This phyiscal will help examine your Christian experience and depth of your character. It helps you look at your experience of loving and serving others who might be different than you; sharing the Gospel with the folks you know; suffering; family; and developing your character.
The leader of a Bible Study I attend told us that a friend of his who knows quite a few billionaires told him that many of those billionaires are the unhappiest people he knows.
There are a large number of people who believe money will bring happiness. They think that if they just had enough money, they would be happy. But an interesting thing happens along the way to earning enough money…many of them discover that they can never earn enough to keep up with their desires. As their income grows, so do their desires.
The Bible claims that those who love money will never be satisfied loving money. (Ecclessiastes 5:10) This is because money is unable to fill the “satisfaction” void. It was never designed for that purpose.
To be clear, the Bible is not anti-money for there are many examples of very wealthy, God loving people in the Bible. Abraham, Solomon, Job are three examples.
I am not big on all the reality T.V. shows, but there are a couple that have caught my attention. One is “The Biggest Loser” because it gives hope to the hopeless.
Many of the contestants before the show have just given up on life. They have tried every diet under the sun, yet they continue to fail to reach their goal. By routinely being discouraged and disappointed, they lose all hope that their lives will ever change.
The layers of guilt, shame, and embarrassment add to their emptiness as they know that they cannot change their lives themselves.
The personal trainers on the show, Bob and Jillian, rescue them from their hopelessness and push them to crazy depths for them to be transformed. As they see the results of their weight loss, they believe, many for the first time in their adult life, that they can be restored to a healthy self-image and weight.
This is the very definition of mercy. As we draw closer to God and he pours more of himself into us, there will come a point when we start reflecting many of God's attributes, including his mercy. As we see how undeserving we are in times of great need and how God meets where we are, we experience his mercy.
Some get a sense of mercy when they throw themselves at the mercy of the court. They have been convicted of a crime, know that they are undeserving of escaping punishment, and are in great need of relief. Before the judge, they plead with him to reduce or waive the sentence. They are at the judge's mercy.
Likewise, a child is at his/her parent's mercy when they get caught red handed doing something that they are not suppose to do, then the child pleads and cajoles begging for the parent's mercy.
A couple days ago one of our children's classmates looked at me and asked, "Are you Samuel's father?" I said yes then Samuel happened to come up and stand next to me. His classmate looked at both of us and said that he knew that I was Samuel's father because we looked alike.
That got me to thinking about my father. My younger brothers and I walk the same as he did. If all four of us were in a crowd and you were walking behind us, you would think that we were all related because we all walk the same way … the same cadence, the same posture, the same stride, everything is the same.
We reflected my father’s image as Samuel reflects my image. This is the case with nearly everyone. We reflect looks, mannerisms, emotions, behavior and the like of those who bore and reared us.
The Bible tells us that mankind was created in the likeness and image of God (Genesis 1:26), our Heavenly Father. So what does that mean?
Prosecuting attorneys prosecute. They analyze gathered evidence; they tell law enforcement what type of evidence they need in order to strengthen their case; then they bring charges against the accused.
Their job is to convict the accused of their wrongdoing before a judge and a jury.
As Christians look through the lens of the Bible, we observe the way others live their lives; make judgments based on those observations; and determine that person doesn’t have Christ in his live and needs to be saved.
We think man, if they would only trust Christ and live according to Him, their lives would be more in sync.
Examine Your Experience
