Being Blameless

Blameless

By Os Hillman, August 15, 2009

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For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. - Psalm 84:11

If you were running for political office, what approach would your opponent take against you? If he wanted to launch a smear campaign, would there be any ammunition for him to use? Think how you would feel if the director of the opposing campaign came to you afterwards and said, "Sir, we tried to find something negative to play up in our campaign against you, but we couldn't."

What does it really mean to be a person who is blameless before God? Being blameless before God does not mean we are perfect. No human being is perfect. It means that we so fully trust in God that we are willing to make things right when we fail. We are willing to humble ourselves continually before the throne of God. "...Blessed is the man who trusts in You" (Psalm 84:12). God has a specific plan for the people who fully trust in Him. He promises to be their shield, to bestow honor on them. He will not withhold any good thing from them. What a promise! What motivation to be all that we can be in God.

Imagine living a life that God views as blameless, which allows Him to withhold no good thing. Pray that God would make you and me that kind of person.

Being Faithful at work

A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. - Proverbs 28:20

There is a distinct difference between the workplace believer who operates based on living in the Promised Land versus the one who operates in Egypt. In Egypt, the workplace believer sweats and toils to generate an outcome. The final objective is foremost in their mind. Outcome is everything.

In the Promised Land, we learn that obedience is the only thing that matters. We are called to execute, and leave outcome to God. Sometimes that outcome is very positive, yielding a return. In other cases, we may not yield a corresponding return. We may even get a negative outcome. The difference is that we know that we have been faithful to what God has called us to and we yield results to God. God often blesses obedience beyond what we deserve. If God brings wealth to your life, it should come as a by-product of obedience, not an end in itself.

God may call each of us to be obedient to situations that may not yield immediate, positive results. It is in these times that our faith must be obedience-based versus outcome-based. What if Jesus had considered the immediate ramifications of whether he would go to the cross? Based on the immediate outcome, the decision would have been an easy one. Who wants to die on a cross? However, for Him there was a higher purpose in that obedience. We are called to this same kind of obedience. This means putting our own flesh on the line daily, dying to our own self-will.

Consequences of Faith

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. - Romans 6:4

When we commit ourselves to fully follow Christ, He begins a "circumcision" process in each of us designed to rid all that is of the world system from our lives. This circumcision is required of every believer. Moses had much preparation from God for His calling to free the people of Israel from Egypt. He spent years in training as a young boy in the family of Pharaoh. He tried to free the people through the flesh by killing an Egyptian. That cost him 40 years in the desert of loneliness and toil before God said he was prepared to free the people from their suffering. God invested much in Moses; however, that preparation was not enough. Experience and preparation had to be mixed with obedience. God required his family to be circumcised. Moses failed to circumcise his son before returning to Egypt. This was so important to God that He was going to kill Moses if he did not uphold his commandment. "At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him" (Ex. 4:24).

Are there any areas in your life that have not come under the lordship of Christ? Is there any lack of obedience that will prevent you from being used fully by the Lord? Ask Him to show you this today so that you might be fully used of God.

Scriptures for Sexual Immorality

Ecclesiastes 3:15 - That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been, and God requires an account of what is past.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 - If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his oul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has not burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he - this has more rest than that man

Scripture for Work

Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream comes true through much activity

Acts 20:34 ³⁴You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.

2Thessalonians 3:8
⁸nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

1 Kings 11:28
²⁸ Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

Proverbs 10:4-5
⁴ Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.
⁵ He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

Proverbs 10:26
²⁶ As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is a sluggard to those who send him.

Proverbs 12:24
²⁴ Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in slave labor.

Proverbs 13:4
⁴ The sluggard craves and gets nothing,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Proverbs 14:23
²³ All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Selling Your Birthright

Selling Your Birthright

By Os Hillman, May 19, 2009

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. - Genesis 25:34

Esau was brother to Jacob. One day he came back from hunting in the fields. He was hungry and tired. His brother Jacob was preparing some stew and Esau asked Jacob for a bowl. Jacob used this time to negotiate for what seems unimaginable - the family birthright.

Why would Esau take his birthright so lightly? Because he did not understand its value. Every business day countless men and women exchange their birthrights for worldly goods, because they see what the world has to offer as more valuable than what God might offer.

This is not all their fault. Satan has blinded the minds and hearts of men and women for centuries. He does not want them to know the tremendous gold mine that awaits the child of God. Their inheritance is filled with meaning, purpose, and rewards that await them both here and in Heaven. Satan keeps men and women from seeing the real value of their own godly inheritance.

Matthew 7:26 Building a Strong Foundation

Matthew 7:26 - But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

Why do I think I know best? Why do I think God will take care of me no matter what I do. God tells us to put his words into practice. I want a house build on solid rock not on sand. I haven't had my house swept away yet but if I keep going my way, I will. The laws of nature, God's created laws bear fruit in your life. God, I want a life where I bear fruit and am not cut off from you.