“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ…”
What does it mean to have “the mind of Christ”? Among other things, it means to think like Christ. It means to be as much like Christ as we possibly can, knowing that we can’t be exactly like Christ. We see bracelets with WWJD written on them. Of course, that means “what would Jesus do?” I was thinking about that this morning and it occurred to me that we should also have bracelets with WWJND inscribed on them. That means “what would Jesus not do?” If we want to think like Christ, we need to think in the positive and the negative. I thought of a few things that Christ would not do, that we should take to heart. Jesus would not harbor hatred in His heart toward another person. I used the word “harbor” advisedly here, because I don’t want you to get the idea that Jesus would never get angry with another person. Getting angry with other people and harboring hatred toward them are two different things. For example, when Jesus cleansed the temple He was angry. He was not just angry at the situation, He was angry with the people who were “buying and selling.” This didn’t mean that he hated those people. In fact, cleansing the temple was an act of love, because Jesus was righting a wrong. Jesus would not have an unforgiving spirit. In the Lord’s model prayer, He taught us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus set the example for us in this matter of forgiving others. No one was ever more mistreated than Jesus. All that Jesus did was good. When He came among sick folks, He left them well. He touched lepers, which no one would dare to do in that day. But he was falsely arrested, falsely tried and falsely taken to Golgotha to die. The first words that Jesus said from the cross were, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This prayer of forgiveness stretches across the centuries to reach us. Jesus would not retaliate against people who mistreated Him, or for any other reason. Retaliation is almost a natural reflex. The idea is that if you do something to me, I will do it back at you and we will be even. It was Jesus who taught us: “You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, that you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” At this point you might be thinking that I have lost my mind. No. I have not lost my mind, but I know that if I would think with the mind of Christ, I would not retaliate. I do not mean to imply that not retaliating is easy. What I mean that if we try to not do what Jesus would not do, we will not retaliate. This is a small portion of what it means to have “the mind of Christ.” Bro. Joe
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“And above all things put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.”
I saw three things in this text today that I had not noticed before. In preceding verses, Paul had called them to forgive each other, to kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and to “bear with one another.”( Verses 12-13) But along with these virtues, Paul called them to add love, to live in “the peace of Christ,” and to be thankful.(Verses 14-15) It is obvious that one could not live and practice the virtues of verses 12-13 without the practice of verses 14-15. We need all of these to be effective witnesses of Christ. Let’s look a little more closely to them. Love – This is the translation of our old friend, the Greek word “agahpay.” This describes the kind of love that Christ had for us when He went to the cross, e.g., it is compassionate and sacrificial. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul did not suggest that they love, but actually commanded them to love – which Christ also commanded in John 15:12. Which makes loving each other ultimately important. This is one virtue that is sorely needed in our churches and Christian work today. Think about it: Do you love the people that you go to church with each week? This does not mean that they have to act lovingly for us to love them- just love them. Well think about it? Do you love people period? Well,,,,,,,,do you? Peace of Christ – Just as we are to love like Christ, we are to have His peace. The “peace of Christ” is given in John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble). But be of good cheer – take heart – I have overcome the world.” This is the peace of heart and mind given to Christians as a gift from Christ. We need to ask at least two questions about this peace: Do we live in peace, and at peace, in our own hearts? Do we live at peace with our fellowman? I must confess that I approached this question in fear and trembling. This peace is so important that we cannot ignore it… . Thankfulness – Along with love and peace, thankfulness is an important Christian virtue. The Greek word translated “thankful” is “eucharistos.” “Eucharist” is one name for the Lord’s Supper. In light of this, we are to be thankful for all that Christ did for us on the cross, and for all that He does for our lives. We should also live thankful lives as a witness of Christ’s presence in our lives. Are you a thankful person? Take some time today and think of love, peace and thankfulness in your own life. Do it! Bro. Joe “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. 32. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:32 is the best description of Christian character that I have found. Of course, one has to take verse 31 seriously before he can apply verse 32. In fact, it would be impossible to practice what is in verse 32 without first applying verse 31. What does verse 32 tell us about Christian character? Kindness – It tells us to be kind to one another. “One another” seems to me to be a reference to our Christian brothers and sisters. Kindness begins in your church fellowship and extends to your daily life. Think of your Christian brothers and sisters, are you kind to them? Do you speak kindly to them, or about them? That is a serious question. Do you act kindly toward them? What about the people at the place where you work. Do you speak kindly to them and treat them kindly? The world is not a kind place, and that is why we need to be kind. This would make us more like Christ, and the world definitely needs Him. Give serious thought to kindness today. Begin with your Christian brothers and sisters and let it extend into your daily life. Compassion – “Tenderheartedness” is another name for compassion. Are you compassionate about your own practice of the Christian faith, and are you compassionate toward your family, etc. This does not just mean that we feel sorry for other people, but that we actually pray for them and care about them. We actually need to be put our compassion to work when the Spirit urges us. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, I imagine that the priest and Levite felt sorry for the beaten man, but they walked on by him. The Samaritan looked at the man, had compassion on him, and put that compassion into action. Jesus gave this parable to remind us of our need to be compassionate. (If you are not familiar with this parable, read Luke 10:29-37.) Forgiveness – In my mind, forgiveness is a result of kindness and compassion. They all work together. We need to search through our minds and think of people that we need to forgive, reaching from earliest memories in our lives to the present time. I did this, and was reminded that I needed to be more forgiving. This so easy to write about, but it is difficult in reality, but we need to do it, for it is part of our Christian character. We are to forgive others as “Christ has forgiven us.” If Christ could forgive us, we should be able to forgive others. Give some thought to kindness, compassion and forgiveness in your own life. Bro. Joe “Judge not, and you shall not be judged: condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive and you shall be forgiven. 38. Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom, For with the same measure that you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
The title above tells us what the text is all about. There are some things that we are not and there are some things we should be. We are not judges! We need to be careful here because we know right from wrong, and to call sin, sin is not judging. This is more fully explained in the counsel to “condemn not.” We cannot condemn anyone. Only God has the righteousness and authority to judge and condemn. To caution someone about bad behavior is neither judging nor condemning. I thank God for the people who have corrected and cautioned me, particularly in my early years. But we need to always remember when we are calling sin, sin; we still have to love the person that we are correcting. We can’t just condemn people and dump them by the wayside if we are to be like Jesus. Disagreeing with someone is not condemning and doesn’t cancel wise counsel, but we are mandated to do this in love and not in a condemning, and self-righteous, manner. We are to be forgivers. This is easy to say or write, but it is not always easy to do. I can think back over my life and think of something that someone said or did to me that really hurt, and I have to remember that I have to forgive. I reiterate: Not forgiving people is not a choice for the person who really wants to be a serious follower of Christ. I think that not forgiving people is the source of a lot enmity in families, circles of friends, and definitely in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to always remember that the first words of Jesus during His crucifixion were “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That sets the example for us, and for the sake of our Christian witness, for the sake of our human relationships and for the sake of our well-being, we need to be forgivers. According to this text, if we want to be forgiven we need to forgive. It ain’t easy, but we need to do it! We are to be givers. In my opinion, this is the greatest text in the Bible about why we should be givers. We need to be generous with our material blessings, and we also need to be generous in our attitudes toward people. The text frankly reminds us that if we are stingy with other people, they will be stingy with us. If we withhold our love from other people they are not likely to love us back. Luke 6:38 is true in our stewardship in our churches, in our daily relationships with others and in all of life. Just read what this text says about the rewards of being a giver and realize that it really pays to be a giver. (No pun intended.) Wow! This is a hard lesson, but it is a lesson that we need to learn. And I remind myself of it often. Bro. Joe “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.”
This text differentiates between the “mouth of the righteous” and the “mouth of the wicked.” I interpret this to mean that the words that you hear from a righteous person will be “a fountain of life.” This means that what the righteous says will be encouraging and edifying. Some thoughts came to my mind as to what this would mean concerning the words spoken by the righteous person. First, this would mean that what the righteous person speaks is truthful. This doesn’t mean that the words of the righteous are always agreeable. A lie that is told to encourage us will not really help us. In other words we can trust what the righteous person says . I have found that a truthful and loving criticism is more helpful than insincere flattery. However positive or negative, the mouth of a righteous person will speak encouraging words. This should remind us that we should be careful what we say to people. The words that we say can be uplifting and encouraging if we are truthful. Second, this would mean that what the righteous person says will express sincere love. Romans 12:9 reminds us that we should “Let love be without dissimulation. The Greek word that is translated as dissimulation in the KJV is “anupokrites.” It can be translated as “sincere, genuine or without hypocrisy.” Incidentally, the Greek word that is translated love in Roman 12:9 is “agape.” (ahgahpay) This is the word that is translated love in John 3:16, or any time God’s love is mentioned in the New Testament. It is also the word that is used in the “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13. It denotes love that is sincere and honest. Proverb 10:10, the verse that precedes our text says that: “He who winks maliciously causes grief and a chattering fool comes to ruin.” Proverbs 10:11b says: “But violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.” This means that the word of a wicked person would are meant to hurt, while the word of the righteous are meant to help. Proverbs 10:11 should reminds us that we need to be careful what we say to people. Our words can help or they can wound. We should be careful that our words will be the words of “the righteous” and not the words of “the wicked.” Sometimes we can say things without thinking about how they will be received by people. This does not mean that we should always flatter people, because insincere flattery can do as much harm as insincere criticism. Some of the greatest words that have helped me in my ministry have been either words of loving criticism or by positive words of encouragement. Let’s be careful that the words that come from our mouths will be “a fountain of life.” Bro. Joe “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
This is one loaded verse. I’ve written on this before, but the text spoke so loudly to me, I had to write about it again. It makes some seemingly impossible demands. It is a direct command from Jesus, which, of course, makes it important. First, Jesus told us to love our enemies. Who is our enemy? It is anyone whose name makes us angry, and might even cause us to lose sleep. Think of those people, and visualize them and make it up in your mind and heart that you are going to love them. If we are to have the peace that Christ offers, we will just have to find it in our hearts to love our enemies. Frankly, some people are easier to love from a distance, but love them we should. We should remember that Jesus loves them and died for them. Seriously ask Jesus to help you to love them, or for Him to love them through you. I think the rest of the verse shows us how to love our enemies. Second, Jesus told us to bless them that curse us. If anyone calls us a foul name, do not return it in kind, but actually bless them. If someone curses us, we should bless them. Take this seriously now, because this is serious business to Jesus. Pray God’s blessings upon the one who curses you. To bless them we will have to forgive them, for unforgiveness and hatred cannot dwell in the same heart and mind, or at least, it cannot dwell peacefully in the same heart and mind. If someone curses us we should forgive and move on. Their hatred cannot have an effect in our lives if we don’t let it. Think about it!!! Third, Jesus told us to do good to those who hate us. What? Does Jesus mean that if someone hates us, we should go out of our way to do good to them? Yes. That is exactly what He means. Are you getting the point here? If you love an enemy, he, or she, is no longer an enemy. If we bless those who curse us, this means that their curses made no difference in our lives. If we do good things for people, if they still hate us, that will be on them, not on us. We are doing what Jesus told us to do. If it was impossible, Jesus would not tell us to do it. Fourth, Jesus told us to “pray for them which despitefully, use you and persecute you.” Prayer is the key to loving our enemies, blessing those who curse us,and doing good to those who hate us. That’s right! Take it to the Lord in prayer. We should put these people on the top of our prayer lists and pray for them every day. I know that this is what we need to do, because I have actually done it, and know that it works. It works because it is done in obedience to Jesus. Will you think about this, pray about it, and let it make a difference in the relationships in your life? All you have to lose is enemies and your own personal negativity. Bro. Joe “A time to love and a time to hate…...”
Ecclesiastes usually leaves me puzzled. I came across this verse today and decided to give it some thought. This is not the first time that I have written about this verse, and this is probably not the last time. Following is what I got from it this time: First, Solomon wrote that “there is a time to love.” There is no puzzle here. In fact, the New Testament reminds us that we are to love people whether they are lovable or not. Now, that is not difficult to understand, but it is difficult to do. My mind went to 1 John 4:20-21, which is one of my “go to” verses on this subject: “We love (God) because He first loved us. 21. If a man says, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar, for he who loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen.” The “brother” here is simply another person. These two verses are why I make every effort to love people who are not lovable. If you are not making the effort, you should, because there is always “a time to love.” Second, Solomon wrote that there is “a time to hate.” I want to share my thoughts on this puzzling verse: There is always a time to hate Satan and his demons. He never means any good for us and will ruin us if we let him. There are people who claim to love Satan, but they are sadly confused. We find Jesus’ opinion about him in John 8:44: “He is a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” There is always a time to hate sin. We really need to hate our prevailing sins. These might not seem like much to us but they are important to Jesus. That is why it is so important to seek His forgiveness on a daily basis. Sin can never bring good things into our lives. I’m not guessing about this, I know this from experience. You can say the same thing if you will think about it. There is always a time to hate the evil deeds that people do. This does not mean that we should hate the people, but to hate their deeds. Isis comes to mind. I honestly pray for Jesus to enable me to love them, but I do honestly hate what they do. I constantly pray for their conversion. You probably get my point: It ain’t easy but it is the Christian thing to do. Let’s pray to love people and hate the things that we should hate. Bro. Joe "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. 19. If you were of the world, the world would love his own, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Being a Christian is not a popularity contest. Jesus promised that the world would hate us because of Him. (Hey, I didn’t say it; Jesus said it.) The “world” is the world system under the control of Satan. So don’t be surprised if the world does not “rise up and call you blessed” – so to speak. First, because of this, we need to live the Christian life in order for the world to respect, but if not love us. Many in the world just do not believe in Jesus, and think that we are ignorant because we do believe in Him. Many are just not sure whether Jesus exists or not, so He does not matter, and we just get in their way, or irritate them because of our commitment to Jesus. Many do not want to believe in Jesus because He would get in the way of what they want to do. Again, we just get in their way. If we truly live for Jesus, the world will hate us. If you do not believe it, just shout “Jesus” in a crowded room of strangers and see how they react. Second, this does not mean that we can hate the world. Jesus loved the world enough to die for it, and we should love the people in the world, not the world system, because Jesus told us to love people. In John 15:17, Jesus said, “These things I command you, that you love one another.” He did not mean for us just to love our fellow Christians, but to love those who hate what we stand for. In fact, in 1 John 4:8, John reminds us: “He that loves not does not know God: for God is love.” John added in 4:20: “If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen.” Third, we have to live in the tension of a world that hates us, and at the same time witness to that world. We have to love people enough to set the example of the love and care of Jesus in order for them to see Jesus in us. This does not mean that we surrender to the demands of the world. We will have to take a stand for Jesus at some point in our Christian pilgrimage, but we should do it out of love, not out of hatred. We can hate the ways of the world, but we must, must, love the people of the world. Jesus died for them too. We just need to let Jesus love them through us. I cannot tell you how to do it. And, frankly, it’s not easy, but the Spirit of God can teach us to love. Pray about it!!!! Bro. Joe “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
“Peace” is a great Bible word. The writer of Hebrews tied it into holiness. Without the holiness of Christ in us – His holiness not ours - we could not see God. But without the peace of God we would not experience or share the holiness of God. Peace was definitely one of Jesus’ favorite words. He said that in spite of the troubles that we will face in this life that He would give us peace. (John 16:33) According to Galatians 5:22, peace is part of the fruit of the Spirit. In other words when we are saved and receive the Holy Spirit, He brings peace into our lives. Since it is a gift, we have peace in our lives; we just need to claim it. We can have peace in our hearts, lives and minds in spite of all that is going on around us. I don’t have any formula to give you for claiming the peace that you have in your life, just know that it is there and claim it. I can give you a scripture reference that will help you to claim it: “Be careful for nothing (do not be anxious) but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 According to Hebrews 12:14, we are to “follow peace with all men (and women)….” Peace is a gift that the Spirit has given us to live at peace with people around us. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” People know that we are Christians if we seek to live at peace with them. This does not mean we have to agree with everybody; rather, it means that we should disagree like Christians. A nasty attitude does not reflect Christ at home, work, church, or wherever. Romans 14:19 brings me to the conclusion of the matter: “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” What this means is that if we want to teach other people, we will need to be at peace with them. Romans 14 dealt with eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. You can substitute any question that would bring a disturbance in our Christian fellowship. Just refuse to argue. I cannot tell you how to not argue – just don’t do it. If you belong to Christ, the Holy Spirit has given you peace. Live in that peace in your personal life and in your dealings with other people. Bro. Joe “And when (Jesus) looked round about on them with anger, being grieved over the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”
Jesus went into a synagogue in Capernaum on a Sabbath morning, He saw a man with a “withered” hand. The Pharisees present there were looking to see if Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath. Jesus did heal the man, after which the Pharisees, in league with the Herodians, plotted to kill Jesus. Our text tells us that Jesus was grieved because of the “hardness of their hearts.” The word “hardness” caught my attention, and I thought about what that meant. I want to share what this means based on a study of the Greek word for “hardness.” This meant that their hearts were “callow.” We would say that they had callous hearts. This means that they were unfeeling and unsympathetic toward the man. People, who would have rescued their donkey on a Sabbath day, had no feeling for the plight of the man with a paralyzed hand who needed healing. If our religious rules keep us from empathizing with real needs, we need to examine our hearts and see if our hearts have grown hard. This meant that their hearts were insensitive. The relationship that we have with Jesus should make us sensitive to the needs of people around us. A lack of sensitivity shows inattentiveness to the people and circumstances around us. The Pharisees were not thinking about the man, but about their own rules. (There was no Sabbath rule that forbad helping people.) This is reminiscent of the priest and Levite in the parable of the “Good Samaritan.” If you remember, those religious men went right on by a man who was bleeding to death on the side of the Jericho Road. The parable is reminding us that when we encounter people and circumstances that call of a touch from Jesus through us that we need to reach out with a caring hand. This meant that their hearts were selfish. Jesus was grieved because they did not think of anything beyond themselves. They didn’t think about the fact that the man could not work because of his paralyzed hand. In that day, that could have meant that he and his family would have gone hungry because he could not draw a day’s pay. Jesus pays attention when we think only of ourselves, and we cause His heart to grieve. We need to examine our hearts and see if they are “hardened.” Bro. Joe |
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