Jim Wilson's Blog, page 11

Examples

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us fromsetting our hearts on evil things as they did…. These things happened to themas examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillmentof the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11).

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith andin purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

Bad examples are warnings. Good examples are to be followedand imitated.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Free from Anxiety

Early in my Christian life, I had several periods of deepand sometimes prolonged anxiety. In each case, someone else pointed me to Godand His faithfulness and how to trust Him. In every case, my anxiety ended, andGod answered my need.

God cares for us. The more we think about God the way Godthinks about Himself, the happier our lives will be. As long as we think of Himaccording to our accusative thoughts which are not true, we will adjust ourlives based upon those lies. We think that God has characteristics that He doesnot have. We think He is unkind, intolerant, impatient, waiting for us to stepout of line so He can swat us. That is not true. He is the opposite: He iskind, faithful, and caring.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, whatyou will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life morethan food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; theydo not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feedsthem. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worryingadd a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how theflowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that noteven Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is howGod clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is throwninto the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do notworry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall wewear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Fatherknows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, andall these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry abouttomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble ofits own” (Matt. 6:25–34).

There are several biblicalpreventions for anxiety. They are joy, thanksgiving, and casting our anxiety onthe Lord. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). If youare rejoicing, you cannot be anxious.

It is possible to rejoice alwaysbecause God gave us the fruit of the Spirit called joy. That happened when wereceived Christ. Joy is not related to your environment or to events. That ishappiness, and it is circumstantial. Joy is related to a constant—the Lord andHis salvation. Because He is constant, your joy in Him can be constant, too.

We see this joy in severalScriptures. The first passage describes a state that would be a strongtemptation to anxiety.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes onthe vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, thoughthere are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoicein the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab. 3:17–18). 

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior whosaves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebukeyou, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even thedemons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightningfrom heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions andto overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do notrejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are writtenin heaven’” (Luke 10:17–20).

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in thepresence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me awilling spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, sothat sinners will turn back to you” (Psalm 51:12–13). 

What if you cannot rejoice?There is only one biblical reason for losing your joy. It is the chastening ofthe Lord. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on,however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who havebeen trained by it” (Heb. 12:11). When you respond to discipline from God, ityields the peaceful fruit of righteousness, which is joy in the Lord.

Thanksgiving is a means of beingfree from anxiety. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this isGod’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). This verse tells us tothank God in every circumstance. It is hard to be anxious while you are giving thanks.

“Do not be anxiousabout anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your requests to God. And thepeace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts andyour minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7).

Hope is apromise of God. Anxiety is a lie of Satan. The solution for anxiety is torejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4). It is not possible to be anxious whenwe are rejoicing in Him.

Excerpted from How to Be Free from Anxiety. To purchase,visit Amazon or ccmbooks.org/bookstore.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Obedience by Faith

Many of you have heard me teach about confession of sin andhow to be free from bitterness, or you have read booklets on the same subjects.You may have figured out that these two subjects seem to be endemic sins. Itwas brought to my attention that I have not taught on how not to sin. Ihave taught on it, but not as much, for the simple reason that when I show upto teach the people are bitter or living in unconfessed sin.

There are several talks on how not to sin on our SoundCloudpage (CCM Media at SoundCloud.com). A few of these are:

            Obedience is Normal

            Obedience is Easy

            Obedience and Faith

In addition to these teachings, I have written a book titledDead and Alive on God’s requirement of obedience and His provision forour obedience.

If you are living in the joy of the LORD’s salvation, Iencourage you to listen to these teachings or just pay attention to God’sprovision and expectation when you read the Word.

There seem to be two extremes in disobedience: legalism andlicentiousness. There is drifting between these two. All three of these aresins.

The world’s answer to legalism is the works of the flesh, i.e.,licentiousness. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live likethis will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

The world’s answer to the works of the flesh “touch not,taste not, handle not” is legalism (see Colossians 2:20).

The Christian has crucified the flesh, and the Christian isdead to the basic principles of the world. “Those who belong to Christ Jesushave crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians5:24). The Christian is in liberty and has the fruit of the Spirit.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

A Brief Study on Repentance & Forgiveness

Here are two passages on forgiveness from the New Testament:

“And said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christshould suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance andforgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginningfrom Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:46-47).

“…delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—towhom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darknessto light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgivenessof sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts26:17-18).

Jesus said the first to the apostles and the second to Saulof Tarsus when he received Christ. Both commands include repentance, and bothinclude forgiveness. The first is a command to preach repentance tounbelievers, and the second is a command to the apostles to turn theunbelievers from the power of Satan unto God.

Two more passages on repentance are Acts 17:30 and 2 Timothy2:23-26.

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commandsall people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

“Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies;you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not bequarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentanceleading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses andescape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will”(2 Timothy 2:23-26).

In the first, all people are commanded to repent.

In the second, God grants the unbelievers repentance. 

Which is it? There are four “wills” involved in repentance,all mentioned in the paragraph from 2 Timothy:

The Christian’s will. He is told how not towitness and how to teach.God’s will.The non-Christian’s will.The devil’s will.

All of these teachings on repentance are true, and we shouldapply them in our evangelism.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Jesus’ Action, Our Response

Here are two very basic truths from the Gospel of John:

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of hisdisciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that youmay believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believingyou may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have lovedyou, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are mydisciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

The first passage is what Jesus did and why He did it: “Thatyou may believe.”

The second is what we are to do and why: “All men will knowthat you are my disciples.”

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

You Know the Way

“‘You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomassaid to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know theway?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes tothe Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father aswell’” (John 14:4-6).

Jesus said they knew the where and the way.Thomas said they did not know where, and therefore they could not know the way.Jesus said the where is the Father and Jesus Himself was the way.If you know Jesus, you know the Father.

People today do not know where, and they do not know theway. The where is the Father. The way is Jesus. Are we willing to tell peoplethe where and the way?

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Followers of Abraham

When Jesus spoke to the Jewish leaders in John 8, He toldthem that they were not followers of Abraham. They thought they were!But Jesus said, “If you were followers of Abraham, you wouldn’t be seeking tokill Me. Abraham didn’t do that.” He says, “You are of your father the devil.” Jesussaid their religion was demonic—they were following the great Liar.

If what Jesus said is true, then we should not be followingour own views of the other religions in the world today. They are not onlyanti-God, they are anti-Christian. If a member of a Muslim family becomes abeliever, his relatives are required to kill him. In this demonic groups, thereis no tolerance for people becoming Christians. This is still happening today.When people survive, they are a great testimony to the power of God forgoodness and kindness and love and peace, and they are either admired for this orhated for it.

An almost unspoken belief of Christians in the western worldis that people are Hindus because they are in India, or people are Buddhistsbecause they are in China, or Muslim because they are in the Middle East, andwe’re Christians because we’re in the United States. We do not assume that ourfellow Americans are followers of the devil who need to be saved. But that iswhat they are.

Peter said, “There is no other name given under heaven bywhich we must be saved.” This is either true or false. If it’s true, salvationdoesn’t come through anyone except Jesus Christ.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Preachingthe Word of God is how people can repent and turn from their sins, from thedevil, and to God.

Christians in the United States go to church. But there issomewhere else we are to go—into all the world, making disciples of all nationsand teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. Christians go tochurch, but on the whole we do not go to all the nations, teaching everythingthat we have heard and believed.

Not only do we not go to all nations—we don’t go to our ownneighbors, to the people across the street. The second greatest commandment isto love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is second only to loving God.Loving our neighbor means doing what is best for him. What is best for him isfor him to love God the father through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. IfChristians in the U.S. are guilty of anything, it is this: we are not teachingour neighbors about the Lord Jesus.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Lifted Up

In the first thirteen verses of John 3, Nicodemus did notunderstand what Jesus was talking about. It was nonsense to him. When Jesussaid verse fourteen to him, Nicodemus finally understood Jesus. Here it is:

“Just as Moseslifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…” (John 3:14).

The reason it madesense to Nicodemus was because he knew of the event that Jesus spoke of. Peoplewho had been bitten by a serpent could look at the bronze snake and did notdie. Nicodemus knew the Bible story. 

Here it is:

“Then the LORD sentvenomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. Thepeople came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD andagainst you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayedfor the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole;anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake andput it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at thebronze snake, they lived” (Numbers 21:6-9).

Jesus identified thatHe, the Son of Man, would be lifted up on a cross. He was not a symbol as the bronze serpent was. He was the real thing. We receiveeverlasting life by looking to Him.

“But we preachChrist crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1Corinthians 1:23).

“For I resolved toknow nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1Corinthians 2:2).

“Therefore let allIsrael be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, bothLord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36).

Preaching Jesus andHis death on the cross were central and primary teachings of Paul and Peter.

In the days ofHezekiah, seven hundred years after the bronze serpent, the people were stillpraying and offering incense to the bronze snake.

“He removed thehigh places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He brokeinto pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israeliteshad been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” (2 Kings 18:4).

We are guilty ofthe same thing, only it is 2,000 years after the crucifixion. We are praying toand worshipping the crucifix and the cross. People kiss it, bow down to it, andpray to it. When I say “we,” I mean millions of Protestants and Catholics.

“For by onesacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews10:14).

The cross was one event for all time, and the bronze snakewas one event for that time. If Hezekiah were king today, he would burn all ofthe crucifixes.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Our Measuring Stick

One of the great words in theBible is the word truth. However, it does not have a good reputationoutside of the Bible. Perhaps it is because liars use it so often: “It’s thegospel truth!” and gossips also use it: “Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” However,if it is rightly understood, it is the measuring stick by which all falsehoodis determined.

Let’s look at a few of theplaces the word is used in the Bible.

 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwellingamong us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came fromthe Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

 

“Jesus answered,‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father exceptthrough me’” (John 14:6).

 

“If you love me,you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give youanother Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannotaccept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for helives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).

 

“When theCounselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truthwho goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” (John 15:26).

 

“We did not givein to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you”(Galatians 2:5).

 

“You wererunning a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”(Galatians 5:7).

 

“Instead,speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is theHead, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

 

“And you alsowere included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promisedHoly Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

 

“All over theworld this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing amongyou since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth”(Colossians 1:6b).

 

The word “truth” is identifiedwith Jesus, the Holy Spirit, grace, love, the gospel, and obedience.

 

The false prophet and the liarsay that they are telling truth. The true prophet and the honest man say thatthey are telling the truth. It is up to the Christian to know the difference.Get immersed in the truth.

 

If we are immersed in truth, wewill not be deceived, and we will be filled with the gospel and the fruit ofthe Spirit and will preach it.

 

There are a few other aspectsof truth to consider.

 

It is an absolute term; thereare no “maybes” about it. Because it is absolute, it must be lived, declared,preached, and proclaimed. It is not up for discussion.

 

Truth required dogmatism. Whenthe first-grade teacher writes the letter “A” on the board, she does not say tothe students, “I think that this is possibly, maybe, ‘A.’” No! She is dogmaticabout it. “This is ‘A.’”

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Truth in the Heart

There are a few expressions in the Bible that go beyond asimple statement of truth which can be comprehended by the mind, believed, andadhered to. These statements seem to say more than an answer to a catechismquestion. Here are a few of them:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of youunless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored upin his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up inhis heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with allyour soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

“Jesus replied:  'Lovethe Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all yourmind'” (Matthew 22:37).

“For it is with your heart that you believe and arejustified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans10:10).

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritualsongs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19)

“Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is onyou, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart”(Ephesians 6:6).

When truth is in the heart, the truth is lived out.Much of the teaching of truth over the centuries has been teaching truth to theminds of the saints. Some of this truth gets to the hearts of some of thesaints.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships