Good Morning Friends,
Acts of faith are often viewed as being less rational and sound than cold analytical actions. But there is a place for both. Even our language and the changing meaning of words tends to diminish or even denigrate actions taken born out of our religious heritage. Interacting respectfully with those of different beliefs in a polarized society while remaining faithful to Gospel truth seems impossible in a world where so many only see their own version of truth and deny the partiality of God to those who seek to glorify Jesus. Even many of our public university systems have gone on record that they will not hold a belief. Of course, there is a separation of Church and State in our country but if visible faith is excluded from learning we may have unintended consequences for us all. Sure students pray during test time but would it not be better for them to take the advice of Paul to think on things that are honorable, pure, excellent, true, commendable and pleasing to retrain our minds toward better health. A greater balance of our internal forces is needed in our group interactions. Thankfully love has a way of presenting the unlikely in a light that is desirable. It may not be obvious at first blush but what I am telling you this day is that Jesus presents the most common-sense way of living that exists. The Jesus Way is born not out of madness, but reason even backed by today’s science that helps us to focus on a goal, embrace a way of work designed by God, align ourselves with a sense of belonging and have clarity reinforced by the Holy Spirit. So, Is The Paraclete Prodding You Through Scripture To Practice A Practical Lifestyle Supporting The Cause Of The King?
Scripture: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:8-15 (NRSV)
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV)
But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20 (NRSV)
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15 (NRSV)
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Isaiah 2:2 (NRSV)
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Philippians 3:7-12 (NRSV)
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NRSV)
Message: Being a Christian is more logical and practical and simple than some might think, for it has solutions and fruit that are of the highest order. Jesus made it simple. Love God. Love each other and go and make disciples. The first step toward this practical transcendence for us today is to realize that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation from God communicating to us the divine mind and defining God’s will for us through holy history. We need to seek God in these scriptures. This is not to say that we throw out science and its methods. But it is to say we must really know how to read and reform and seek the power of redemption in a life honoring God spiritually and incarnationally. So, we need to spend time recognizing that the Bible is God’s Word, and that its precepts are the precepts of the Creator of the universe. Eventually this will lead us to see what an awful thing it is to despise and ignore them and what a useful and rational thing it is to embrace them, understanding their context, what they say, what they mean and what they mean for us today. You see, God wants us to use the talents, gifts, finances, and influence that we have been given not to only enrich us, but to the glory of God advance the Kingdom in a way that brings enjoyment that surpasses understanding. And this includes knowing not only the Bible but the author of it. In this way we can better join with God in what God is doing now. So, if we believe in God, and many still claim that they do, we should also have implicit confidence in God and rely upon the Word of God, understood in its fullness and experienced when we share it with the voice God has placed in us. You see, nothing is too hard for the Lord. It is only logical that we are to believe that the Word of promise never fails. We are not to entertain any suspicions of God’s lack of care for us in the future. We are to believe that even if Heaven and Earth pass away, God’s promises remain. Friends, God gave us gifts and abilities to use for an eternal purpose, not just admire. God gave us a practical Christianity and if we would follow it in love to glorify God, we might just discover how compelling it is to see the Kingdoms of the world becoming the Kingdom of God. The influence is beyond spiritual influence. The culture is to be transformed. But honestly, our measure of success cannot be based on what is transformed around us so much as what the Holy Spirit makes possible in us. Eternity is in our hearts. The Kingdom is coming, and God’s will be done even in a world with opposing views. So, friends, understand this, we are being given the Kingdom, but it has to be conquered in our hearts. The characteristics of people groups carried to the next generation have influence but the greatest influence will be the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That is why our lifestyle is important to help others walk in the way of God. We have been called out to be used as ambassadors of the Kingdom to come in more practical ways than we realize. Change in our lives is important. And in order for change to take place and for us to become effective Christians, we must forget our past and embrace our future. The Word talks a lot about letting go of our past. God does not want us all cluttered up with the junk of our past. God wants us to walk by faith, trust in Him and see our future through His eyes…. Transformed into an abundant life. Even though we might not completely forget, we must let go of the past and forgive ourselves and others. Letting go of the past is important to opening the door to all the promises, riches and blessings of God. Philippians 3: 12 makes it clear that Paul had to release his past identity as a persecutor of Christians in order to move forward in the ministry to which God called him. Paul received grace and mercy from God for the things he did in his past and so too we must trust in our God who is merciful and will not remember our sins when we repent and ask for forgiveness so we might be transformed. The past can hold you back from what God has for you. It places shackles on you. The past can weigh you down, stress you out and deplete your energy. Break free this morning from your past. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you this morning. God has plans to prosper you, let go of your past! Walk in the strength of the Word of God this morning.
And So, I don’t know what you have accomplished that is so important to you, but I am here to let you know that all these things are useless without the knowledge of the word of God. Paul carefully considered all his achievements and concluded: they were worthless compared to the knowledge of knowing Christ. God searches and knows us and nudges us to give ourselves fully to the cause. There does not seem to be a lot of incentive to reach out to others unless we have a strong desire to be like Jesus and to please God instead of the world. The thing is that every Christian has an obligation to speak with both conviction and empathy across deep differences, no matter how uncomfortable. And still it is in those moments when we do, filled with love, that we find peace and strength. When we are all in, we begin to put value into the right people, places, and things. We begin to feel renewed and find happiness and purpose. It is in submitting to God that we experience true love and are made fearless and are rescued from the pain of life. Friends, this is what we were made to become. The Bible is filled with stories to help us to learn how in very practical ways to engage others in connecting to an identity that is not of this world. God loves us in this way so that we might learn to love others. So, we walk on uncommon ground until we realize that our ultimate reality is as citizens of Heaven in the Kingdom of God walking with Jesus and not confined to a cultural past nor earthly incentives that miss the mark. That is why being a Christian is more practical and abundant than most give credit. The Holy Spirit is active in us across a spectrum of interactions reflected often in our own behaviors. Think of how we feel when we exhibit or are confronted with rejection or acceptance, individualism or universality, order or chaos, simple or complex. And each of us is different as to how we react to the Holy Spirit in those situations and have different gifts to bring to the table in response. The elements of reflection, active engagement, assertiveness and belonging in particular are essential for our resilience on the journey. But we, as a Body of Believers, need to be balanced if we are to bear fruit. We must have Clarity, Movement, Alignment and Focus in a Body of Believers. Think of Clarity having Assertiveness and the Movement prompted by Active Engagement, Alignment motivated by a sense of Belonging and a Focus fueled by Reflection and Prayer. When all are functioning together the Holy Spirit of God’s Love connects us to a life of abundance in which we thrive, learn and keep growing so we can press on to the goal of a resurrection of the heart. Our number one goal should be to be found in Christ.
Pray we realize how practical and sensible living a Christian life is for it is not lived in isolation. Pray we realize the validity, for our own benefit, of God wanting us to love Him with everything inside us. Pray this passion drives and defines us to know God better and love God more and more as we answer the heart of the question of how we are related to the divine. Pray we live by God’s agenda instead of our own. Pray we live in God for surely God will not deny God. Pray we realize that it is more achievable to pray for laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach God’s truths, which are calculated to bring about a revival, instead of praying for a worldwide revival without such tactical actions. Pray we realize the great mistake of hoping to discover in ourselves that which is only found in relationship with God in a community that loves God and each other. Pray that our collective God given gifts of Discernment, Administration, Apostleship, Evangelism, Knowledge, Leadership, Wisdom, Prophecy, Teaching, Hospitality, Shepherding, Mercy, Service, Faith, Giving, and Exhortation be used to further the Kingdom and, in the process, to bring us life in abundance that satisfies our deepest hopes. Pray we live as practical Christians approved by God for the glory of God. Pray that the world in which we live is transformed beginning with us and the fruit of the Spirit we are blessed to bear.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 