When Bible Teaching Is Like Folgers Crystals

Folgers

Many years ago, Folgers coffee ran commercials in which someone secretly exchanged a gourmet coffee with their brand.  Of course, in the commercials, the unsuspecting coffee drinkers could not tell the difference.  Additionally, many even claimed Folgers was better than the original brand.

Sadly, I see a similar trend prevalent in Christian circles – not with coffee, but with preaching and teaching.  Many preachers today stand a passionately deliver messages to people who stand in great need to hear from God.  But some deliver what amounts to a coach’s locker room speech rather than a clear, anointed message from God’s Word.  They exchange the gourmet truth of God’s Word with the Folgers crystals of human insight and perspective.

[Tweet “If the message is not based on, rooted in, and filled through with God’s Word, it is merely a speech.”]

Things to Consider Before Drinking the Folgers

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Spiritual Warfare and the Prepared Mind

Much of both my personal study and my preaching lately have focused on spiritual warfare.  Whether or not we realize it or admit it, if we are Jesus-followers we face conflict on a spiritual level daily.

spiritual warfareMany people think of spiritual warfare in physical terms.  Some see physical illness, financial distress, or problems with material things in our lives as the devil’s attack, but the Bible teaches us that spiritual warfare takes place on an invisible battle field – what Paul refers to as the “heavenly places.”  (Ephesians 6:12)

Granted, the devil will try to use these physical and material circumstances against us, but they are not in and of themselves the battleground. Spiritual battle takes place over HOW WE REACT AND RESPOND to them.  The devil will try to muddle our thinking and demoralize our emotions by tempting us to focus more on our circumstances than on God.  The primary theater of operations in spiritual warfare is our MIND.

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Preparing Our Minds for Spiritual Warfare

1 Peter 1:13 challenges us to prepare our minds for action.  We cannot wait until spiritual attacks occur to defend ourselves, but we must ready ourselves for the inevitable onslaught of the devils devices.  Let me suggest three readiness steps you can begin doing today that will put you in a better position to prevail in spiritual warfare. Read More

You Are Already Equipped For Bible Study

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In Bible study as in life, there is always “more than meets the eye.”  Many people make poor judgements by following their first impressions and instincts without taking the necessary time and effort to fully observe what is happening around them.  Likewise, lack of careful Biblical observation has led to much false teaching and poor understanding of Biblical truth.

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“Never trust general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

 

Biblical observation is not difficult, it just takes a little time and attention. The average Christian may feel under-prepared for the task, but the simple truth is you already possess the two most important tools in Biblical observation and other helps are not difficult to obtain and use.

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How to Begin Investigating the Bible for Yourself

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The Bible is a literary masterpiece, written in fine literary fashion, and worthy to be studied by students of literature.  It serves a much higher purpose, however, in the life of a believer.  When a believer reads the Bible, he or she reads an message from God applicable to that particular believer in his or her current life circumstances.  The Bible is God’s living specific truth that speaks into people’s lives today as much as ever.

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I cannot tell you the number of times a specific passage of Scripture has come to life when I read it and that God used it to instruct, challenge, encourage, inform, or convict me as I read it.  Sometimes I feel “ambushed” by God because I read a passage of Scripture only to have the Holy Spirit speak – silently yet loudly – right to a current situation in my life.  That can happen to you as well if you approach the Bible to hear what God wants to say to you!

Last week I encouraged you to develop an intentional plan for reading both larger and smaller portions of Scripture on a regular basis, and for probing a smaller passage on a daily basis.  I believe that best way to study the Bible is through what is called the Inductive Study Method, which consists of three parts: Read More

What March Madness Teaches Us About Intentional Living

NCAA BB TrophyMarch Madness has begun. Most college basketball teams are playing in their conference tournaments determining which teams will move on to the national “dance” – The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. College basketball is a big deal…and even bigger deal in March. All of the “hoop”-la to win that big ol’ trophy.

No NCAA Championship team began the season without a vision of how they would win enough regular season games, win the conference championship, and win their way through the national tourney to be crowned champions. No championship is won accidentally; champions win on purpose. No team just shows up to play, tosses the ball around, and plays to “make the best” of each game as it comes. Champions work hard for their championship, and they play a full season with (here comes my word again)…intentionality. From the opening practice until the buzzer of the final game they work hard with a singular goal: win the trophy.

Sadly many believers drift through life without a game plan for a successful spiritual journey. Consider the sense of purpose Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Corinthian church:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“So run,” he says. “I do not run aimlessly,” he testifies. “I discipline my body,” he demonstrates. Purpose. Intentionality. Vision.

What is your game plan? What are you doing to win in the important areas of your life? Your spiritual development? Your marriage? Your relationship with your kids? Other important facets of you life? What is the game plan?

Let me encourage you to answer four questions for yourself today.

  1. What are the most important relationships in my life?
  2. What would “winning” look like in each of those relationships?
  3. What’s the score right now in each of those relationships?
  4. What are one or two things I can do today to start running better in those areas?

Ask God to give you honest insight into your own life and ask Him to give you wisdom and strength to make the necessary changes to begin living intentionally in those areas. Run to win. Run with purpose. Run with self-control.

Did You Do That on Purpose?

Whether in our Christian development, our marriage, our relationship with our kids, our jobs, or any other facet of life, we live in one of two ways. Either we react to things as they come or we proactively live with intention in these important life areas. We either respond to what life throws at us, or we approach life with purpose and intention. Consider a lesson from a Bible hero named Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs… Daniel 1:8-9

When faced with a decision to capitulate and conform to others around him, Daniel “resolved” to maintain his character. The word translated into the singular word “resolved” is actually a Hebrew phrase literally rendered “set his heart.” Some translations render the phrase “purpose.” I like that.

Daniel would be challenged by the threat of the lions’ den and his three friends by the threat of a fiery furnace. All four at their moments of decision resolutely chose character over capitulation. Why? Not because they took a moment to pray about and weight the pros and cons, but because they had made the decision long ago – well before the pressure moment. They had a plan; they lived INTENTIONALLY.

Intentional living worked out really well for Daniel. He went from the lions’ den to Vice-Emperor. His three friends found favor among their leaders and rose to positions of responsibility in the kingdom. They did it not by chance or luck, but by intentionality in the Hand of God’s providence.

How are you living the most important accounts in your life? Do you have an intentional plan to grow spiritually? To enhance your marriage? To lead your children? To use your job and other activities for God’s glory? Or…do you just leave it all up to chance, trying to “keep the plates spinning,” “tread water,” “take it one day at a time as life comes,” or any number of other reaction-centered clichés? Things do not improve accidentally. You can’t wait on someone else to do “their part.” You must choose to take the necessary steps to live intentionally.

Here is my challenge to you for today.

Choose 1 thing you will begin doing immediately and intentionally…

  • to delve into deeper intimacy with Jesus,
  • to enhance your marriage,
  • to positively affect your kids.

That’s a pretty good start right there. Do it… INTENTIONALLY.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Jedi Yoda

Don’t Be Fooled by the Illusion of Time

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Monday marked a unique occurrence in our keeping of time; it was Leap Day. Many people do not realize that we have the extra day because our standard calendar only accounts for 365 of the 365¼ days the Earth revolves around the sun. So to even things out, we tack on a day at the end of the already shortest month.

In reality, our calendars present an illusion of time to us. Cosmologically speaking, we do not actually have an “extra day.” Similarly, we celebrate the New Year on January 1st when in reality that day on any given year is nothing more than the day that followed the day before it. We reset our calendars, and make resolutions to live the next 365 days (or in this year’s case, the next 366) differently; seemingly “better.”

Our measurement of time within our days can also be illusory as well. In 13 days we will begin a standard of time measurement we call “Daylight Saving Time.” (Pet peeve alert: the word “saving” is not meant to be plural. It is not Daylight Savings time, as in a Savings account). I once heard a prominent Atlanta radio personality explain that we observe DST so that we can give the farmers an extra hour of daylight. Apparently, he never worked on a farm. Farm work is pre-dawn to post-dusk regardless of where the hands on the clock are positioned.

As we think about the supposed “extra day” we were given, let me present a question for your consideration.

For the most part, did you SPEND the day or INVEST the day?

All of this “extra day” and “extra hour” talk has stoked the burden in my heart for intentional living. Life is precious. At any moment any of our lives could be snuffed out. I choose not to live in fear of my life suddenly and unexpectedly ending, but I do, however, choose to live what days I have with purpose, meaning, and intentionality.

Consider the wise words of Moses and Paul:

So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

…making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:16

Not just on leap day and not just during DST, but EVERY DAY and in EVERY SEASON, are you living with intentionality toward the things that matter for eternity? Do you devote your heart to spending time with God? Do you invest the best of yourself in your family? Are you building your life out of the proverbial gold, silver, and precious stones that will withstand eternity’s testing fire?

Or… are you living your life as a consumer? Spending your time and energy making money to accumulate more of Earth’s transient offerings? Do you spend your days (frustratingly so) trying to make things come out to suit you, go your way, or benefit you?

I challenge you today to take a fresh look at your priorities, aspirations, and ambitions. Even if you achieve all you are seeking here on Earth, what will be of it when you are gone? The most important investment of time and resources are in those priorities that matter for eternity.