Aussie girl

To be called to holiness points clearly to how our salvation has made us new creatures in Christ. We are not the same people as we were before our conversion. 2 Cor 5:17 spells this out further: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new". Here, in 1 Cor 1, this new identity is shown not just to belong to us as individuals, but collectively as God's church. God's Word teaches us that the cross deals not only with our sin, but also with us, the sinners. This is an amazing truth to absorb, as it will change how we perceive ourselves, and how we draw motivation to live as God's holy people. It also means that no longer can we fall back on that old excuse of "I'm no saint" to justify our shortcomings. We are a saint, called by God himself. This wasn't something we gave ourselves; God graced us with this new life. Being set apart by God, belonging now to God, we have a new reference point for our motives, thoughts and behaviour. The question we can ask ourselves is: do they spring from our new nature, or from our old sin nature? The world may not always feel comfortable in the presence of saints, but they expect there will be a difference. The bridge between the saint and the world is called love.

Hello, this is Sue. I want to do this Bible study as I need to get back into the Word of God and let it speak afresh into my life.

Because our eternal destiny / homeland is in heaven, and it has always been God’s purpose that we are to share this with him, our relationship to the Lord should be the priority in our lives. We are created according to His purpose, not our own. So, out of both love and an understanding of the purpose of our existence, we are to live for him, and please him both here on earth, and through all the ages to come. There is a reality about this, as we will be judged at the bema seat on how we have loved and responded to his love. Knowing that this judgement will come, should cause us to re-evaluate our lives in light of this. Are we living for ourselves, or for him? Will we be worthy of a reward, or not? Ultimately, it is a question of how much we love Him. Part of our purpose is to be a light so that others will come to know Christ, so this too may be taken into account at the judgement seat. However, I hope that my motivation is not so much because of the coming judgement, but because I love him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Lord, grow this love in me, I pray, and help me to be obedient in all my ways.

To walk by faith means to choose to trust God’s word and promises rather than what we may think, feel or see around us. Nonbelievers cannot understand this as they do not know God and the utter reliability of what He says. They also cannot appreciate there is a spiritual reality operating in this world that is not obvious to human eyes. Understanding this spiritual reality helps us be aware that we have an adversary that we need to stand against as he seeks our harm and the destruction of God’s kingdom, and it also gives us the confidence that our God is greater than any power of the evil one. I think God has given us our senses to enjoy his created world. Our pleasure of food, for example, is through our senses of taste, vision, fell (texture), smell. We delight in the beauty of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling his created universe – the colour of a sunset, the majestic appearance of a mountain, the feel of the wind in our hair, the softness of a kitten etc. We give him thanks for these senses that add so much to our experience here on earth. But it is easy to also rely on our senses in those areas where God asks for faith. When we have decisions to make, or problems arise, we look to the logical way through without seeking his counsel. We rely on our bank balances, rather than on his promise that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. This can stop us moving forward to do his will, it can restrict our financial giving, it can create anxiety and worry as our thoughts focus on what we can see rather on what he has said. For me, I think, I tend to rely on my performance rather than on resting in Christ, so that He does the work through me. I need to grow my faith in seeking His will each day in my life, and then drawing on his strength to complete it. I need to practise this truth: “Apart from him, I can do nothing”. I love the Scripture Elwood quoted in his post: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Paul’s words are a comfort as we know there is something far better awaiting us after death. Death is not the end, it is the gateway into the eternal life God has prepared for us. And the best thing about that will be the Lord’s presence. We will be with the One who loves us far more than we can ever imagine, who has planned for us in live before time itself, and who will continue to show us his love throughout the ages of eternity. He is our true and permanent home, we will truly feel “at home” with him. When we die, our soul and spirit enjoy being in the presence of God, while our earthly body decays in the ground. But one day when Jesus returns to earth, we will be given a new resurrection body (1 Cor 15: 52-54).

Our bodies are like tents because they are designed for a traveller, one who is visiting earth, but who has a permanent home elsewhere, in heaven. They will one day wear out as they are made of perishable material. They will be dismantled and cast aside permanently when we die. If we truly looked forward each day to our “house not made with hands”, it would affect our perspective and values here. We would spend more time thinking ahead and anticipating the joys of heaven, and we would be more aware that earthly things are transient, so we need to have our hearts set on what will last forever. Our values would be different, and the things we give our time and attention to would be different. God’s will would be our goal, not living to satisfy ourselves.

God is always interested what is on our heart, as it is the part of us that we will take into eternity. Somehow it is how we respond to troubles that our faith matures, and this pleases God. Without faith it is impossible to please him, as Hebrews reminds us (Hebrews 11:6), and God does reward those who earnestly seek him. However, being human, we tend to opt for temporal things first. We seek solutions that we can control, rather than going to the Lord and seeking His counsel. We need to develop an eternal perspective. This life is very temporary, and will pass away. Focusing on eternal things helps us to develop a God perspective in contarts to a limited human one. This pleases God, grows his mind and heart in us, and also prepares us for heaven where our real life, our forever life is. The more we delight in his Word, and the more we seek his presence, the more we will develop this eternal focus. When we deeply appreciate that he came to earth to die for us that we might live forever, we will want to learn his mind and heart, amd live it day by day.

I find this tremendously encouraging. Instead of whingeing and complaining how hard his lot is, Paul accepts it as par for the course, and seeks to get on with the job God has given him, expecting God to do what needs to be done, and expecting and content in the fact that Gods life will be shown in the toughest of situations. How different our life can be dependent on our attitude…and expectation. Paul’s attitude gave the opportunity for others to see the Treasure of God within him. In contrast, how often we sit and discuss our woes, and the opportunity for people to see the Lord is passed up. In difficult circumstances, it is relying on God’s strength and power and knowledge that gets us through. This is what we want to pass on to others, and they will learn it best as they see it in us. Pain acts as a catalyst to spiritual growth as it forces us to face the reality of being stuck without God. Paradoxically we are truly living when we are dependent on Him. This is how we are created to be, and difficult circumstances provide the opening to practise this when other options are not available. It is here that authentic faith can shine more clearly, without being clouded by using our own resources.

Paul is likening us to the clay jar – earthy, liable to crack. But what is inside the jar is in amazing contrast, it is a Treasure of great worth, a heavenly treasure that can never change or lose its splendour. When we have a great treasure we are very careful to put it in a secure place, like a museum or art gallery, and show it off as well as we can by putting a good frame around it, or placing it on a pedestal. The paradox here is that God wants to indwell our poor bodies. It is in the contrast, or despite the contrast, that his power will be revealed. We could clearly not produce such greatness, it has to come from the Treasure within. “Lord, help me to show off the Treasure within rather than being concerned to focus on the clay pot”.

If there was no hope, then we are wasting our time! God is greater than Satan and desires that all people be saved and come to know his truth (1 Titus 2:4). We need to share his heart desire. To overcome spiritual blindness we need to recognise who is causing it (Satan), and ask God to cause his light to shine. God’s power is great as it brought forth light into the word at creation and darkness was dispelled. So, God’s word can dispel spiritual darkness. Paul’s answer was to preach “Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor 4:5). Our Lord is stronger than Satan and can bring spiritual sight. So, we are to preach and pray. Our prayers are to ask that spiritual blindness be removed, and that people’s hearts will desire God’s truth and not be hardened but rather will love the truth (1 Thessalonians 2: 9-10). Intercessory prayer seems to be an important ingredient, and is part of our love for people, and desire they will be saved. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (Romans 1:16)

Poor practices in ministry bring into question not just the people involved, but also work to obscure the message. If the minister does not reflect God, then people will not have time for the message he / she wants to bring. Such practices become a barrier to faith. The minister needs to reflect the message and the Author of the message. Paul’s alternative is to be open and honest in the presentation of the message. Let the message speak for itself, it does not need additional packaging to “sell” it, as the danger is the packaging will distort and obscure the message. For example, ministers who focus on getting people to give money even for the sake of the gospel, give the impression that money is more important than God’s faithfulness in providing. And all ministries, regardless of their specific practices, should give an open and full statement annually of all monies that pass through their hands. Ministries should also be careful not to overemphasize aspects of doctrine that have particular appeal to them, as in this way the word of God can be distorted. They also need to be careful not to emotionally manipulate people but to rely on God’s Spirit. One of the shameful ways that reflects on the gospel is when ministers focus on statistics, rather than humbly being grateful that God is allowing them to partner in his work.

God’s presence changes us. We cannot sin in God’s presence, and we begin to see his beauty more clearly, and long for this same beauty to be in us. God’s beauty helps us see the contrasting ugliness of life without God’s beauty present. We begin to hate what he hates, and desire what he loves. This affects our daily choices. We begin to choose what please God, and we are changed in this process which is called sanctification, or becoming holy like God is. I think my sanctification process has been “on hold” for a while, but the desire is being renewed to be like Christ. A hard time in my life as perhaps helped me see the importance of those daily choices, and made me aware that I cannot make them without his strength in me. All the more reason to spend time in his presence, as it is here my strength grows.

The only way to glow with God’s glory is to spend time looking at him. This is called adoration, contemplating how beautiful He is. This will then help us to praise and worship Him. Meditating on Scripture leads us to look on God as it is the guide to what He is like. Without Scripture we are in danger of devising a God of our own mind, or neglecting the breadth and depth of his attributes. I have no doubt that the low plane of spirituality relates to lack of communion with God. 2 Cor 3 is very clear that it is through contemplating him that we are transformed to be like him. This is a spiritual process under the control of the Spirit. My prayer is for the Spirit to increase my desire and to strengthen me to spend time daily enjoying the presence of my Lord.

Spiritual truth can only be grasped with spiritual means. Our spirits are dead, so unable to see truth clearly without the aid of the Holy Spirit whose job it is to convict and lead us into truth. We cannot come to Christ without the Holy Spirit being involved. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit gives us a freedom to understand God’s truth. Prior to this we remain imprisoned in our ignorance and inability to comprehend spiritual things. As Jesus says, it is the truth that sets us free.

Moses’ face glowed because he had been speaking with the Lord: “he was not aware his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord” (Ex 34:29). He covered it when he was with the people as it made them afraid (Ex 34:30). I think this may reflect the low spirituality among the people – they could not handle too much of God! Holiness is threatening in its purity, we shy away from it. I am not sure why more peoples’ faces did not glow in Moses’ time – it may have been because Moses had a unique relationship with God in his role as leader, together with his spiritual heart, and the Holy Spirit came upon him regularly when he met with God, and was granted this unique audience as a special privilege; or it may have been that Moses alone had a wholehearted desire for God compared to the rest of the Israelites. In our time, God’s glory can be spread whenever his people spend time contemplating Him: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect* the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18) * contemplate. In comparison to the Israelites, we have ready and full access into the holiest place because of the blood of Jesus, and we have the continual presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. A godly lady I know recently encouraged a group of us to daily spend time adoring God, and I think this is the idea here in this passage.

When we are involved in ministry, it gives us the opportunity to see Christ at work through us to draw others to Himself. We learn that in our ministry it is what God does in and through us that counts: “our competence comes from God”. This is of great encouragement to our faith. When we separate ourselves from other believers, we lack both the encouragement from and to others, and we are limited in potential as we lack the gifts and counsel of others to develop in our ministry.

We are living letters to be read by others in the sense that our lives give information when they are seen and heard by others. What is seen in our lives reveals what is hidden in our hearts. Genuineness is so important as people trust someone who is genuine, but do not trust someone who is not. When my life reads badly, it is better to acknowledge it rather than to try and pretend and cover it up. This gives me then the opportunity to repent before God and others, but at least to stay credible. When my life reads well, I need to respond thankfully and humbly. Knowing that it is God who has written into my life with the good ink of his Spirit, it is not my own handwriting.

People who are open to or seeking God, will be attracted by godliness. Those who are closed to God will want to move away from a person who demonstrates godliness, as this fragrance is not what attracts them, they will find it repels them. In the natural, we are drawn to what we like, whether it is lovely or ugly, and drawn away from what we do not like. So it is in the spiritual. This puts some responsibility on us who know God to ensure that we are in fact displaying his loveliness. If we don’t display it, we can’t attract people to the loveliness and ultimately its source. The question of whether I have suppressed my “fragrance” is challenging. I think what happens to me is more that when I am under pressure I tend to not wear God’s fragrance. Or, when people do not appreciate a godly fragrance, my tendency is to withdraw, or to even take on their fragrance. – a bit like, oh well, I will throw you back the fragrance you have dumped on me”. I allow my fragrance to turn toxic perhaps because I am feeling hurt or stressed. “Lord, preserve me from toxicity, and help me to put on your fragrance every day, starting from today. Amen”. Putting on fragrance requires me to life up the bottle and push the spray to release the fragrance… “Lord, be lifted up in my life today, and I release your Spirit to fill me”.

Good training equips us with knowledge of God’s word and how to apply in life situations. We can benefit from the wisdom of others throughout the ages as they have learned from and interpreted God’s word. We can also learn the pitfalls and dangers that has been gained from both a knowledge of history and the personal experience of godly mentors. Training teaches us to work within structures of accountability so that we do not become loose cannons thinking we know it all. It teaches us to be humble, and to handle relationships challenges wisely, so essential in ministry. At the same time, we have been given to Spirit within us to guide us, and so we need to be attuned to his personal voice for our lives and daily choices. God uses us as individuals with our specific gifts and placements in life, but he also wants to grow and mature us through our wider Christian community and context. My need is to take the time to practise daily to listen to the Spirit’s voice as I read God’s word, seek how to apply it, and “listen” in prayer and waiting on God. I am still also needing to learn how to consciously carry this attitude with em throughout the day. This is important as I need to make decisions each day in relation to what God allows to come into my day. My responses in ministry need to be God-sensitive if they are to be effective and beneficial to those to whom I minister.

Satan uses unforgiveness to keep our eyes off the Lord and place them on the person who wronged us. We focus on our hurt, building up resentment against the person, and so get distracted from what we should be doing. Unforgiveness is a sin as we disobey God’s clear command to forgive. Symptoms of unforgiveness include: thoughts regularly straying back to the person who wronged us, rehearsing our hurt, vengeful thoughts, lack of love for the person, hardness of heart toward the person. Matthew 6:14-15 shows us that if we forgive, we receive forgiveness from God, but if we fail to forgive, we also fail to receive forgiveness from God. We block ongoing blessings in our lives. To really let go of my resentment, I need to make a decision to do this. I need to hand it to God, and see myself as being free. I need to check if I contributed to the negative situation and also stand in need of forgiveness. I then need to act in freedom toward the other person. I may need God’s help and direction to re-establish a positive relationship. Or, depending on the circumstance, the choice may be to not reinvolve with the person. Either way, it means moving forward with life without being consumed or constrained by the past hurt.

Good leaders in the church serve Jesus Christ, so obedience to them follows a line of authority that is pleasing to God. It promotes unity in purpose and relationship, people working together and pulling in the same direction. A good servant leader will be in tune with those in the membership, listening and perceiving the best way to go forward, working in consultation and responsiveness to where the congregation is at. So, obedience ideally will be in a context of respect. Obedience to self serving leaders is dangerous, as this grows egos, rather than promoting God’s glory. Big egos are very vulnerable to self and other deception. This is seen so often, and at its worst, causes destruction of a church, but along the way there is unhappiness, and division. Where I find obedience difficult is where leaders are weak, and lack vision. I tend to go off and do my own thing. This study makes me reflect that perhaps in a situation such as this I should involve the leaders and give them the opportunity to lead and support and correct if needed. I realise I also need to pray for the leaders and the church and be more alert to opportunities where God wants me to be involved..

To “lord it over” someone is to act as thought you know best (even if you do), telling the other how they should do everything. It has the effect of making the other feel incompetent and small, afraid to speak up, to be themselves or take action on their own initiative as they may fail or be criticised. It discourages and fuels resentment. In contrast, weak leadership fails to set a direction for united purpose and action, and fails to build a strong team working together and respecting each other and each other’s contribution. Weak leadership makes it hard to achieve goals as clarity and motivation grow dim. People get disgruntled and team work goes out the window. Good leadership lets everyone know that they are a valuable part of the team, and helps each to work together as a team. Good leadership encourages, seeks to build up the other and their skills, listens, is willing to “let go” some ideas, however good they may seem to be, and allows the other to take some initiative. Good leadership looks for the ideas and attributes in the other that can be developed and encouraged.

It is the Spirit in us who gives us that extra strength, like a foundation of a house, to stand firm in our lives and not be prone to collapse due to storm or change. We can maintain our faith in Christ, whatever comes. God pours his Holy Spirit on us to equip us for service. His Spirit also reminds us that we belong to God (we have a new director in our lives), and lives within us in the deepest part of our being (our hearts) where our values, attitudes will be formed, and ultimately direct our behaviour and actions. The Spirit is God in us, changing us from the inside. This gives us confidence that things have changed forever, and that the salvation Christ has brought to us will never be lost, and one day the fullness of our salvation will be ours.

Paul knows that God answers prayer. He also knows that prayer brings us into closer relationship as brothers and sisters as we "help together" (2 Cor 1:11). Prayers for him brought him to safety when all seemed hopeless. And when prayers are answered it grows faith, God is thanked and praised, and so God is brought honour by his people. In sum, prayer blesses the person/ s prayed for, the pray-er, and the Lord Himself.

Bless you Dotty, this is a beautiful testimony. I, too, love Proverbs 3:5-6, thank you for the reminder of this wonderful promise. Susan