INTEGRITY - SIXTH VALUE OF A SOLDIER OF CHRIST

NEW LIFE- A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 6, 2017

VERSE:...keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:16)

EQUATION:  A cleaned, cleansed Conscience >> (is far greater than) the souls of scoffers + blasphemers.

ACTION: The great Moody Church senior pastor Dr. Erwin Lutzer once wrote that a cleansed conscience is full of assurance, peace and hope. This is so true in light of 1 Peter 3:16, a great verse which should encourage the saints to persevere in light of those who persecute, hate and spout vile rhetoric against Christians. Their day of Judgment cometh nigh, on that Day of the Lord. Therefore it behooves the Christian to be a peace, love and stay the course because our Hope is based on things from Above, Divine things which cannot be defeated.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this Truth, that You have not only given us this blessed assurance that Jesus is ours, but that You have set aside a day where all accounts will be settled and all will be judged. Strengthen, encourage, embolden and buffet our Faith that we may be salt and light in this World, full of love, mercy and grace, while not losing sight of the what is really important - remaining obedient and completely sold out to You, our Great Creator, Lord and Master of all things, in Jesus' Holy Name, amen.

(Clip Art Credit Here)

WHERE IS THE ROAD TO PEACE WITHIN?

The late seminary professor Howard Hendricks once told of a neighbor of his whose pride

and joy was his speedboat. This man was really proud of this boat and spent all of his spare moments washing and waxing it. One day, he boasted to Hendricks that "I now have 38 coats of wax" on the boat. That must have been one exquisite looking boat.

Every time he boasted about the mint condition of his vessel, Howard Hendricks was kind to him, encouraging him. He never said an unkind word to this rich lost man, as he said to himself "this man has to stay busy and always doing something so as to hide the completely useless emptiness of his life". If you ever watch some of these hyper or active men or women who pursue self-gratification and pleasure with a passion, you will find that same type of emptiness. I see them on most Sunday mornings (except in the middle of winter) when I drive by the lake on the way to church, and see these guys fishing....sometimes in the rain.

Do ALL of them have empty lives? Do any of them have peace? Sure they have great families, the best homes, cars, jobs and even boats like this guy Hendricks lived next to. But do they have the peace that passeth all understanding? Are their souls at rest in the Lord? Do they even know what that means? Sadly, the majority does not and this problem cuts across all classes, races and stations in life. 

Scripture gives us the roadmap to the way of Inner Peace, the Peace within. Ephesians 2 tells us that "14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." There is NO peace unless we have God in our lives and that can only happen if Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

In this older Plumbline program. I look at one of the fruits of the Spirit - PEACE, and give part of my personal testimony as to how I found that peace....and it was only through coming to the end of myself. It was only hitting the ground so hard that all I could do was look up and choose Him....then give my life to Him and see His forgiveness for all my sins - Repentance. You too can have that fruit of the Spirit - Peace...we all can, so we don't have to make busy plans or occupy our minds with mindless books, hobbies, sports, activities etc just to run from ourselves, and the convicting conscience we have been ignoring. Please watch:

HOW DID WE LOSE THEM? (PART 1)

Psalm 44: 1-3 (NKJV)

We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,

The deeds You did in their days,

In days of old:

² 

You drove out the nations with Your hand,

But them You planted;

You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

³ 

For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,

Nor did their own arm save them;

But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,

Because You favored them.

The worldview of most people today goes only as far back as the day they were born. This is because there is such a lack of adults passing on their knowledge, of almost anything. It is becoming worse with each new generation. To compound this travesty, we also have a glaring lack of Biblically sound parents who are passing on the Knowledge and Wonder of the Lord to their children as may have been passed on to them.

The reason I say "may have been" is the proof we have just out from Barna Research (May 2013) that 59% of teens from age 18 to early twenties drop out of church, after going regularly most of their lives, while growing up! I see it in churches I have attended all my life and even up to now! This is horrible and not just an indictment of preachers clowning around in the pulpit and running the church as their own turfs or businesses, but parents who have no sense of God themselves. Sometimes you wonder if these people - both the preacher and the parent - are even saved and converted themselves!

Just look at this wonderful psalm above and marvel at the words of men who have always been told of the Goodness of God, who is not just deliverer from evil, but provider. The very last line above where he says "...because You favored them"....unless you have testimony time in a church on Sunday nights, which is a dying tradition, you will hardly hear gratitude like this where folks testify and glorify the King "because He favored them".

The bottom line is we are full of all kinds of noise, speed and light and no substance. Our own churches are just as guilty. I was once a member of church leadership and resigned rather than have to face judgment for any transgression against this same 59% we allowed to walk away from Christ, because we were playing church. I don't want that on my conscience. This is why my entire focus for the past decade is to make sure no stone is unturned, as much as possible to do the best I can to reach as many as I can for the Truth.

Over the next several posts, we will go deeper into some of the newest research to find the root of how we got where we are - in the depths of a spiritual pit....and Lord willing - what does God expect us to do about it. In the meantime, you and I need to pray very hard for even our own children who are walking in Christ in their early 20's s still - that they mature in Him and His Word. If we have any child who is not yet converted to righteousness and salvation - double down on your knees. Time is too short!