I am thankful to say that for the first time in my life I am surrounded by friends and a community who I know will always build me up and point me in the right direction. More importantly, I know that they will always be honest with me. Honesty is a rare trait these days and I think it to be (combined with love) the most important thing to have in any relationship.
The Bible instructs us to speak life and truth into one another. To be honest and point each other to Christ when we are failing to see straight. I cannot emphasize how much I have grown since having access to that kind of community. Being in close friendships where I am able to be completely honest about my life, my struggles, my thoughts without fear of rejection or judgement is monumental alone. But take that a step further. I have been blessed to have friends that I can not only share my most intimate thoughts with, but they additionally are on their toes looking out for me and honest when they see a trap of sin being laid. From outside the situation, they can see clearly into my life and lovingly point my attention back to Jesus in the areas that need it. Then they pray with me and for me and continually remind me of the truth until I have conquered the issue. This is the Biblical model of healthy relationships.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. (NIV)
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)
When we are struggling in sin, our enemy wants to keep it hidden. Satan works in secret. He threatens us with shame, regret, and fear of rejection so that we will keep our sin to ourselves, darkly stirring in our minds. There, he influences our thoughts continually keeping us in the mindset of the world. When we are stuck in darkness, we need the light most of all. No wonder Satan tries to keep it hidden! Sometimes the things we least want to share are the things that most need the light.
Ephesians 5:8-13 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. (NIV)
Sharing our thoughts with our brothers and sisters in Christ, enables us to get a fresh and healthy perspective. Sometimes the darkness has been in our minds for so long that we no longer recognize it for what it is. For sin starts small. At first, we hear the Holy Spirit's whispering telling us this is wrong. Then, if we choose to ignore it rather than listen, eventually we can't hear any leading at all! The word says our foolish hearts are darkened. This happens to people living without Christ, but can just as easily happen to us as Christians. That is why it is so imperative to have our own community of believers to shed light on those things.
Romans 1:18-21 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (NIV)
The Bible instructs us to speak life and truth into one another. To be honest and point each other to Christ when we are failing to see straight. I cannot emphasize how much I have grown since having access to that kind of community. Being in close friendships where I am able to be completely honest about my life, my struggles, my thoughts without fear of rejection or judgement is monumental alone. But take that a step further. I have been blessed to have friends that I can not only share my most intimate thoughts with, but they additionally are on their toes looking out for me and honest when they see a trap of sin being laid. From outside the situation, they can see clearly into my life and lovingly point my attention back to Jesus in the areas that need it. Then they pray with me and for me and continually remind me of the truth until I have conquered the issue. This is the Biblical model of healthy relationships.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. (NIV)
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)
When we are struggling in sin, our enemy wants to keep it hidden. Satan works in secret. He threatens us with shame, regret, and fear of rejection so that we will keep our sin to ourselves, darkly stirring in our minds. There, he influences our thoughts continually keeping us in the mindset of the world. When we are stuck in darkness, we need the light most of all. No wonder Satan tries to keep it hidden! Sometimes the things we least want to share are the things that most need the light.
Ephesians 5:8-13 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. (NIV)
Sharing our thoughts with our brothers and sisters in Christ, enables us to get a fresh and healthy perspective. Sometimes the darkness has been in our minds for so long that we no longer recognize it for what it is. For sin starts small. At first, we hear the Holy Spirit's whispering telling us this is wrong. Then, if we choose to ignore it rather than listen, eventually we can't hear any leading at all! The word says our foolish hearts are darkened. This happens to people living without Christ, but can just as easily happen to us as Christians. That is why it is so imperative to have our own community of believers to shed light on those things.
Romans 1:18-21 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (NIV)
Unfortunately, we sometimes see our family in Christ pushing us away for doing exactly what we are supposed to do! We gently present the truth in love to them, and they don't want to hear it, so they push us away with the truth, even though we have their best interest at heart. How often do we ourselves do the same to God?
When those in Christ are running from the truth, they often look for a way to say that their sin is Biblical or justified. They speak to leaders and pastors and any follower of God who will tell them that what they are doing is right, even though in their hearts they know it isn't.
I had the pleasure of hearing renowned Christian author, Francis Chan, speak a couple weeks ago. He spoke about how we need to know the truth to recognize what isn't and how we try to justify our sinful actions by twisting the word or finding others to tell us we are justified. He gave these verses as an example of just that.
1 Kings 13:14-24 He followed the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“I am,” he said.
Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
But he answered, “I cannot go back with you, eat bread, or drink water with you in this place, for a message came to me by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’”
He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” The old prophet deceived him, and the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back, and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you rebelled against the command of the Lord and did not keep the command that the Lord your God commanded you— but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place that He said to you, “Do not eat bread and do not drink water”— your corpse will never reach the grave of your fathers.’”
So after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. When he left, a lion attacked him along the way and killed him. His corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it; the lion was standing beside the corpse too. (NIV)
Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
But he answered, “I cannot go back with you, eat bread, or drink water with you in this place, for a message came to me by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’”
He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” The old prophet deceived him, and the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back, and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you rebelled against the command of the Lord and did not keep the command that the Lord your God commanded you— but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place that He said to you, “Do not eat bread and do not drink water”— your corpse will never reach the grave of your fathers.’”
So after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. When he left, a lion attacked him along the way and killed him. His corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it; the lion was standing beside the corpse too. (NIV)
I am sure that the man wanted very badly to be nourished with food and drink, but God had advised specifically against it. When he presented this information to the other prophet, he gave him a false word of God to counter it. In the first prophet's mind, these actions were justifiable by God! So he agreed against the truth he once knew and suffered the consequences.
These things in mind, we should be careful to always seek the truth and live by it. Find others who are trustworthy and strong in the faith to hold you to the light! Likewise, be the friend who can be honest and point others to the truth of Christ in love. Share the things that are on your heart without shame. Also, remember to be honest with yourself. Be mindful and aware of the thoughts going through your head and confront them and their source. If we don't do this for ourselves and others, we will surely fall victim to sin again and again. We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) so let's start acting like it!
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (NIV)
2 Corinthians 13:5-10 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. (NIV)
Dear Ms Campbell,
ReplyDeleteI applaude your committment to a daily blog. Thank you also for your bravery to share yourself so openly with the world. What a wonderful way to let "LIGHT" into your life as well as ours.
Sincerely,
Lynnette McKinley
Thank you so much Lynnette! I really appreciate you saying that and your support. It means the world to me!
DeleteLauren
Brilliant. We are truly being called to a life of purity - not something we hear much about these days. It's also clear we are called to live in community as believers so that we can support and encourage one another toward His quality and standard of life. Yet another excellent post Lauren, thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right about that. We are living each day to truly become more like Him. Thank you for your kind words and input! They are much appreciated.
DeleteLauren