Bible Study: A well-formed conscience

Romans 14:23
Isaiah 50:4-11

Maria and Reese demonstrating sisterly love (2009)

Walking in confidence requires a well-formed conscience. Anything less is foolishness, for the confidence is based on self-focused pride rather than a well-developed relationship with the Lord. So how do we develop that conscience? How do we reach the place where we can speak words "to sustain the weary"? How can we act according to faith and avoid sinning because we doubt?
.
You will never know what the Lord wants of you if you don't seek out His will. Seek to know Him, seek to know about Him, seek His input in specific and general areas of your life. Pray. Read His word. Study His teaching. Learn about Him. Pursue a relationship with Him.
.
Every time we reject sin makes it that much easier to reject it again in the future. Every time we give in makes it harder to do what is right in the face of the next temptation. Choosing to obey the Lord reaps benefits both in the immediate act of avoiding sin and in the long-term reality of forming ourselves according to His desires for us.
.
We don't have to travel the path of Christian virtue by ourselves. When we choose mentors, teachers, and friends who are also striving to honor God, we are all stronger. We learn from one another, strengthen one another, and encourage one another.
.
Our goal is to form our conscience so we can live confidently, not worried about whether we are acting appropriately or not, but rather knowing that we are living according to God's will regardless of what the world around us says.

Bible Study: Confidence

Romans 14:22

2 Corinthians 1:12

as focused as if she were taking a test

Taking a test can be quite a different experience depending on the confidence I have in the material. If I am not fully prepared, the test could be very stressful. If I know the material well, however, the test goes a lot faster and I approach it with an assurance of getting every answer correct. The end result gives me satisfaction rather than fear.
.
Living a godly life according to a well formed conscience can give us that same satisfaction. We can approach the Lord with confidence (Heb 4:16) knowing that what we have done wrong has been covered by His own grace and we have made every effort possible to live the majority of the time according to His will. We act with assurance. We do not shrink from the criticism of others, knowing that we are living according to the Lord's approval.
.
That assurance of knowing that we are acting in the right begins with a well-formed conscience. Only a foolish person in confident without reason for that confidence. When faced with eternal damnation or eternal salvation, we want to be sure our confidence is based in the Lord and His desire for us. Paul was confident in the Lord because he knew the Lord well and had invested in the relationship and in developing his conscience according to the Lord's desires. Don't take a test confidently without learning the material and don't act self-assured without embracing the Lord's desires in your heart.

Bible Study: When love is more important

Romans 14:21
John 13:12-17

My daughters truly love each other but they still fight like other siblings. The two older girls treat their baby sister like a doll. A treasured, princess doll, but a doll nonetheless. I am constantly reminding them that she is also a person and needs to be given the same respect that they want to receive. Don't just pick her up from behind and carry her to wherever you want her to be when she'd rather stay where she was and play there. Princess is amazingly patient with them, far beyond what I would expect of a 10 month old who can't use words to communicate yet or fight back when her sister does something she doesn't like.
.
Sometimes we need to stand up for the truth despite the opposition. But sometimes love is more important. Sometimes whether we are right or wrong isn't as important as respecting the other individual where they are at. We might have the better solution, we might know a holier path, we might have been gifted with some wisdom which the other person could benefit from. Yet if that person isn't ready to hear what we have to say, our approach might be just as disrespectful as grabbing a person from behind and moving them forcefully to a new location. They might experience our efforts to help as being as disrespectful as that of a child treating a baby sister like a doll rather than another human being.

Bible Study: Building with the Lord

Romans 14:20
Psalm 127:1-5

Building relationships with Christ

A toddler builds a tower out of blocks so he can knock it down again. That is his sole purpose in building the tower in the first place and Woe to the friend who frustrates his purpose by knocking the tower down before the builder gets the opportunity to do so himself!
.
What are your objectives in life and are your actions actually helping you achieve them? Are they the same objectives the Lord would like you to be working toward? Are you inadvertently knocking down His work in someone else's life? Usually the work we are at is meant to last longer than a toddler's block tower, but not always. Sometimes He simply wants us to build up the tower and knock it down again. Perhaps we need practice in building or the pleasure of working with a friend. We will often experience the frustration of someone else knocking down the tower we worked so hard to build and we might not see the purpose the Lord was at in allowing us to experience that hard work followed by destruction. Yet we can find reassurance in knowing that when He is involved in the construction, whatever we are doing and whatever the obvious results are, the building was not in vain.
.
Being like toddlers, not understanding the full picture, we should still strive to work with the Lord toward our stated objectives. Do we want a close relationship with Christ Jesus? Then we should spend time with Him every day, regardless of what we may have to sacrifice in our day to make it happen. Do we want our children to have a close relationship with Him? Then we should help them spend time with Him every day and mentor them in building that relationship. Do we want to end a particular sin? Then we should identify the scenarios that create temptation in that area and avoid those situations. These are constructions the Lord will certainly help us build, and rebuild when they are knocked down. And when we see another person working to build in such areas, we will certainly find satisfaction in helping the Lord and the other person succeed.
.
Linked with Fellowship Friday, Essential Friday

Bible Study: Peace

Romans 14:19
John 14:25-27

image credit

The peace this world aspires to will unfortunately never be achieved. Like the efforts to end world hunger or poverty, it's a nice goal which will never be reached. It depends too much on the good of every human being and requires resolving each and every conflict so that everyone agrees. The peace of Christ, the peace we should really be working toward, does not always resolve the conflict but rather entrusts the outcome to the Lord. The meaning of the word "lord" includes power and authority, so we live out the submission we've already expressed with our words to His ability to bring about the resolution between our opposing beliefs. In the meantime we live by our beliefs, but we live them out with love first and foremost rather than bickering over what we cannot agree on. We don't always agree, but since the Lord God is obviously working in each of us, we can allow those disagreements to stand out of the way while we work together, building each other up in our faith.

Bible Study: Living to please the Lord

Romans 14:18

Daniel 6:3-5

image credit

Daniel didn't base his actions on what would please the king or earn him respect among his fellow satraps and administrators. Yet as he lived in a manner to please God, his character attracted their attention. The king trusted him and the other administrators could find no wrongdoing to accuse him of because he was righteous. Yet he was righteous because he wanted to please the Lord, not because he was trying to earn their admiration. In a certain sense, we will be persecuted no matter what. Daniel was thrown to the lions because he was so upright in his actions while his colleagues were thrown to the lions for the opposite reason. Which would you rather be? The heroes we admire for generations afterward are more often those who change others' lives for the better. Please the Lord first and you will probably also earn the admiration of others. If you are persecuted instead, you will still have a heavenly reward to look forward to. But if you focus on the approbation of your peers, you will probably fail and will have nothing in heaven to show for your efforts.

Bible Study: Don't exchange your treasure for worthless rubbish

Romans 14:17
1 Corinthians 13:8-13

We all know that children love to bicker over the most ridiculous things. I even find my daughters arguing over what one girl said vs. what her sister thought she said. Perhaps these phrases are also common in your home: "Why can't you just get along?", "Is it really worth fighting over?", "No more arguing!" Do you ever wonder whether God would like to say the same things to us? We might be arguing over a very important issue, but if we're trampling the even more important virtues of love, faith, and hope in the process, we've exchanged a valuable treasure for a temporary gain. And if what we're arguing over is not an important issue, we've exchanged a valuable treasure for the sake of worthless rubbish. There are ways to resolve differences without forsaking the virtues marking those who belong to the Holy Spirit, just as we're always trying to teach our children to resolve their differences without bickering. In every situation we should consider whether we are holding fast to righteousness as we work through our differences. If the answer is no, it would be better to keep the core characteristics of a Christian, loving one another despite the disagreement, and leave the differences to the side to be worked out at another time or by someone else. As important as the issue might be, it's not worth the even more important faith, hope, and love.

Bible Study: Differences in beliefs

Romans 14:16
Acts 7:51-60

image credit

The peace of Christ is NOT the same as the peace of this world. We do not shy away from conflict when we know we are following the Lord God in our beliefs and our actions. We use discernment, helped by the Holy Spirit, to know when to speak up as Stephen did and when to hold back out of love. By the Lord's wisdom we choose when to avoid an issue altogether and when to address it head on.
.
There are certain things I have definite opinions on. I don't generally cling to a particular perspective "just because"; I have reasons for my beliefs. As such I am confidently able to defend them. But I need to always keep in mind which belief is foundational, which is important as a load-bearing wall, which is a curtain wall, and which is simply paint that can be changed fairly easily. Foundational beliefs are worth dying for. Load-bearing beliefs are worth discussing and defending with broader audiences, and possibly dying for, although I might not make them central to a relationship. I can recognize that someone can be an excellent Christian, built on the same foundation, even with different central beliefs, and I can choose whether it's the right relationship or the right time/place to discuss those differences or not. Curtain walls are those beliefs I am pretty confident about for my own life but I don't think everyone will have the same number or arrangement of rooms. If you press me I am ready with my explanation, ready to convince you that you might consider rearranging your house in the same style, but I'm not likely to bring up the subject as I recognize that not every Christian is called to the same lifestyle. Paint on the walls are the opinions I am ready to change if the evidence is convincing enough.
.
Why such a lengthy explanation of the differences? If we think all our beliefs are equal to each other, we will squabble over every issue or will lose our faith altogether in the effort to get along with one another. Knowing the comparative importance helps us discern which ones are a matter of choice or depend on our specific call in the Lord and which we hold onto more tightly. We come to realize that some are important yet other Christians who hold different beliefs are still very clearly following the Savior--and so we can set them aside, as important as they are, for the times that we are together rather than fighting and disparaging one another's beliefs in an effort to convince one another.

Bible Study: Ecumenism, or other reasons to not press the issue

Romans 14:15
Colossians 3:12-17

We don't live in a culture where meat is routinely sacrificed to idols before being presented on our plates. Nor are we bound by religious laws restricting what we eat every day. But there are other issues that are harder to discern. Is it wrong to practice yoga? Should Christians participate in Halloween celebrations? Am I obligated to hand out money to panhandlers on street corners? How much and what type of alcohol is it acceptable to drink? We may think something is ok, but if a friend objects then it might be the way of love to abstain from that activity, at least when we are together. Certainly we should not pressure someone into engaging in that activity when they feel convinced that it is wrong.
.
Some would think that I am not a very good Catholic. I belong to an ecumenical Christian group and often avoid explicitly Catholic devotions when around my non-Catholic friends. Not that I don't pray the Rosary, keep a crucifix, use Holy Water, ask saints for their intercession...but that is not by any means the whole of my faith. Since non-Catholic Christians view these things very differently, would insisting on their use increase my faith or theirs, which should be founded first and foremost on love? Especially when we still have so much else in agreement including charismatic prayer, certain rote prayers, Bible reading, Bible study, love of God, love of neighbor, devotion to the Lord Jesus, etc. When we are together there is more than enough to keep us busy with what we share in common, and we have plenty of time during the rest of the day to include what we disagree about. Just as I suspect that the early Christians who believed it was perfectly acceptable to eat the meat sacrificed to idols, or the bacon forbidden by the Law of Moses, had enough opportunities to eat them without insisting on bringing them to the meetings with other Christians who felt those things were unacceptable. The sacrifice they had to make, and the sacrifice we may have to make, is relatively minor. Complain because we can only engage in 90% of our faith life when we're around certain friends, and only have 90% of the rest of our day to complete those 10% of our devotions if we choose to do so?
.
Of course there is a time and place to question whether our friends might be right in believing that those particular activities are wrong, or that we might need to confront them about considering changing their behavior and "converting" to our way of thinking. But is this the time and place? Or by insisting on those things we disagree about, are we in fact pushing aside love in favor of pride, caring less about the individual than about proving that we are in the right over whatever the disagreement might be?

Bible Study: It is all very good except when it causes temptation

Romans 14:14

Genesis 1:31

IMAGE CREDIT: Closeups of grains of sand as unique as
individuals and our different strengths and temptations

Why do we insist that we know better than God? And why do we forget our individuality? Maybe something is "unclean" for me because I have a particular weakness and know that it will tempt me too much to sin. But that doesn't mean it's unclean in itself or that I should be critical of someone else using it. God created everything good. When He viewed His work He saw that "it was very good". Sin has warped our interactions with His creation and our ability to use everything good for good purposes. And, yes, His good creation was warped by man's sin. Yet when the essence of a thing is good, we should be careful about not misjudging it as bad.
.
I am a firm believer in avoiding the near occasion of sin, or of situations which I know ahead of time will place me in the way of temptation. Those sources of temptation are different for each individual. One may need to avoid chocolate; another alcohol. But I have to avoid confusion the distinction between sinful for everyone and a temptation for me that I should avoid. Part of our uniqueness includes the various things we enjoy or avoid, not because they are good or bad in themselves but because our individual fallen selves interact with them differently. As such we can love one another by accepting that others can enjoy something I avoid because they have no trouble relating to it well, while also not pressing others to indulge in something they have chosen to omit from their lives simply because it is a good thing.

Bible Study: Time well spent

Romans 14:13
Isaiah 40:6-8

We have such a short time on this earth. A lifetime seems to stretch on for a loooong while when we are children, but each year speeds up as we gain another birthday. Given how precious time is, how are you spending the time you have? It's not worthwhile spending your time making life more difficult for others. Think instead of one person in your life, someone you see every day, and how you can help that person along. How can you demonstrate love in practical ways? Praying for that individual is a very obvious step; but what little gifts and services can you offer that could help answer those same prayers? How can you take the upper hand in the disagreements you share and in tolerating the little annoyances you experience? Yes, that person may be in the wrong and maybe should change their behavior. But if you're not in a position of spiritual authority with that individual, then you're probably not the one who should point that out. You are rather the one who should demonstrate real love and allow God the room He needs to point out that sin. And if you are in a position of spiritual authority, any correction you need to give will be much better received if you are thoroughly loving that person.

Bible Study: Transformed into beauty

Romans 14:12
Matthew 25:6-13
2 Corinthians 2:15-16

image credit

The woman on tv looked beautiful. But as the program progressed, her words and actions repulsed me and her beauty transformed into ugliness. I have no desire to watch her feature in another program; I do not like the person I saw. Just as her lovely features were warped by her actions, I have known ugly people to become beloved, beautiful individuals as they became more familiar. Their words and actions erased the characteristics of their bodies which would never be praised by secular media and transformed the people within those bodies into cherished friends. As time goes by the actions speak louder than the skin features so the "ugly" person becomes far more beautiful than the supermodel.
.
The Lord is intimately aware of our thoughts and intentions as well as our words and actions. As we reach the end of our lives, will all we have done add up to a sweet perfume poured out for Him, transforming our ugliness into cherished beauty, or will it mar the beauty we were given from birth, contorting our natural features into repulsive ones? Of course our Lord is ready to help us make the right choices, if we ask and allow Him, but the choice is still up to us. Choose today to pour out words, thoughts, actions as precious as sweet perfume for the King. Be that sweet aroma by the way you live your life. Prepare today for the time when you will stand before the Judge, that you may have chosen paths to transform your ugly features into beautiful ones.
.
Linked with Fellowship Friday

Bible Study: Asking the Lord for help

Romans 14:11

Isaiah 45:20-25

The Lord will help us stay on the right path

We will all acknowledge the Lord's supremacy in the end, to our delight or our shame. Why waste our time correcting others for minor differences when we know they will be corrected (if necessary) by the Lord? But what about ourselves--what areas of our lives will we be corrected for? Perhaps we will be corrected for the matter of judging others when we should leave their actions and the motives behind them in the Lord's hands.
.
I am currently teaching my oldest daughter about the differences between sin, temptation, and accident. Accidents just happen and should be forgiven when they happen under other people's watch, just as we always want to be forgiven when they happen through us. Sin is a choice to do what is wrong. Temptation is that moment when we're given the opportunity to make a decision. It is that moment when reaching out to the Lord can make the difference in whether we sin or not. He invites us to call upon Him to save us. We need that salvation not only from physical dangers and not only for mercy when we've committed a sin, but also before we have sinned when we are fighting the spiritual battle against wrongdoing, in danger of falling again but not yet having chosen to sin. We have the opportunity to choose the right path but we might not have the strength to do so on our own. Call on the Lord for help. Acknowledge His greatness, His power to help. Ask Him to be your savior in the midst of temptation so you do not stumble and sin.

Bible Study: Wise as serpents

Romans 14:10
Matthew 10:16-22

Have you ever read G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries? Poor Father Brown seems so gullible, so easy to deceive, that the criminals always take advantage of him. Unfortunately for them, his appearance is deceptive for he truly is as wise as a serpent, despite his innocence. By the end of each tale the criminal has found himself outwitted by a country parson. Yet the priest's goal isn't simply to see justice done but also to offer the wrongdoer an opportunity to repent, restoring (/beginning) a right relationship with God.
.
We don't avoid judging our Christian family members because we'd rather live in ignorance, or because we uphold a ridiculous ideal of becoming doormats. Evil runs rampant through this world, including through ourselves, Christians though we may be. Yet love should be at the center of our interactions. We should never treat others with contempt, even when we're challenging them to behave differently. We especially shouldn't judge them and respond with contempt when the matter doesn't concern their morals. Judging a person's actions when they are stealing and calling them to the carpet to repent for their wrongdoing: yes, but lovingly, not contemptuously. Judging their hairstyle as if it were a matter of salvation: no.

Bible Study: Refined like gold or chopped into wood chips

Romans 14:9
Malachi 3:2-4

Watching the tree become wood chips

We don't have time in this life to accomplish every good thing. We have to make choices each day about what we will do and what we will say no to. Yet what are we saying no to? Is the activity we are favoring worth the one we are choosing to reject?
.
Christ Jesus is Lord of the living and the dead. He has the power to help us now if we choose to live for Him and the authority to decide our fates when we become one of the dead. Are we choosing for Him? Or are other important priorities (work, family, hobbies, etc) crowding out of our schedule the activities (prayers, church, Scripture, etc) that will bring us deeper in our relationship with the Lord? As important as certain things are (e.g. job responsibilities), the time we spend on them will burn like chaff in the Lord's refining fire if they are simply drawing us away from our God. Their true value lies only in the spiritual growth we gain from them. We can transform them into gold (growing in perseverance, speaking words of Christ's love to coworkers, using the money earned to honor the Lord), or we can watch them burn into nothing, all our time spent on them wasted. Or, we can say no more often to the very good activities in favor of better activities, actively prioritizing what will last at the end over what will burn away into nothing.
.
The fully grown maple tree in front of our house was cut down and turned into wood chips last spring. It had fulfilled its purpose in life, providing shade during the summer, helping block the wind during storms, and offering a big pile of leaves to jump in every fall, for whoknowshowmany years on end. Nothing but a rotting stump is left now. Even the wood chips are gone, scattered anonymously among our city's many mulched areas. As important as our activities can be, do they have an eternal value to outlast our lives? Or will they become like wood chips, scattered and forgotten as soon as we reach our earthly end?
.
How do you spend your time? What is worth keeping, what is worth transforming into gold, and what should be dropped like a hot potato in favor of something better utilizing your time and energy?
.
Linked with Modest Monday

Bible Study: Beginning well

Romans 14:8
John 15:12-17

Take one step forward

Christ Jesus gave everything for us. He didn't just give up the luxuries and safeties of heaven to suffer and die for our sake here on earth. He gave them up for three decades to be tested and tried among us, living in a family and with 12 bickering disciples, surrounded by individuals who wanted the miracles more than friendship. Through all the tests of His patience, He did not sin. An incredible feat.
.
We must work on knowing and imitating the Lord NOW if we want to be known and acknowledged by the Him at the end of time. He has called us His friends and family; so as we look at the way He treated His friends and family members, we will know how we should treat our own friends and family members, as response to His welcoming of us into His family and our desire to remain there now and for all eternity. We won't be as perfect as Christ Jesus, but we can hold His actions as our goal and work bit by bit toward it. As He was patient when dealing with difficult people, we can make an effort to be patient also despite the challenges we face.
.
I cannot become patient toward others overnight, but I can make an effort to take one step forward. I can resolve to begin each interaction with other people with a word of love. Whether as simple as a cheerful "hello", or as strong as an outright compliment, I can make an effort to approach people with a blessing rather than a criticism. They might respond negatively. The conversation might take a negative turn. I might fail afterwards and end the interaction poorly. But I can strive to begin it in a way that pleases the Lord. And if the interaction does end badly, the next one might go better because I'll be trying to begin that one also with a word or deed of love.

Bible Study: Family resemblance

Romans 14:7
Leviticus 11:45
Luke 13:22-30

Family resemblance...

When we live with, and interact with, and know someone well, we take on some of their mannerisms, and they take on ours. A resemblance forms even among people who are entirely unrelated genetically. The similarities become noticeable even to strangers and mere acquaintances, who comment that we belong together.
.
Our goal as Christians is to become like Christ. Like a man and woman who form a family with the characteristics they subconsciously choose to share with each other, taking on the character and mannerisms of Christ comes naturally out of joining His family. As He is holy, we should strive to become holy; as He lives for others, we should strive to live for others; as He obeys the Father, we should strive to obey the Father.
.
The warning Christ gives to His listeners to not be left outside is a reality check for those who think they can offer the Lord the minimum and still enter Heaven. If the Master doesn't know us, why should He let us in? And He won't know us unless we strive to know Him. We become like the ones we spend time with and love and seek to know. If we're not becoming more like Christ Jesus, we're not investing in our relationship with Him. And if we're not investing in that most important of all relationships, we won't be recognized and welcomed into His home at the end of our lives and at the end of the ages.

Bible Study: What honors the Lord

Romans 14:6

Colossians 3:12-17

Why do you celebrate a particular day as special? Because someone told you that you should?
.
Why do you avoid celebrating certain days as special? Because they would take too much work to celebrate?
.
We should celebrate or not based on what honors the Lord, not on what society tells us we should, or what is convenient for us, or what we feel like doing at the moment. And of course, while Paul was specifically citing celebrating certain days or not, the same principle applies to everything we do. Where should our children attend school? How often should we invite guests over for dinner? What should our budget be for _____? If your decision is made to honor the Lord, it should not be changed on a whim. If it's based on any other reason, it would be good to ask the Lord what He would like of you, so you can stay the course or change your decision based on His response.
.
We should sometimes change our decisions when we're encouraged by another person to do so; sometimes that is the Lord speaking to us through another individual and confirms it when we pray. But always our primary consideration should be whether we are seeking to honor the Lord or whether our decisions are flimsy and in need of change.

Bible Study: Getting to know the Lord more deeply

Romans 14:5

John 14:5-14

How do you become fully convinced in your own mind that what you are doing is right according to God's will for you? If you are convinced that one day should be celebrated in a special way to honor the Lord and your friend is convinced that each day should honor Him but no day set apart as special, how do you know you are right and shouldn't change your ways to reflect your friend's beliefs? The answer lies in knowing the Lord, in remaining close to Him and hearing what He tells you.
.
It's too simple to say that everyone should set aside time each day dedicated to prayer and Bible study. Yes, everyone who can, should. But the problems with this are 1) What about the slaves and prisoners in concentration camps and others who have no control over their time? Are they blocked from a deep relationship with our Savior? and 2) That time dedicated to be with the Lord is only the beginning of a truly deep relationship with Him. Done well it will help us continue a conversation with Him throughout the rest of the day.
.
If you want to know the Lord well, worship and thanksgiving in the morning will continue with every blessing, big and small, recognized and acknowledged throughout the day. Intercession will take place as individuals come to mind during each and every activity. Meditation on Scriptures read and memorized will reinforce the Lord's instructions day and night. Only when the relationship is free to grow, unlimited by the small portion of the day dedicated specifically to God, will that relationship become such a part of us that we will confidently walk according to the Lord's will, with no doubts that the choices we make please Him.

Bible Study: Bossy

Romans 14:4
Matthew 25:14-30

The oldest child in the family has the prerogative of bossing the younger siblings. My oldest child and her daddy agree with me. Our younger siblings don't always see the situation correctly, but then the majority are too old for my husband and I to boss now anyway. Our daughter's younger siblings have many, many years yet to convince her that she's not in charge of them. While the oldest might excuse the bossiness (rightfully or not) by pointing to the extra responsibilities given by the parents, it will never become an asset in a leadership role unless he/she learns when and who to boss. We need leaders to tell us what to do, but we don't need someone else's boss contradicting our own boss and criticizing our efforts. Nor do we need to be the meddlesome person creating havoc within someone else's domain.
.
It's not about whether an individual needs to be judged, or given instructions, or reprimanded for squandering the King's resources. It's about whether you are the one to do so. Are you the Master? Have you been given authority over that servant? If not, then let the true authority take charge without your interference. Just as a younger sibling is more likely to rebel against a rule if it's enforced by an older sibling rather than the rightful parent, the Master's servant is more likely to continue in wrongdoing if harassed by someone with no authority in the situation rather than by the Lord or His rightful representative.