Month: June 2013

Lets not make it personal ok…

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Sorry this one gets personal because we are going to talk about you, I mean me, no wait you and me.  Don’t worry not you and me in a weird why haven’t you called I really thought we connected kind of way.  More of in a how you can mean you as in ya’ll or you as in you with the face who is reading this.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV) says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This verse is pretty personal when you understand that the our being used is a Personal / Possessive Pronoun which means it is talking about you, I mean me, no wait you and me.  It might as well be saying “If I Mike confess my sin, He is faithful and just to forgive me (Mike) my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.”  I could go on and add your name but with the hundreds of readers I have (that was a lie) I am sure I would miss someone.

We need to confess our specific sins.  There is something very powerful in confessing our specific sins.  Something about confessing that you need forgiveness for that addiction, or how you were cruel to that person, or whatever it might be.  I cannot stress enough how much freedom there is in confessing that you are sorry for that specific sin.  Now to not get me wrong and think that I am saying you are not forgiven for all of your sins if you do not confess them one by one.  When you confess that you are a sinner and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior believing that died for you then you are forgiven and a become in that moment a child of God.  That does not mean though that you have forgiven yourself.  There are some sins that need specific confession, and they change over time as you mature in your walk with Jesus.  But the fact that He is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive you does not change.

That brings me to my last point.  God is right when He forgives you.  Have you ever thought about that?  When I think about the fact that God is right when He forgives me it blows me away.  He is not right because I want Him to, rather He is right because He says He is.  He says it here and in Romans 10:13 “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, and Acts 2:21, and so forth and so forth.  God declares that He will forgive you and He is right when He does it.  That is just mind blowing.  The God of all the universe, the maker of things seen and unseen, the one who sees my tomorrow and my past says I will forgive you and I am just as right in forgiving you as I was in creating the earth and sending my Son to die.

You cannot argue with that, you cannot say sure but what about, or not me.  You can only accept it or ignore it.  Just remember though if you ignore it you are still wrong and He is still waiting to forgive you.

Just a thought,

Mike 

Submit I say. …. Bow down before me

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I want to talk about 1 Peter 3:1-4 for a minute.  Now I am sure there are going to be a few Christian men who decided to read the whole article this time and a few Christian women who have decided they may no longer like me.  But in normal Farley fashion (that’s my last name) I am going to put a little different spin on it.  My thoughts on 1 Peter 3:1-4 actually stem Jeremiah 29:7 which I have been spending a good deal of time thinking about.

Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT)
And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.

1 Peter 3:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over
2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.
3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.
4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

When the nation of Israel was in Babylonian captivity God spoke to them through Jeremiah and told them to work for and pray for the peace and welfare of the city.  In 1 Peter 3, Peter tells the women to work for the peace and welfare of their husbands.  I love that.  Too many people try and use the words of 1 Peter to mean something without understand the point of the verses.  It is not about some abstract submission for the sake of submission.  It is about serving and giving.  It is about loving and wanting the best for the other person.  What Peter says to women here the Bible speaks to all people.  Serve one another, win them to Christ by love and compassion.  Give the best to them.  Don’t worry so much about how you look or what you wear.  Take care of yourself but they are not going to come to Christ because you look like a model, or drive a Bentley.  Pray for them and work for their welfare.

The goal of it all is that Christ is honored and glorified.  That men (and women) come to faith and repentance in Him.  All that we do should be to bring Jesus to them.  We are a body and as a body we should mobile.  Don’t just invite people to Church on Sunday bring it to them on Monday.  Bring the good news with you when you go to work, bring it home when you get there.  Show your husbands why Jesus is better, show your wives why Jesus is greater, show your children why His love is more.  Seek the peace and welfare of those around you.  Pray for your family, for your neighbors, for your nation.  Don’t nag your spouse, your government to death.  Instead nurture and foster love and faith in Christ.

I’m not going to say any more on that, but I do want to drop a sentence of two about 1 Peter 3:7.  Men do you feel like God is not listening to you?  Do you feel like no matter what you do you cannot seem to get ahead spiritually?  Make sure you read verse 7, and then make sure you live it.  Keep it in the forefront of your mind and make sure you remember it.

Just a thought,
Mike