Be a HUNTER!

Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Wow, do I "call out" and "cry aloud to understand the things of God? Or do I more often times doubt and shrink away from pressing into God due to my own impatience in wanting my own timetable? I can see both at work within me. What a challenge is laid out here: If I want to understand God's plans and who he actually is, I need to store his word away in my heart, I need to be a "hunter" for his treasure. I need to constantly seek him with urgency. Too often it's too easy to treat our lives, as something other than a God treasure hunt. Let's today decide to take our map (his word) and set out to find him. Lord, help me to call out and cry aloud to you, help me to fervently seek you, not shrink away, no matter what this life throws at me, in Jesus' name, Amen.

What we see in others, Reflects ourseleves

Pulled this from Challies.com
"...

This is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (1 John 3:11-14)

Now this specific form of love in verse 12 may seem to you to be totally unneeded. "Don't be like Cain who murdered his brother." Am I really concerned that there will be a spate of murders among Christians? No. And I don't think John feared that either, though it does happen. He doesn't focus on the murder. He asks in verse 12, "And why did he murder him?" That's John's concern. There is something about Cain's motive that he thinks will be relevant to the way believers love each other.

He answers at the end of verse 12: "Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous." What John is saying here is not merely that love doesn't kill a brother, but that love doesn't feel resentful when a brother is superior in some spiritual or moral way. Cain didn't kill Abel simply because Cain was evil. He killed him because the contrast between Abel's goodness and Cain's evil made Cain angry. It made him feel guilty. Abel didn't have to say anything; Abel's goodness was a constant reminder to Cain that he was evil. And instead of dealing with his own evil by repentance and change, he got rid of Abel. If you don't like what you see in the mirror, shoot the mirror.

So what would it be like for any of us to be like Cain? It would mean that anytime some weakness or bad habit in our lives is exposed by contrast to someone else's goodness, instead of dealing with the weakness or the bad habit, we keep away from those whose lives make us feel defective. We don't kill them. We avoid them. Or worse, we find ways to criticize them so as to neutralize the part of their lives that was making us feel convicted. We feel like the best way to nullify someone's good point is to draw attention to their bad point. And so we protect ourselves from whatever good they might be or us.

But John's point is: Love doesn't act like that. Love is glad when our brothers and sisters are making progress in good habits or good attitudes or good behavior. Love rejoices in this growth. And if it happens to be faster than our own growth, then love is humble and rejoices with those who rejoice.

So the lesson for us is: Everywhere you see some growth, some virtue, some, spiritual discipline, some good habit, or good attitude, rejoice in it. Give thanks for it. Compliment it. Don't resent it. Don't be like Cain. Respond the opposite from Cain. Be inspired by other people's goodness.

Love is humble. Love delights in other people's good. Love doesn't protect its own flaws. Love takes steps to change them. What a beautiful fellowship where everyone is rejoicing in each other's strengths, not resenting them! This is what the love of God looks like when the new birth gives it life in the people of God."

This just makes me even more aware of the believers that I surround myself with, and makes me thankfull for the group of guys in my small group. It is a massive level of maturity when you can look at someone take stock in what you think of them/their opinion and then reflect it back on to yourself in a very introscopic way. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Does their presence help you in your faith or hurty you? Are you using them as a way to evaluate yourself, your decisions, your faith?

_SC

The HS Cleaning Service

2Tim2:19-21 "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

This passage reminds me that it's not an option to obey Christ. There's a strong promise here too: cleanse yourself from ignoble purposes and you WILL BE an instrument for his noble purposes, you WILL BE made holy, you WILL BE useful to the master, and you WILL BE prepared to do ANY good work. At first glance, this seems hard to accept, why do I tend to doubt the Holy Spirit's power at work inside me. Lord today I ask you reveal and help me surrender any ignoble articles in my house to you. Cleanse me and use me as you say you will. Build up my trust in your ability to use me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

We are IN!

2 Tim 2:13 "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

This verse really struck me this morning in two ways during my quiet time:
1) I am truly IN him- by believing upon Christ, I am literally a part of Christ. I am part of himself! How encouraging as I look at my shoddy track record of being faithful. As 1Peter2:11 states I'm so much a part of Christ that I am an "alien and stranger in this world", and as 1 Cor 7:23 says I was "bought at a price". I am IN Christ no matter how I perform.
2) God is at work in our lives, even if we don't see it- even w/o any faith, he will REMAIN FAITHFUL to HIMSELF (US)! God is at work in our relationships with unsaved friends and family. He's at work in that area that seems insurmountable. Just because you or I don't have faith this current second, be assured that he is remaining faithful, and at work behind the spiritual scenes.
Lord, thank you for great love and your perfect, never ending faithfulness! Help me to rest in that today, Amen.