Re: Verse reading–Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day seven)
Preparing for worship today, I came across Luke 24:46-47. “Thus it written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead. . .and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.” The words of the Lord speak to my heart, remind me of His unchanging message. Forgiveness is predicated on repentance! For sexual sin or any other kind, repentance is the condition of God’s offered mercy. “What strange kind of salvation do they desire who care not for holiness. . .They would be saved by Christ and yet be out of Christ in a fleshly state. . .They would have their sins forgiven, not that they may walk with God in love, in time to come, but they may practice their enmity against Him without any fear of punishment”–Walter Marshall. I am praying for the Spirit of God to help us this morning as we seek Him together.
Tag: God
Freedom
Re: Verse reading- Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day five) Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God… walk in love, just as Christ ”
Spiritual Disciplines- What’s the point? What’s the goal? What’s the “payoff'”? Answer… FREEDOM
Skilled musicians, world-class athletes, expert carpenters, and well-prepared students all demonstrate the “freedom thru discipline” principle. They have a freedom to entertain, exhibit, and excel that others do not.
What about the Freedoms in the Disciplined Christian Life? Freedom to understand and apply Biblical Principles- by memorizing and studying Scripture. Freedom from spiritual insensitivity- by fasting. Freedom from self-centeredness- by service and worship. Freedom from guilt, anger, and consequences- by practicing purity.
The Freedom found in a spiritually disciplined life is: The capacity to recognize and accomplish what God calls us to do, and the opportunity to imitate and display the character qualities of Christ and to glorify God through our own personalities.
Be Wise
Re: Verse reading- Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day four) Salvation is not passive…we do not accept God’s gift of grace and then sit back to enjoy the fruits. We surrender our lives. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) As a result of our surrender, we seek to live a life that imitates Christ. Imitation means that we look like Him. There are things we do…walk in love, keep clean hands, maintain a pure heart, give thanks. There are things we don’t do…no immoral behavior, no filthiness or coarse jesting, no idolatry, no deceitfulness or disobedience. When we are imitators of Christ, His life shines through us to a lost world. Walk like Christ and be wise!
Purity – The road less traveled
Re: Verse reading – Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day one)
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”–Jesus (Matthew 7:14)
In Ephesians 4 and 5, the Bible gives moral instructions. Spiritual requirements. These two chapters (with other portions of God’s word) point to a path of purity from sin and issue a call for every believer to walk this path in obedience and blessing. Many subjects are addressed. Honesty–v 25. Anger–v 26. Stealing–v 28. Hurtful language–v 29. Sexual immorality–5:3ff. All component parts of the “new life” that God gives us in Christ by the Spirit, and all difficult to teach in an age of moral ambiguity. Many in this generation resist this teaching as “legalistic” or “rule-focused”. I imagine the same was true in Paul’s day. More to say as the week comes. “Two roads diverged in a narrow wood, and I–I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”–Robert Frost
A glorious death
RE Verse reading–Luke 11:1-13; Luke 18:1-8 (day seven)
“Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who CRY to him day and night?” (18:7) “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.” (Luke 22:44) Prayer, for Jesus, was a kind of death. Painful. Physically exhausting. It will be the same for us, I believe. A death to impatience as we wait on God, a death to pride as we depend on His power, a death to dishonesty as we openly confess our sins. I labor, sometimes, under the false expectation that the spiritual life should be convenient and easy, accessible even to the most casually interested applicant. It was not so for Jesus and unlikely to be so for those of us who love Him and want to share His Spirit. Easy? No. Powerful? Yes. “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life”–St. Francis
Pray
Re: Verse reading – Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-8 (Day Three)
“Lord, teach us to pray.” It’s not uncommon for evangelicals to think that the best kind of prayer consists of spontaneous, off-the-cuff, stream-of-consciousness language. While speaking to God in a moment of unstructured outpouring is often a good and necessary practice for a Christian, this passage helps us to see that a studied, carefully planned approach to prayer can also help. A person would do well to contemplate and to pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, the composed prayers of devout disciples of Jesus Christ through the centuries of Christianity. As for the concern about reciting “rote prayers”, two observations: First, rote learning is actually a good way to become accustomed to ways of speaking (including prayer); and second, any prayer—spontaneous or not—will be as sincere or as distracted as the person praying it.
Squeaky wheels
Re: Verse reading – Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-8 (day one)
“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” (18:1)
[Sorry for the late post. Yesterday was a full, happy day at FBCSA.] Jesus believed it. Squeaky wheels get grease. People who pray get answers. Significant effort is required. Maybe, that is why the Lord knew he needed to encourage us not to give up. Sometimes when I don’t talk to Holly, don’t tell her what I feel or want, it is because I don’t know, myself. It is an attempt to avoid the emotionally taxing exercise of listening to my own soul, being honest with myself and with her. Talk is easy. Truth is hard. Same with God. Is it possible to live without prayer? Yes. It is possible to do so and experience what He promised? NO. “Come let us reason” says the Lord. Talk! Be honest! The squeaky wheel . . .
Saul’s heart and mine
Re: Verse reading – 1 Samuel 15:1-35 (day seven)
” ‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said.” (v 20) I have been thinking this week of Abraham, how FULLY he obeyed God. Even to the point of sacrificing his own son. See Genesis 22. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been, but need to do so because obedience to God doesn’t allow me to “lean on my own understanding” and omit the rest. I have Saul’ heart. (Apart from the grace of God his heart is ALL that I would have.) My tendency is to propose a new definition for obedience. Doing “mostly” what God requires and rationalizing the rest, being self-deceived that partial obedience is enough. That’s what I do. What Saul did. It does not work. Ever. What God wants, requires, deserves is the full surrender of my will, a deep change in my heart. I suspect Saul looked back with regret. Unless I take different steps, I will too.
WHY did you not obey?
Re Verse reading – 1 Samuel 15:1-35 (day six)
“WHY did you not obey the Lord?” (v 19) It is a question that we should hope to never hear. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says that “we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” What if, on that day, we hear the words He used with Saul? Why? What possible reason did you have for not immediately, happily obeying the expressed will of your creator? WHY did you give avoidance and reluctance to the ONE worthy of life and loyalty? I am certain that our excuses will sound as hollow as Saul’s. Because God KNOWS the true answer. In v 23 He identifies the problem– rebellion and arrogance. As much as we hate to face it, the true explanation for our disobedience is that we don’t WANT to obey God and we think we know a BETTER plan. Embarrassing to admit? Wait until the blaze of His glory makes this question impossible to answer! Why? Why?
Lesson from Middle Schoolers
Re: Verse reading – 1 Samuel 15:1-35 (day five)
Social scientists tell us that middle schoolers facing rapid changes emotionally, physically, relationally, and socially will compartmentalize these different areas to be able to process and manage their lives. They are not capable yet of the required multitasking needed to navigate all the new and different environments they encounter daily. They will need adults to equip them and encourage them to think about the “whole” and how the separate parts fit together. They will need time as their brains grow and develop. As they are discipled, they also need to recognize and understand how God deals with the “whole” of our lives and hearts. His Lordship reigns over our “whole” heart and life. His demand for our obedience is the same. Not a compartment or a part of us, but our complete and undivided loyalty and obedience. Sometimes adults need that understanding too. God’s expectation for obedience and loyalty is very clear.