Behavioral Action

     ·       Behavior is HOW we act

·       Action is WHAT we do

·       Motivation is WHY we do it

 

                  It can be rather daunting when you realize that God, who knows all that can be known, knows how you will act, what you will do, and MOST importantly, WHY you do it prior to it happening. Our behavior as a follower of Christ, should begin to look at least somewhat like Jesus’ behavior. That doesn’t make you any better or more important than anyone else, it just means you’re attempting to follow God’s plan for living. Actually, it’s what a follower of Christ is supposed to be doing. When it comes to serving God there is a very large learning curve. This is because of God’s love, mercy, patience with all of His creation.

                  We should take a serious look at our behavior – how we act. How do we act when we’re alone. When we’re with family. When we’re with others. When we’re in public. It really should be pretty much the same. Of course, you’re going to be more relaxed around people you know, but the Holy Spirit has the ability to teach us how to act in a Godly way in any type of situation. But you have to feed your spirit man by reading God’s Word regularly. Make it a point to learn something new about the Lord each day. 

                  Our actions should be an outcropping of our behavior. What we do should reflect what means the most to us. If it’s ourselves, then we’ll act with arrogance or have an overblown sense of importance and superiority over others. There are no doubt some Christians who fall into that category. We’re not at all perfect, but God knows our potential. So if we submit to His leadership in our lives, we will eventually reach our greatest potential and be used by the Lord to that extent.

                  Our motivation comes from our heart. Do we do things for OUR benefit or the benefit of OTHERS. Are we focused on personal notoriety or just seeking to lift up Christ by our words and/or our actions. When people see you in action what do they see? Christ or you? That is essentially the sum of Behavioral Action.

                  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

What Does it REALLY MEAN to Follow Jesus? - Addendum

             One of my post recipients had a question regarding the general premise of my post from yesterday morning, titled “What Does it REALLY MEAN to Follow Jesus?” She pointed out that Romans 10:13 says, “For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” There is no doubt that God’s desire is to bless everyone who places their trust in him.

                  Paul is quoting from the prophet Joel in the Old Testament. The time period of Joel’s service as God’s prophet was roughly 835-796 BC. During this time period Judah had become prosperous, which led to complacency. They began to take God for granted, turning to self-centeredness, idolatry and sin. Joel’s warning to them was that their lifestyle would inevitably bring about God’s judgment. Joel speaks of a terrible locust plague that will strip the land of all its crops. Desolation will be the end result. This was just another call to repentance for the children of Israel. 

                  The message Joel has is for us today too, for many of us call ourselves followers of Christ, yet are spiritually lazy and have lessened the importance of imitating the Lord in our own minds. Joel 2:12-13 says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.”

                   “But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.” - Joel 2:32 ^{New Living Translation}

                  Along with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be the outworking of salvation for those who truly trust God as Redeemer. To "call on the name of the LORD" is to call on him in believing faith (Ps 99:6; 145:18; Ro 10:3), which gives not only physical deliverance but a spiritual transformation and an abundant entrance into that great millennial period of peace and prosperity, when Judah and Jerusalem are once again spiritual centers for a redeemed Israel (cf. Hos 3:5; Mic 4:6-8).

                  While Joel is referring to the Jews from his time period, who already believed in God, I believe we can still use this text to validate my posts meaning for it speaks of a sincerity of the heart of the Jews.

                  My only meaning regarding calling on the name of the Lord is that it must come from a sincere and contrite heart. It cannot be a glib gesture of simply acknowledging Him without allowing any change to come to your daily routine.  

I welcome questions and other points of view. Anyone who’d like to make a comment, please, by all means, feel free. I am neither a theologian, nor the son of a theologian. I simply have a wealth of valid resources at my disposal that help me come to my conclusions. Could I be wrong? While I try to be extremely careful disseminating posts regarding God’s Word, I certainly can be mistaken. That’s precisely why you readers should check out for yourselves the validity of what I have shared if you have a question regarding the posts content. Have a wonderfully blessed day as you seek to serve our King. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

The portion explaining Joel 2:32 comes from my Minor Prophets study from last year.

What Does it REALLY MEAN to Follow Jesus?

            Some folks believe quite literally that if you simply believe in Jesus & God you have punched your ticket to heaven. Those folks overlook the fact that they must change the direction they’ve been going.  I call it “making a 180”. Turning from your past lifestyle and determining to follow wherever Christ leads you. The more you know Him the more you will understand how to act and react in life situations. 

                  Jesus told 12 ordinary men to follow Him. They became His disciples. A disciple is a student, someone who learns from their Master. Once Jesus ascended back to His rightful place of honor, they became apostles, or teachers. They were to go out and teach others what they had learned. Now I’m not aware that we are all to leave our jobs and travel the country on foot teaching others the Word of God and leading them to follow along, unless of course you feel a very specific calling from the Lord to do so. However, we ARE to seek to live our lives exhibiting the behavioral characteristics of Jesus. We are to make it our goal to imitate Him in all areas of our live with the assistance of the Holy Spirit within us. 

                  So please don’t delude yourself into thinking you can simply utter the name of Jesus and “BINGO” you’re going to heaven. There’s a whole lot more to it than that. For starters, you need to allow God to reshape your life. Christ didn’t die a horrific death on a cross in your place for you to make a game out of life. It is a solemn decision that must be made by every man, woman, and child in creation. Will you serve God, or will you serve yourself and your own interests? 

                  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

SIX DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOD’S LAW & THE MOSAIC LAW

The final three (3) differences are:

 

4)  The law of God was preserved uniquely inside the ark of the covenant 

 

Exodus 25:16 ... “You shall put inside the ark the testimony which I shall give you.”

 

Deuteronomy 31:24-26 ... “It came about, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete, that Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, ‘Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you.’”

 

5)  From this verse in 2^nd Kings we can see that there are two different laws at play here.

 

2 Kings 21:8 ... “And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

 

Ø God uses the words ‘I have commanded them’ meaning the Ten Commandments while ‘The laws that my servant Moses commanded them’ meaning the Mosaic law.

 

6)  Daniel revealed this difference between these laws. 

 

Daniel 9:11 “Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.” 

 

Ø ‘Your law’ referring to God laws (the Ten Commandments) while ‘the law of Moses’ referring to the Mosaic Law. A Christian has to differentiate these two laws because God’s law (the Ten Commandments) applies to all people at all times while the Law of Moses is specifically for the Jewish people.

 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.christiantruthcenter.com/difference-between-god-laws-and-mosaic-law/

SIX DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOD’S LAW & THE MOSAIC LAW

The first three (3) differences are:

 

1)  God’s laws were audibly spoken by God at Mount Sinai. 

Exodus 19:9 ... “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.’ Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.”

Exodus 20:1 ... “Then God spoke all these words,...”

 

Ø The Mosaic law was not given audibly but rather given to Moses privately.

 

2)  God’s law was directly written by the finger of God on stone tablets.

Exodus 31:18 ... “When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.”

 

Ø The Law of Moses was not written by God but by Moses inspired by God.

Deuteronomy 31:9 ... “So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.”

 

3)  It is God who commanded His laws in Mount Sinai. 

Deuteronomy 4:13-14 ... “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.” 

 

Ø Moses commanded his laws (the statutes and judgments) to the children of Israel. 

 

We will look at the final 3 reasons in our next post. Until then, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.christiantruthcenter.com/difference-between-god-laws-and-mosaic-law/

Who Am I?

                  To the world I am nothing. To God I am everything. To the world I have NO value, but to God I am of great value.  I only have value because of the grace of God. The world looks at the exterior of a person and not the core attributes that truly matter, like truth, honesty, love, integrity, mercy. To the world they are considered weaknesses, but to God they are admirable characteristics to embody.

                  The world has nothing to offer the follower of Christ except lies and deception. Those in the world do not see it that way. Lately the value of truth and honesty has fallen off the table, figuratively speaking. 

                  Because of what Christ did on the cross all those who follow His lifestyle and statutes have become His children, with sins forgiven and heaven as our final destination. So in the end, I care little what those in the world think of me. If they don’t see Christ in me then I have failed in my mission and their opinion of me isn’t important. Pleasing the Lord is critically important to me. Why? Because He is the only One who cared enough for me to die in my place. I know no one else who would even consider doing that for me or anyone else. 

                  When we become followers of Christ a target appears on our back (and front too). To some we are the enemy, shoving our religious beliefs down everyone’s throat. We must be aware of the lies and preconceived ideas that have been passed around regarding Christians. To many we’re seen as pushy and judgmental. To others, a threat to their sensibilities. With those outside God’s family, autonomy reigns. 

                  That’s not who all of us are. That’s not who I am. Though our future home is in heaven with the Lord, we are NOT aliens. We are NOT any threat to the common man, but I have long felt that if the world could blink their eyes and make all Christians disappear, they would be very pleased. When our efforts are rejected we MUST realize that they are NOT rejecting us, but God. He’s used to being rejected and ignored. Happens all the time; down thru the ages.

                  The most important thing in this life is to know who you are AND whose you are. I am a child of God & He is my Lord & Savior. Praise His name.

                  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

We Are Not to Judge

What are we Not to Judge?

                  The Bible says we aren’t able to judge what is in someone’s heart. We may assign bad motives to someone who ignores us when, in reality, he is fighting hidden battles. He may have just learned his spouse is unfaithful or his child has leukemia—or both. Or we may project good motives on someone in order to avoid conflict.

                  To judge another person shows pride. Only God knows what is in a person’s heart and the effort it takes to function where they are. We may assume a mother who is late for service every week is simply irresponsible; but in reality, she may be a single mother working two jobs and tending a special needs child.

                  A conference speaker said he misjudged a man who sat on the front row and slept through most of his lectures. Obviously, this man lacked spiritual interest. That assessment flipped 180 degrees when the man’s wife told him her husband was very ill and heavily medicated. He’d begged his doctor for permission to come that weekend to hear his favorite speaker. “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly” (John 7:24).

                  We aren’t to judge believers who practice their faith in ways different than us. We may decide someone is spiritually immature because they don’t pray, dress, or practice faith in the way we do. Maybe you don’t like the Scripture tattoo she wears on her ankle or that he won’t pray aloud in groups.

                  Paul wrote, “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat… So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister” (Romans 14:10, 12, 13).

                  When we stand before God, He won’t ask us why our friend or family member did what they did. He will ask us to give an account of ourselves. To manage ourselves is a full-time job. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need us to do His job.

                  We aren’t to judge or take vengeance on our enemies. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

                  God is the only one who knows the best way to deal with someone. We might be too harsh or too lax. If I judge them by carrying out vengeance God will deal with me. Do I want God to discipline me or them? We are not to judge or discriminate for or against people based on their race, gender, wealth, or social status (James 2:2-9; 4:11-12; 5:9).

                  “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly”(Leviticus 19:15).

                  “If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?…If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (James 2:3-4, 8-9).

                  We are not even to judge ourselves. Sometimes people have super-sensitive consciences while others are less sensitive (1 John 3:20; Psalm 139:23-24).

                  “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God” (1 Corinthians 4:3-5).

                  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries