Christ's Place in Our Life

In today’s world, people are very touchy about what we say to them. If we even mention anything about God or Christ, they think that we are trying to proselytize them. We are simply living out who we are, and they accuse us of judging them. Of course, if they would join us, they would understand that He is not our hobby or our crutch. Christ is our very life (Colossians 3:4).

We are not trying to impose our beliefs on them, just living the truth of God’s Word. We do not condemn their behavior or their person, but offer them the opportunity to trust Christ for their life and to enjoy the wondrous benefits He provides for His children (1 John 3:10; Psalm 103:2). When we repent and believe in Christ, we no longer live as part of this world, even though we still live in it.

This happens, because God placed the weight of the vilest sins upon His own shoulders and paid the penalty for them in our place. Already accepted in His beloved family, we live by faith and not by works (Ephesians 1:6; 2:8-9). We no longer attempt to earn God’s acceptance by our performance to His standards. We live in total surrender to His will and accept His atoning work for our salvation.

Jesus freed us from deprivation, degradation and devastation in this life. He allows us to walk in a new life in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). His anointing in us and through us breaks the yoke of all bondage to sin and deception (Isaiah 10:27). He exchanges our humanity for His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). His Spirit lives in and through us and enables us to live in the happiest place on earth - God’s will (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, we are an extension of the ministry of Christ on this earth. His sinless perfection enables us to live free from sin as we depend on Him for our perfection. Thank You for sending Your Spirit to guide us, as Your Body on the earth, to supernaturally perform greater works than Jesus did by Your power in us (John 14:12). Remind us that You direct our paths, as we follow You in all of our decisions (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

When we grow weary, we can trust God to renew our strength and to help us to rise up with wings like eagles. - Isaiah 40:31

A New Life in Christ

In this world, people are very touchy about what we say to them. They think that we are trying to proselytize them, if we even mention anything about God or Christ. We are simply living out who we are, and they accuse us of judging them. Of course, if they would join us, they would understand that Jesus is not our hobby or our crutch. Christ is our very life (Colossians 3:4).

We are not trying to impose our beliefs on anyone. We are just living out the truth of God’s Word. We do not condemn their behavior or their person, but offer them the opportunity to trust Christ and to enjoy the wondrous life He provides for His children (Ephesians 4:13). When we repent and believe in Christ (Mark 1:15), we no longer live as part of this world, even though we still live in it (John 17:16).

We no longer attempt to earn His acceptance by our performance to His standards. We are already accepted in His beloved family, by faith and not by works (Ephesians 1:6, 2:8-10). God placed the weight of the vilest sin upon His own shoulders and He paid our penalty for us. We accept Christ’s atoning work for our salvation, and then choose to live in total surrender to God’s will.

Jesus freed us from deprivation, degradation and devastation in this life. He allows us to walk in a new life in Him (Romans 6:4). His anointing in us and through us breaks the yoke of bondage to sin and deception (Isaiah 10:27). His Spirit enables us to obey God’s will, by living in and through us (Galatians 2:20). Let us seek His direction for our life and not allow earthly concerns to sway us from His ways (Luke 9:57-62, 14:26-33).

Prayer:

Father God, true surrender to You always supercedes our natural devotion to job, family or friends. We forsake all for you (Luke 14:33). We know without a doubt that You will meet the needs of our family and friends as we focus on Your will for our life. Keep us from failing to totally surrender to You, and enable us to experience the fullness of Your love for us.

Thought for the Day:

God listens to and understands our prayers and knows exactly how to answer them.

Breaking From Tradition

Read: Colossians 2:8-23

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

There are churches that purport a “works” theology that substitutes our efforts for Christ’s work on Calvary. I believed their rhetoric until I realized that we are wasting our time by trying to earn God’s love by being good enough to deserve it. Even at our best, we deserve hell. All of us are unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Jesus willingly died to fulfill the law for us. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that our Salvation comes not by good works, but by faith. When we try to earn our right standing with God, we grieve the Holy Spirit, because we are putting on the shackles of the law of sin and death rather than relying on the law of life through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

I am learning not to substitute saying the "correct" words, responding in the "correct" way and doing the “correct” things for walking in obedience to the Spirit.  These traditions have the appearance of effectiveness and wisdom, but they are full of self-imposed rituals, false humility and harsh regulations. In the end, they simply lack any success in restraining us from sinning or any true value in helping someone who needs a word from God.

I am attempting to stop, listen and obey the Spirit throughout the day instead. Even if what He leads me to do breaks with tradition or makes me feel uncomfortable, I would rather reap the fruit of righteousness than to stay within my comfort zone. I do not need to fear what any person will do to me or what they will think or say about me, as long as I walk in the Spirit. Pleasing God is my goal and I will not let anyone judge me except Him.

Prayer

Lord, help me to obey your Spirit’s inner promptings, even if I end up being unpopular. Help me to value Your approval over man’s recognition or acceptance. Remind me that there is nothing I can to do to earn Your love or my right standing in Your eyes, because You already won both of those for me on Calvary’s Cross.

Thought of the Day

I would rather stand on the rock of Christ than on the sand of tradition.

To Judge or Not To Judge

Read: Job 34:5-11

"Brothers, if someone is overtaken by a fault, you who are spiritual should restore him gently" (Gal 6:1).

A person reprimanded me the other day for daring to say that I thought it was good to point out our blind spots to one another. He inferred that pointing out blind spots requires a judgment, and that we should leave that to the Lord. He implied that it is God’s duty to point out blind spots, because that was the most effective way to bring about change in someone’s life.

If this was true, then we would have no doctors or counselors in this world, and no teachers or overseers in the Body of Christ (Hebrews 13:17). There would be no older women teaching the younger (Titus 2:4). There would be no teaching and admonishing one another (Colossians 3:16). We would leave all the healing and instructing for God to do.

Many people quote the verse, “Judge not, lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1).” If they would continue reading, they would find, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

These verses actually encourage us to correct one another. They tell us to “remove the speck from our brother's eye.” If you ever had a speck in your eye, you know how good it feels and how grateful you are when someone removes it for you. But first, these verses caution us to clean up our own act, before we start giving advice to other people. They also warn us that we will be judged by the same standards by which we judge others. This reminds me of what President Harry S. Truman gave as a warning, “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!” In this case, if you can't take advice, don’t give it; if you can’t handle correction, don’t provide it.

‎In Job 34:4 Elihu said, "Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good." I love to learn together what is true and right and pleasing to the Lord. I feel so blessed when someone “mothers” me, even when they “smother” me with words of instruction and correction. I usually respond with a sarcastic, “Yes, Mother!” Then, I always encourage them to keep it up, because I know they only speak to me like this because they genuinely care about me.

In Galations 6:1, Paul encourages us to point out our blind spots to one another, "Brothers, if someone is overtaken by a fault, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." That word “gently” is very important. Rather than beating people over the head with the Bible, we can ask them what their motivation is for their behavior, then instruct them using scriptural advice.

Sometimes, people misinterpret our words or actions and they falsely assume we have a faulty motivation for it. I do not mind someone pointing out my faults, but I despise being falsely accused. I already do so many things wrong that to be accused of what I did not do, only discourages me beyond hope! In Job 34:5-11, Job says the same thing. He points out that he is innocent, but he gets no justice. He tells the truth, but he is considered a liar. He informs us that the feeling of contempt for him among his family, friends and neighbors is as plentiful as water. Did you ever feel this way? Eternity will tell the whole truth about our life, unvarnished by what anyone else thinks about us.

In John 8:15-16, Jesus said that human beings judge by human standards. He made it clear that He passes judgment on no one; but if He does judge, His decisions are right, because He stands with the Father who sent Him. That is why it is so important for us to judge with righteous judgment, once our heart is pure and as tender as softened butter. God calls us to discern according to Biblical principles rather than to pass judgment according to our own prejudices or opinions.

Jesus says, “Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” He gives us an example here of how we should correct each other, by helping our brothers and sisters to stand in righteousness. Judging with derision and contempt, correcting with condescension and pride, or rejecting someone due to their choices in life is certainly wrong. On the other hand, discerning a fault and correcting, admonishing and encouraging one another is a noble effort. Timothy is another Biblical author that encourages us to correct one another. He simply advises us to use great patience and careful instruction with love when we do so (2 Timothy 4: 2).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Job concludes his speech in Job 34:5-11 by saying that You are our judge. You repay a man for what he has done and You bring upon us what our conduct deserves (Lamentations 3:39). We do not need to be concerned about another person’s opinion of us. You have mercy on whom You will have mercy, and compassion on whom You will have compassion (Exodus 33:19). I am so glad that we can rely on your grace, and that Your love covers a multitude of our sins (1 Peter 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

“Those who mind, don't matter; and those who matter, don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

God's Vindication

Read: Psalm 26:1-3

“Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me.” - Psalm 35:24 (NIV)

Sometimes people come into our life that never truly understand who we are. They may know us for years; yet they never really know us. They misjudge us according to their own prejudices. They relegate us to a certain level in their thinking beyond which we can never pass. The sad fact is that they are no larger in their own eyes than we are; therefore, they believe that they must belittle us in order to feel bigger and better. Giving God's love back to such people is the best way to deal with them.

A person’s opinion of us only matters if we allow it to do so. I refuse to give this much power to another human being. No one can rightly judge another man's servant, because before his own Master he stands or falls (Ro 14:4). What anyone thinks or feels about me does not carry any weight of importance. Only God's opinion of me matters, and He will vindicate me in the end (Ps 35: 24). He is the only One who can truly discern the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Who is this person who tries to condemn you? Christ Jesus, who died - and even more than that, who was also raised to live again - is at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us (Romans 8:34). He is our litigator, our lawyer and our advocate. With Him defending us, no one will ever falsely accuse us and get away with it. The light of eternity will reveal the truth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, because we are His dear children. We are from God and have overcome, because You who dwell within us are greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 3:21; 4:4).

Thought for the Day:

If we are falsely accused, we stand in good company. They also crucified Jesus Christ, an innocent man.