Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
12 And you will say in that day, “I thank you, God. You were angry but your anger wasn’t forever. You withdrew your anger and moved in and comforted me.
2 “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation. I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!”
3-4 Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation!
5-6 “Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all! Let the whole earth know what he’s done! Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion! The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Surely God is My Salvation
It is great to be reminded that we have salvation through Jesus.
In Isaiah 12, the promised Messiah, Jesus, had not yet come to earth.
However, the people of God believed Him at His Word.
The Lord used many prophets to speak truth into hard situations and to share about the coming Savior.
Isaiah was one of these prophets.
In Isaiah 12, Isaiah writes a song of praise after Isaiah 11 just shares about the coming Messiah.
The Israelites were well aware that they were sinful and rebellious people.
This start to Isaiah 12:2 “Surely” is a confidence that the promised Messiah would be coming and their faith in the Lord who had a redemption plan to cover their sins once and for all.
I Will Trust and Not Be Afraid
The Israelites were a fearful people.
Soon after their release, many of them wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt in the difficulty of escape, many of them did not trust in God and took matters into their own hands, and many of them lived out of fear and not faith in the Lord.
In this time, Isaiah is reminding the people of their anchor in the Lord.
The Prophet Isaiah now encourages us still today to place our trust in the Lord because He is our Peace, we do not have to be afraid when we are resting in Him.
Our momentary trials and hardships might be extremely painful and difficult, but we can get through knowing that the Lord is with us and we have eternal security in Heaven because of Jesus.
We can each declare this in our own lives today, “I will trust and not be afraid.”
The LORD, the LORD Himself Is My Strength and My Defense
When LORD is mentioned in all caps, it is referring to the proper name of God, YHWH.
We as believers agree with Isaiah’s statement that God, our God Himself, is our strength and our defense.
He helps us to move forward but also protects us from the attacks of the enemy.
He is the perfect sacrifice from eternal separation from the Lord.
When we undergo spiritual attacks from the enemy, His Spirit within us strengthens and empowers us to stand steadfast and firm not in our own strength but in leaning on God’s strength and God’s immovable promises.
In what ways do we need to be reminded God is our strength and our defense?
He is fighting for us, and He is guarding us.
I love how we know that it is the Lord who holds the victory, and we are His beloved children.
Even when the war seems to tarry, our Savior reminds us of His everlasting presence and His power in the midst of the battle.
We can have eternal mindsets with the help of His Spirit.
He Has Become My Salvation
More valuable than a temporary victory is the fact that when we place our faith in Jesus, He has become our forever salvation.
This is eternal security.
This is forever hope and confidence of life with Him in heaven.
I love how Isaiah begins and ends this verse with this truth.
He is reminding us twice that our story, our lives, begin and end with God.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, Beginning and the End.
Intersecting Faith and Life
Is Jesus your salvation?
If you have never accepted this gift through His death and resurrection, ask Him into your heart today.
When He is our salvation, we have full victory in Christ.
In what ways has it been difficult for your trust to mature in God right now?
How can this verse remind you not to be afraid and to fully rely on Him?
How does this verse remind you not to be afraid and to fully rely on Him?
How has the Lord been a strength and defense on your behalf in the past?
How does this ancient passage give you encouragement that He is fighting for you now and in the future?
If you were to sit down and write a song of who Jesus Christ is in your life ….?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around— what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only. And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up with a house and yard. And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell— that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.
Heavenly Father, you are the Author of our Salvation. It is by your Hand that we have received deliverance and to you, dear God should be all praise and glory, for it is your divine plan for mankind that rescued us from terrible peril and made us co-heirs of your Heavenly Kingdom, alongside our Messiah Jesus Christ in Whom we repose complete faith and trust. Jesus has promised eternal life and a place in heaven which he will prepare, for all who are beneficiaries of your grace, by their faith in Christ.
We find rest for our soul when we live by your Holy Word, Lord, for only you can offer us refuge and sanctuary. With you, nothing is impossible When the going gets too tough, we turn to you for peace and protection, comfort and assurance, and we find it, for your promises to us are unshakable and all we ask for in Jesus’ Name, is readily granted to those who believe.
Our trust is in you Lord, for you are unchangeable and omniscient, the very foundation of our strength, for you have uplifted us, filled us with your Holy Spirit, and we are fortified and unafraid of evil machinations. For with you as our Father, we need have no fear and can worship, offer songs of praise for being in the ranks of the righteous. We surrender to you, consecrating our lives to you, in Jesus’ Name.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Christians in Crisis – Preferences for Running to the Darkness?
English cleric William Farrar wrote, “I am only one, but I am one; I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. And what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.”
Reverend John Wesley founder of Methodism famously wrote: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
What amount of “everything possible whenever possible” can one person do?
Biblically, A whole lot.
The Bible tells the story of one woman who was determined to save a nation.
Esther may not have been the first woman people would have imagined for this assignment – but for such a time as it was, a mounting darkness was coming.
After she won a beauty contest, she became queen in the Medo-Persian Empire.
And in that position of influence, Esther, who was Jewish, discovered that her people faced a serious threat.
Because Mordecai would not bow to him, a wicked and self serving man named Haman had devised a plot to exterminate every Jewish person in the empire.
Queen Esther considered appealing to King Xerxes on behalf of her people.
But by doing so, she would be risking her own life.
The king could have her executed for approaching him without his invitation.
But her cousin Mordecai sent her a message, which said,
“Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14 NLT).
In other words,
“Esther, God doesn’t depend solely on you. But He can use you in a powerful way. Will you step up?”
Esther did, and as a result, the Jewish people survived.
One person stepped forward at great risk to their lives, made a difference.
John 3:16-18 The Message
16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Some weeks ago I was reading a lengthy devotional from Genesis 3 (about Adam and Eve’s fall into sin).
In it, a little girl, while picking noisily at her dinner plate with her fork, had whispered to her mother, “Mommy, can’t Adam and Eve go to heaven now?”
She understood that something very serious had happened, and she wondered if anything or anyone could undo the damage the darkness had done on that day.
Though as young as she was, she wisely asked her mother the right question:
Could anyone pick up the pieces of a creation threatened by growing darkness?
Were we too accustomed to being helpless, accepting our helplessness, in the towering presence, greater power and overwhelming strength of the darkness?
Or are we faced with the dilemma of an old nursery rhyme:
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;/ Humpty Dumpty had a great fall./ All the king’s horses and all the king’s men/ couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
What no one else could do against the brokenness and darkness ushered in by sin, in one matchless moment, God did by sending his Son, the Lord Jesus.
Through his coming, his birth, life, death and resurrection Jesus ushered in the kingdom of heaven, and by fully believing in him we can enter that kingdom.
But IF we WILL walk in the Light as He is in the Light …
1 John 1:6-7 The Message
6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
There is a great contrast between a life that is being lived in the darkness and one that is being lived in the light, a point that John expounds upon in his text.
As life in the darkness is not indicative of Him, it can also be said that the life in the light is one that is lived in Him.
John continues with his imagery of walking, indicating that living with the light, who is God, is a chosen lifestyle.
Because it is a lifestyle that is founded in Him, it is a life that reflects Him.
It shines light outward into the lives of others, confronting, challenging the darkness by exposing truth to those who come in contact with a Christian.
John further reveals that the lifestyle is also characterized by something more.
It is a lifestyle of continuous fellowship, one of worship, one of diligent study and prayer, one of John’s major emphases in these first verses of his writing.
John also further extends the idea that connection and fellowship with others is related to connection and fellowship with God.
Apart from Him, no true fellowship can exist.
As light is necessary for the nourishment and growth of all things, God is necessary for the nourishment and growth of people.
Any connectional relationship absent this light will not ever blossom into any relationship that is founded in true Christ like love, including not only kindness and companionship, but also true accountability, responsibility, and discipline.
And thus, because there is no blossoming, no fruit will be produced, something evident in the life of a true Christian (cf. John 15:1-8).
The Vine and the Branches
15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Finally, because one who walks in the light is defined as one who is a child of God, they can experience the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.
In the Old Testament, blood was connected to purification, and thus is seen often in the sacrifices (Leviticus 16:30; Hebrews 9:21-22).
Now, in the New Testament sense, the blood is connected with Christ’s atoning sacrifice, which fulfills God’s requirements for the punishment of sin allowing for believers to be declared ‘acquitted’ of charges.
This does not mean that one does not still battle with sin.
Currently we still live in the flesh and thus battle with it.
However, it does mean that one no longer needs to fear separation from God as a result of that sin.
Therefore, You, too, can make a difference.
So make the decision to be the godly representative that Jesus called you to be.
Removing the Buckets off from the tops of our heads
Matthew 5:14-16 The Message
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
We live in a dark world where people are comfortable existing in darkness.
Too many people enjoy their darkened hidden places, their secret places.
They have become PhD’s accustomed to 5 star living and being in the dark.
But take the buckets off of their existence?
After the capture of the Bastille in 1789, a story emerged about a prisoner who had been confined to a dark, dingy dungeon for years.
When he was released and led outside into the Paris sunlight, he begged to return to the darkness of his prison cell.
His eyes could not endure the sun’s brightness.
His only desire was to die in the very darkness where he had been a captive.
That is how a lot of people are today.
They live in darkness, and they are comfortable there.
Their eyes , their hearts, souls and lives are too accustomed to the darkness.
They see no purpose to trying to become accustomed to the light of the day, the light of salvation in Jesus Christ alone through whom darkness is made null and void and completely helpless and powerless.
But the Bible says that when we come to Christ, we “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God”(Acts 26:18 NLT).
Almost certainly everyone knows somebody who is too accustomed to the dark.
Almost everyone knows someone who is just too afraid to open their eyes to the light – too much pain. no heart desire, no motivation, no empowerment either.
We need to share the light, shine the light of Jesus Christ into our dark world.
We must take it more seriously than a widow making heart attack and seek to make even a .01% difference in our culture wherever we go, whenever we can.
You make a difference.
Be a difference maker
Be the difference maker.
You have a strategic and important part to play.
Never doubt your ability to make a difference and to actually be a difference.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 139:23-24 The Message
23-24 Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life.
Questions to pray over: dare to ask the following questions of yourself:
What darkness dwells in me?
How much time and effort do I devote to embracing and loving my darkness?
What am, how much am I sacrificing to remain in my embrace of my darkness?
What am I afraid of God is going to find within my dark and secret places?
What am I afraid of about God? Why am I afraid of God? Condemnation?
Spend some time in prayer asking God to humble you so that you can accurately look at your life. Dwell a bit on things and see if there are recurring areas that may exist and add those to your list as well.
Take an opportunity to thoroughly examine yourself and identify those areas of darkness in your life that cannot exist with God. Perhaps make a list, pray over them, confess them, and be free of them.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
14 “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Light is quite remarkable if you think about it.
It travels at 186,000 miles per second and behaves as if it were both a solid particle and a wave of energy.
It always overcomes darkness–in fact, the darker the night, the more impressive even the slightest glow.
And it exists by constantly giving itself away.
Jesus calls us to be light in a sin-darkened world.
We are light when we live all of life in the way God calls us to live.
We are light when we treat our neighbors with integrity, and when we treat bullies with kindness (though without letting them get their way).
We live as light when we represent a cause that may not be popular but is right.
In fact, Jesus explains that it is impossible for Christians not to be light.
We are either his followers—his light—or we are not.
A candle under a bowl goes out.
A city on a hill lights the countryside.
Authentic Christians outwardly His radiate righteousness, truth, and grace.
Jesus says of us, “You are the light of the world.”
This imagery suggests that the life God’s Spirit kindles within us, while powerful and delightful, is meant not only for us to enjoy.
It’s a life that’s to be given away for others.
In fact, a candle placed under a bowl will soon suffocate and die.
Our lives, rather, should have a giving quality about them and be marked by an outward flow.
After all, this is the quality of the life of the Father within us, who so loves the world that He gives and keeps on giving. “
Of course, this light does not come from within ourselves.
We are the light of the world only to the extent that Jesus, the true light of the world, lives in us.
When we were lost in darkness, Jesus came to us, full of grace and truth, and drew us into his light.
How will you shine the light of Jesus into your world today?
Inescapable, Irresistible Light
Matthew 5:14-16 The Message
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
When you are living for Jesus Christ, your very presence sometimes will bother and mightily offend the darkness others because His light is shining out of you.
When in this age too many are trying too hard turn off all the lights, to take every opportunity at avoid giving any offense You may even try to hide it too.
But it shouldn’t be that way.
Just stand still in any room you are standing or sitting in
Just let His light shine for people to see.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15 NLT).
We’ve all heard the well-worn excuses, eye rolling rationales and the so-called reasons as to why people don’t come to Christ.
But here’s the reason that most people don’t come to Him.
This, by the way, is according to Jesus Himself:
“God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (John 3:19 NLT).
The reason people don’t believe is they don’t want their sin exposed.
They don’t want to acknowledge their shortcomings.
They surrender to their darkness
They do not want to surrender their darkness .
But it is inevitable that the darkness will surrender because it has not the ability nor the power to overcome what it can never hope to understand. (John 1:5)
And the more godly a Christian is, the more obviously this surrender will take place just by the life they live, that believer’s great example – loving neighbors.
1 John 1:6-7 The Message
6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
Jesus went on to say,
“All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (verses 20–21 NLT).
Few things are harder to put up with than the sudden revelation of a bright light of a Christ like life which will command an entire room with its good example.
And when you live it, it really stuns the senses, it really gets people’s attention.
Light not only exposes what the darkness hides, light also shows the way out.
John 1:1-5 The Message
The Life-Light
1 1-2 The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
And in the same way Christ came, the light that shines from us not only shows people their shortcomings and their sins, but it also shows them the way out.
The darkness must surrender.
The darkness will surrender.
Sin must surrender its power over the Children of God.
Sin will surrender its power over the Children of God.
The revealed Word of God to light the narrow way for the Children of God.
It shows them the way to the inevitability of Jesus Christ as their forever Savior.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God of light and life and peace, I bring before You a world that is ravaged by war and suffering, disaster and distress, through the actions and attitudes of selfish men. I pray that the light of Christ would illuminate a dark world that has chosen to turn its back on the One Who is the true Light of the world and Who brings life and love to all who believe. I pray that You use me in the corner of the world where You have placed me, to bring the light, the life, and the love of Christ to a hurting world. Keep me ever mindful that without You I can do nothing, but in the strength and power of Your Holy Spirit, I am thus enabled to reveal your path to salvation and act as Your hands, Your feet, and Your heart, to those in need. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
8 Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and end ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen.
Romans 8 shows how to live by the Spirit and let peace rule in our hearts.
The Holy Spirit within us continually testifies to us that we are children of God.
He gives us assurance with God to convince us that nothing will ever separate us from His love.
This is a passage of 100% hope because we know our future is bright in Christ.
Romans 8:1 New King James Version
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who [a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Why did the Apostle Paul feel the need to write to the followers living in Rome of their need to know and understand they have one ultimate source of hope?
Freedom from Sin
Sin is our mortal enemy.
Our battle against sin is ongoing and constantly wounding us in some way.
No matter how hard we fight against sin, we cannot keep from being hurt.
The wounds just keep coming from every directional point on the compass.
No matter our personal resolve to never surrender, we get tired of the battle.
Our wounds, our guilt, shame, remorse from our weaknesses are debilitating.
These like a diagnosis of heart disease or diagnosis of cancer threaten our will to keep going, keeping us motionless, defeated and unworthy of our calling.
If we are unable to move on, move past our wounds, move past what we have done in life, we will never fully grasp God’s grace, loving kindness towards us.
We feel the mounting urge to surrender to sin, acknowledge our defeat by sin.
Raise the white flag and wave it high and and wave it weakly for all to see that – Sin WINS.
Sin’s love for the battle is too much for us.
Our love for the battle is done – gone.
We have No love of self left to fight with.
Where now is our hope that while our love feels thoroughly depleted, that all love is not thoroughly depleted, indeed, is not, has not been utterly defeated?
God loves us, He sent Jesus to die for you and He has completely forgiven you.
So any condemning feelings you have toward yourself are not from God.
His utmost desire for us is that we become free from indwelling sin and to live and to be ultimately moving ever forward in our life fulfilling His destiny for us.
Not only so, but He wants us to ultimately experience this freedom daily, fully and completely, this Holy Spirit driven ability to stand up on our two feet again.
To walk as Christ walked.
That is why the Apostle Paul penned these words…
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” ( Romans 8:1 ).
What a glorious verse!
Paul has just unequivocally given us the answer posed in Romans 7… Who will rescue us from the left over effects of the sin nature that trips us up in life?
Praise be to God, it happens by Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we live according to the Spirit of God, he gives us the power to escape all the condemnation and guilt that our war like sinful nature throws into our way.
Because of Jesus, there is no condemnation unless we void this amazing gift by condemning ourselves.
Understanding this grace is the key to living free, pursuing the life that the Lord has set you apart for.
This is one of the incredible foundations of Christianity.
We are freed from the effects of guilt and shame because of the blood of Jesus, but sadly many do not know this wonderful truth.
God does not, nor will not condemn us.
We will never face judgment or punishment for our sins because Jesus has paid for each and every one of them upon the cross.
God placed all judgment and all sin upon his Son once for all in order that we would never have to bear it.
By faith in his blood, we are completely forgiven.
He has reconciled us to God the father and brought us incredible peace in the process.
We, as believers should experience this right here and right now and not let guilt or unworthiness hinder us.
(John 3:16-18, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:13-15, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 10:18, Hebrews 10:22, I John 2:2, I John 3:5, I John 3:16, I John 3:19-20 )
God provided everything with your redemption to enable you to live a life worthy of your calling.
He wants you to live a victorious life by the Spirit of God.
You are worthy on the basis of the value that Jesus assigns you.
He died for you to bring you into fellowship with the Father, who are we to disagree with such a wonderful gift.
Today, it is my prayer that you will drop whatever burdens you are carrying at the feet of Jesus.
He has already bore them so you should not have to.
Grace sets us free in Jesus from our most destructive bondage, our fear of God’s judgment.
God’s grace and our faith in Jesus liberated us from the law, which convicts and leads to death.
The Holy Spirit sets us free, not just to fulfill what the Law intended but also to deliver us from the penalty of death that the Law required.
In Jesus, by the power of his Spirit, God sets us free to be his children forever!
May you understand this incredible grace to which you were called, sanctified and set apart. Amen!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Abba Father, thank you for your deliverance. I know you paid a very high price to give it to me. Forgive me for not letting that deliverance make my heart soar with confident joy. Lead me by the power of your Spirit so that I can experience the freedom and joy of your salvation — not just at the end of my days, but in the moments of today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Glory be to the Father and the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and end ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen.
Days are filled with sorrow Days are filled with sorrow and care Hearts are lonely and drear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Troubled soul, the Savior can see Every heartache and tear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near Jesus is very near
25 But Paul replied, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent and noble Festus, but [with a sound mind] I am uttering rational words of truth and reason. 26 For [your majesty] the king understands these things, and [therefore] I am also speaking to him with confidence and boldness, since I am convinced that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner [hidden from view, in secret]. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the [writings of the] Prophets [their messages and words]? I know that you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time [and with so little effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul replied, “Whether in a short time or long, I wish to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.
A Theology, A Witness, A Testimony: Christ-Like Life
A lifetime faithfully lived believing in God, Paul was convinced that both his short-term future and his eternal future were securely in the hands of Jesus.
Because of this lifetime of belief, faith, Paul — a prisoner facing a potential death sentence — could pray for his rich, powerful, and influential captors to become like him, staunch believers, except for his difficult circumstances.
Acts 26:29 Amplified Bible
29 And Paul replied, “Whether in a short time or long, I wish to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”
These powerful closing words of verse 29 were Paul’s bold invitation for King Agrippa and the Roman governor, Festus, all of the other Romans present to come to believe and become faithful, faith-filled followers of Jesus Christ.
What else did he have to lose except his very life which was going to happen anyway at any time the Romans decided they had enough of Paul’s mouth.
Paul’s beliefs were forged in the furnace of life.
What had not happen to Paul during His life which did not serve to challenge his self professed beliefs in himself, in his fellow man, in his God and in his Savior?
From witnessing Stephen’s incomparable defense of God and Jesus before he was stoned to death.
Finding his staunch faith in God challenged to the extreme by this man Jesus, he went on to become a hyper zealous much feared persecutor of the followers.
Until his hard experience on the Damascus Road when the Resurrected Jesus appeared directly in his path, stopped him cold and took his sight from him.
Three days blind, Paul found himself completely helpless until his sight was miraculously restored by Ananias – told then what his new life’s mission was.
Along this new way, what had he not experienced but plots against his life, an array of severe beatings, shipwrecks, bitten by poisonous snake, imprisonment on several occasions, betrayals, long journey’s across the globe, # of illnesses.
When his legs were virtually cut out from underneath him, he learned all the more that he had no control over what happened to him – God is in control.
It was during Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Rome that he wrote letters to the Ephesian, Philippian, and Colossian churches and to his friend Philemon.
It was during this season of suffering that God mightily inspired, encouraged him, to write of Savior Jesus, “In him all things hold together”(Colossians 1:17).
When he wrote to the Ephesian followers, he urged them to see that God, who is sovereign over all, has put all things under Savior Jesus’ feet (Ephesians 1:22).
Ephesians 1:20-23 The Message
20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
These truths were not just rhetorical.
These truths were not just theoretical.
Paul heavily relied upon them during the most difficult seasons of his life.
Paul’s experiences doubtless helped him to understand more deeply that he continuously needed all of the gospel not just for salvation but for all of life.
We, too, when confronted by the faults, failings and sinfulness of the world which distract and tempt us daily, absolutely need the maximum gospel daily—the good news that for love alone, Jesus died in the place of sinners, He was raised for our justification, that He sent the Spirit to sanctify us and to fill us.
The gospel creates within us a confident anticipation, confident expectation of the return of Jesus -it causes us to view the world from a heavenly perspective.
Reverend Dr. John Stott, who was unparalleled in his ability to synthesize and succinctly condense vast amounts of material, summarized the impact of Paul’s imprisonment upon his theology in this way:
“Paul’s perspective was adjusted, his horizon extended, his vision clarified and his witness enriched.”
His chains did not become an occasion for disappointment or regret. Rather, his trials, which kept him in a state of weakness and dependency upon God, altered his perspective and shed light on the horizon.
He was able to stand before a Roman governor, a king, and a queen, and say, What you have you cannot keep. What I have I cannot lose. I wish you could become like me—a sinner saved by grace, an heir to eternal life. I would not like for you to share my chains, but I would just love for you to share my faith in my Savior.
Paul experienced the very truth that he had written to the Romans years earlier:
“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
This was so not only true for Paul but is also true for all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
Are you blinded by life?
Are you challenged by life?
Are you confronted by life?
Are you confused by life?
Are you facing a discouraging trial?
Did life just “blindside” you right across your jaw?
Did life just slug you in your solar plexus?
Ask as many questions about living life as you can dare to contrive.
Take courage!
God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are 100% here.
God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are 100% alive.
You have all you truly need, no matter what, you can’t be separated from them.
Romans 8:31-39 The Message
31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
All the riches and comfort that this world can offer do not compare to what you have in the gospel—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Christian theology is not for an ivory tower but for the prison cell, for the trials.
Let those undeniable truths of the gospel strengthen your soul and shape your life’s perspective as you cling to the hope that Christ has purchased for you.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19:11-14 The Message
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Dear ABBA Father, as your children, may we have a bold faith like Paul’s. Help us when our faith wavers because of our circumstances. May we be strong in our trust, whether times are great or hard. Thank you for giving us reasons to believe and such a glorious hope in our future because of Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.
26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
Uniqueness
People are unique.
We all have things that make us who we are as individuals.
Yet, there is something that unites all of humanity: we are all “image bearers” who are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
All throughout history and the world, in different times and in different places, our humanity connects us to our Creator.
In James 3:9 it says that human beings have been made in God’s likeness.
Being human sets us apart from the rest of creation, but it draws us together as image bearers who were originally designed to reflect their Maker.
Reflecting God’s Image from the Beginning
It was always God’s intention to create us to bear His image.
From the beginning, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26).
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were in perfect fellowship together from before the world began and have always been.
This is why it says “us” and “our.”
We worship one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is spirit (John 4:24), but when Jesus came into our world as a baby, He became flesh and blood; He was God incarnate – God with us (Matthew 1:23).
When God created man, He breathed life into him:
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).
We are distinct from the natural creation around us that we were mandated to steward and take care of.
We were created to be in fellowship with God, to dwell with and walk with Him.
God also created a man and a woman who are both made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
The woman was to be a helper suitable for the man (Genesis 2:18) and she was created by being taken out of man (Genesis 2:23).
Both man and woman were created by God, for God, and with a purpose that God had planned out from the very beginning.
Complementing the Created Order
It is said that God is a God of order and not chaos.
In 1 Corinthians 14:33 it says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” and we see this consistency in the order of creation.
He placed the earth in the perfect conditions for life and habitation.
The pattern of day and night, the rhythms of the seasons and the sequence of how He created everything was brought into perfect order.
Within the order of creation, it was beautifully and intricately designed.
When God created humanity, He had an order and a purpose within that.
He gave the instruction for the man and woman to increase in number, fill and subdue the earth, and rule over the creatures on land, in the sea and the sky. (Genesis 1:28)
Through the first man, Adam, came the fall of all mankind into sin and death.
Yet, this was still under the divine purpose of God, with a clear, ordered plan to rescue the image bearers He made.
Romans 5:17-18 says,
17 For if by the trespass of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one (Adam), much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in [eternal] life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one trespass [Adam’s sin] there resulted condemnation for all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to [a]all men.
Jesus took on flesh and lived the life that Adam did not.
God became fully human; living and breathing like those made in His image from the beginning.
The mind can barely fathom the wonder and the mystery of God coming down into the world He had made, as flesh and blood,
“who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used for his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7).
The one who is the
“exact imprint” of God’s nature and “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3) was made to be like us in order to reconcile us to Himself.
Disfigured, but not Destroyed by Sin
Since sin and death entered the world through Adam, the image of God in us has been disfigured.
It has been marred because of the ugliness and depravity that sin works in the lives of us and those around us.
Yet, thanks be to God, this is not the end of the story.
Adam and Eve were not destroyed on the spot for their decision to disobey and destroy the relationship with their loving Creator.
There were, however, serious, life-altering, eternity-shifting consequences for their first choices which has been passed through generation to generation.
However, what Satan did to tempt the first image bearers in the Garden of Eden and unravel the order and peace, Jesus came and regenerated and restored.
He lived the perfect life and died the death that we all should have died.
He took the wrath of God upon Himself; all the judgment and condemnation our sins deserved was imputed from us to Him.
His body was crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5).
We live because of what Jesus did for us when we went catastrophically astray.
Adam and Eve walked out of the presence of God in Eden, but not before God had mercy on them and clothed them with animal skins.
God is the one to make the sacrifice of mercy, taking the animal’s life, covering their shame.
It is all a part of His plan, pointing to another time when He would provide the ultimate sacrifice – His body and His own life blood poured out on the cross to cover our shame and give us mercy and forgiveness, eternal life in His presence.
Created to Reflect the Image of God
We are made in the image of God, but because of sin, that image has been distorted.
All of us are still image bearers and we need to live with that in mind as we interact with others, we reflect God’s love and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).
Setting biases and prejudices aside, as we are covenanted by God to do, from the very beginning all lives absolutely matter to God, without exception, and those around us DO bear the image of God and Jesus died for their sin as well as ours.
Galatians 3:23-29 Amplified
23 Now before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, [perpetually] imprisoned [in preparation] for the faith that was destined to be revealed, 24 with the result that the Law has become our tutor and our disciplinarian to guide us to Christ, so that we may be [c]justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under [the control and authority of] a tutor and disciplinarian. 26 For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union with the Christ, the Anointed] have clothed yourselves with Christ [that is, you have taken on His characteristics and values]. 28 There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]. 29 And if you belong to Christ [if you are in Him], then you are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise.
Seeing all people, without any exception, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit do, as image bearers should change how we view human dignity, the sanctity of life.
There are ethical, moral and spiritual implications to our understanding of all that it means to be dignified and respected as an image bearer of the living God.
From the moment of our Baptisms, we are to forward reflect His image to a sin disfigured world needing to be reconciled with their Creator and their Savior.
Those who trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross have become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17); they have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
He has “reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
Those who look to Jesus for salvation, behold His glory “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
It is transformational to us and others as we begin to look more and more like our Savior.
It is all the Spirit’s work in us, transforming us to be like Jesus, reflecting His image to a broken world.
It was all part of His plan of redemption, as it says in Romans 8:29:
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Restoration of the Image Bearer
Sin has affected God’s original design of humans being made in His image.
Preacher, theologian and writer, Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson spoke at ‘Made in the Image of God’ (Ligonier Ministries online event, 2020) of how the image of God has disintegrated within society.
He said we no longer know who we are and when we remove God, we take away our identity – the image of God. But one day we will bear the image of the man from heaven, Jesus, and all will be restored.
There is hope for the people of God in a broken, fragmented and distorted world where it seems chaos and disorder dominate.
Pastor and theologian John Piper describes well how the image of God in us has been defaced but not destroyed.
It is worth reading his description of being like a mirror which gives a clear illustration of how we reflect God as image bearers has become distorted since the fall, where “Satan persuaded [us] that [our] image is more beautiful than God’s image.”
Yet, by His life, death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus has made salvation eminently possible and because of Him we can see all God’s glory once again and we can begin to reflect the beauty of the Lord Jesus unto those around us.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
My Heavenly Father, I stand in awe of Your grace and wisdom. Thank You for my creation, salvation, and the glories that you have prepared for me in the eternal ages to come. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Dearest Heavenly Father, I thank You that I was created in Your image. Help me to see the reflection of Your beauty in my life. Help me to reflect Your beauty through my life. Thank You for sustaining me by Your divine DNA imprint in my life. May Your likeness, and the likeness of your Son, be reflected in all that I am, and all that I do. Alleluia, Amen.
Revelation 4:11 Amplified Bible
11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
You may be familiar with the passage in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia that compares and contrasts those characteristics of a worldly person and then lists for us the much more desirable characteristics of the fruits of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:19-23 Amplified Bible
19 Now the practices of the [a]sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control) , 20 [b]idolatry, [c]sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], 21 envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
In Galatians 5:22, the word “fruit” is translated from the Greek word karpos.
According to Mounces Complete Expository Dictionary, karpos refers to the natural product of a living thing.
Primarily used to describe the literal physical product of trees, vines, and crops, karpos is also used metaphorically to refer to the natural product of a spiritual being.
Paul used karpos to help us understand the natural product of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside every believer.
The fruit of the Spirit then is produced by the Spirit, not by the Christian.
Obviously, an individual cannot display the “fruit of the Spirit” unless the Spirit is present in that person’s life.
The Bible tells us that when a person places his or her faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, God provides and guarantees their salvation by placing His Spirit within them (Titus 3:4-7 and Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Holy Spirit takes up residence or “indwells” every person who has a saving relationship with Jesus.
If we are Christian, we have the Holy Spirit living within us (Romans 8:9-11).
Yet, like physical fruit needs time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives overnight.
Like a successful gardener must battle against weeds and disease to enjoy the sweet fruit they desire, we must constantly work to rid our lives of the “weeds” of our sinful natures that want to choke out the work of the Holy Spirit.
The great news is, the Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to reject those sinful desires and yield our wills to what the Spirit wants in our lives.
We can say “no” to sin and accept the “way out” God faithfully provides (1 Corinthians 10:13) by following the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Then, as we yield ourselves, give the Holy Spirit more and more control of our lives, He begins to do in and through us what only He can do.
The Holy Spirit’s endgame – His primary goal – is to shape us and mature us and grow us to look more and more like Jesus with each passing moment of life.
From the moment of salvation until the end of our lives on this earth, the Holy Spirit works to transform our nature, character to reflect Christ’s love of life.
Since God’s goal for all His children is for us to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29), the Holy Spirit constantly works to move us toward repentance to rid our lives of those “acts of the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:19-21), display His fruit instead.
Therefore, the presence and outward manifestation of the “fruits of the Spirit” is evidence our character is being transformed, becoming more like Christ’s.
Our renewal depends on the power and wisdom of God in the cross of Christ. But that brings up a deeper question: How many of us actually want to be renewed?
Apparently many Christians ask, “Why should I change?”
I’ll give you the simple answer of our text—because God is continually involved in a change project that is centered in you.
“We … are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
We should change—indeed, we should want to change, because the crucified and risen Lord is changing us.
That changes our view toward change, doesn’t it?
It should not be thought of as a chore, a grind, grim duty, a tedious obligation, an unnecessary expenditure of energy or a too heavy burden we must pick up.
No, change is a privilege, an opportunity, a joy. In a world that thinks we are all locked into an endless chain of cause and effect, this text gives us incredible good news. We are free to change in ways the world cannot begin to imagine.
The root word for “transformed” in our text is the Greek word metamorpho, also used to describe the forced work of change of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
By His grace, by the power of his crucifixion, the evidence of His empty tomb, and glorious resurrection, Jesus is transforming us into his beautiful likeness.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
My Dear Father God, Creator and transformer of my life,
Lord God, I thank you for your Spirit, for the Lord, and for the freedom I have in them. Thank you that I, with unveiled face, can look freely and intently on the glory of the Lord, and be changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another.Help me remember that such transformation comes, not by my inherent wisdom or efforts, but only from the Lord who is the Spirit.Make me like Jesus! Help me want to share in his sufferings so that I can also share in his glory and his resurrection life!In the name of my Savior Jesus and because it is his will, I make these requests. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
The Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen, Amen.
Many of us begin the day with anxious thoughts.
The “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) never seems to reach us in the middle of the night or when we first open our eyes.
Instead, as the morning comes we say to ourselves,
“There is so much to think about. So much is happening. So many things are dancing around in my mind and I never learned how to dance. I’ve got so many challenges.”
Thoughts such as these so easily produce anxiety and stultify our commitment to prayer.
Apostle Paul helps us to overcome these draining, even crippling feelings by directing our gaze toward those virtues which will truly liberate our thinking.
A mind that is filled with the content described in Philippians 4:8 will have little space for anxiety-producing, peace-disrupting, joy-destroying notions.
What Paul was encouraging his readers to adopt is a distinctly Christian way of thinking.
A Christian mind, he taught, is not a mind that is trained to think only about “Christian topics” but one that has learned to think about everything from a Christian perspective.
Ultimately, we are what we think about.
It is in our minds that our affections are stirred, and it is through our minds that our wills are directed.
It is in the mind that we conceive of and produce every action.
It is therefore imperative that we learn to think about what is right and godly.
The Bible is not concerned with mere mental reflection for its own sake.
The Christian is not called to sit on a high hill and think blessed thoughts in abstraction, removed from the routines of everyday existence.
Rather, Paul provides us with a list that will establish us in our motives, our manners, and our morals.
Each of and every one of us is called to live in the realm of the real, not the phony; the serious, not the frivolous; the right, not the convenient; the clean, not the dirty; the loving, not the discordant; and the helpful, not the critical.
In short, we are called to think like Jesus.
Paul is not simply calling you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, though.
This is not a rallying cry to try your best to perform the list.
Sanctification by self-effort is not God’s agenda.
The multifaceted virtue Paul speaks of is the fruit which grows on the tree of salvation.
This fruit is brought forth by those whose roots are embedded in grace.
So, let your heart be gripped by God’s grace, and train your mind to think on that which is truly praiseworthy.
When those influences converge, your life will be one that brings glory to God.
Practice aiming your thoughts towards the throne room of God to make His grace, this fruit, the first thing you think about when you wake up tomorrow.
Think about good things for personal victory in any situation
It’s easy to dwell on the negative when life is hard, disappointing, or painful.
That’s why it’s so important to follow this passage of instructions; it’s here to help us through the inevitable tough times and appreciate the great moments.
When Satan wants to get to you, he’ll often start with lies and condemnation whispered into your mind until you (maybe not even realizing Satan was doing so) start to believe them and then react with anxieties, despair, sadness, anger, fears or any other thing ultimately seeking to separate us from the love of God.
But with this passage of text, Paul gave a way to combat Satan’s efforts.
We are to feed our minds with blessings from God and the good things we can find in our lives or situations.
We are to think about what is true through the living word of God rather than the lies Satan would hardcore teach us, ram down our throats and have us believe.
We are to steadfastly and diligently dwell on what the word of God teaches us is noble and right and truthful so our words and actions will follow our thoughts.
We are to feed our minds with whatever God reveals and teaches us is pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy—all the things that help us stay centered upon, laser focused on God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrifice for us.
This thoroughly radical way of filling our minds with truth and all good things is an enormous spiritual challenge, especially during these most trying times.
But as we actively practice this, even in the most difficult moments, we can fight painful situations, trials, and all the difficult things we face.
It’s a way to rebuild, rebound, reclaim, restore and live out our lives with love, hope, faith, and gratefulness in the full blessings and love of God our Father.
As Christians, by our baptism we have a been brought into a family relationship with God through our union with Christ – by faith.
But we are also expected to take full responsibility for walking in spirit and truth, living as unto the Lord, fully trusting in the truth of the Word of God, depending on our Heavenly Father, submitting to the Holy Spirit, abiding in Christ, and appropriating all that is ours in Him – by faith.
This can only be done as we diligently practice to focus the eyes of our heart upon our Savior Christ alone and so throughout Scripture, we are directed to pray, seek God’s face and take control of our thoughts and our imaginations.
We are told to take every thought captive to the Lord, to let the mind of Christ dwell in us richly, and not to allow the thoughts of our heart to control us.
Paul puts it this way: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Righteous living depends on right teaching and right thinking, and God has promised to keep in perfect peace the one whose MIND is stayed on Him.
What about Parents Raising the Coming Generations?
Psalm 119:9-16 The Message
9-16 How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you’ve done it. I relish everything you’ve told me of life, I won’t forget a word of it.
This is very important to teach our children as we raise them, as we model Christ for them as they grow and mature in their thinking: He promised to garrison our heart, our minds, our emotions, our innermost thoughts, as we practice centering our prayers, praises upon Him alone – with thanksgiving!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19:11-14 The Message
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Heavenly Father, keep me, I pray, from anxious thoughts. Help me to garrison my thought life on all that is commendable and good, and help me to keep the eyes of my heart fixed on Jesus. May I make a conscious choice to dwell on those things that are worthy of praise, knowing that the light of Christ and the darkness of all that is evil, cannot abide together. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Alleluia, Alleluia, AMEN.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen, Amen.
13-19 Now I’m returning to you. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing So my people can experience My joy completed in them. I gave them your word; The godless world hated them because of it, Because they didn’t join the world’s ways, Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways. I’m not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
When Jesus prayed these words for His disciples, He prayed them aloud.
And so this prayer was also an instruction to them about how to interact with the surrounding world.
The “set aside” life that Jesus sets forth here is one that is neither comfortably indistinguishable from the world nor comfortably separate from it.
This is Jesus’ vision for His people: to be in the world but distinct from it.
This is, in fact, what God’s people have always been called to, as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9-10).
The Psalms are abundantly clear that evil is always a clear and present danger.
People and groups of people are consistently described as “enemies” and also “bloodthirsty men” (Psalm 59:1-2), “evildoers” are all around (94:4), and there are some whose ways can only be described as “crooked” (125:5).
Therefore, the great challenge for Christians is knowing how to honor Christ’s words—and Christ’s works and the greatest challenges Christians face are how to refrain from being compromised by the persistent evil which surrounds us.
Our greatest form of defense is seen in Jesus’ request to the Father: “Guard them and Keep them from the evil one.”
Guardianship, protection is available to all who entrust themselves to God.
This truth is articulated in the Psalms too, where we read of God’s protection being offered to the needy.
The Lord says that “because the needy groan, I will now arise” (Psalm 12:5).
In other words, it is not the arrogant and boastful that He protects but those who recognize their dependence on Him.
Theirs are the groanings the Lord hears.
And the Lord’s protection for the needy is also protection from the wicked.
David confesses that God “will guard us from this generation forever” (v 7).
Wicked people may hurt God’s people but they cannot do so in any permanent way, for ultimately they can’t hurt our souls.
God will keep us from everlasting harm.
The protection of God is for the needy and from the wicked, but how does it come to us?
The Word of God for the children of god
Divine guidance and protection comes to us Through the word of God, which provides a lamp for our feet and a light to our paths (Psalm 119:105).
His every word proves true, offering a shield against all foes (Psalm 18:30).
30 As for God, His way is [a]blameless. The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
If we want to live faithfully in the world, we must devote ourselves to the Scriptures.
To think rightly about the evil around you, then, the word of God must be in your heart, in your mind, on your tongue – God has given it to you to keep you.
Do you diligently read and study His Word, diligently pray for yourself what Jesus prayed for His followers on that night before He died?
Consider whether you are more in danger of becoming like the world or of removing yourself from it.
Ask the Lord for the protection and guardianship of His love, His wisdom, and courage required to live as He did: in the world, yet gloriously distinct from it.
We are in the world, yet too gloriously distinct from it
Even today, I can still remember a friend of mine telling me a lesson she learned about life.
“We choose our hard,” she said, repeating what she had heard.
She provided me with an example.
Being overweight is hard.
Losing weight is hard.
Then she brought the focus back to our conversation.
Addiction is hard.
Sobriety is hard.
Christianity is hard.
She told me to choose.
No matter what, no matter who we are or where we are or when we are. life is always stacked with the challenges that we foresee, and others that we do not.
Either way, life is hard, but the kind of hard we face is strictly up to us.
Following my open heart surgery on July 17, 2023, that got me thinking hard.
Being a Christian is hard too, but so is not being a Christian.
Just as I struggle to remember my worth in God, I can imagine non-believers and atheist’s who don’t define themselves by God are stuck chasing after self worth through things that are indefensibly temporary and undeniably fleeting.
If you look at your own life, with a well considered eye towards on those tough choices, surely, truly you too can relate to the challenge of things being hard.
Trusting God is hard, but so is not trusting.
Finding community is a challenge, but so is having no one.
Whatever the case, please don’t ever think of yourself as alone.
You are not.
Walking the Christian life is difficult.
Doing so every day requires a radically hard core commitment to Jesus Christ.
If you need some encouragement, as I have over these last six weeks since my open heart surgery when they literally stopped my heart for 80 long minutes, I genuinely encourage you all keep reading – seeking Holy Spirit empowerment.
I have thought deeply and here are the six hardest things to do as Christians.
1. Waiting on god
Psalm 27:14 Amplified Bible
14 Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.
Patience is a virtue, they said.
Patience is impossible, that didn’t say.
And for good reason.
Patience is both a virtue, and possible, but very difficult to attain.
Tuning your heart to waiting on God can feel like waiting an eternity, like the boredom of watching paint dry or the agony of five and a half of heart surgery.
Figures in the Bible waited on God to act in various ways.
Abraham waited on God to have children.
Job waited on God to be restored.
Sometimes we know what God will do next, and sometimes we don’t.
The latter makes the waiting process much more difficult.
We have no idea what to expect on the other side.
Consider your own life.
Are you feeling bored during your wait, angry, sad?
Whatever you’re waiting for, take heart in knowing that God hears your prayers and is aware of your situation.
Rather than lamenting the wait, which believe me I can easily understand, what else can you do to make the most of your life while you wait for God’s miracles?
I’ll tell you what one person told me. “Worship the Great I AM while you wait.”
2. TRUSTING IN GOD
Proverbs 3:5-8 Amplified Bible
5 Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 [a]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
Having faith in God when we’re on a mountaintop – easy.
Having faith in God when we’re sinking low into a valley – hard.
Trusting that God has our best intentions at heart is not something we want to hear, let alone believe, when the heart of life is seemingly collapsing around us.
Even when we are not the ones specifically suffering, when we see calamities happening around the world, lives threatened we question God’s whereabouts.
This is the natural human response, but as Christians the Word of God is clear we should first seek out and strive the hardest for the supernatural response.
As punishment, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a burning furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar.
They refused to worship the king’s gods and his golden statues.
Despite knowing their consequences they would not commit idolatry.
They outwardly expressed their trust in God to the king.
They believed that God could rescue them, and even if not, God was still the only god.
Their trust paid off big time for them and the king (Daniel 3)!
God is willing to work in our lives too, and He does all the time.
We simply don’t recognize or understand everything that God does.
But whether we do or don’t, we should always strive our hardest to trust.
3. serve our enemies
Matthew 5:43-48 Amplified Bible
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, [a]love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. 46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? 48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Forgiveness is one thing, serving our enemies, well, that’s something completely different.
Forgiveness is understandable, and can be easy to do, though not always. Humbly serving our enemies – I don’t usually see people electing to do that.
Whether that person is a mean coworker, a disgruntled boss, an angry neighbor, putting ourselves out there to serve others can feel like a chore.
If you’re already introverted and aloof, serving an enemy is bound to feel contrary to your human nature.
Yet, despite how we feel on the inside, or what we see on the outside from others, scripture is pretty clear on this topic.
We are to forgive others and bless them.
We can pray and if given the opportunity, should serve them.
Now, there’s no need to take Scripture to the literal extreme.
Jesus often spoke in parables, and for good reason – we can take away multiple meanings.
We should be willing and ready to serve our enemies, but this does not literally mean doing anything and everything asked of us.
If your enemy asks you to rob a bank on their behalf.
The obvious response is no.
If your enemy asks you to hand over all of your finances, the answer is again no, but if they wanted a cup or bottle of water, what’s the worst that could happen?
Pray for ways to serve your enemies and seek discernment for how to best do so.
4. remember the goodness and mercies of god
Isaiah 63:7 Amplified Bible
God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled
7 I will tell of the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has done for us, And His great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has shown them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His loving kindnesses.
Speaking of enemies, trusting, and waiting, sometimes calamities stack up so much in our lives we begin wondering if God is really on our side.
If God is so good, why does He let such awful things happen to us?
And not just to us, but people across the world.
Whenever God’s goodness comes into question, we should do like the figures of old did in Scripture – remember God’s ancient mercies to all.
Doubt occurs because we forget the good God has done on our behalf and for other people.
Our focus shifts from the positive to the negative.
When we remember God’s goodness, we reverse this process.
Then suddenly, the doubt fades away.
The best way to remember God’s goodness is to seek what reminds you of God.
Reading Scripture, journaling, praying, and good community all help, but they aren’t the only methods.
What’s something you else can do or encourage others to do today?
5. finding friendship and community
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Amplified Bible
9 Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; 10 for if [a]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, then they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? 12 And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
One unfortunate trend that affects the church is superficiality, where people only reveal their surface-level selves, thus, prevent any sort of deep connection.
For Christians looking for community, this poses an immediate barrier for those who want depth.
Scripture states that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), but how much can we sharpen one another without allowing ourselves vulnerable among each other?
Sharpening requires exposure, and exposure requires vulnerability.
And the issue of being superficial is not confined to one church or one denomination.
Most churches have become much like the rest of our culture, inwardly focused even as we talk about serving others – We just focus far too much on ourselves.
If community is what you’re after, know that there are people out there for you.
Finding them will require effort on our part, also praying and waiting on God.
Trust Him to provide.
6. be like christ
Ephesians 5:1-2 Amplified Bible
Be Imitators of God
5 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
Part of the reason people doubt the Christian faith is that they see us as hypocrites.
We encourage the world to behave in one way, but we very often act just like them.
Licentiousness, avarice, theft, and more.
What we have to remind the outside world is that church is for broken people.
We are broken people, and that is why being Christ-like is difficult.
There will never be a day when we are exactly like Him.
There can’t be.
But the goal is to try, aiming for perfection though never arriving.
We struggle day by day with the flesh, maintaining faith, waiting, and the list goes on.
It is reasonable and quite rational to believe and teach others that we will never be perfect, but the more we strive, to be like Him, the more we live for His glory.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt being a Christian is hard, but much like the other decisions we make in life, we choose our hard.
To be a Christian or to not be a Christian.
To work hard at becoming a better Christian or to not work hard at being a better Christian.
The choice is up to us, but the benefits are clear.
Choose your easy.
Choose your hard.
In the name of God, the Father and God the the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God, my Guide and Guardian, Grant me courage and compassion, dear Father, as I live in the place of both danger and grace — that place of redemption where light penetrates the darkness, and lost men and women are rescued from the decay and despotism of the world and its dark prince. Keep my heart on the light, and my strength renewed when I face the powers of darkness and the hate this world might offer. Please, dear Father, guard my heart against cynicism and hate, so that I can be one of your many tools of redemption. In Jesus’ name. Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
If there is one thing you can say about this man, this Rabbi Jesus, he has a way with words which grabs and holds your attention in a very big hurry.
In this teaching on the sermon on the mount, he makes a statement that could only be seen and heard and interpreted as shocking.
Especially when you take the time to consider who he is talking about and to.
In those days, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the ones the people were told and trained and taught to looked up to as models for living.
They were the ones people were supposed to follow, were spiritual mentors and in one mall sentence, Jesus says, whatever they are doing, whatever they were teaching, you must do better, you could do better somewhere, anywhere else.
“There are two sorts of hypocrites: ones that are deceived with their outward morality and external religion; and the others are those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevation; which often cry down works, and men’s own righteousness.” – Jonathan Edwards
Rabbi Jesus is now here saying to the people: “wake up! and snap out of it!”
“You can be more like God.”
“You can think more like God.”
“You can think more about God.”
“You can live more like God.”
“You can know more about God.”
“You can reveal more about God to others.”
Why are these such important statements?
To grasp the importance of these eye opening statements, we need to try to understand the nature of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
This was not the only time Jesus ever mentioned their righteousness or the way they lived.
He had a lot more to say.
Here is one instance which relates well to what he said in this verse.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” – Matthew 23:25-26
In this verse, Jesus identifies the problem with the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Their righteousness was outward only.
It never went beyond the surface.
They did a good job of making the outside look good because they looked and acted the part.
The problem was on their inside, they missed the part that made the biggest difference, had the greatest influence on the thoughts and actions of others.
In effect, what Jesus was saying is this vision of outward only righteousness is not righteousness at all therefore don’t practice it, don’t model it, don’t live it.
What is Righteousness?
Before we go further and get to a personal application, let’s define the type of righteousness Jesus was referring to.
There are two ways to look at this verse.
In one context, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were attempting to gain righteousness through their own efforts.
If you believe that is the way to righteousness, Jesus says it’s not.
In another context, the righteousness Jesus was talking about emphasizes what you say in comparison to what you do and how one acts in public versus private.
This is where I want to focus your attention.
Look at what Jesus says in the previous verse.
The problem the Pharisees and teachers of the law had is they did not practice what they were teaching.
Their righteousness was only superficial – and barely that.
What does your righteousness look like?
This leads us to an important question to ponder in this moment.
What does your righteousness look like?
Consider what would happen if we were to pull back the curtain of your life.
What would that reveal?
Would there be a clean outside but a heart that was not?
Hopefully, this is not the case.
To be clear, ultimately, we are justified and made righteous through Christ.
However, in this context, Jesus is also talking about your words and your actions.
Is your outside expression of righteousness truly a reflection of what is inside, or is it just for appearance’s sake?
Rabbi Jesus was trying to help his disciples see that the part of you no one sees is infinitely more important than the part of you that everyone sees because the part no one sees is who you really are.
So how do your insides look, and who are you when it is just you and Jesus and no one else around?
The way we outwardly express that answer to that question will help determine if your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
Psalm 139:23-24 English Standard Version
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts![a] 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting![b]
Scripture is God’s powerful scanner.
God uses it to tell us if something is wrong in our heart–and how to fix it.
Scripture also teaches us how to outwardly live out from our faith in healthy and mature ways that serve to edify our neighbors, neighborhoods, please God.
I pray, as we consider what people see and ponder of our Christianity, as we consciously seek to take an accounting of ourselves, search our hearts today, it is safe to say we can confess that we all have areas where what we say and what we do don’t always align – we take more time to “purge ourselves with hyssop.”
This is why we ultimately depend on Jesus’ righteousness and not our own.
But beyond that, we absolutely, resolutely need to seek to be people who desire an outward life that reflects an inward transformation whose source is Christ.
When that becomes your heart’s desire, we are well on our ways to having a righteousness that certainly exceeds the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
Living God’s Way Today
Very few drivers come to a complete stop at any stop sign.
Maybe they have come to think the stop sign is only a “slight” suggestion.
Psalm 119:105-112 AKJV
נ Nun
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. 107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word. 108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. 109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. 111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.
Are God’s laws merely suggestions?
Verse 112: The psalmist treats God’s law with the utmost seriousness. He declares, “My heart is set on always keeping your decrees to the very end.”
Jesus taught his listeners how serious God’s law is.
He explained he did not come to abolish the law or any of God’s commands; he came to fulfill them.
And Jesus said that not even the smallest letter (a reference to yodh, the very smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet) or the least stroke of a pen would be eliminated from the law.
Moreover, Jesus says there will be great rewards for keeping God’s laws and great penalties for not keeping them.
The problem, though, is that none of us can keep God’s law perfectly because—at heart—we are all, by our sin nature, in rebellion against God and his Word.
What can we do?
We need the grace that only Jesus can provide through his death and resurrection.
Once God has forgiven and redeemed us, we see his laws and words differently.
The Spirit of God helps us to see them not as a source of condemnation but as a covenanted call to love both God and our neighbors.
And by the Spirit’s power we understand they are not a mere suggestion, and we follow them as a sure and certain and truthful guide for thankful, obedient lives.
Are we following God’s way in the strength of the Holy Spirit of today?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 15 New King James Version
The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord
A Psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may [a]abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he [b]take up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 