Suddenly…

Proverbs 28:18
18 Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall. NKJV

Mark 13:33-37 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming — in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning — 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” NKJV

It seems our lives are comprised of waiting on “suddenly”. It always seems so simple after the fact. The old adage hind-sight is 20/20 is very true. The blessings and curses that can happen in our lives seem to happen suddenly, but that is really not the case.

Blessings and curses usually occur after a process has been working. I am watching the “me too” movement take down some of the most powerful people on earth. Bill Hybels, after building one of the most influential church organizations in modern history, has ended his ministry in disgrace after several women in his life have accused him of sexual improprieties. There are some who rise to prominence after years of obscurity and have the appearance of overnight successes, but the reality is their success has only come after years of patient labor. The suddenly of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit came after 4000 years of God orchestrating behind the scenes. There are suddenlies scheduled in your life. Right now there are forces at work, both good and evil, setting you up for success or ultimately failure. What do we do?

“Watch and pray!”

One day my cell phone rang “suddenly,” and on the other end was a nurse telling me I was a very sick man. Well, the truth was I didn’t suddenly become pre-diabetic and have chemistry of heart disease, I had been breaking the nutritional rules of health for 45 years. To reverse the curse I had to work in the other direction. I am still waiting on my “suddenly” of a report of perfect health, but I am working in the right direction now, and things are changing from curse to blessing in my health.

The “suddenlies” we generally experience in life have actually been growing to a harvest for years. There are types of bamboo that will barely grow a couple of feet for five years and then in the sixth year will grow sixty feet! As we daily watch and pray, we become aware of the things that are happening behind the scenes, and are reminded to keep doing what is right. And when we do “suddenly” a harvest of blessing will come!

• Date - September 12, 2018
• Author - David Chisholm

Last week we ended with this set of scriptures:

2 Peter 1:5-11

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. NKJV

There is an old school saying that “a man is only as good as his word”. I have never found someone I agree with on everything, have you? If you answer yes, I would say “so far”. With the current rate of divorce and relational betrayal going on in our secular and church cultures, one thing we must remember is – God is faithful! He will never leave or forsake us, and even though we can leave and forsake Him, he will never be to blame. All change is with us because God isn’t changing… He doesn’t need to because He is right. Verse 10 above says “if we do these things we will never stumble”. That’s about as close to an ironclad guarantee as you will ever get!

So, as we begin in faith and continue to allow God to mold our virtue or character, we begin a blessed successful life don’t we? The corresponding list of developmental things that follow are like building a house sequentially and ending up with a home that will protect us from the elements for a lifetime! I think of so many who start in faith but don’t continue to develop the other characteristics (being Godliness) and self-sabotage is the result.

How about you? What if you rated yourself on a scale of 1-10 with each of these characteristics. How would you rate yourself? Can you be honest in self-assessment? Can you allow others to help you see your blind spots so you can grow into the blessed life? Or will you become offended when someone points out your needed areas of growth?

Virtue
Knowledge
Self-Control
Perseverance
Godliness
Brotherly Kindness and love

Here are so verses to meditate on:

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. NKJV

Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. NKJV

Hebrews 12:5-11 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. NKJV

• Date - September 5, 2018
• Author - David Chisholm

Principles; they are what they are. I was watching an old rerun of the “Rifleman”, the western series shot in the 50’s and early 60’s, and the star Lucas MCcain, was about to put his life on the line to speak the truth at an outlaw’s court hearing. The town Doctor, and many of his friends, were telling him he was crazy to risk his own life for something he could just walk away from. He answered the town Doctor and said “this is about a principle of doing what is right.”

The Doctor responded, “sometimes principles need to be changed so a man don’t get himself killed”.

“If it could be changed it would no longer be a principle would it?” MCcain responded.

A principle is an irrefutable law, not a law of convenience. It is a standard of truth, a measurement of motive if you will. Principles are rarely convenient and are self sacrificial by nature. They cause us to live by a standard rather than changing standards to live. John Ruthorford said it best in his classic book on leadership, “Character matters”. “When a society’s values become quality of life, instead of life itself, the only really valuable people are those who pander to culture’s lusts or provide it’s needs.”

This would be the mindset of a “Christian who is pro-choice”. I know many Christians who continue to vote for a liberal pro-choice government because they truly have been converted to this cultural mindset. They don’t lay down their lives for the principles of Christ, they lay down the principles of Christ for the quality of their lives!

Hebrews 5:12-14 “Spiritual Immaturity 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” NKJV

Hebrews says “those who by reason of use have trained themselves to recognize good and evil. In other words, living by the principles, further trains us to live this way and to recognize when we are not! The old saying in the world is- “use it or lose it”. One can primarily do the same with God’s principles. They don’t use them, but they do lose them. God’s principles are the opposite of our human nature! That is why I said principles are self-sacrificial by nature.

2 Peter 1:5-11 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” NKJV

Interesting that Peter said the first thing we need to add to our faith is virtue, or character, which is a strict adherence to God’s laws of living. Adherence to God’s laws of living: living according to the principles of God, not changing them to fit our culture, but submitting to them regardless, even at a sacrificial cost.

Holy Spirit, convict us all of any area of our lives where we are not adhering to Your principles. Our hearts are to obey! AMEN!

Be blessed!Thanks,

• Date - August 29, 2018
• Author - David Chisholm