Category: Know the Bible

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3

We must not be selfish. Have you seen people who always want things to be done their way? You probably do not like to be around bossy or rude people. It is hard for us to work or play together when someone always wants to do things the way they want to do them and not listen to others. We have to let others go first sometimes and do what other people want to do.

Paul said to have a lowly mind; a mind like Jesus. Though He was the Son of God on earth, Jesus did things for others throughout His life. When He died, He died for us proving that He was more concerned with us being saved than His own life.

A lowly mind means that we do not think that we are better than other people. This attitude will help us to be kind to all people, no matter who their friends are, if they are popular or not. or if they have money or not. We are different from other people but we must never think that we are better than others.

By esteeming, or considering, others better than ourselves, we do not think bad of ourselves. We do not think that we are worthless for we are truly special in the eyes of God and those who love us. However, we realize that others are special. After all, God created them and wants to save them too.

Did you know that when you are obeying the law of the United States and the state in which you live, you are also obeying God? Paul told the Romans that God gave government authorities their power. During Paul’s time the government required the people to worship their leader as a god. Although the Christians would not do that, even this bad government served God’s purposes. People had to serve Him even if it meant they might be put in jail or killed for worshipping Him. God eventually destroyed that government, punishing it for treating His people badly.

You may have heard about the war in Iraq and other places. Always remember that “the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men,” Daniel 4:25. We must have no fear since God is in control. Even if our government were to tell us we could not worship God, we would still have to obey God, Acts 5:29. Let us be thankful that our country allows us to worship God without fear of people trying to stop us.

Though governments change and fight wars in different places, always remember that God is in control. Every government exists by His power and He will punish the ones that are mean to His people.

Obey the law because you are also obeying God.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil.
Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

True love is sincere. Love without hypocrisy is love that is not two-faced. This is the love that we must have for others, especially those who love God.

The person who loves God must abhor, or deeply hate, what is evil. We must not desire to have anything to do with things that do not please God. We should not want to watch movies or play video games that make evil look good or fun.

The person who loves God must hold tightly to what is good. We let the evil go out of our lives but hold onto good things like a person in the middle of the sea holds onto his life vest. We should never let what is good become lost to us.

Some people do the opposite of what Paul commands: they love what is evil and hate what is good. There are some people that cannot sleep until they have thought up something evil to do (Micah 2:1) and want to wake up early to do evil (Prov. 1:10-16).

They do not have true love for others but only act like they love those who can give them something. We must stay away from these people because they do not care about us and will only bring us harm.

Let your love be true, love good and hate evil.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul compares the Christian life to running a race. Paul often uses examples from sports to teach about living as a Christian. Lessons we learn in playing sports can help us live better lives as God’s people.

Competition Most sports involve two people or two teams competing against one another to win a game. Each team will try hard to win. Paul tells us to live so that we might get our eternal reward. Some people, when they compete, do not really care and do not give much effort. But if we want to go to heaven, we must give our best effort. Satan is giving his best effort to win so we must fight even harder. We have God on our side to help us but He expects us to do what is good, resist temptation, and help other people learn about Him.

Rules Every sport has rules that must be followed. If you break the rules you will get penalized. If you break enough rules, you will lose the game. God has rules to follow in life. If we break His rules, He will punish us. If we ignore His rules completely, we will not get heaven as a reward. Some people think that they can make up rules or ignore some of God’s rules. However, God says that we will be judged by what He has revealed, so we must play by His rules.

Training Before a person enters into a competition, he often has trained for many hours to prepare for the event. He spends time learning what to do. He practices hard so he will not be tired when he has to compete. He eats good food so he will have the energy to compete well. He also prepares his mind for the event. Christians also train every day. Our spiritual food is the word of God. We do not put bad things in our mind from TV, movies, books, or video games so we can think the way we should. We read God’s word and learn how to use it, just as a person would learn to use a sword. We ask ourselves what God would want us to do in certain situations so we exercise our mind to think godly. These things help us train for opportunities to do good or to resist temptation when we fight Satan.

Prize God has promised His people a home in heaven when they die. Paul says we must prepare ourselves and try hard so that we will be able to go to heaven. Keep heaven in your mind so you will not be tempted to give up.

“neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” Ephesians 5:4

An easy way for people to know whether we love God or not is how we talk. If we use filthy words, people will think we do not love God.

When Peter denied that He knew Jesus, he “cursed and swore” that He did not know Him. Peter tried to prove that he had not been with Jesus and used filthy language to prove it. If people didn’t think Peter was with Jesus because of the way he spoke, what if we use bad language?

Imagine going to get a drink out of a water fountain. The person in front of you says, “Mmm, that water is good.” You get a drink of water and it tastes salty and bad! You try to drink again and it is delicious. James says that people who love God are not to be like this. He says that a spring of water does not give sweet and bitter water from the same opening, so Christians should not speak good things about others and bad things as well. We must control our tongues.

The memory verse says to put off:
Filthiness—Dirty talk coming from a dirty mind.
Foolish talking—Talking about things one should not talk about.
Coarse Jesting—Dirty jokes, joking about good things.

Paul says this is not proper for people who love God. We should speak good things that please God.