Can I get a witness
How to repair your testimony
Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold"
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But what if you have made mistakes? What if you haven't always tended your name well? What if you have failed--BIG TIME?
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Well, you are not alone. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." So NONE of us have reached the state of perfection. However, that does NOT excuse us from the consequences of our sin--NOR does it excuse us TO sin. It's simply a statement of fact. We ALL need Christ.
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It's heartbreaking to us, to the church, to our families, and to those who may be watching our walk--when we fail. Jesus noted the frailty of the flesh when he said, "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
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In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus also warned about noticing the faults of others. "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." In other words, we ALL could stand a little working on ourselves. (We'll talk more about this verse in posts to come, too)
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Let's look at David. Psalm 17:8 notes David as "the apple of the eye". Acts 13:22 says David was "a man after God's own heart". However, in 2 Samuel chapter 12, the prophet Nathan describes a scenario to King David. He describes terrible sins committed by a rich man. David became angry (verse 5) and boldly proclaimed to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:" And Nathan said to David, "THOU ART THE MAN".
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David wanted to follow God. He had a heart after God. Scripture plainly tells us this. However, David still battled his flesh and committed terrible wrongs. He could easily "notice" the wrongs when confronted by the prophet in the description of a hypothetical situation about another person--but failed to realize, until confronted by Nathan, that HE was the individual in question.
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Again, let me be clear, just because David sinned--does not EXCUSE us from sinning and being a poor source of Light to the world. My point here is to encourage you that you are NOT alone and it IS POSSIBLE to "trim your lamp" and shine a brighter light for Christ.
****Stay tuned. More to come this week
Can I get a Witness
Part Two
I hope you feel more encouraged now. In part two we will discuss more in depth how to "trim your lamp".
Matthew 25 and Luke 12 both talk about trimming lamps and keeping "your light burning". So what does it mean to trim a lamp? With the comforts and conveniences of today, not many are familiar with oil burning lamps. I had to research it myself.
When a lamp burns (you might be familiar with a candle--same concept), carbon is released and builds up on the end of the wick. This makes the flame dim, creates a black smoke and causes the oil or candle to burn up more quickly. To be the most effective, brighter burning light to the world (Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven--Matthew 5:16), we must be aware and continuously care for our "wick" .
If you know me, you know that I am a very "practical" teacher. All the concepts and principles are great and much needed--but how do I APPLY them to MY LIFE? When we consider trimming our lamp, what does that mean to me? I believe it brings us back to the previous devotion/study we did on the condition of our hearts.
Let's look again at Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence: for out of it are the issues of life". Just as our natural/physical heart supplies blood and oxygen to all parts of our body, our spiritual "heart" affects ALL areas of our life. This is why it is IMPERATIVE to keep our heart in the best condition possible.
Think about it. Luke 6:45 says "A good man OUT OF THE GOOD TREASURE OF HIS HEART bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man OUT OF THE EVIL TREASURE OF HIS HEART bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. What is IN YOU comes OUT OF YOU. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 15:11--"Not that which goeth INTO the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes OUT of the mouth, this defiles a man". The condition of our heart affects our MARRIAGE, our HOME, our CHILDREN, our WORK, our WITNESS. It affects EVERYTHING.
Stay tuned for more this week.
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