Christian Living

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BY COMMENTING
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article

Track Writer

Add to Favorites

by Brother Carlton

05/30/22
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

Where in 2022 are we to be looking when the world is following an evil and anti-Christian course?

All around us is negative news that discourages and strikes fear in the hearts of those whose ears seemed very receptive to loud clamors of propaganda spilling forth death and destruction.

The news on CNBC and other mainstream globalist media seem to occupy our minds more than the spiritual things that God would have us focus on.

It seems like most of us do not look at life the way we could or the way we should.

We sometimes have tunnel vision and see the trees but we often miss the forest.

We see the sky but we miss the God (Creator) of the sky.

How can we increase our clarity?

When we look at the world of men and nature do we look with purpose?

Do we focus on that which is really important to God or to our neighbor with a view to helping our neighbor and pleasing God?

Do we look for the deeper hidden meaning behind things, situations or circumstances?

I am afraid we often do not.

It is the better part of wisdom, I believe, to look around us with the purpose of gaining wisdom, knowledge and understanding but we often get caught up in the moment and only see the obvious surface of things while missing out on what God may want us to learn by delving deeper because we do not put on our spiritual spectacles.

The bible says "He that is spiritual judges (discerns) all things yet he himself is judged by no man." 1 Cor. 2:15

To gain a better vision we might begin by asking the question: How did Jesus Christ, the Messiah who was God in the flesh, look at people and the things around him?

Let's examine some scriptures that use the word looking.

Looking

And he (Jesus) commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to the multitude" Matthew 14:19

Notice that Jesus right before his miracle of multiplying the

five loaves of bread and the two fish looked up to heaven.

Yes Jesus looked up to heaven, to teach us, in prayer, to eye God as a Father in heaven and in accordance with how he taught his disciples to pray "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

Jesus, the Son of God, prayed to his Father in heaven, who is the Father of mercy and from whom every mercy and blessing of life comes.

Another use in the Bible of the word looking is found in John 1:36 "And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!"

Here we see John the Baptist casting a sober eye on the prophesied Messiah as foretold in the Old Testament.

No doubt there were distractions all around the people who lived when Jesus walked the earth just like there are distractions today.

John the Baptist was trying to get those around him to focus on the one that was to make his appearance in this world in due time.

Yes the one that Isaiah and the other prophets had spoken of as the coming redeemer described as "Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" Isa. 9:6

Hebrews 12:2 would have us to be "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

What exactly is the Lord Jesus to his people?

This verse tells us he is the author and finisher of their faith, that is, Jesus He is the originator and the efficient cause of the grace of faith, and in all respects the author of our faith.

Our faith comes from Jesus and the faith that saves us and justifies us before God the Father is the faith of Jesus Christ by which we have peace with God. See Romans 5:1

Now after looking to Jesus, the object of our faith, we can now learn of him.

Learning

Jesus said "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29

Of all the world figures in history why are we not spending more time learning of him who is the author and finisher of our faith?

When we learn of Jesus we learn of his lowly birth, or as Bono the lead singer of U2, the Irish rock band, said to a religious journalist, "The idea that there's a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it...but the idea that the same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in shit and straw and poverty is genius. And it brings me to my knees literally. To me as a poet I'm just in awe of that. It makes some sort of poetic sense. It's the thing that makes me a believer although it didn't dawn on me for many years."

May Bono come to know and confess this Lord, Savior and King more demonstrably seeing he is enlightened and somewhat impressed with the lowly birth of Jesus.

Truly Jesus' origin is one sent down from the Father, truly God and truly man, full of the Holy Spirit without measure, the Bread of Life by which if we eat we feed upon the manna that gives us eternal life.

"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel." Proverbs 1:5

We are told in 2 Timothy 3:6 "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Many skeptics and scoffers are ever learning how to trip up and trap the Christian and God fearing person by their clever arguments against the truth of creation or the deity of Christ or the gospel of sovereign grace in salvation by Christ alone as the "Way, the Truth and the Life." John 14:6

As the blessed Matthew Henry once explained:

"In one sense we must all be ever learning, that is, growing in knowledge, following on to know the Lord, pressing forward; but these were sceptics, giddy and unstable, who were forward to imbibe every new notion, under pretence of advancement in knowledge, but never came to a right understanding of the truth as it is in Jesus.

One of the first Bible verses I learned during the younger years of my Christian conversion was 2 Timothy 3:16 where we read: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth."

Loving

Jesus taught: "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." John 15:12

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Matthew 22:37-39

In the above verses we see the demonstration of vertical love between God and man which is our theological relationship with the Triune God. This makes possible our horizonal or sociological love relationship with our neighbor.

If we do not love God then we can not truly love our fellow man because the greatest love to God is to obey the Lord and keep his commandments. One of those commandments is to share the gospel of salvation by which sinners are saved.

Charles Spurgeon once quipped that if you don't desire to see other people saved then you are not saved yourself.

We might add if you do not love God you are not saved regardless of how much you say you love God. We must love in deed and not just in word.

Many today say they love God but they give no evidence of it but rather deceive themselves by all manner of sinful living and thinking.

Read what the apostle John wrote:

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

Here is a command from the disciple whom Jesus loved most.

The origin of godly love is God himself. If we have true love then we can know that we have experienced regeneration or the "new birth."

Keeping the commandments of Jesus is proof we love him

according to John 14:15 "If you love me keep my commandments."

In summary we are to be looking to Jesus at all times and thereby we are to be learning of him as the true source wisdom and knowledge and then we are to be loving him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

This ought to keep us busy for the rest of our earthly pilgrimage and if we find ourselves failing in this matter let us not lose hope but do let us in our examination see if we are truly in the faith, as Paul said. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, i. e. if you are following the faith of Jesus and his doctrine.

Yes, looking, learning and loving can been seen as the trinity of right living because right living involves all three of these aspects.

Without looking you are spiritually blinded by your sin and Satan.

Without learning you are foolish and without correct knowledge and wisdom you are sure to follow after
unrighteousness.

Finally, if I have a faith but have not love I am nothing said the apostle Paul.

Carlton Pruitt ministers the gospel to the Los Angeles area. Formerly a Hollywood actor (SAG member) and junk removal expert he now spends most of his time studying the scriptures, writing articles, hymns and poems and doing street preaching. See all his videos YouTube brother Carlton.

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR

Reader Count & Comments

Date