CORRECTING YOUR COURSE


by Nikita Harris 
Decatur, GA 


We've just started a new year. Now's the time when most of us like to sit down and reflect on the past year and look at what we did right, what we did wrong, and what we need to do differently in order to do a better job walking with God in the coming year. Instead of wallowing in self-condemnation over the mistakes we made last year, we need to go to God's Word and correct our course as we begin a new year of service to God and His son Jesus Christ. 

A good person to look at as we begin this process is the apostle Paul. You see, Paul had a bit of a past to deal with. 

When we first meet Paul (known at that time as Saul) in the scriptures, he's busy working for the Lord. Saul's idea of working for the Lord and the Lord's idea were two completely different things. We meet him at the killing of Stephen. 

Acts 7:54-60. 
7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 
7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 
7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 
7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 
7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 
7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 
7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 

Saul followed up this illustrious beginning a "ministry" of violent persecution against the Church. 

Acts 8:1-4. 
8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 
8:2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 
8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 
8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 

When we meet Saul again in Acts 9, he's still up to his old tricks. But at this point, Jesus Christ steps in and makes a radical change in this man's life. 

Acts 9:1-9. 
9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 
9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 
9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 
9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 
9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 
9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 
9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 
9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 
9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 

This is a powerful example of the awesomeness of our God. He could have chosen anyone in the world for the job He had in mind; but of all the people He had to choose from, He chose the man who was killing His people. 

Saul was blinded at his encounter with Jesus Christ. After three days, Jesus sent Ananias, a disciple, to pray for him so that he would be healed. Ananias didn't want to go, but he went anyway in obedience to the Lord's command, and Saul's sight was restored. 

From that day on, Saul was a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke the Word boldly in Damascus, confounding his former allies, and puzzling the other Christians, who were afraid to fellowship with him, fearing he was setting a trap for them. It was only when Barnabas took Saul under his wing and vouched for him to the other Christians that they welcomed him into their midst. 

God used Paul, the man who had gone to such great lengths to stamp out the gospel of Jesus Christ, to establish the Church among the Gentiles, and to write most of the New Testament. No matter what you've done in the past, God can do great things with you if you're willing to follow him now. 

Like us, Paul had a conflict within himself between what he knew he should do, and what he did. 

Romans 7:13-20. 
7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 
7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 
7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 
7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 
7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 
7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

But Paul also knew the solution to this dilemma. 

Romans 8:1-2. 
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

There will always be a struggle within us between our "old man" sin nature and the spirit of Christ in us. But as we walk by the spirit, we will experience victory in our lives, just as Paul did. God, through Christ, has freed us from condemnation, that is, the guilty verdict that was due us for our sins. 

Now it's up to usto choose how we will live. What we do with our minds will determine whether our lives reflect this world, or Christ. 

Romans 12:1-2. 
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

We can choose to live for ourselves, or we can live for God. We can allow the world to conform us to its way of thinking, or we can allow our lives to be transformed by renewing our minds to God's Word -- by changing our thinking to bring it into line with what the Word of God says. 

At this time of year, most of us reflect on the past, and look forward to what we want to do in the future. This is a good time to see what things you need to stop doing in order to walk more closely with God, and what things you're doing right that you need to do more of. 

I've made two lists for myself for this year. One is a list of negative things that I need to change; the other is a list of positive things that I need to do more of. For each item I've gone to God's Word to see what I'm supposed to be doing in that area. 

On the negative side, I have listed: overcoming disobedience, learning to walk more in love, controlling my mouth, being a better example on the job, and becoming more forgiveness. 

What does the scripture say about overcoming disobedience? In Ephesians 6 we learn that there are some people God expects us to be obedient to. 

Ephesians 6:1-8. 
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 
6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 
6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 
6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 
6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 
6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 
6:8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 

First, children are instructed to be obedient to their parents. In the culture in which this was written, this applied to grown children also. We might need to learn from this. 

Second, servants are instructed to be obedient to their masters. Today we don't have servants and masters; but this instruction seems particularly well suited to employers and employees. 

We are obedient to men because God has instructed us to be. Our obedience is always ultimately to God. 

Acts 5:29 
5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 

Jeremiah 7:23 
7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 

1 Samuel 15:22 
15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

Because our obedience is always ultimately to God, we don't disobey Him even to obey someone else He has instructed us to obey. 

What about walking in love? 

Ephesians 5:1-2. 
5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 

We are to use God and Christ as our examples of how to love. When you get a chance, read I Corinthians 13. That gives you an excellent picture of what the love of God is. 

God's picture of walking in love is different from ours. For me, walking in love sometimes just means not strangling someone who is really irritating me -- but that's not God's idea of love! God wants us to go beyond this and actively seek the good of the other person. And remember: love is a choice, not an emotion. You can walk in love toward someone even when you don't feel like it. 

What does the Word say about controlling your mouth? 

Colossians 4:6 
4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. 

Our words are to be with grace and "seasoned with salt". "Seasoned with salt" is an oriental expression meaning truthful, honest. We are to be honest and show favor toward the person to whom we are speaking. 

James 3:6-10. 
3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 
3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 
3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 
3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 
3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 

We're responsible to God for what comes out of our mouths, yet none of us has the power to control our tongues. What's the solution to this problem? 

Matthew 12:33-35. 
12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 
12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 
12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

What comes out of your mouth is determined by what is in your heart. As you allow the Word of Christ to dwell in you richly, you will find that that is what is coming out of your mouth, even in times of stress, hurt and anger. 

What does the Word say about being a good example on the job? On my job there are some people who are not pulling their own weight. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking, "They're not doing their job! I'm not going to do anything either!" But God's Word teaches a better way to handle this. 

Colossians 3:22-24. 
3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; 
3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 
3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 

This sounds a lot like what we read a while back in Ephesians, doesn't it? As employees, we are to work as if we are working for and being paid by God. You wouldn't work for Jesus with the do-nothing attitude we described, would you? 

How about unforgiveness? Does the Word say anything about that? 

We like to think that our situation is unique. "Lord, you don't know what they did to me! It's just not fair!" But what says the scripture? 
Colossians 3:12-13. 
3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 
3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 

We remember how Christ forgave us -- and keeps on forgiving us -- and use that as our example and standard for forgiving others. 

All of us sin. We all find ourselves falling short of God's will for our lives. What do we do when that happens? 

1 John 1:9 
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

We confess our sins to God. God has already promised that if we do this, He will faithfully forgive us and cleanse us. 

I also made a list of things I want to keep doing or do more of. On this list I included staying in prayer, walking in fellowship with the Father, giving thanks to God, and speaking God's Word. 

What does the scripture say about speaking God's Word? 

2 Timothy 4:2-5. 
4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 
4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 
4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 
4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 

Sometimes we get confused between walking in love and trying to get along with people, and spraking the truth in love. Walking in love REQUIRES speaking the truth many times. Living this way may result in your losing a friend occasionally, but it will please your Lord for you to walk this way. 

What does the scripture say about prayer? 

1 Thessalonians 5:17 
5:17 Pray without ceasing. 

That's pretty simple! What does it mean to pray without ceasing? That means, keep on praying. Don't stop. Get a picture in your mind of a teenager talking on the phone. That teenager may stop to fix something to eat, or go to the bathroom, or answer the door, or change the channel on the TV -- but will do this without hanging up the phone. We're to be the same way with God. The line is never closed. We're always to be on the phone with him, even if we're doing something else. 

Colossians 4:2 
4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 

What does the scripture say about our fellowship with the Father? 

Hebrews 4:16 
4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

The picture I have in my mind is of walking into God's throne room with a chair, and having a seat, getting comfortable. God has given us open access to His presence through Jesus Christ. And here He tells us we are to come boldly into His presence. That means we don't tap timidly on the door, but instead that we walk in like we own the place. God wants us to make ourselves at home in His presence. 

How about thankfulness? 

Ephesians 5:20 
5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 

From this it appears that we are always supposed to be giving thanks to God, regardless of what is going on in our lives. 

How are we able to live life in a way that is so at odds with the rest of the world, and with our own "old man" sin natures? Again, Paul gives us the key. 

Galatians 2:20 
2:20 I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 
5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

God has made us new in Christ Jesus. This is why we can be successful in walking this way. We are to reckon our old nature dead, and walk in newness of life. 

Jesus explained that the secret of doing this is abiding in him. 

John 15:1-5. 
15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 
15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 
15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 
15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 
15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

We are not to live this new life by relying on our fleshly credentials, our fleshly works, or our fleshly abilities. We are to rely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, and grow in our knowledge and imitation of him. Again, Paul explains: 

Philippians 3:3-14. 
3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 
3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 
3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 
3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 
3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 
3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 
3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 
3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 
3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 
3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Now that we have reflected on the past year, let us, like Paul, forget those things that are behind, and reach forth toward those things that are before, pressing toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

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