LEARNING DAILY

2 Corinthians 10:4-5, For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

Every person reading this knows people who have been very concerned about what others think about them. Let’s be honest; at some time in your life that includes you, just like me. At some time, clothes have been worn because that is the style of the day. If a person does not begin every sentence with, “I mean…” – well what does that mean? People just need to be in line with what everyone else is doing. It seems the need to “fit in” or “doing what everyone else is doing” keeps people centered in what others think.

The message given at Community Bible Church by Dr. Ed Newton centered on people of God breaking away from this thought pattern and become centered in what God thinks and says about who we are. I am very surprised after listening to the service at NorthRock Church how similar the message was to what was given at CBC. I will expand on this in the next page of the blog regarding verse 5 above.

Back to the message at CBC. Pastor Newton said people sell themselves short when they are concerned more about what others say about them than what God says about them. He emphasized the need to remind ourselves of who God says I am. Do you remember the list of Bible verses about who God says you are a few pages ago in the blog? Why do we believe what others say about us when they say things that are contrary to what God says? Pastor asked the following questions. “What are you afraid of losing?” “What are you trying to hide?” “What are you trying to prove?”

Pastor pointed out how exhausting to live a life trying to prove something to people or to please or pacify people (from the Listener Guide). None of us have all the answers to life, but we sure try to be smarter or have greater experiences than who we are talking to. We work harder in order to be perfect in whatever we are doing. Pastor said, “Stop trying to prove your critics wrong and start trying to prove your Creator is right (regarding what He says about you).” He added, “Stop worrying about what others think about you and only worry about what God says about you!”

An example Pastor gave was when John baptized Jesus. Up to this point Jesus had performed no miracles, had given no sermons; yet when He came out of the water of baptism, God was “well pleased with His beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). Jesus had done nothing but be obedient to His heavenly Father and that pleased Him! “Believers do not earn the pleasure of God by doing something; God loves them because of their identity in Christ” (Newton reading Philippians 3:7). He also read Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Believers are to live their lives – not in arrogance – according to the way God desires. Do you want Him to choose you, to use you like He wants? Stop allowing others to tell you how to live your life and live it in the way it pleases your Father in heaven!

In the next page of the blog, you will see what Jonathon Moore, Pastor at NorthRock Church shares how putting on the helmet of salvation helps us do this!