There is a great danger of just pulling out a single verse and using it to make your point or to express a conviction. What can happen is that you end up making a truth the truth. Yesterday I used Philippians 2:13 as one of my favorite verses. Verse 13 is just that, 13th. What did verses one, two, three, four etc. have to say? And what about verse 14 and fifteen etc.?
Okay... so what does verse 14 say? Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves],
I had to ask! Do all things! Some things would be easier and a few things would be more realistic of my life. If you would ask me, I'd tell you that I'm not a big grumbler, faultfinder or complainer but truth be told I do my fair share. Questioning, I do more than my fair share which you already know if you have read my blogs for any length of time. And doubting.......... can I say I'm cautious verses doubting?
Isn't grumbling, faultfinding and complaining all the same thing? It sure would sound better if I was guilty on one count verse three counts. I really do believe verse 13, that it is not in my own strength but that it is God who is all the while. But obviously believing is not enough. If it were then wouldn't my life be oozing with thanksgiving in all things. Again, this is one of my favorite verses. I speak it often. No, there is more than just believing words on a page even if they are the words of God written in the Bible.
Grumbling - an expression of discontent; complaint; unhappy; discontented mood
Faultfinding - tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions;
Complaining - to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
Questioning - a subject or point open to controversy;
Doubting - lack of trust.
Well there you have it! Can I just make small comments about each of these? Of course I can it's my blog. It's my mind that does the grumbling. In my heart there is contentment most of the time. Faultfinding, well... I was going to say that they are not my personal opinions but the moral judgements of the word, but.... I won't say that. Complaining just comes easy. I am really easy going and my inner being is not much for complaining but my outer being too often indulges in it just for the sake of conversation. Sometimes it's just to play devils advocate. Bad! I know.
I said it was more than just believing right? Here are the practical applications. Each one is a different color so you can see what's required easily.
Romans 12:1-2 So here's what I want you to do, GOD HELPING YOU: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Clear and precise actions. and then.... "You'll be changed from the inside out. God brings the best OUT OF YOU!"
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