It's a Way of Life

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 1 Timothy 4:16

We are living in difficult days. Not only do we have an enemy that is trying his hardest to trip us up in our Christian walk, but Christians are beginning to compromise their lifestyles and beliefs to feel more comfortable in this temporary world we live in. I see it all around me and worse yet, I find it creeping into my own life. Sometime, I think the older we get the harder it is to deny the seductive lull of what the world promises will satisfy - power, money, success, influence, gratifying our flesh through whatever means we are prone to temptation, etc. In this verse, Paul is giving Timothy some instructions about what to guard in his own life and what to be on guard against. He warns Timothy that in his day (and ours!) people would fall away from the faith and be deceived by all kinds of false teaching. He tells Timothy to devote himself to God's Word, prayer and teaching. Here's a reality check - following God is going to make our lives look different. That's the point!! He compares us as the body of Christ to a city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14-15).

So, if we take to heart Paul's advice to Timothy, we should watch our lives. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and help us answer the following questions:
- Does my lifestyle clearly reflect that I am a follower of Christ?
- What activities, habits and pleasures am I pursuing that dull my light or cause me to look and act just like the world? If you're not sure, ask yourself if Jesus has set a standard for these behaviors in Scripture or modeled for us what to do or how to act in a given situation.

We should also heed Paul’s warning to Timothy to closely watch our doctrine.
- Whose teaching am I regularly sitting under? Where am I learning about God? (Have you read your church's doctrinal statement to see what they believe and what's influencing their teaching of God's Word to you)?
- Am I comparing what I hear others tell me about God with what I find in God's Word? God's Word is always THE authority and unfortunately, in these days we have to be on guard against teachers that tell us what we want to hear or what will benefit them!

Ultimately, if we persevere in guarding godly lifestyles and beliefs, the result will be blessing not only for us, but those “hear” us, or those we influence – family, friends, co-workers, strangers. Our lives and doctrine are a testimony to God and being around us should encourage others to embrace God and His plan for their lives.

This Is Your Wake-up Call

"It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Romans 13:11-12

This is now the third time this verse has come up in my life this week and so I wanted to dwell on it for a moment. Do you ever feel like you're sleep walking your way through the Christian life? Or do you feel trapped in a coma of laziness or indifference? Does the thought of the Lord returning seem like a distant promise? Last Sunday, the pastor I heard in church spoke on Christ's return and gave several examples of the "signs of the times" to show us that His return is imminent. I left feeling convicted. I can think of more than a few areas of my life that would be very different if I knew Christ was returning tomorrow? Why then do I not live each day with that same sense of urgency - as if today was the day Christ was coming back for me? What do I want to be found doing when He returns? How many souls will go to heaven with me because I shared the gospel with them? Paul urges us to "wake up" for the "day is at hand." Do you believe that - I mean really believe that? How would your life, priorities, time, etc. change?

He also implores us to "cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Darkness and light cannot dwell together. If we have sin in our lives, God's light is not on display. Conversely, if God's light is on display in our lives, we will not be living in sin and darkness. We have a responsibility here to "cast off" sin - the stuff that distracts us from God, keeps us bound in guilt and shame so that we are not reconciled to God, harmful habits that are difficult to break, relationships that discourage living in the light, and even small things like neglecting Him for more sleep. And in case you didn't catch the seriousness in Paul's tone, he tells us to put on the "armor" of light. Do not be deceived - we are in a battle. (See the last half of Ephesians 6 for a more detailed list of our spiritual armor.)

So, I'm beginning to realize most of my blogs are quite serious but I realize that we are living in the last days and that Christians all around the world - myself included - need to "wake up" in our faith and love for God and His Word. That same pastor on Sunday said that one of the "signs of the times" is that there will be a famine in our land - a famine of God's Word. Women, we need to be in God's Word daily so that we can give it out to hungry hearts! There are starving souls all around us. God, please wake us up!