world wants peace, our communities want peace, and as individuals, we each want personal peace.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2 NIV.

WE WERE ENEMIES
Because of our sins that we were enemies of God even though we may not have known it; our sins offended Him and established warfare between us and God.

JUSTIFIED
To be "justified" is to have all charges against us wiped clean and to be proven innocent of any crime. To be justified before God is to say that we stand in front of the All-Knowing God clean and innocent; as if we never had any contact with sin.

JESUS
The verses that precede these explain it, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25). The death of Jesus paid the penalty of our sins and gives us peace that we could never find otherwise, a peace the world, psychology, philosophy or religion could never know or give. Peace with God our Creator is the beginning of having peace within ourselves.

PEACE
We do not receive the peace with God by good deeds that outnumber our bad deeds, or by our acts of devotion, or by any observance, or sacrament, but only by faith.

He built a bridge to cross from guilt to peace, that bridge is the cross of Jesus where the Lord of Love after living a sinless life gave up his life and took our sin's punishment upon himself. It is like a treaty between two nations to lay down their weapons of war. A legal peace enforced by powers greater than the individual soldiers who formerly fought. This treaty of peace is first ratified by God in the resurrection and then we agree to it and receive it by faith.

IT STARTS
Peace with God is only the beginning. We now stand acceptable to Him in a new relationship with God where we are His children, ambassadors to this world and co-laborers in His work among mankind.

Those three words “Peace with God” are so beautiful! What a blessing to think all our fears of God and our doubts can be utterly washed away. If you do not have peace with God come to God through the blood of Jesus alone, confess your sins, and accept the gift of peace with God by faith.

To learn how to come to God and find eternal life and peace follow THIS LINK to read more.

(c) Adron Dozat 8/11/10

How To Have Peace In The Apocalypse. Isaiah 54:10. NIV

 No one knows if any of us will live to see the days of Great Tribulation, but many of us have our own personal ordeal.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10.

MOUNTAINS
We cannot imagine the mountains shaken and removed, they are the standard of permanence but even if they were scraped away God's love cannot be moved. It is to say God's love will outlast the mountains.

THE ALMIGHTY
Whatever your personal disaster the Almighty God of heaven and earth loves you and sees you. The highest mountains are weak compared to Gods love. His love will never erode or crumble; it is not affected by the forces of nature or our universe. His love is above our disaster and reaches down into it.

His love meets every challenge and it has overcome the greatest challenge- our sin and its judgment.

PEACE
The opposite of apocalypse is peace, and God offers us a “covenant of peace” through Jesus. The Bible says, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 5:1). A covenant is a contract or promise; and that the God of heaven and earth makes a contract is the most solid promise there ever could be.

PROMISE
His promise of peace will stand high after the mountains are dissolved. Our part of the covenant is faith, we must trust in Jesus. Jesus came to rescue us from the personal individual apocalypse of eternity without God’s love. He came to deliver us from death and to give us eternal life. He bought that deliverance by his own blood on the cross for us. We may never have peace in this world and may experience disaster but we will have something far better- Peace with God.

If you are suffering through a personal tribulation and want to find the promise of peace that God offers through Jesus see my other blog.

(c) Adron

A prayer


Father God, I am powerless to fix this disaster.
I come to you in weakness, please give strength to my faith,
And I ask for deliverance, from my life and my sin.
I know Jesus came to bring peace, in my soul and with God.
I know his death on the cross pays for my sins,
Those sins have robbed me of peace with God
I accept Your covenant of peace through Jesus.
I trust Jesus as my Savior from this life.
I will obey You Father God, even though trials come.
I thank you for the peace You give me.

(c) Adron

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Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and an encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above.  

Adron

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