“Biblical Approach to Life”

Delays

Lettuce takes about 30 days to grow.  Some varieties of potatoes can take between 90 and 150 days to cultivate.  What is the delay with the potatoes?  What takes them so long to produce?  Nothing.  There is no delay and they do not take a long time to grow.  They grow in the amount of time that it takes potatoes to grow.  Many times, we believe that there is a delay in the answer to our prayers, or we believe that God is delaying our blessing.  God has a time when He desires to do something.  Unless we know God’s timing, we cannot determine that our blessing has been delayed or that the answers to our prayers are being delayed.  We will get what God wants us to have WHEN He wants us to have it.

In Genesis 40, while Joseph is imprisoned in Pharaoh’s prison, God provides Joseph with the opportunity to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief cup bearer and his baker.  After interpreting the dream of Pharaoh’s chief cup bearer, Joseph requested that the cup bearer petition Pharaoh to have Joseph released from prison.  However, after being released from prison, the cup bearer forgot about Joseph. 

In Genesis 41, Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret and the cup bearer finally remembers that Joseph has the authentic ability to interpret dreams.  So he mentions Joseph to Pharaoh and Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him to interpret his dream.  After giving Pharaoh the correct interpretation of his dream, Joseph’s life changed instantly.  He never returned to his cell and he is placed in a position that requires him to answer only to Pharaoh.

On the surface, it may appear that there was a delay in Joseph obtaining his freedom from prison.  However, there wasn’t any delay at all.  God is the One who gave Pharaoh a dream that required a divine interpretation.  This brought about the need for the only person in Egypt who had been given the divine ability to interpret dreams.  Joseph was released from prison when God determined that he should be released.  If Joseph had been freed 2 years prior, he would have been like fruit or vegetables that are harvested before they are ripe:  good for nothing.  There would not have been any purpose for Joseph to fulfill for Pharaoh.  God determined when the time was ripe and Joseph became beneficial to the Egyptians, his father and his brothers, the Israelites who would come from the lineage of his brothers, and the rest of the world that would have access to salvation because of Christ who came from the Israelites through the lineage of Judah.   

Galatians 4:4-5

  ⁴ But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.

 

“Life Applications”

Deliverance

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 

There are times when God will allow us to stay in a situation beyond frustration.  When we get to a point where we have placed our focus completely on Him and we have to be reminded that we are even in a situation, we have come to a point where God can change our situation.  We are not learning to live with our situation; we have learned to live beyond it.

 

“Spiritual Awareness”

Deception

2 Corinthians 11:14, 15

¹⁴ No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Those who will come to deceive us will not come publicly denying Jesus.  They will preach what we preach.  They will speak the way we speak.  And they will do what we do.  

We identify these individuals by holding them up to the Bible.  God will allow us to witness the fruit that they produce.

Matthew 7:15-20

¹⁵ “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will know them by their fruits.

 

“Biblical Application”

Conversion

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Conversion requires that there is an internal change of heart and mind that is exhibited by an external change in our actions and behaviors. 

Acts 8:9-24 gives an account of a sorcerer by the name of Simon that was believed to be a man of God because of the magic he performed.  He came to believe in Christ and followed Philip after hearing Philip’s preaching.  However, when he witnessed people receiving the Holy Spirit after Peter and John laid hands on them, Simon attempted to purchase that authority.  His desire was the result of having an impure heart and he was enticed by the actions of his life up to that point.  His lust for this power indicated that no conversion had taken place. 

 

“Conflict Resolution”

Resolving Conflict

Romans 12:17-21

¹⁷ Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The only way an issue can be resolved is if all parties involved are willing to acknowledge their fault or the role that they played which factored into the disagreement.  If only one person apologizes for their offense and the other person accepts the apology but never apologizes for their role in the conflict, the issue does not get resolved; it simply gets smoothed over.  In order for a resolution to occur, all parties involved have to take accountability for their actions.  Unless an individual or group chose not to respond negatively to the conflict, each individual involved in the conflict have a share in the disagreement.  If only one person owns their error and expresses regret for it, the issue does not get resolved because, while they may have acknowledged their guilt, they never received an apology for the offense they experienced.  Even though they may never voice it, they understand that they were wronged as well. 

When we are made aware that we have been offensive toward someone, an apology is necessary, even if we do not understand why they feel offended.  We all have things that offend us that may not necessarily offend someone else.  This is because there are many dynamics that make us who we are, and what we have experienced in our lives may contribute to how we view or receive words and actions.  Each of us have a responsibility to guard our words and manage our actions to avoid committing an unrighteous offense.  We also have a responsibility to respond righteously when we are offended.

Proverbs 19:11

A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook an offense.

 

“Biblical Truths”

Children of God

Romans 9:8

That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, But the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

Some believe that we are all children of God. However, this statement could not be further from the truth.  While we may all be God’s CREATION, we are not all His CHILDREN. 

 

“Life Applications”

Change

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

In order to bring change to an individual, the focus must be on changing their MIND.  The INTERNAL has to be addressed before there can be a visible EXTERNAL change.  Mark 5:1-15 gives an account of a man who was demon possessed and living among the tombs.  This man had no desire to wear clothes.  However, after Jesus cast the demons out of the man, the man lost the desire to continue walking around naked.  

God is ultimately responsible for producing change in an individual, but there are times when we can be instrumental in the process of their change.  However, people tend to be resistant to our encouragement of their change if they have not witnessed change in us.  People who are close to us have the opportunity to observe our lives and they witness our flaws.  When they do not observe the same intensity in us to address our faults as they notice in our desire to produce change in them, our efforts will not yield any good results.