Some Things May Change

Vol 3 No 25 THEO'S DEVOS

Proverbs 21:2 People may think they are doing what is right, but the LORD examines the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

We have noted, over the last couple weeks, that some things must never change and some things must change. We have come to this week to note that some things may change. This is where some of the trouble occurs in our lives and in the church. They say that variety is the spice of life. I believe that and I also believe that if nothing changes in our lives we can become bored and restless. I used to think that change for the sake of change was not good. I no longer hold that position. I honestly believe that change is not only important, but essential. If nothing has changed for a while it is a good idea to look for something to do differently if only to keep your life from getting monotonous.
A very helpful activity was introduced to me many years ago and it has proven to be very beneficial. On each of my birthdays, I have searched for some activity that I had never done before and dedicated the next year to it. I have learned to play several musical instruments, taken up ballooning among many others which enhanced both my life and my ministry. Did you ever notice that the Bible doesn't specify what every Christian should do? God has given us all a gift but He has never said exactly how we were to use it. Over a lifetime there could be many applications of the spiritual gifts God gave you and, if you use them for His glory, they are all profitable. If you want to be a missionary, for instance, it doesn't matter where you go as long as you exercise your gifts when you get there.. Some may have solid reasons for doing what they are doing and others are doing what they love doing but each will be in the center of God's will if you are applying biblical principals to those activities.
What are you doing these days? Is it fulfilling? Is it accomplishing God's will for your life? Unless you can answer 'yes' you probably ought to be thinking about a change in your life.
Following God is to 'be' not simply to 'do.' We are human beings, not human doings. If you are sincerely following the will of God in your life in terms of what you are on the inside, you can do whatever you want on the outside and it will glorify God. In His sovereignty, God will use your efforts to accomplish His will and goals and you will have had a part in that.
God looks on the heart while man looks on the outside.

Theo



Dear Small Group Leader (or soon to be Facilitator)

Please allow everyone in your group to answer the Quick Question. It will get things started on the right foot, encouraging quieter ones to open up. Please do not require everyone to answer every question. They may not be ready to share yet. Also please allow at least 5-10 minutes at the end of your study so as many as would like to can respond to the REFLECTION question. This may be the most important time in your small group study. Thank You


SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY


Please Read: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

QUICK QUESTION: Was there ever a time when you were singled out for some honor no matter how small? How did you feel?

1.When God looked for Samuel, what was he (Sam) doing?

2.Why did Samuel think that Eliab might be the chosen one?

3.What was God's response?

4.What does God concern Himself with?

5.Why did Samuel go over each son?

6.When considering leadership, what should we look for in those leaders?


REFLECTION: Is there someone in you life about whom you have been influenced by their outer appearance and should you re-evaluate how you feel about them now?

Some Things Must Change

Vol 3 No 24 THEO'S DEVOS

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

While it is true that some things must never change it is also true that some things must change. Someone has said that God loves you just the way you are, but loves you too much to let you stay that way. Who among us would say that we have no area for improvement? In our lives, work, church, et al. Even Jesus, we are told, grew and, as hard as it is to imagine, He changed as He grew. All living things change. It can be said that just about all dead things change as well due to deterioration so we know that virtually all things change.

So what has changed in you over the past year? Are you more loving? More intelligent? I remember going to an ordination council where the son of a very famous church leader was seeking approval for ordination. The person who was recommending him began by telling us that it had been several years since this man had attended a seminary so we should not expect him to be as sharp as most candidates. I thought to myself, what a cop out. Ate we to think that after we graduate from school we begin getting dumber? Well I suppose some do but if you are seeking ordination, it would seem that you would be staying on top of your game and not ignoring those things that you have learned. Now maybe an exception could have been made concerning Greek or Hebrew considering that he may not have stayed up on those subjects but they are rare;u, if ever, covered in the councils I have sat on. So it would appear that we can't stop change, we can only decide what kind of change will there be,

One huge problem in the church is that many are trying to minister to people in ways that are very outdated. As our culture changes, we must decide what we can do to minister to it without violating Biblical principles. To say that changing the way we do things to reach the world is capitulating with it is to miss the point. When God wanted to reach His creation and save it, He became a man. I doubt that there has ever been a change as dramatic as that. He did it without sin. He loved the sinner enough to become like him without sinning which He hates. When they put Jesus on the cross we are told that He became sin for us. He took on the sin of the world and paid for it with His sacrifice so that we, sinners, would not have to.

Please don't be afraid of change even if you don't like it. Change is going to happen whether we like it or not so we need to orchestrate that change in such a way as to be more effective for the Lord, not less. Instead of getting worse at what we do, we must get better. As iron sharpens iron, we need to challenge each other to better ways of serving God. Especially in these difficult times when the government seems to be heading in who knows what direction, we need to keep our target sharply in focus and continue to work at improving the way we fire at it.

Theo

Dear Small Group Leader (or soon to be Facilitator)

Please allow everyone in your group to answer the Quick Question. It will get things started on the right foot, encouraging quieter ones to open up. Please do not require everyone to answer every question. They may not be ready to share yet. Also please allow at least 5-10 minutes at the end of your study so as many as would like to can respond to the REFLECTION question. This may be the most important time in your small group study. Thank You

SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY

Please Read: Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

QUICK QUESTION: In what way have you grown in the last year? Was it good growth or bad?

1. What is the definition of wisdom?
   
   

2. What is the definition of stature in this verse?
   
   

3. How could Jesus, being God in flesh, change?
   
   

4. How could He have grown in favor with God?
   
   

5. How could He have grown in favor with man?
   
   

6. How could Jesus have grown in favor with man and end up crucified?

REFLECTION: What can you do this coming month to follow Jesus' example?

Some Things Must Never Change

Vol 3 No 23 THEO'S DEVOS

Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Leadership can be a difficult thing. This is made more difficult due to the fact that everyone of us is a leader. You don't think so? Well every morning, when you start your day, you must take the lead. You must decide so many things as you proceed through the day that one thing is quite clear, if nothing else, you are leading your life. Even if you turn over the leadership to someone else, there are still many times when the decision as to what you should do falls into your hands. Our thought for today is that, no matter what form of leadership you have, some things must never change.

In the church this phrase has led to all kinds of trouble which we will look at over the next couple weeks. It feels good to think that things don't change. The problem is that our subject tells us that some things don't change, not all things. Jude makes it clear that the foundation of our faith is not something that has evolved through the years. The content of our faith was 'once for all' delivered and has not changed since the apostles spelled it out. There are many who would distort our faith but the clear teaching of scripture lays out the things we should believe. It allows for differences in many ways but the foundations are strong. Among them is that salvation comes through the shed blood of Jesus and does not include human merit as many believe in this world. That the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus is coming again are two more verities that have not changed.

The problem is that there are not as many things that must not change as we think. However, it is necessary to search through our lives and make sure that, as we grow in the Lord, we are not allowing things to slip and our lives to turn back to the kind of life we led before becoming Christians. It is easy to do. Just don't give much thought to it and you will find yourself allowing for all kinds of things to crowd out your devotion to Jesus. Things like not reading your Bible or not praying as often as you can.

An interesting discussion at any point in leadership is to try and discover those things that must never change. You might be surprised, as you study scripture, how few those things are. In any event, I suggest that you take inventory of your life and mark out the things you think should never change. Be careful to not allow human tradition to dictate what those things are.

May God bless you as you take stock of that life you are living this week.

Theo

Dear Small Group Leader (or soon to be Facilitator)

Please allow everyone in your group to answer the Quick Question. It will get things started on the right foot, encouraging quieter ones to open up. Please do not require everyone to answer every question. They may not be ready to share yet. Also please allow at least 5-10 minutes at the end of your study so as many as would like to can respond to the REFLECTION question. This may be the most important time in your small group study. Thank You

SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY

Please Read: Jude 1-16

QUICK QUESTION: If you could live your life over again, what is one thing you would change?

1. How does Jude describe himself?
   
   

2. What does Jude mean by godless?
   
   

3. What relationship do godless people have with God's will?
   
   

4. What does Jude want his readers to remember about history?
   
   

5. To what does the writer liken godless people and why?
   
   

6. What can we learn from history?
   
   

7. What kind of things have happened in your life that have helped you get better at living it?

REFLECTION: What can you do to keep from repeating the mistakes of your own personal history?