Tag: Pondering our Baptism

Whether Living a Mindset of Success or Living a Mindset of Failure: Living Into a Mindset of Spirit, of His Life, His Peace. Romans 8:5-8

Romans 8:5-8 The Message

5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Lately, I have been focusing my devotional efforts on success and failure, being in an living out the “balanced” “Sermon in Shoes” God devoted Christian life –

In my search and study of the Scriptures, learning an praying over the idea of flesh vs. spirit, I’ve been reading through Paul’s letter to the Romans recently.

And I am stuck on one passage that I keep coming back to over and over.

I am kind of stuck on it, not because it is particularly difficult to understand.

But because it has just grabbed hold of my heart and my soul and won’t let go.

Am I “a Sermon in Shoes” living according to the Spirit?

Or am I “a Sermon in Shoes” living according to the flesh?

Is there supposed to be some kind of balance between the two mindsets?

Not to be “so heavenly minded to be no earthly good ….”

Not to be “so earthly minded to be no heavenly good ….”

Living in the Flesh or Living in the Spirit?

Romans 8:5-8 New International Version

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

This passage provides a test.

Am I living according to the flesh, or according to the Spirit?

In this passage the flesh refers to my own nature, who I just naturally am. 

In our natural state we all live according to the flesh.

And in that state our minds are set on what the flesh desires. 

Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Is this necessarily a good thing?

The best answer to either one is probably …. Not in and of itself.

It is just what we are. 

For some, the flesh desires things that are hurtful to self and others.

And we condemn the expression of those desires. 

For others, the flesh desires things that are helpful to self and others.

Things of beauty, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, peace and love.

We rightfully, righteously hold these in high regard and set them as examples.

But what both of these extremes, and any middle ground, hold in common, is that they are hostile to God.

They are unable to please him, and lead to death.

It is not too challenging to apply this to an icy path on the “broad road leading us to our own inevitable and eternal destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14)

We find it altogether different to apply it to a great humanitarian who dedicates his life to helping the helpless. 

But Paul is clear that if I am following the desires of my own nature I am in deep trouble – stunningly it makes no difference where those desires might lead us.

Paul contrasts this person with the one whose mind is set, not on what they want, but on what God’s Spirit wants.

That one will experience life and peace in relationship with their Creator. 

It is ironic that only in dying to self will I find true life.

Only in giving up will I discover what I was created to be.

Life in the Flesh, Life in the Spirit: Taking the Test

It is so easy to read and study this passage without actually taking the test.

I have done it for several decades.

But it is demanding an answer now.

As I walk through my day, do I do what I want, or what the Spirit wants of me?

Do I take any quantity or quality time to inquire of the Spirit what he wants?

Or do I just take my own quantity, quality time to just act on my own desires?

Am I trying to please God?

Or am I doing what I want and hoping and praying that it is pleasing to him? 

According to Paul’s teachings here, if my response is the latter, then I am not pleasing him, but I am actually using my time to be more, more hostile to him.

No matter how good my actions might be, if it is in response to my own desire rather than at the Spirit’s leading, then, guess what folks, I have fallen short.

I am afraid too much of my life is lived without regard for the Spirit’s leading.

But this passage is stuck on a continuous replay cycle in my mind and soul.

It rigorously, vigorously challenges me every single day to change the channel, listen to the Spirit rather than to my own success vs. failure nature and desires.

Will I dare to let go of the tightly held reins of my success vs. failure mindset and lifestyle, which I have continuously, purposely, tightly held for so long?

What Are The Two Lives Referring To?

Paul shifts from preaching (second-person) to teaching (third-person) so that you an I can better understand the message of this passage more clearly.

He elaborates on two types of people — those who live according to the flesh vs. those who live according to the Spirit. 

In describing these two groups of “spiritual” people, Paul establishes a key spiritual principle.

In verse 5, we notice 2 verbs laid out — “set” and “live”.

What is the implicit connection between these 2 verbs? 

Paul is saying that we live according to what we set our minds on. 

What does it mean to set?

It carries with it the idea of choosing to build upon something only after careful inspection.

It is a simple, but very important principle. 

Many of us think that we are autonomous, self-sovereign, rational human beings, but this is not true.

We are the sum of our choices, and so much of who we are is a result of what we chose yesterday.

Romans is helping us see that those who live in the Spirit have set their mind on things in the Spirit, and those who do not, have made the choice not to. 

We need to set our minds on something.

There’s no way we can choose not to set our minds on anything.

Yet, many of us have neglected this simple truth.

So, what have you set your mind on? 

What have you fixed your thoughts on?

What have you chosen to be the site of your daydreaming, imagination and fantasizing?

A simple way of identifying it, would be to think about the things that have succeeded and disappointed and failed you, encouraged you, given you hope.

After all, Romans 8:5 remind us that the way we live reflect where we have set our thoughts and minds. 

Let’s press it a bit further.

What is one implication of this verse?

If you are a “Sermon in Shoes” Christian today, it means that there was a time when you lived in the flesh and set your mind on things of the flesh, but there was a turning point to mark the change to the mind, to mark life in the Spirit.

It could be that moment when you realized the greatness of God and His love became real and evident when told to you.

It could also be that heart warming moment when before, church, Bible study, sermons and prayer were all boring and did not make sense, but then they did.

What marks the Christian and what changes in the mind of a Christian?

The Christian sees truths about his or her true state, and has a fundamental awareness of his or her inability to do what God requires.

Or, as Reverend Dr. Timothy Keller aptly describes it, we suddenly realize that

“we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we would have ever dared ourselves to hope before.” 

The good news of what our Savior Jesus Christ did became the very wisest of good news indeed, and the truths of the gospel becomes ever more clear and truly results in transformative actions such as gratitude, forgiveness, love, etc.

Dear “Sermon in Shoes” Christian, does this begin to describe your journey?

Whether our life has been abundantly blessed with life’s successes …

Whether our life has been abundantly weighed down with life’s failures …

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

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.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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“Coram Deo” – Living Our Lives in the Presence of God. Why is Our Spiritual Maturity Important? 1Corinthians 3:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 Amplified Bible

Foundations for Living

3 However, brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as to spiritual people, but [only] as to [a]worldly people [dominated by human nature], mere infants [in the new life] in Christ! 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready. 3 You are still [b] worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not [c]unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]? 4 For when one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” and another, “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” are you not [proving yourselves unchanged, just] ordinary people?

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

The Bible describes new believers as feeding on “milk.”

We need to come to a point where we are no longer “spiritual babies” but mature into “spiritual adults.”

The most important reason is for our lives to reflect the nature of Jesus Christ.

Spiritual maturity is something that should be a priority for every Christian. It’s important in our lives for how we serve God, interact with other people, and take care of our families.

As we get into our topic, I invite you to take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to open your understanding of His word and will. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals the word of God to us.

What Is Spiritual Maturity According to the Bible?

Many people claim to be Christians, but there is a difference between being a fan of Jesus and a follower of Jesus.

Our measure of spiritual maturity can define what side of the fence we are on.

To be a follower of Jesus is to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him. 

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’” (Mark 8:34).

The Gospel of Luke gives us an even more specific reference by saying we must do so on a daily basis.

23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple],  he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. (Luke 9:23)

And the Gospel of Matthew adds statement to this discussion ….

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. Matthew 5:48

The Gospel of Matthew raises the standard even higher by telling us to what exacting measure we are expected to devote the entirety of our lives – Utterly!

Discipleship Is Costly

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. (Matthew 16:24)

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the past.

Do you remember where the Lord met you?

More than likely, he met you in your mess.

God is so good that he pushes beyond the barriers of the world’s rejection to meet his lost sheep wherever and whenever and why ever they may be there.

Here is one thing we must resolve to try harder to understand infinitely better.

Though God meets us in our mess and accepts us as we are, he does not want us to stay that way.

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God (Hebrews 6:1). 

God’s plan is for us to move beyond the elementary teachings and to grow more and more into the image of Jesus Christ.

This is what spiritual maturity is — for all our characteristics to be more like Jesus in every way.

Why Is Spiritual Maturity Important?

The Bible describes new believers as feeding on “milk.”

We need to come to a point where we are no longer “spiritual babies” but mature into “spiritual adults” (1 Corinthians 3:2).

We need to grow into eating “solid food” and not only feed ourselves but feed others as well.

The most important reason to mature would be for our lives to reflect the nature of Jesus Christ.

There are also many other reasons for maturing such as:

  • Being able to lead our families like Jesus
  • Disciple other believers
  • Being equipped for every good work
  • To see the kingdom of God

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

What Else Does the Word of God Reveal?

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:21-25).  

Only a person who is constantly maturing, being constantly matured by God can effectively lead and serve the family in this way.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:16-20).

So that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).

To be equipped for every good work and make disciples, we need to have more knowledge of God’s Word, how to apply it and teach it.

This is something that an only come as a result of our growing in the Lord.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3).

Spiritual maturity is an expected result when we are born again.

Spiritual Maturity is ever so critically important for edifying the Kingdom of God because we are not called to remain the same sinful person we once were.

If we compare this scripture along with Mark 8:34 from earlier, we will see that in order for us to see the kingdom of God, we will need to do two things:

Be born again and carry our cross, utterly completely, daily and to follow Jesus.

What this combination does is lead us into a new Christ-centered life.

When you are born again, the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling in you and changes you to be more like Jesus.

It is a process known as regeneration.

The Holy Spirit is removing the residue of the world and sin and making you new in Christ.

Carrying our cross as the Word of God expects, to follow Jesus is putting away the whole of our old self with its host of sinful desires, to being obedient to him.

Spiritual maturity places greater and greater importance on our living holy.

It is important to maintain this lifestyle because Jesus says without being born again, we will not see the kingdom of God.

This is the beginning of spiritual maturity.

Our maturity is a reflection of our relationship with God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

If we are not maturing in our relationship with God, we cannot bear fruit of the Spirit.

Our maturity also helps us grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction (Proverbs 16:21).

How to Achieve Spiritual Maturity

I want to leave you with steps you can take to mature spiritually.

These very steps will guarantee spiritual growth when diligently applied.

First, we must build a life of prayer and worship.

Intimacy is what God is looking for and this is how the Holy Spirit will fill you.

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

We also must be reading our Bibles and applying it to our everyday lives.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do (James 1:22-25).

Last, we need to also congregate with a spirit-filled church family.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Growing spiritually requires growing in prayer, worship, and knowledge of the Bible.

Most importantly, to mature spiritually means to grow in faith and repentance.

I want to make it a point that spiritual maturity is a process.

The grace of the Lord Jesus allows us to grow in our faith and the more we do, the more we will look like Jesus.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Jesus, Perfecter of my Faith, my only Savior, You have taught us through Your Apostle Paul that we should leave childish things behind us, and look to You to move forward to a greater understanding of spiritual matters. Part of maturity is learning when to do this, and acting upon the motivation to press forward. Help me to recognize when it is time for me to grow up. Allow me to take on new spiritual challenges, that I may be ever more refined through service to You and my neighbor. In Your precious name.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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We Are All A Sermon in Shoes – “Coram Deo” – Our Living Into the Abundance of Our Lives in the Presence of Our God Who Is Our Savior. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:1-4Amplified Bible

Foundations for Living

3 However, brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as to spiritual people, but [only] as to [a]worldly people [dominated by human nature], mere infants [in the new life] in Christ! 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready. 3 You are still [b]worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not [c]unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]? 4 For when one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” and another, “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” are you not [proving yourselves unchanged, just] ordinary people?

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

I remember very vividly those moments in my young life when Mama standing in front of me, her hands poised on her hips, her eyes glaring with hot coals of fire and saying in no nonsense tones, “Just what is the big idea, young man?”

Instinctively I definitely knew that my mother was not asking me an abstract question about any theory outside of her own regarding right versus wrong.

Her question was not a question at all—it was a thinly veiled, soul piercing, “wait until your father gets home” accusation.

Her words were easily translated to mean,

“Why are you doing what you are doing?”

She was challenging me to justify my behavior with a valid idea.

Obviously, I had none – and knew better than to even try and offer one.

Some years ago, several “friends” asked myself and a whole “likeminded” group of “interested Christian’s” – in all earnestness – essentially the exact same question with the same exact intensity and purpose of the stare.

It was just the beginning of the New Year ….

They asked, “What’s the big idea of the Christian life anyway?”

They were interested in the overarching, ultimate goal of the Christian life.

To answer his question,

In my lay person’s mind, several thoughts came to the forefront as I just “watched” this group of people espouse their individual thoughts and those of their friends and their Pastors.

I fell back onto the theologian’s prerogative and gave them a Latin term I had just encountered, but not yet began to understand, in my own personal studies.

I said, to myself and to “them” as I read the Facebook conversation unfold:

From my own “youthful” Christian experience, I commented back to them;

“The big idea of the Christian life is Coram Deo – Life in our Savior Christ Jesus. 

Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.”

It was not long before that group of “like-minded Christians” had me banned entirely from commenting or posting any further – clearly, I got someone mad.

Clearly, I got a whole bunch of somebodies mad, offended a whole lot of souls.

In all likelihood, I offended people with what they perceived as “my hypocrisy.”

Clearly they were not going to give me any chance of redemption, were not the least bit interested in offering me mercy or forgiveness so to God be the Glory!

Over the intervening years of independent study of the scriptures and also the writing of these devotions, and an abundantly fervent effort at my prayer life,

I have since learned more about “Coram Deo”

It is nowhere near a thorough understanding because it is such a broad term.

It will mean different things to different people based on their experiences.

If you are reading this and you have been academically trained, and educated through Seminary or Schools of Theology and also have your degrees and your ordinations in hand – you will obviously have a higher understanding than I do.

Please feel free to enlighten me further on my “understanding” of this matter if my own “uninformed” and “uneducated” efforts at explaining it here fall a bit short.

What I have “discovered” is briefly this ….

This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God.

To live Coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are all acting under the all judging gaze of God.

God is omnipresent.

There is no place so remote, so invisible to the naked eye of human kind, that we can escape His penetrating gaze. (Psalm 139:1-13)

To be aware of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His complete sovereignty.

The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is indeed sovereign.

When Saul was suddenly confronted by the full refulgent glory of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question, “Who Are You, Lord?”

He wasn’t the least bit sure who was suddenly speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was abundantly and certainly far sovereign over him.

Our Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer sovereignty which is suddenly motivated out of a fear of punishment.

It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God.

Our lives, in that very instant of being in the Presence of our Savior are to be, become living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude.

To live all of life Coram Deo is to live a life of integrity.

It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God.

A fragmented life is a life of disintegration.

It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, division, divisiveness, disunity, confusion, conflict, contradiction, spiritual immaturity, hypocrisy and chaos.

The Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonreligious has failed to grasp the big idea.

The big idea is that either all of our life is religious or none of life is religious.

To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.

I believe this means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or laborer or homemaker Coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who lives to fulfill his vocation.

It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God’s call to be a shepherd and Warrior as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship.

It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father’s carpenter shop, ministered to people, as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There is much truth in our making the statement that integrity and maturity is found where men and women try to live their lives in a pattern of consistency.

It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church.

It is a life that is open before God.

It is a life in which all that is done is done as “unto the Lord.”

It is a life lived by principle, not personality or expediency; by humility before God, obedience to the covenant precepts of God not prideful, blatant defiance.

A life lived under the tutelage of conscience, imprisoned by the Word of God.

Coram Deo . . . before the face of God. That’s the big idea. Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.

Life lived fully, completely, abundantly in the presence of Savior Jesus Christ!

We are each “Sermons in Our Shoes” ….

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

A “Coram Deo” reminder courtesy of the Holy Spirit, that where ever a Christian walks, whenever he or she talks, is expected to share the Gospel news to others.

Whether it be by one’s actions, attitudes, or personal testimony,

Coram Deo – by their baptism, a Christian is always “A Sermon In Shoes.”

Again and again as it is necessary in our immaturity to repeat it It goes along with something American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) once said:

“The preaching that this world most needs most is the sermons in shoes that are walking and talking with Jesus Christ.”

Coram Deo . . . in the presence and under the max authority of Jehovah God ….

Coram Deo … looking square into His eyes and lived before the face of God.

That’s the big idea.

Next to this idea all of our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.

So, from within your own life experiences what is your understanding of;

“Coram Deo ….”

Is it what you “thought it was?”

Is it where you believed it was?

Be it RESOLVED then, this is what needs to be addressed to make it RIGHT …

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

THE COVENANT PRAYER IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION ….

“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Are We Thinking About Our Being “A Sermon in Shoes?” Of Discerning the ‘Fruitful’ Direction of Our Thoughts? Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis, Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

The Life We Now Live is Often A Reflection of the Thoughts We Have Thought, Are Now Thinking.

Yes! I know that statement sounds rather obvious.

But is it one for which we ever stop, take any quality time to think about?

Or does it seem to be too obvious that we take it far too much for granted?

Consider this …..

The Winds go whichever direction they go.

Why?

Who but a weatherman or an airplane pilot or a sailor or a ships captain ever really cares about the “whatever” directions of the speeds it blows or shifts.

The Winds are just “there” and we acknowledge them and move on without a second or third or fourth thought – shrug our shoulders and fly away to glory.

Unless, of course – you are about to be in the middle of a blizzard or a tornado or a hurricane and are about to have your whole life major league rearranged.

Like whitewater rapids rushing you downstream, your thoughts move your life in the direction of their strongest currents.

The thoughts you and I think, believe, hold onto, ruminate, obsess about and use to support your decisions determine your view of everything and everyone around you, up to and including yourself.

You and I probably don’t stop and think about the power your thoughts have over our lives—which only increases the power they have to determine your decisions and shape your actions, determine the shifting sands of our life.

Simply put, what you and I think determines what you and believe.

Every thought in our brain produces a neurochemical change in your mind.

And these thoughts shape your life.

Once our thoughts determine what you believe, these beliefs then determine how you and I behave.

In many ways, you become what you think about.

Therefore, the better you and I grasp the importance of our thoughts, the better equipped you and I will be to change our lives in powerful kingdom of God ways.

Drawing on what the Word of God tells us about the power of our thoughts as well as what we can learn from modern psychology, particularly an area called cognitive behavioral therapy, we have the ability to change lives for the better.

We can live according to the principles and promises God gives us and enjoy being all that he created us to be or live according to cultures shifting winds.

Otherwise, our thoughts will continue to sweep us away in dangerous currents of clever deception, wild misinformation, and lies from our enemy, the devil.

God told us this truth more than 1,500 years ago: “For as thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).

God knows better than we can ever know, what we focus on mentally affects every single aspect of our lives because He created us that way. Isaiah 55:7-9

But, still, God calls us out of our day to day thoughts, our day to day obsessions over ourselves, our families, our friends, our finances, our health situations.

God is always ever more aware of what it is our lives are being challenged by.

Despite whatever the magnitude of whatever it is we are challenged by, we are still summoned to go forth “in the midst of these things” to be God’s witnesses.

We are summoned away from the great winds of our thoughts which blow us about in every which direction, by our Baptism we are still “Sermons in Shoes.”

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

Think of it, about and upon it and believe mightily upon it, “a sermon in shoes.”

Psalm 139:23-24English 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]

If you will recall, these very familiar verses, of the context of this psalm is David expressing his thoughts of his confidence that the Lord who knows all, and who thinks of, knows him intimately, can vindicate him in the midst of his accusers.

God knows that David is without blame–at least in terms of the accusations fired against him.

In these closing thoughts from, David is baring his soul, very willing to have the sum total of his very deepest, most intimate thoughts laid bare before the Lord.

Not only is he confident that such an examination will demonstrate that he is innocent of the crimes ascribed to him, but that he may also be made aware of any sinful thoughts which remain unacknowledged, that need to be dealt with.

In other words, David not only sought complete vindication before men, but also a complete sanctification, a complete healing of his soul before his God.

Verse 23 is not so much David granting the Lord permission to search his heart–the Lord hardly needs, nor asks, nor demands, for such permission.

He knows our hearts whether we want Him to or not.

Rather, David declares himself completely willing and utterly welcoming of such an indescribable magnitude of scrutiny by his Creator.

So sure is he of his innocence, that he knows the Lord will find nothing to hold against him with regard to the matter at hand.

We do not know exactly what this matter is, but David’s words challenge us: are we so sure of the truthfulness and sincerity of our words and the magnitude of our own “wildly windy” thoughts, we too would welcome the Lord’s examination of them?

As we have repeatedly noted, the Lord already knows our hearts, our motives, our worry and anxious thoughts and the honesty (or lack thereof) of our speech.

Is the thought of this something that makes us uncomfortable, or at peace?

If by our thoughts we feel at all uncomfortable, then maybe we are harboring additional thoughts and hidden, covert, and discrete motives we shouldn’t.

David’s “disquieting thoughts” are those thoughts which cause him to be troubled, or anxious.

Again, the challenge is whether we are at peace with our thought life.

Psalm 19:11-14The 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.

When the light of God’s truth is shone upon our lives, do we squirm and hide, become disquieted, or do we stand before our Savior Jesus with confidence?

Do we want to bare our thoughts, do we want our sin to be illuminated by our Heavenly Father, so He might lead us away from that path to the eternal path?

Or do we want to stay quiet, stay hidden within wild winds of culture, hide our sin away from everyone, and try to protect it from the Lord’s cleansing grace?

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

Think of it, about and upon it and believe mightily upon it, “a sermon in shoes.”

As we make our resolutions before the Lord, we need to be seriously willing to let go of all that “barely” disquiets us–every sinful thought, desire, and motive.

Our chief desire is not only to have a blameless reputation before men, but more importantly, to have, to live, to walk, to talk, to teach and preach of a character whose #1 goal is that it glorifies God in its reflection of His goodness and purity.

This requires us exposing ourselves to His refining fire, allowing Him to search out the depths of our hearts and draw out of us the remaining sin in our lives.

It won’t be even minimally pleasant, but it’s necessary if we are to be sanctified and even minimally useful and minimally fruitful unto the Lord in His kingdom.

God does know us.

We cannot pretend we are something we are not with him.

He knows us — inside and out, through and through.

This should liberate us to share a remarkable degree of intimacy with him, but most of us will choose to run far from such a close relationship with our Father.

If our desire, however, is to become more like him, more Christ-like, the only certain way to be transformed is by “inviting” him in to look at our hearts, our motivations, our desires – take our prayerfully “fruit laden” resolutions to Him.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord my God, you are my shield and my strength. Help me to trust you with my decisions and my future. Let me lean on you with all my heart instead of relying on my own understanding. Give me clear guidance in my life Lord. As I submit myself and the magnitude of my thoughts to you, I know that you will direct my paths and I can have confidence that your direction is always the best way to go. Lord, bless me and keep me, make your face shine upon me. Turn your face towards me and give me my just portion of thy everlasting peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

O God, I know you are the one who “searches hearts and minds.” for our disquieted and disquieting thoughts. Yet because of the grace you demonstrated in Jesus, I am confident that you love me and will cleanse me. My heart is sorry for the sin I have committed, but I am really trying to serve you in honor and purity. Please fill me with your Spirit to enable me to become more like Christ. In the name of Your Son I pray.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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“A Sermon in Shoes.” Aligning Our NEW New Year’s Resolutions With The Bible. Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14The Message

The Final Word

9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.

11 The words of the wise prod us to live well.
They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together.
They are given by God, the one Shepherd.

12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:

Fear God.
Do what he tells you.

14 And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023 TO ONE, TO ALL!

Last year at this time, most of us were making promises to ourselves saying;

“This year, things are going to be different!

“I do not know what needs too change, but I’m definitely going to change it!”

I’m going to be a better spouse.

I’m going to be a better Parent or Grand Parent.

I’m going to spend more time with my family.

I’m going to be a better neighbor.

I’m going to spend more time reading my Bible.

More time loving God.

More time praying to God.

More time loving others besides myself.

More time serving others besides myself.

More money in my tithing.

This is the year I get my ducks in a row!”

Just by a simple show of hands, (remember we are operating on an honor system – God is watching!) who has stuck to their new years resolutions?

You know what they say about New Year’s resolutions?

They usually go in like a lion the new year and out like a lamb on the other!

Here is a link to a recent article of the most popular Resolutions for Year 2023:

https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2022/12/28/americans-new-years-resolutions-2023-poll

How do your own personal 2023 resolutions stack up against the articles?

Surprised or Nor Surprised?

On your highest honor as a Baptized Christian ….

Remember – God is watching you and is right now definitely reading your soul!

A new year gives us an opportunity to start fresh and better ourselves.

Come the middle of January (or sooner) we somehow forget our resolutions and go marching straight as an arrow right back into our old barely flexible ways.

It is so easy to forget the commitments and resolutions we make at New Year’s.

This is quite literally the the very first day – the 1st Sunday of the New Year.

We’re going to begin by hitting the ground with both feet in perpetual motion.

January 1st of any year is a popular time for humanity to reset habits and goals.

It’s important for us to align our New Year’s resolutions with the Bible, but for us mommas, or you daddy’s we often use this as a time to think about all of the things we want to change about our self image, our parenting, our marriage.

We then take this list of our self-style discontents and make goals to fix them.

After all, that’s what New Year’s resolutions are all about – bettering ourselves, our short and long term circumstances and our short and long term situations.

Your list might include some version of the following:

  • I want to be healthier and more active, maybe go to the beach more often this summer so I’ll set a weekly routine where I go to the gym three times a week.
  • I want to be skinnier and lose 20 pounds, so I’ll stop eating desserts every day.
  • I want to be little more patient with myself, my spouse my kids, my co-workers, my boss or supervisor at my job so I’m going to work on effective communication skills.
  • I want a more family household income, so I’m going to work towards a promotion or find a new client or find a way to become self-employed and to work from home.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with setting goals and wanting to better yourself and move your family forward.

But as women and men who are striving to center ourselves around the gospel, we need to tread cautiously.

It’s important to know how to align our New Year’s resolutions with the Bible.

  • Are your goals aligned with God’s Word?
  • Are your motivations coming from a heart focused on things above or set on worldly things?
  • Are you focused too much on the one or two areas that YOU think need improvement while ignoring what God is trying to show or teach you?
  • What do your New Year’s resolutions directly or indirectly teach your children?
HOW TO ALIGN YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS WITH THE BIBLE

As you sit down to write your New Year’s Resolutions this year, consider these 6 questions and scriptures to align your goals with God’s Word.

1. DO YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS GIVE GOD THE GLORY?

Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your faithful love, because of your truth. Psalm 115:1 (CSB)

Everything we do first and foremost needs to give God every ounce of glory.

Every decision. Every action. Every breath.

Can you continue to give God glory while working towards your New Year’s resolution?

Will the result of achieving your goals give God glory, or take away from it?

2. DOES YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION HONOR YOUR BODY, A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

I’m going to dive a little deeper into this one because men and women tend to put a lot of downward pressure on themselves with this particular topic.

If you have a New Year’s resolution that is about your body, whether it’s losing weight or dressing yourself in a new wardrobe, quitting smoking, or dying your hair, looking like an Olympic weight lifter -ask self – is it giving God glory?

Bottom line: It’s God-honoring to want your body to be healthy.

It’s worldly to want our bodies to look a certain way just because someone else says it should. Set resolutions that produce a healthy body and a content heart.

3. CAN YOU COMPLETE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION AND KEEP GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV)

It’s good to be diligent about reaching our goals, but nothing should ever take priority over our relationship and obedience to God.

Don’t push God to the back burner while you’re working on your New Year’s resolutions.

Achieving your New Year’s resolutions will never fulfill you like God will.

4. IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION BUILDING ETERNAL VALUE?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)

Making money isn’t a bad thing.

Striving to “store up treasures on earth” instead of treasures in heaven is the issue.

Verse 21 is key here. It’s easy to figure out where your heart is – the things you hold most dear point straight to it.

Is money (or something that money can buy) taking a hold on your heart?

Is your New Year’s Resolution revealing a heart issue or building eternal value in Christ’s kingdom?

5. IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION GOING TO BE A SOURCE OF ANXIETY FOR YOU?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

If you are going to be worrying about your progress and obsessing over your past history of successes or failures in achieving any previous resolutions, it’s probably not a very good or very realistic goal for you.

God calls us to put our anxieties on him, through prayer, not squarely upon us, we can resolve to live square in His peace which transcends all understanding.

Why would we want to put anything unrealistic between us, that kind of peace?

6. HAVE YOU PRAYED ABOUT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (CSB)

Prayer is God’s way of communicating directly to us.

Pray before, during, and after writing your New Year’s Resolutions asking God to reveal to you any issues with your goals.

Before tackling them, pray about the best way to work towards them.

Ground yourself in the Word of God in fervent prayer.

Then get started!

Ecclesiastes 12:9-11New Living Translation

9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.[a]

11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd[b] drives the sheep.

True resolutions are supposed to point the way home to God.

But some choose to believe that getting lost in their self-image is the aim of spirituality: forget that you exist, that the world exists, that good and evil exist.

Just shed these illusions, immerse your self image into the image of God which God gifted exclusive to you as He knitted and weaved you together before birth.

dissolve yourself in the divine ocean like a grain of salt.

Many people today want to either “get high” on God, or “get high” on self, in a big noisy “in” crowd, with big lights and music, in an experience as popular, as mesmerizing as, the effects of an injection of a powerful psychedelics’ drug.

God calls us to be devoted to his Word and to follow the example of Jesus, taking up the cross of kingdom service.

Being resolved to Being found in Savior Jesus Christ is what perfects human life.

When we are found in Christ, we come to terms with his death as well as our own. Christ’s wisdom grounds us like embedded nails, helping us to make peace with our frailties even when we are young and we feel immortal.

In Christ, we also find life to the fullest— with freedom from fear, shame, and soul-crushing perplexities.

Life becomes a meaningful adventure, a race, a journey filled with awareness of God’s love for us all.

Citizens of Heaven or Denizens of the World

Philippians 3:20-21The Message

20-21 But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

C.S. Lewis observed that if you aim to be successful only on earth, you may never get to heaven even as the things of earth slip away.

But if you aim for the things of heaven, not only will the Lord graciously bring you there; Jehovah will also make your life on earth something wonderful.

So if you aim only for the self-images born of life on this earth, you get nothing.

But if you aim for heaven, you get everything—Abundant life to the Maximum.

This is Paul’s point too as he rounds out Philippians 3.

We all are citizens of one country or another here on earth.

But believers in Christ have a far more important status as citizens of heaven.

God Resolved: All of our identity falls into line under our heavenly citizenship.

Paul pointed this out for the Philippians because then—and now—there are all kinds of ­influences distracting us from giving God’s kingdom first place in our New Years Resolutions and in sum total, our hearts, our souls and our lives.

We receive messages like this every day: live for the moment, go for the gusto, do whatever feels right, look out for number one – that being our self-image.

All this, Paul claims, makes people enemies of the cross.

It all amounts to self-centered living and reflects none of Christ’s selflessness.

But if we live “created in the image of God” as Christ’s people, then one day we will be made like Jesus, ­arrayed in all the glory and majesty of God’s kingdom!

ULTIMATE RESOLUTION FOR THE YEAR 2023 – FULLY RELY UPON GOD, THE FATHER, AND GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

Your ONLY Resolution for This Coming New Year

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. John 15:9-17 NLT

Would you or I resolve to totally depend upon Jesus Christ?

I mean totally depend upon Him?

Here’s the way you can tell—are you resting in Him today?

I reflected much on that vain desire, which had pursued me for so many years, of being in solitude in order to be a Christian. I have now, thought I, solitude enough; but am I therefore the nearer being a Christian? Not if Jesus Christ be the model of Christianity. Reverend John Wesley, Founder of Methodism

You see, when you are totally committed to Jesus Christ, you rest in Him. You realize that for your every need, it is necessary for Him to supply all of it.

Have you ever looked at a branch? It has no other source of life than the vine.

If you asked that branch, “What’s your secret for your healthy leaves and fruit?” the branch would answer, “My secret is that I’m resting in the vine.”

“But what about your needs?” you ask.

“I know I have needs, but that’s not my responsibility.

My resolution, My ONLY Resolution, is to rest in the vine’s ability to provide.

I don’t produce the fruit. I just bear it.”

Are you resting in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today and all tomorrows?

Will you choose to rest in Him for the next 365?

Obey His Commandments?

Remain in His Love?

Be Filled with HIS Joy?

Be Filled to Overflowing?

Love one another as Jesus FIRST loved Us?

Make a Friend?

Be a Friend?

Bring a Friend to Christ?

Choose God, the Father?

Choose God the Son?

Choose God the Holy Spirit?

Choose Ministry and Mission, Mercy and Service unto your neighbors?

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. Reverend John Wesley, Founder of Methodism

John 13:34-35 Amplified Bible

34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you [a]love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”

I remembered that there’s an old song with the words ….

“Do you know, O Christian, You Are A Sermon in Shoes?”

These words have stuck with me as a powerful illustration for life.

Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?
Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,
(1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes.
(2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes.
(3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes.
(4) Know it, and show it, a sermon shoes.
(Ruth Harms Calkin)

The children’s song is a reminder that where ever a Christian walks, or talks he or she is expected to share the Gospel news to others.

Whether it be by one’s actions, attitudes, or personal testimony, by their own Baptism, Life in Christ, every single Christian is always “a sermon in shoes.”

It goes along with something that American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) once said:

“Unquestionably, The preaching that this world needs the most is the sermons in shoes that are walking with Savior Jesus Christ.”

Throughout my years as a pastor, I worked diligently to deliver sermons that help people hear God’s Word, but what about showing myself to be a sermon?

Through my longer years trying to be a “good Christian” I have often been told that I may be the ONLY Gospel anyone ever reads or tries to model their life by.

That is an enormous responsibility to be 100% accountable to God for!

When Jesus taught, “I am the true vine,” he made clear that all the work of fruit bearing was to the glory of God, his Father.

As Jesus’ followers, we are called to bear fruit for God’s glory also.

This means showing that we are Jesus’ followers, connected to him by the promised Holy Spirit.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we will “bear much fruit.”

This fruit bearing takes shape in a variety of ways.

However, it is always motivated by our friendship and our love for our Lord.

Be it, therefore, Resolved – My Only Resolution for the Year of Our Lord 2023;

To Fully Rely on God who is always and forever will be: NUMBER ONE!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

We Pray… 
For healing…prepare us for surprises.
For strength…prepare us for surprises.
For vision…prepare us for surprises.
For transformation…prepare us for surprises.
For messengers and messenges…prepare us for surprises.
For community…prepare us for surprises.
For acceptance – of ourselves and others…prepare us for surprises.
For making room at our tables…prepare us for surprises.
For Truth-seeking…prepare us for surprises.
For support…prepare us for surprises.
For Common Ground…prepare us for surprises. 

Be it therefore Resolved ….

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be ….

In our Homes, Families, Neighbors, Neighborhoods, our Work across the Globe ….

Upon the Oceans and the Seas, Upon Continents, in Worlds Without End ….

Walk beside us, O Holy One,
as we question and welcome,
as we challenge and invite,
as we discover and understand,
as we see, touch, taste, smell, and listen for the Newness awaiting us in 2023.

May we, Your Beloved Children, Your Body, walk forward together side by side.

Glory Be to The Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ….

Adeste Fidelis, Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

We are all Intentionally Called by God! Intentionally Set Apart for Christ Jesus by our Water Baptism. Matthew 13:13-17

Matthew 3:13-17Amplified Bible

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan [River], to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him [vigorously protesting], saying, “It is I who need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus replied to him, “Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us [a]to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted [it and baptized] Him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the [b]Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus), 17 and behold, a [c]voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased and delighted!”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Each Baptism brings a special Joy.

This morning, our Pastor is dedicating an infant

This morning at the Pentecostal Church of which my wife and I are members, is baptizing seven individuals by complete immersion – so it is going to be a truly joyous and an exceptionally special time of magnifying our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The dedication of an infant as Christ was dedicated at the Temple.

Seven people placing Jesus Christ into the direct center of their lives.

Oh, what a day of rejoicing and celebration it will certainly be for many.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

There are many days when I consider my own baptism and its deeper meaning.

It is a complicated subject for me because my faith upbringing is a complicated one – born into the Church of the Brethren and I believe baptized as an infant.

Converted to the Jewish faith when I was 8 years old – Mikvah at 9 years old.

Came back to the Methodist Church at 41 years old, “conditionally baptized” by the sprinkling of water over my head.

Now, a member of the Pentecostal Church which does not baptize infants and baptizes with full immersion as Jesus was in Matthew Chapter Three.

I have considered being baptized by immersion in the Pentecostal Church.

But I am not sure of the theology – One God! One Baptism is how I was taught.

I am not sure that being Baptized in the Pentecostal Church would not be taking God’s Grace for granted – as God said,

“Thou shalt not test me as you did at the Waters of Meribah ……” which cost Moses dearly – being able to look at the “promised land” FROM A DISTANCE! and NOT BEING ABLE TO ENTER IT!

So, I am in kind of a quandary – seeking scriptural guidance and my Pastors.

And today, with the joy of the Holy Spirit before me and 7 baptisms about to unfold before me today at worship …. I am pondering “my Baptism” again.

Untold thousands of churches around the world consider the story of Jesus’ baptism every year.

That helps people reflect on their own baptism.

Maybe you were baptized because of your own decision.

Or maybe your parents presented you for baptism.

What might change if we thought of baptism as the defining reality of our life?

What does the Bible teach about water baptism?

• Is it necessary for salvation?

• Who’s it for?

• Is it optional?

• How important is it?

• What does it mean?

• Is any mode of baptism, whether sprinkling, pouring or full immersion, acceptable?

I’ll seek to answer each of these questions today from our only authority—the Bible.

Let’s explore six truths about baptism, each beginning with an “I” to remember more easily.

I. FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE – BAPTISM IS INSUFFICIENT

What I mean is that water baptism is insufficient to save you from sin.

Baptism does not impart to us any grace, merit, or goodness before a holy God.

It does not take away original sin.

Jesus was the perfect Son of God who never sinned, so He certainly did not need salvation from sin, but in our text, we see that He came to John to be baptized.

The Bible is very clear that the only way to be saved is by believing in Jesus for our salvation, not by anything WE do, even if it’s religious in nature.

There are only three verses in the Bible that SEEM to imply that baptism is necessary for salvation, but a closer examination of the context and the original language clears up every one of them, as any good commentary will do.

On the other hand, there are scores, if not hundreds, of Bible verses that teach in unequivocal terms salvation is obtained by faith in Jesus for your salvation.

If baptism were necessary for salvation, Jesus and these writers of Scripture would have been grossly negligent to say that we’re saved by believing in Jesus Christ for our salvation without mentioning the co-condition of baptism!

Add to this the fact that the thief on the cross simply BELIEVED in Jesus, but obviously had not been baptized—yet a dying Jesus assured him that by his believing on Him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).

And what do we do with John 4:2, where John tells us that “…Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples.” or 1 Corinthians 1:17, where Paul says, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel…”

– If baptism were a condition of salvation, is it even remotely conceivable that Jesus and Paul would have delegated this soul-saving responsibility to others?

—I do not believe it would be so.

Obviously, as important as baptism is, it is INSUFFICIENT to save.

II. SECOND, EXPLORING THAT BAPTISM IS ILLUSTRATIVE –

In Romans 6:3-4, Paul says, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

In New Testament days, symbols were very important.

Christ instituted two ordinances for the church to follow, and both of them are extremely and visually rich symbols expressing the core truths of God’s Gospel.

1. One was communion, or the Lord’s Supper.

We are all familiar with the fact that the bread is symbolic of Jesus’ body that was given for us, and the juice symbolizes the blood Jesus shed for our sins.

That is indeed, a potent and a powerful visual picture, isn’t it?

2. From Romans 6, Paul teaches that baptism pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, which Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 is what the Gospel is.

Now there’s only one mode of baptism that can symbolize death, burial and resurrection, and that’s immersion.

There are other reasons why we might come believe that only baptism by complete immersion is biblical water baptism:

1. First, the Greek word for baptize is ‘baptizō’ which literally means “to dip, submerge, plunge.”

Matthew 3:11 KJV …… 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/3/11/t_conc_932011

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g907/kjv/tr/0-1/

It was the word used by cloth sellers for dying cloth and fabrics.

They would COMPLETELY SUBMERGE the fabric into the dye.

The command to be baptized was literally a command to be SUBMERGED.

2. Another line of evidence is that in many instances of baptism in the Gospels and Acts, we are told that they went “DOWN INTO” the water to be baptized or that they “CAME UP OUT OF” the water after baptism.

–We see that in our text, Matthew 3, in verse 16: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water…”

–In the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:38, Luke says, “And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”

Question: Why go “down into” the water and have to “come out of” the water just to be sprinkled or poured on?

Wouldn’t it make more sense for the baptizer to get a bowl and enough water from the river and pour it over the head rather than having to go down into the water, dunk and get your clothes soaking wet just to be sprinkled or poured on?

3. Other evidence is the fact that the early church only practiced immersion, a fact admitted even by the Roman Catholic Church, Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin and many additional prominent Anglican scholars …… —

Baptism by immersion ILLUSTRATES something—the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior for our sins.

III. THIRD, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE THAT BAPTISM IS IDENTIFICATION

Historically baptism was how a person publicly IDENTIFIED himself with Christ and the core teachings of the Gospel.

Reverend Dr. M.R. DeHaan put it this way:

In the early days of the church…, baptism was a declaration that the believer was definitely identifying himself with that group of people who were called Christians and were despised and hated.

To be a Christian meant something. To identify yourself with those who were called Christians meant persecution, maybe death; it meant being ostracized from your family, shunned by friends.

And the one act, the final declaration of this identification was BAPTISM.

As long as a man gathered with Christians, he was tolerated, but when once he submitted to baptism, he declared to the world, I BELONG TO THIS DESPISED GROUP, and immediately he was persecuted, hated, and despised.

In baptism, therefore, the believer entered into the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. A person might be a believer and keep it strictly a secret and thus they avoid unpleasantness and suffering, but once he submitted to public baptism, he had burned his bridges behind him. . .”

When we are baptized, we are publicly confessing our allegiance to Christ.

Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

By identifying with Christ and God’s Gospel message of His death, burial and resurrection, we are, most decisively, publicly, taking our stand with Christ.

You and I are saying, “I belong to Christ and I’m signifying so with the symbol of baptism,” much the same way a person who wears their wedding ring does.

When I wear my wedding ring, I’m saying to everyone out there, “I belong to someone, and I am not in the very least bit ashamed to let everyone know it.”

The person being baptized is saying the same thing: He’s saying,

“I belong to Jesus Christ, and I am never ashamed to let everyone know it.”

IV. I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE THAT BAPTISM IS INTENTIONAL

Every instance is a person being baptized AFTER his salvation—choosing intentionally to obey Christ’s command of his own free will to be baptized.

Acts 16:28-31 Amplified

28 But Paul shouted, saying, “Do not hurt yourself, we are all here!” 29 Then the jailer called for torches and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out [of the inner prison], he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

31 And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”

In this passage, the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Barnabas in verse 30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul didn’t miss a beat and his answer was simple in verse 31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Paul didn’t mean that if this jailor trusted in Christ, his whole household would be saved by proxy, but if he and his household would be saved, they must each [intentionally] believe on [that is, “rely on” or “trust in”] the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then verse 32 says, “And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

Why would this be emphasized?

To show that the household heard the Gospel so, with intent, they could believe.

Verse 33 continues: “And he took them [with intent] the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”

Nope—Luke lays the matter to rest once and for all in verse 34 where he says:

“And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Did we get that? —He and all his house BELIEVED!

Lest you’re unsure that’s what Luke meant, the Greek scholar, A.T. Robertson, says this ……

“The whole household (family, warden, slaves) heard the word of the Lord, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ…and were baptized, and rejoiced.”

Baptism is for believers, and since he and everyone in his house BELIEVED, they were acceptable candidates for baptism.

V. FIFTH, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE THAT BAPTISM IS IMITATION

Matthew 3:14-15 Amplified

14 But John tried to prevent Him [vigorously protesting], saying, “It is I who need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus replied to him, “Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us [a]to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted [it and baptized] Him.

Our text tells us that Jesus was baptized.

He explained the reason in verse 15 – “…to fulfill all righteousness.”

By being baptized, we are doing something righteous because God has now commanded it.

Jesus wanted to set an example for us because He always did what was righteous.

In 1 Peter 2:21 Peter said, “For even hereunto were ye called…that ye should follow his steps.”

Jesus commanded all believers to be baptized in Matthew 28:19, and He was always obedient to the Father.

You should follow His example by obeying His command to be baptized.

VI. LASTLY, PLEASE NOTE THAT BAPTISM IS IMPORTANT

In verse 13 of our text, we read something significant, where Matthew says,

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.”

Mark’s Gospel tells us that the city in Galilee Jesus came from was Nazareth.

A quick look at a map shows that Jesus walked 60 miles ON FOOT to be baptized.

It must have been very important to Him, and it should likewise be for us.

Being baptized is important because we’re COMMANDED to be baptized.

JESUS commanded us to be baptized once we have believed.

Well, do we need any other reason than that?

It’s a serious thing to intentionally disobey the Lord’s commands.

The APOSTLES also commanded baptism.

In our modernized, “comfort zone Christianity,” believers tend to take God’s commandments too lightly, and that’s increasingly true of believers’ baptism.

But where Christianity shines brightest and strongest, the opposite is true.

As Chuck Colson points out in his book, The Body: Being Light in Darkness:

“Most Westerners take baptism for granted, but for many in the world the act requires immense courage. Countries like Nepal, it once meant imprisonment. For Soviet or Chinese or Eastern bloc believers, it was like putting their own signatures to their own death warrant.” (The Body: Being Light in Darkness by Charles Colson and Ellen Santilli Vaughn, 1992, Word Publishing, page 137.)

Folks, obeying the Lord in believer’s baptism is IMPORTANT!

Search the book of Acts—the history book of the first century church—and you’ll find one consistent pattern

—believers uniformly followed the Lord in believer’s baptism.

It was so important in the early church, that even those who had already been baptized under John the Baptist’s baptism were re-baptized in Jesus’ name to publicly declare their maximum allegiance to Jesus Christ and their maximum expression of their complete faith in His life, death, burial and resurrection.

It was so important in the book of Acts believers didn’t go through discipleship classes before submitting to baptism or wait to make sure they were “ready.”

Every instance of baptism in Acts was IMMEDIATELY after they believed in Christ for salvation.

If we have placed our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation and have the assurance that we are saved, we don’t need to understand fully its meaning, or wait till you feel worthy, or feel you have to prepare in some way.

If you and I have an obedient heart to your Lord, you and I will intentionally obey His command and to follow His example and be baptized without delay.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise that in your mercy you brought us to baptism, and there gave us Jesus’ holiness in exchange for our sin and impurity.  Thank you for our parents who brought us up in the faith and to our baptism, thank you for those other people whom you used to bring us the complete Gospel truth, and thank you for our pastors and teachers in the faith.

We pray for the baptized people of God, that we may hang on to the fullness of your promises in true faith, especially when we experience the wilderness of sin and the evil within, and temptations and trials from outside. I Pray, strengthen us with your Holy Spirit so that our Savior Jesus’ victory may be our victory. Alleluia! Amen!

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