1 Timothy 4
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
We, as Christians, are not told to pay attention to others and what they are doing; but we must we watchful of our own actions and attitudes.
When last did you take stock of your own life – testing to prove whether you are still in the faith?
Paul also reminds Timothy to mind what he teaches others. Is what you teach – be it to a congregation, children, family, colleagues, etc. – up building or destructive. If you are not careful what you teach, and it is destructive, you will destroy your own life and that of others.
Your life should be a blessing to others and not a curse, whereby they can bless God when they think of your life.
Our growth as Christians should be evident for all to see. If it were asked from the pulpit who in the congregation were Christians, most probably everyone would raise their hands. But what if an outsider were asked to identify the Christians – would they identify you?
The Bible says we should take pains in these things. When it comes to running the Comrades Marathon, it is advised to the runners that they will endure pain if they plan to run this marathon – but knowing this, they still continue practising for the marathon. Sports has become a religion where the participants are willing to undertake whatever pain it might take to participate successfully. We as Christians should find out more about the sport stars we admire, and judge whether it is admirable for us to support such people.
As a Christian, there should be nothing to compare with the pains that you go through to make sure that your spiritual growth is evident to all. Things of God should take pre-eminence in our lives.
In the light of the Christian holy days that have just past – let’s examine ourselves and see where we stand in the light of all this. In the last couple of months we’ve celebrated Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Ascension Day… These days serve as full-stops in our lives, where we need to pause for a while and think.
Christmas So often you are asked if the Christ child has been born in your hearts and life. Is the Child alive and well in your heart – or have you let Herod kill Him? Right through the Lord’s life there were many who followed Him – especially during times when he was performing miracles. But when He was in the garden, He was alone – even his disciples were sleeping.
The Cross At the time when he was being accused – where were His followers? But while He was on the mountainside there were thousands.
The Lord said to some, You only follow me because of the miracles and because you get food to eat. Those people hadn’t got anywhere in their spiritual lives. They knew that the Lord had been born, they knew He was good to them – but that is as far as their Christianity went. As long as the sun was shining – why not just join the crowds. Are you like these people? We shouldn’t just serve Him when the sun shines – but also when the storm is crashing around us.
Then there are those who have been at the cross – who knows what it means to have their sins forgiven. And not that they’ve been dragged along by their mothers, but who’ve gone there on their own accord.
Then there are those who have gone to the Cross, but who serve a Christ that is still lying in the grave. They have never experienced Easter Sunday, nor do they serve a risen Lord. Do we know the power of His resurrection – that power that raised Him from the dead, and overcame death, hell and the devil? Some of us have been Christians for 20 years, but we don’t know what victory over sin is. And my life as a Christians just evolves around confessing the same sin every single day of my life. I got irritable before I became a Christian, and 20 years later I’m still getting irritable – but now I just confess it every day. It’s good – you’ve got to confess your sin, but the Lord Jesus says if you confess and forsake your sin, you will be forgiven.
Sin must be a sheer and terrible accident – and not a scheduled stop in our lives. We need to experience the risen Lord; and the power and forgiveness that comes from kneeling at the cross and confessing and repenting of our sins; and experience the power that Christ gives us to overcome sin. That is how one grows in their spiritual life.
Ascension Day The Lord Jesus had to go so that the Holy Spirit could come down. God raised the Lord from the dead, ascended Him to heaven, sat Him at His right hand and gave Him authority over everything in heaven and on earth. Have you come to this point in your life where you have given Christ power over every aspect in your life – your goals, missions, desires, etc.? Have you put your all on the altar yet? If not, perhaps that is why you aren’t getting anywhere. Just look at Thomas – how his decision influenced the rest of his life. It’s unfair to always remember him as ‘Doubting Thomas’. But we overlook his desire to actually see and experience the Lord – and when the Lord granted him his wish, all his doubting disappeared. He fell on his knees and said, ‘My Lord, and my God.’ How that changed his life! And now this doubting Thomas, who was busy with other things when the Lord revealed Himself to the others, had his life revolutionised. (According to early Christian tradition, he took the gospel to Parthia and India, “where exciting the rage of the pagan priests, he was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.” – Fox’s book of martyrs)
When you make Christ Lord and King in your life, everything changes. Let us be Christians who have experienced the Lord as the One Who was born in Bethlehem, who has forgiven our sins, has given us victory over our sins, and whom we’ve made King in our lives.