Lessons for Living (Audio)

Everyone has areas in their lives where they’re faking it – where they are pretending to be someone they’re not. It may be a big thing or a small thing but because we’re fallen beings we have areas of falsity in our lives. Hopefully you’re aware of it and are allowing God to make you more of a person of integrity. Pastor Mark, using the writings of the apostle Paul, reminds us of the inconsistencies in our lives and our need to let God cleanse us of them. Another thing to remember is that God, because He loves us, won’t let us get away with these forever – there is a judgment coming.

Everyone has areas in their lives where they’re faking it – where they are pretending to be someone they’re not. It may be a big thing or a small thing but because we’re fallen beings we have areas of falsity in our lives. Hopefully you’re aware of it and are allowing God to make you more of a person of integrity. Pastor Mark, using the writings of the apostle Paul, reminds us of the inconsistencies in our lives and our need to let God cleanse us of them. Another thing to remember is that God, because He loves us, won’t let us get away with these forever – there is a judgment coming.

We all hate hypocrisy. We don’t like seeing it in those around us and we avoid looking at instances of it in our own lives. The problem when we don’t deal with hypocrisy in our own lives is that we can’t hide it from others. As a result it affects the quality of our Christian witness to the unsaved world. Pastor Mark is teaching us, through the words of the apostle Paul, of our need to pray for one another as well as for ourselves that God would make our hearts pure. This doesn’t mean that we won’t mess up; it means that our desire is to always do the things God wants us to be doing.

We all hate hypocrisy. We don’t like seeing it in those around us and we avoid looking at instances of it in our own lives. The problem when we don’t deal with hypocrisy in our own lives is that we can’t hide it from others. As a result it affects the quality of our Christian witness to the unsaved world. Pastor Mark is teaching us, through the words of the apostle Paul, of our need to pray for one another as well as for ourselves that God would make our hearts pure. This doesn’t mean that we won’t mess up; it means that our desire is to always do the things God wants us to be doing.

There’s a very popular restaurant chain whose main drawing card is buffet-style eating. They have lots of different types of food prepared and the customer picks and chooses what they want to eat. We in America are so used to being able to select from competing options we tend to think that all of life is like that, including how we relate to God. Pastor Mark in his teaching reminds us that God doesn’t offer a buffet when it comes to relating to Him. He will have us all the way or not at all. We find out that when we attempt to go halfway in our relationship with God that it is dissatisfying – we must be all in.

There’s a very popular restaurant chain whose main drawing card is buffet-style eating. They have lots of different types of food prepared and the customer picks and chooses what they want to eat. We in America are so used to being able to select from competing options we tend to think that all of life is like that, including how we relate to God. Pastor Mark in his teaching reminds us that God doesn’t offer a buffet when it comes to relating to Him. He will have us all the way or not at all. We find out that when we attempt to go halfway in our relationship with God that it is dissatisfying – we must be all in.

Because of all of the information that’s available to us nowadays it’s easy to live vicariously through someone else’s eyes. We can spend so much time watching or listening to another person’s account that we think we actually know about the subject matter. When we actually visit the place, many times we find out that our observations didn’t prepare us for the reality of what we experience. Pastor Mark is teaching that in the same way, knowing about God is not the same as experiencing a relationship with Him. The experience is far richer than we ever imagined it would be.

Because of all of the information that’s available to us nowadays it’s easy to live vicariously through someone else’s eyes. We can spend so much time watching or listening to another person’s account that we think we actually know about the subject matter. When we actually visit the place, many times we find out that our observations didn’t prepare us for the reality of what we experience. Pastor Mark is teaching that in the same way, knowing about God is not the same as experiencing a relationship with Him. The experience is far richer than we ever imagined it would be.

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing; it also tells us to pray for everything. Here in America, because of our vast material blessings, we seem to have a hard time asking God to supply our needs. We tell ourselves that He has more important things to concern Himself with. Sometimes we’re afraid He’ll say, “No”. Both of these attitudes indicate a lack of trust in God. Pastor Mark in his teaching will be reminding us of our need to recognize that everything we have comes from God. We should remember that He loves us and that He will provide His best for us.

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing; it also tells us to pray for everything. Here in America, because of our vast material blessings, we seem to have a hard time asking God to supply our needs. We tell ourselves that He has more important things to concern Himself with. Sometimes we’re afraid He’ll say, “No”. Both of these attitudes indicate a lack of trust in God. Pastor Mark in his teaching will be reminding us of our need to recognize that everything we have comes from God. We should remember that He loves us and that He will provide His best for us.