Spiritual Lessons

‘Time in the Word’ By Clayton Adams

Do you remember a favorite teacher? More than likely you learned more from a favorite teacher than you did from most other teachers.

What is your favorite way of learning? Are you an experiential, kinesthetic, audio or a visual learner?

Most people learn from their experiences — if they survive. Many children now days learn best in an environment they can move around, to be active — these are kinesthetics.

Others learn best by listening to a lecture, still many others learn by observing, reading, watching others. A good teacher understands that every student learns differently and creates an environment that allows learning to occur in many ways.

Jesus taught His followers using all these methods.

Perhaps the best method was through His parables.

A parable is a simple story that conveyed spiritual meaning and lessons.

Have you wondered why we have the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures)? People have wondered this since the birth of the Christian church in the first century A.D. We read; “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). They were for “our instruction.”

The apostle Paul wrote this in his first of two letters to the Christians living in the city of Corinth (Greece). Chapter ten of First Corinthians is, I believe one of the greatest chapters in the Bible.

In the Bible, especially in the teachings of Jesus are many spiritual lessons. The lessons are too numerous to list but here are four simple spiritual lessons: First. Don’t forget what God has done and commanded for us to do; “And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generations, A generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Psalm 78:7-8). Forgetting God, what He has done for us, is doing for us and will do for us means we have turned away from Him.

Second. “Live by faith and not be sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 10:38). Do Christians live by faith today? If we lived by faith, our churches would be filled with Christians doing the work God commanded us to be doing such as ministering to the poor, building homes for the homeless, feeding the hungry, preaching the Gospel and visiting the imprisoned and instead of protesting abortion adopting these children. Churches filled with Christians are to be doing these and other works of ministry.

Third. Do not get tangled up in things of this world.

We read; “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

I must admit, this is especially difficult, I get tangled up in things I have no business getting tangled up with! Do you? We get tangled up in the affairs of others; what others think of us and we major in the minor things of life.

Fourth, know what is important. Above all else, Jesus told us what was most important. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

This is the first and most important commandment.

The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Love is a choice. Are you choosing to love? If you are unable to love others perhaps the best thing to do is to first love God. He will give you His love to love others in your life.

What are the spiritual lessons you are learning in the Bible?

Clayton Adams has a message of faith he would like to share with the community. He would also like to hear from you. E-mail him at claytonpadamslll@ gmail.com.