Back to Complaining?

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can go back to whining and complaining, right?

Wrong.

The Bible says that we are to do all things without grumbling or disputing. In fact, in Romans 1:21, the Bible warns us that an unthankful life is characteristic of unbelief.

If you are a Christian you need to be thankful that you did not get what you deserve. We all deserve eternal judgment because of our sin and rebellion against God. Yet a Christian is someone that the Lord has extended grace to. The wrath that we deserve was put on Christ and He suffered in our place. In Christ we are forgiven and we have been reconciled to God.
In Christ we have the assurance that no matter what else happens we are going to heaven. Our best days are ahead of us when we are in the presence of our Lord.

Surely, we have much to be thankful for everyday.

Thanks for a Heavenly Father

Today is not only Thanksgiving Day, but it is also my father’s 86th birthday. I’ll be flying to California today to celebrate with my dad and many family members. I’m thankful for my father. We have enjoyed a wonderful relationship which has allowed us to do many things together. I will rejoice with him today.

But as thankful as I am for my earthly father, I am more thankful for my Heavenly Father. My Heavenly Father chose me, and forgave me, and made me His child through the work that Jesus Christ did on my behalf on the cross. It isn’t enough to have physical life, we all need the spiritual life that only Christ can give.

So today as I celebrate my dad’s birthday, I’ll also be expressing my most profound thanks to my God and Father because in Him I have an abundant and eternal life. He has been good to me.

Heaven's Rejoicing

Every church has their own set of traditions. At our church we always have a service the night before Thanksgiving where we sing songs and anybody can give a testimony of what the Lord has done in their life over the past year. This is always a rich and memorable time for us as a church family.

This year we are adding another feature to this Thanksgiving Eve service. We are going to have baptisms as a part of our time together. We have a number of people who want to give testimony of God’s saving work in their lives through the act of baptism. I’m looking forward to hearing their expressions of thanks as they get baptized.

I also anticipate that those at the service will express their own thanks to the Lord as they hear the testimonies of those being baptized. Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents and so should we.

Is the Heavenly Father Inadequate?

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are a child of God. A great transformation has taken place in your life and your life continues to be changed as the Lord works in you.

As we live this new life that we’ve been given in Christ, we are to bring honor to our Heavenly Father. Someone who complains all the time is not honoring the Father. A whiner distorts the picture of a child of God. When we grumble and dispute we imply that having God as my Father is somehow inadequate.

We need to remember the words of Lamentations 3:39 which says, “ Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?” We need to stop complaining about what we don’t have and be overwhelmed by the truth that God would make me His child, forgiving all my sin.

Remember Whose Name You Bear

If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God. We’ve been taken out of Satan’s family by virtue of Christ’s work on our behalf. We are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

We need to remember who we belong to – who’s Name we bear. And we are to do all things without complaining so that we might be the kind of children God saved us to be. We need to be children who rightly represent our heavenly Father. When we think about all that the Lord has done and continues to do for us, how can we complain about anything?

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, let’s remember all the good that the Lord has done for us in bringing us into His family and making us one of His own. Let’s stop the complaining and start the rejoicing. Let’s give glory and honor to our great God and Savior.

Grumble-meters On?

Philippians 2:14 says “Do all things without grumbling and complaining.” In light of what this verse says, I want to give you an assignment. See how long you can go without complaining about anything. I wish I could give you a grumble-meter that would alert you every time you started to grumble about something.

Now I don’t want to make light of what is a very serious sin, and the Bible helps us to cut down on our grumbling. Philippians 2:15 helps us by reminding us that we are children of God. If we would just remember what the Lord has done for us in making us who were His enemies into His own children, we would have so much to be thankful for that we would stop our complaining.

I’m glad I didn’t get what I deserve from God. I am thankful for His grace.

Be Careful about Complaining

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” We know what this verse is talking about because we are all guilty of this sin. What we probably don’t realize is how serious a sin this is.

The children of Israel did plenty of grumbling as the Lord led them through the wilderness. We are warned about this in 1 Corinthians 10:10 where we are told not to “grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.”

That tells us what God thinks about those who grumble. It is a serious sin that is directed at God because He is the One who has ordered all of your circumstances. It is so serious that The Lord killed some people for their complaining.

So we need to take this sin seriously. Start making a list of all the things you are thankful for and share that list with someone on Thanksgiving Day.

Don't Edit the Scripture

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” That’s a very important verse that we don’t take seriously enough. We’ve been so influenced by our culture and our own sin, that we don’t even think this is possible. Do “all” things without complaining?

So, we mentally edit this verse to read like this:

Do your best not to grumble or dispute

Or

If you do most things without grumbling and disputing, you do well.

But that is not what the Scripture says. It says to do all things without grumbling. Grumbling is that grouchy, complainy, murmuring that we all do. To dispute is to argue about our circumstances.

As we anticipate Thanksgiving Day, let’s put aside the grumbling and rejoice in all the grace and goodness that the Lord has shown to us. Let’s thank Him for what we do have not complain about what we don’t have.

You Don't Complain, Do You?

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” This verse clearly tells us that complaining is a sin, yet think of how much complaining we do.

We will complain about the weather. We will complain about the traffic. Somedays we will complain about the weather and the traffic. We will complain about our work. We will complain about other people. Sometimes we complain about the people at work. We will complain about our family. We will even complain about politicians.

We are a society of whiners. We can cry and bellyache about almost anything. It is amazing.

And the church is not immune to this. We will complain about all the other things and then complain about things at church as well.

That’s why we have this command to do all things without grumbling and disputing. We need the Lord to help us with this.

No Complaints

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.’ That is a shocking, slap in the face kind of verse. It says to do “all” things without complaining. Not some things. Not most things. It says to do all things without complaining. There are no conditions given. There are no exceptions listed.

And the reason this verse is so startling is because we live in a culture of complainers. We live in a society of whiners. Because we often live in pursuit of personal happiness and chase after fantasies that don’t exist, we complain about everything that isn’t the way we want it to be.

As we approach the Thanksgiving season I want to encourage you to think about the things you have to be thankful for rather than complaining about the things you don’t have. Rejoice and give thanks for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Resting In God's Protection

Over the past few weeks we have talked about living the good life as it is presented to us in 1 Peter 3:8-12.

We have seen that even Christians who are being persecuted can live the good life because of the blessings that they have in Christ; because of the instruction they have in Scripture; and because of the promises that they have from God. As we walk with the Lord He promises to keep His eyes on us and His ears are tuned in to our prayers.

God also promises that His face is against those who do evil. Those who would persecute us or be hostile to us will find God in opposition to them. We can rest in God’s protection.

That is a good life. I don’t need to worry, just rest in Him.

God Cares

When we live out the life that God has given us in Christ we can do so with the assurance that God is attentive to our prayers as 1 Peter 3:12 says. The word for prayer speaks of our petitions. The things we need to ask God for. He’s listening to what you are asking.

What a comfort it is to know that no matter where I am or what’s going on in my life, the Lord Himself is listening to my prayers. That’s a good life. There may be a lot of things that I don’t have, but I do have a heavenly Father who attends to my prayers.

You should never think that God does not care for you. He does. Knowing that is enough to say that you are living a good, rich, abundant life.

At Believers Fellowship we want to pursue the good life that can only be found in Christ.

He Listens to My Prayers

We’ve been talking about living the good life and looking at 1 Peter 3:8-12. Peter says that for those who live out the life that Christ has given them that they can have confidence that the eyes of the Lord are on them and He is listening to their prayers.

That is the good life. To know that God Himself is maintaining a watchful, caring, listening oversight of my life produces a peace and joy that nothing in this world can come close to. No matter how bad the circumstances, I know that the Lord is watching and waiting to minister to me. Nothing escapes His view. I can have confidence that He cares for me.

After all, God sent His own Son to die for my sin and to make me one of His children. He took me out of spiritual death and gave me eternal life. And it’s a good life.

The Greatest of Lives

In 1 Peter 3:8-12, the apostle gave instruction on living the good life to Christians who were facing hostility and persecution. He told them that they needed to live this life out and to do so remembering all of the blessings they have received in Christ and remembering the encouragement that they have in Scripture.

And Peter tells them that if they live out what they have then the eyes of the Lord are on them and He attends to their prayer. Wow. If that was all you knew – that the eyes of the Lord were on you and He was listening to you pray, then you would have to conclude that this truly is the good life.

To know that God is watching over me and His ears are open to my prayers, it can’t get any better than that. That’s not a good life, that’s the greatest of lives.

Preaching Christ in So Cal

Today I am flying back from Southern California. I was there this weekend to preach at a church. My subject was living the good life from 1 Peter 3:8-12. If you’ve been following this blog for the past couple of weeks then you know what I was talking about. If you haven’t been listening, you can catch up by reading my previous posts.

Now you might be thinking that Southern California is the home of the good life. Many people do. With the great climate, the beautiful beaches, and the palm trees swaying in the ocean breezes, how could it get any better?

But just like everywhere else, not everyone in Southern California is experiencing the good life. The good life can only be found in Jesus Christ. If you’re looking for the good life in this world, you’ll be disappointed. Jesus never disappoints.

Join us in worshipping Christ. He is the life.

Christ Gives the Good Life

Are you living the good life? If you define the good life like most Americans then maybe you’re not experiencing it right now. But the Bible says you can know the good life no matter what your circumstances might be. Even if your candidate didn’t win in the election. Even if the economy is affecting your income. Even if your marriage is not going well.

1 Peter was written to believers who were living in difficult times. They were persecuted by the government and they had difficulties at work and home. Yet in 1 Peter 3:8-12 they are given instruction on how they can know the good life even in trying times.

Jesus said that He came so that we might have life and have it abundantly. The life we have in Christ is so good that it transcends our circumstances. We just need to live out the life He has given us.

The Good Life: Pursuing Peace

In 1 Peter 3:10-11, Peter talks about living the good life. He is quoting from Psalm 34 which was written by David. At that time King Saul was trying to kill David. But David said that if you want to know the good life you have to keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. You have to turn from evil and do good. You must seek peace and pursue it.

That’s exactly what David did. He never spoke evil of Saul. He never did evil to Saul. In fact, there were a couple of opportunities for David to kill Saul and even though he would have been justified in doing so, he refused to do it. David tried every way he could to seek peace with Saul.

By nurturing hatred and bitterness towards those who are opposed to us, we are not going to know the good life. We must pursue peace.

Election Results: Good Life Available to All

I’m assuming that if you are reading this blog that you survived Election Day yesterday and I have some good news for you. Experiencing the good life is not dependent on who won the election.

In 1 Peter 3:10, the Apostle spoke about living the good life to some Christians who were being persecuted. Also, this verse is a quote from Psalm 34. Psalm 34 was written by David during that time in his life when he was being chased down by King Saul. Saul wanted to kill David.

So the Bible teaches us that even people who are having their lives threatened can live the good life. So powerful is what we have in Christ and in the Scripture that we can live the good life no matter what the circumstances might be.

One huge benefit of understanding this is that it frees me from chasing what the world says is the good life.

Vote for the Good Life

Today is Election Day. To many people the results of this election will determine if they will live the good life or not over the next four years. At least that’s what they think.

The Bible teaches that you can know the good life no matter what. This instruction is given in 1 Peter 3:10 and it was given to Christians who were being persecuted by the Roman government. No matter who gets elected today, I don’t believe we will have it that bad.

Also, in this verse, Peter is quoting form Psalm 34. The good life that we enjoy as believers is dependent on the truth of God’s Word, not the ever changing circumstances of life.

Is your life anchored to the Scripture? Do you evaluate life based on what God says or by what the culture around us says?

At Believers Fellowship we want to know the Bible so we can live the good life.

Are You Loving Life?

Are you living the good life? Some of you might be thinking, “We’ll see how the election goes tomorrow, then I’ll tell you if I’m living the good life or not.” Others might think they will be living the good life once the economy turns around.

Well the Apostle Peter wrote a letter to some believers who were living in terrible circumstances. He called it a fiery ordeal, a painful trial. Yet, in 1 Peter 3:10, Peter spoke to them about living the good life. He gave instruction for whoever would love life and see good days. Peter spoke of a life worth loving and it had nothing to do with their circumstances.

In Christ we are able to experience a life that is impossible apart from Him. In Christ we are blessed with forgiveness, hope, joy, and peace. On top of that we enjoy fellowship with other believers.

At Believers Fellowship we want to know the good life.