Tag: Christian Living

Roger That: 3 Ways to Check Your Christian Living

Posted on by Lizzie Laemmli

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

3 Ways to Check Your Christian Living

 

Am I active, available, and approachable? What does that mean, anyway?

This month our family has watched in awe as God has miraculously transformed the lives of several people we know with the good news of Christ.  What’s really fun is that it’s clear that God is the one at work- any human involvement is almost coincidental. Isn’t that how it should be?

I love how God uses men and women in a variety of ways throughout the book of Acts to engage with people who don’t know Him.  But it really is unfortunate that these stories have been called, “The Acts of the Apostles.”

As many commentators have pointed out, it ought to be named, “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.”

 

To borrow Peter’s description for how God led the Old Testament prophets, the men and women of Acts, he said they “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21),” that sounds pretty good to me.

As I read through the account in Acts of the explosion of the Church in the first century, there are three postures of the early believers that help me play my part in the advance of the gospel.  They were, at different times and places, ACTIVE, AVAILABLE and APPROACHABLE.

 

ACTIVE

In the book of Acts, who comes to mind when you see the word “active”?  Starting after (or even before) his conversion, I immediately think of Paul (formerly, Saul). He was active prior to meeting Jesus – “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison”- Acts 8:31.

Then after He met Christ and believed in him (Acts 9) Saul shifted from persecution to ministering to those he persecuted. “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” – Acts 9:22. A quick flip through of Acts will name his travels to about 50 different locations.

Paul’s so active he’s got maps in the back of our Bible’s!

He took sharing the gospel so seriously that he traveled throughout the Roman Empire and gave his life so that others could hear the good news (see Acts 20:24!). It’s a good thing to be active in sharing the gospel. Paul tells Philemon, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ (Philemon 6).”

Philip is another great example. Acts 8:4-6 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.” There are plenty more examples apart from these two, disciples are active, just check out John 15:8.

 

And it’s a good thing to be active in sharing Christ, but in my early years as a Christian and as a Navigator, I foolishly believed this was the only way to “witness for Christ.”

 

I had to be actively initiating with those who didn’t know Christ every week (maybe even every day!) in order to honor God and be a “good Christian.”

This led to sometimes awkward encounters where the gospel was forced into conversations in a way that wasn’t respectful and honoring to the one receiving the good news. Which brings us back to Peter’s description for how God led the Old Testament prophets, how they “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21),” that’s the active I want to be too.

 

AVAILABLE

In the same way that there are times when God calls us to be active, there are those times (maybe the rest of our time!) when we need to be available.  I’ve enjoyed looking for those people in Acts that were used by God in incredible ways, simply by being available. I’m not saying they were passive or lazy. They were just looking for what God might be doing in the lives of those around them (and their own).

Take another look at Philip in Acts 8:26-40.

In these passages an angel of the Lord comes to Philip and tells him to go to a specific road. When he gets there he meets an Ethiopian eunuch who is sitting in a chariot reading the book of Isaiah. Philip sees this man and God leads Philip to go talk to him and ask “Do you understand what you are reading?” because God knows this man has questions! The man begins to ask Philip about what he is reading and ends up baptized by the end of the chapter.

All of this happens because Philip was simply available. We may not often find an angel in our living room instructing us to go to a certain road, but we can ask God what he has for us this very day and to whom he would like our time and proximity to be available toward.

Ananias in Acts 9 is another example.

God does all the work in stopping Saul of Tarsus in his tracks, then He calls a disciple named Ananias to be available to care for the blind, confused and frightened new believer. The one who would become the Apostle Paul! This is a fairly similar story to Philip in the sense that God again calls his available disciple to go to a certain road and talk to a person, except this time God tells Ananias who to look for.

 

If God asked you to go talk to the man who has been killing fellow believers in Christ, would you go?

 

Read Acts 9 to see Ananias’s conversation with God before he goes to find Saul!

 

APPROACHABLE

Whether God is calling us to be active or available, I think He always wants us to be approachable. Look at each of the above examples again. Were they approachable? Did their attitudes and actions, how they spoke and how they listened, aid the seeker in understanding and appreciating the gospel? Absolutely!

One of my favorite verses on sharing Christ is 1 Peter 3:15 which says: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” The only problem is that when I memorized this verse as a young Christian, I forgot the last phrase: “…yet do it with gentleness and respect.” And it showed in my approach! I wasn’t approachable because I was lacking in gentleness and respect. Again, YIKES!

 

Consider the men and women God has brought your way.

 

Is He nudging you to take initiative and be ACTIVE in sharing your faith with them?  Are there others where it’s more appropriate to be AVAILABLE? And maybe you’re like the younger me who needs to examine how APPROACHABLE we are.

I’d love to hear from you as you hear from the Lord! Put your thoughts in the comments below!

 

Read questions and Journal!

 

  1. Can you think of other examples in Acts that fit those three words above? What can you learn from their example and experience?

 

  1. What about mentors and leaders in your own life? How have they impacted you or others you know?

 

  1. Study 1 Peter 3:15, including the surrounding verses. What does Peter say about our knowledge of the gospel? What about our attitude and conduct?

 

  1. Did you know, the title for Acts is not found in the text of the book? 2nd and 3rd century authors made various suggestions, with Acts of the Apostles becoming the preferred title through the influence of church leaders like Irenaeus (120 or 140 to 203).

 

Roger That: 4 Benefits to Overlooking an Offense

Posted on by Lizzie Laemmli

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

 “You need to let it go.”

Abraham Lincoln had a unique way of handling his anger: he would write a “hot letter” where he would share all his frustrations with an incompetent general or a member of his cabinet, then stick it in a drawer.  Doris Kearns Goodwin writes, “When his papers were opened at the beginning of the 20th century, historians discovered a raft of such letters, with Lincoln’s notation underneath: ‘never sent and never signed.’” Click here to read about it!

I would like to think that Abraham Lincoln – as a man who regularly read his Bible – was familiar with Proverbs 19:11.

 

“Those with good sense are slow to anger,
    and it is their glory to overlook an offense.”

 

Let me be clear, I don’t believe this verse is a band-aid that we’re supposed to apply to the deep, painful wounds caused by the abuse and neglect of those who should know better. But it does help us to deal with the “scratches and bruises” of everyday life in a fallen world.

What I am talking about is that these days we don’t have to look very hard to find someone who is offended about something… all the time! (*note: being offended is different than having an opinion!) And while it may be tempting to react in offense as dramatics are quite easy to engage in, especially online…it’s WAY more useful right now to talk about how this verse impacts me, Roger Hamilton and maybe you might relate?

 

Four things stand out to me from Proverbs 19:11:

FIRST: Good sense: Some translations use “wisdom.” The starting point, the foundation for this kind of response is wisdom. It reminds me of James 3:13-18, where there is a clear difference between the wisdom that comes from God and the wisdom of the world!

SECOND: Slow to anger: Why do I act like it’s a constitutional right to be outraged or offended so quickly about every issue? Again, James comes to mind. In 1:19,20 he reminds us that our anger doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.

THIRD: Overlook an offense: I can make a deliberate choice to let it go AND to not bring it up again! It’s not overlooking the offense if I file it away and weaponize it to get even at the “perfect time.”

FOURTH: Glory: We actually stand out in all the right ways when we choose to look beyond what is offending those around us or what is in our nature to be offended by. This doesn’t necessarily mean pretending it never happened (that’s not great conflict management) but it does imply without becoming angry or bitter. The Amplified Version explains this well, “And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment].” In Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells us to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

 

Maybe I could…

choose in the place of getting angry, pouting like a 3-year-old, complaining to a friend, or letting the air out of their car tires (OK, I haven’t done the last one, but I have THOUGHT about it!), to glorify God by overlooking the offense. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m pretty good at most of those responses, and they never leave me feeling better- or the people around me.

 

Sometimes the offense might be an innocent slip of the tongue or sarcastic comment that is easy to overlook when I believe the best about the person. But there are times when the “scratch” is deep enough to hurt- a lot! Those are the times I need to get alone with God and let His Spirit give me some eternal perspective.

 

Last year a ministry leader said something to me that was meant as a playful jab, but it really hurt. I know they had no malicious intent, but it didn’t lessen the sting. I agonized with the Lord about going to the person and letting them know how their careless comment had affected me (which would not have been wrong to do, by the way). But God was very clear: “You need to let it go.” I made an agreement with God that I would overlook the offense and commit to never bringing it up again!

 

Do you want to know the real truth?

I am way more often the offender than the offended! And I really want to learn and grow when those I have offended are courageous and honest enough to tell me. But I’m sure there are countless situations where someone has decided with the Lord to overlook my offense (including the person I mentioned above!).

What do you think? Let’s ask God for His wisdom on when to overlook an offense. Can you imagine if all Christians practiced this regularly in personal relationships? It would grow our depth, challenge our love for one another, and give glory to God!

 

Read and Journal!

  1. Look up Proverbs 19:11 in 4 or 5 different translations. What impresses you about the differences?

  2. Read James 1:19,20 and 3:13-18. What does James say that relates to Proverbs 19:11?

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:19,20).

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:13-18).

  1. Write down a few situations where you have overlooked an offense? What was the outcome for you? For the relationship?

Roger That: God’s Peculiar People

Posted on by Lizzie Laemmli

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

 

That’s a bit peculiar to the world – is it not? That we belong to God, not ourselves or anything else?

As followers of Christ in these crazy times, we often find ourselves struggling with how we can fit in with the world around us while still holding on to our faith. 

We’ve been told that as Christians we should be “in the world but not of the world” (see John 17:15-18).  Our world today is polarized and hypersensitive about almost everything. But that’s really nothing new! Since the first century, believers in Jesus have been trying to figure out this balance, and their world was just as jacked up as ours.

In Titus 2:14 Paul tells us that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are HIS very own, eager to do what is good.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Paul wrote to his friend Titus to help him encourage believers in Crete to display Christlike character among those who lived far differently (just look up cretin in a dictionary). Peter wrote to believers scattered by Roman persecution who were feeling anything but special as a result.

In 1611 (no, I was not in high school then!), the King James Bible was published. The phrases bolded in the verses above are translated as “a peculiar people”.

Don’t take my word for it. Take the words I copied and pasted from the KJV below:

 

Titus 2:14:

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 

1 Peter 2:9:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people;

 

SEE!? “A peculiar people” that’s me – and you too, if you are a follower of Jesus.

Today “peculiar” refers to something or someone who is strange or odd. But it can also mean “distinctive in nature or character from others.” Back then it referred to ownership of cattle, as in “this cow belongs to me. Keep your hands off!”  Somehow that doesn’t sound quite as good as “God’s special possession.”

A change in meaning has happened over time, revealing that the same question we feel tension with today, was what Christians faced centuries ago…

Do we belong to Him or the world?

The phrases that the Bible describes our identity with are pretty amazing: chosen people, royal priesthood, God’s special possession (another translation says, “a people who are His very own”).

That’s a bit peculiar to the world – is it not? That we belong to God, not ourselves or anything else?

When we’re frustrated that we don’t quite fit in or belong with the world, that’s because WE DON’T. We’re citizens of another kingdom. A better kingdom.

Did you notice that Paul emphasizes being enthusiastic (zealous) for good works? If you read on in Peter (1 Peter 2:12), he also mentions how good deeds can lead worldly people to glorify God – BECAUSE when you or I are accused of doing wrong, people of the world may see our good deeds (I believe you could also say character – look up the Greek *hint: blueletterbible.com) and glorify God. I didn’t make that up – it’s in the BIBLE.

In the world – not of the world? I think so.

So, here’s the question for all of us as the peculiar people of God:

How do we honor God with our character and conduct in such a way that people are drawn closer to Christ, rather than being repelled?  And how can we daily depend on God’s word and His indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us in living well among those who don’t yet know Christ?

Read and Journal!

Read Titus 2:11-15, 1 Peter 2:9-12 and John 17:14-19.  Check them out in several translations.

  1. What do each of these passages say about how we’re supposed to live out our faith in the world?
  2. How is the phrase “the peculiar people of God” in Titus and 1 Peter translated in other versions besides KJV and NIV? Are there any versions that grab your attention? Why?
    1. Click to look at other translations of Titus 2:14
    2. Click to look at other translations of 1 Peter 2:9
  3. How does Jesus’ message in John 17 differ from those of Paul and Peter in the verses above? To whom is Jesus speaking? Why is that significant?
  4. If you have time, you might want to read all of Jesus’ parting words to the Disciples (and us!), John 13-17.
  5. What do you think the world would say about you? What else does God say about His Children? Which one genuinely sounds better? Challenge: Ask a friend or two those questions. Have a conversation about it!