April 6, 2012 … Someone To Follow – Someone to Lead

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Ruth, Chapters 1-4 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

============
Highlight Reference Passage : Ruth 1: 16… 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

============
Highlight Reference Passage #2 : Ruth 2: 14-16… 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

============
Highlight Reference Passage #3 : Ruth 4: 16-17… 16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

My Journal for Today: It’s been a while since I’ve read the little book of Ruth in the Bible; but in my chronological read through God’s word this year, that’s where I was taken today. And what a lovely, heart-warming account of Godly relationships is found in this book. But once one goes beyond the surface love story, involving family loyalty and righteous living, we see an account of God’s people being Godly in the face of unrighteous living and treachery, which surrounded the main characters of this love story – Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.

Remember, this story involved people who were living in the time of the Judges, which we just finished reading about yesterday; and these were treacherous times in the history of the Israelites. People all around these key characters in the book of Ruth were living selfishly and had been drawn into a culture of idolatry and unGodly living. Yet, in the midst of this, God lays out this lovely story of a remnant of His people who lived lives following God’s way and doing so to establish the line of the one who would become King David (Ruth’s grandchild).

And isn’t it a wonderful bit of Godly irony that Jesus’ lineage would be drawn from a converted gentile, a Moabite woman, whose life becomes an example to all of us as to how we should live and love and have our being in a relationship which first stems vertically from a deep and abiding relationship with the LORD and then becomes set in this world horizontally with abiding relationships in family and friends (real friends).

My dear ones, we live in times which mirror the times of the Israelites in the era of Ruth. Right now, like Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, we are engulfed in a culture, a world, and a nation of ungodliness; and we are called, by our God, to follow our LORD and live uprightly in His image. The characters in the book of Ruth not only were honored by God to establish the blood lines of King David and our Lord, Jesus, through Mary; but as their lives are written about in God’s word, they become living examples of how to live Godly lives in an ungodly world.

I pray that we all see the light of Christ shining through the lives of these people as lived out in their horizontal relationships, becoming beacons for their vertical relationship with God. We all need to live, love, and have our essence flowing from our relationship with the Lord, our God; and when we can live like the lovely and loving characters in the book of Ruth, we will honor our God and shine His light in a very dark world.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to live and love as You live in me and prayerfully love through me. Amen

January 20, 2012 … Ignoring Our Inheritance

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 25-26… To study these chapters, go to this link -

Genesis 25: 27-34: … [Selling Out Our Future] ... 27 The boys [the twin sons of Isaac] grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

============
Genesis 26: 1-7: … [Shaping Our Family’s Future] ... 1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

My Journal for Today: Today, in my chronological read through the Bible, I was led through two passages which speak to how we shape the future of our world by how we live and who we are.

The first of the two focus passages above is Genesis 25: 27-34, which is the story of Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob, the twin boys whose interaction and character shaped their future and our current world. And it is a study of the character of these two twins, which reveals so very much about who we’ve become in our world and lives today.

You’ve probably read this story before, … how Esau, the first-born, sold away his birthright to his conniving, con-man brother, Jacob; and we know that the enmity of the Arab nations, who were descendants of Esau, resent and hold hatred for the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by their God. And this enmity of the Arabs and the Jews was born in the interaction of these two blood brothers; and is felt to this day in our world, isn’t it? Can we see the lesson here as to how we live and who we become having influence on the future of our progeny?

How I live and my character, especially as a parent or as a leader in my sphere of influence, will become a driving impact on my children or upon those whom God has led me to lead in my work life. That fact is certainly seen in the outcomes of the interaction of Esau and Jacob, whose character and personal interaction shaped their family interaction and has shaped our world even today. Think about it. What we do and how we live, as parents and stewards of leadership, can – and usually does – have a powerful effect upon how others live into our – and their - future.

If I’m a parent and give my kids a certain example of my character, don’t you think that example is going to have an impact on the character of my kids and how they live into our future? Of course it will; and this was clearly exemplified in Genesis 26: 1-7 as part of the reading in my trek through the Bible this morning.

In this passage we read of Isaac developing a scheme involving his fear of how he might be treated by one of his enemies, the Philistines, whom he feared might kill him and his wife, Rebekah. So, what plot did Isaac use? Déjà vu all over again – it was the same plot which his daddy, Abraham, had used twice in the past to avoid being killed by his enemies. Family heritage impacts a family’s future.

So, I think both of these passages above powerfully illustrate that how we live and who we become has a powerful and lasting impact on our families and those whom God has led us to lead in our lives. And that is why it’s so important that we become – in character – whom God has purposed us to become. And as Christians, we are purposed to become as much like our Lord and Savior as we can [see Phil. 2: 5] so that we can shine or reflect His light (or likeness) into our families and be a witness for Him in our culture/world (see Matt. 5: 16 and Acts 1: 8). I will leave it to you to you to study and meditate upon the truth of those verses; because who we are and what we become will influence those around us, especially those in our family lines.

I pray that I can be who my kids and grandkids need to see so that they can see Christ in me and carry His image forward into our future.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to become like You so that those who come after me will see and seek You. Amen

December 10, 2011 … The Humility of Christ

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: As Christians, all of us aspire to grow in Christlikeness. In the Phil. 2 passage from which we’ve been studying this month, verse 5 says that our attitudes as Christians should be the same as that of our Lord. So, as individuals, and collectively as the Body of Christ, we should be doing all we can to capture and live with the attitude of Christ. And here in this wondrous passage, the Apostle Paul tells believers that the #1 attitude to which we ought to aspire is that of HUMILITY; and I’m here to tell you that this is one of the toughest lessons I have to learn as a disciple of our Lord.

You may already know that humility, along with meekness, are the only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29); and we learn from passages like 1st Peter 5: 6 and James 4: 6, as well as Prov. 3: 34, that God honors humility by pouring His grace into those who humble themselves in obedience to God or His word. However, when it comes to the Phil. 2: 8 comparison test, all too often I come up short with my ego exhibiting pride, falling way short of the humility modeled so perfectly by my Savior.

And what a model of humility we have in Jesus, especially as He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophesies concerning His passion and death on the cross. He was totally humbled to the will of His Father by dying on “the tree,” the most ignominious and humiliating form of capital punishment ever devised by man, and one which was hated by the Jews (see Deut. 21: 22 - 23). During all of His unjust trials before His crucifixion, He spoke not a word; and we see our Lord totally surrendered to the will of His Heavenly Father … that He be would become the Lamb of God to save ME! Me, of all people; but that was our Lord’s humble mission in life, … to serve me, and you, and all who would receive His humble and graceful act of atonement … that we might have eternal life. Is that not THE model of humility?

And now, in His word, I read from the inspiration of His Spirit, that I am to have His humility (again Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s own words from Luke 9: 23 with regard to discipleship ring in my heart/mind as well … that I am to deny my self … and follow Him. So, the lessons of life in this regard continue; and I will enter my thoughts here today, doing all I can to humble myself to my Lord and to others. It’s a daunting task; but it is one I must learn and live.

So, I (we) move on … and there’s more to come. Yes, you’re getting it by now; … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: It is my humble prayer, Lord. Again I pray, Lord, help me to be humble! Amen

November 4, 2011 … Being Wise In Adversity

Blogger's Note: Back on daily posting schedule, with the 11/3 post from yesterday being delayed until posting this day (11/4). But as you'll note, God's timing was perfect in my oversight. These two devotional journal entries are perfectly paired to go together. So I hope any readers will not be discouraged and read/study them in tandem this AM. ... Sorry for bunching them together like this. wrb
=======================

Passage of the Day: James 3: 13 … from the NIV … Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

James 3: 13 … from the NASB … Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

James 3: 13 …from the NKJV … Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

My Journal for Today: Okay, day four on James 3: 13; and I have retained all three versions of this passage above for your review and consideration again today. And in his Strength for Today devotional for this date, John MacArthur once again focuses on the quality of MEEKNESS, as we did in yesterday’s study. The two-day highlight shows to me just how important MacArthur feels this Christlike quality is to the Christian pursuit of Godly wisdom in the Christian walk.

In his entry for this date, MacArthur quotes from a commentary on the book of James by one Robert Johnstone, who wrote his treatise on James over 100 years ago; and even then, this writer recognized how contrary the attitude and witness of “meekness” was to the worldly conception of “manliness.” And today, even more obviously, we live in a world where a man’s man would be marked by independence, self assertion, and the desire for control. “Meekness” for the man of today, as well as for men in Johnstone’s day, would be labeled as weakness, a quality to be avoided.

But if we believers aspire to Christlikeness, we have to take a look at Jesus as our model of attitude. In fact, the Apostle Paul flat-out said it was our duty as Christians to develop the attitudes of Christ (see Phil. 2: 5); and if we study the life of Jesus, we see THE model of THE man’s man … a model that the worldly man would not provide for us. Jesus was not only the model of manhood for Christians, He was the GOD-MAN; and as we saw yesterday, the only two terms He used to describe Himself was as being “gentle (i.e., meek) and humble of heart” [that found in NIV Matt. 11: 29). And I also pointed out yesterday that Jesus directly blessed the attitude of meekness in His Sermon on the Mount (see Matt. 5: 5). In fact, His whole life on this earth, especially His time of ministry, was a walk of meekness and humble surrender to His Father. When Christ was led to the cross, He could have called down legions of angels to defend Him; but due to His – meekness – He spoke not a word in His defense.

So, does this mean we can never assert our strength or stand up – even in anger – in our Christian walk? Hardly. Jesus certainly demonstrated Godly anger and assertiveness when he turned over the tables in God’s Temple (see John 2: 13 – 22). And righteous anger is a topic for discussion at another time; but Jesus never would have never wanted His righteous anger, which was always exercised in support of His Father, to trump the humility and meekness He modeled the greatest portion of His life.

Christ’s meekness came from His absolute surrender to His Heavenly Father. And our meekness should be our absolute surrender to Christ. And in Luke 9: 23, which I pray you now have etched in your hearts/minds by now, Jesus spoke to His followers about how we can exercise meekness (and humility) in our Christian walk as He said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

I have to ask myself (as you should yourselves), “Is my Christian walk one of meekness?” And if not, what do I need to do in my pursuit of Christlikeness to allow me to become a meek pursuer of Godly wisdom?

My Prayer Today: Again, Lord, I pray … help me to be like You. Amen

September 3, 2011 … The Spirit of Transformation

Passage of the Day: 2nd Corinthians 3: 18 [see in bold] … 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect [or “contemplate”] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

My Journal for Today: Though today’s verse is from Paul’s teachings in 2nd Cor. 3: 18, and I give you the contextual passage from which it’s taken to help you understand the imagery of our being unveiled in God’s New Covenant so that we can be “transformed” into Christ’s likeness.

This transformation process, of course, is called sanctification, which is a progressively humbling and awakening experience in our lives life after conversion as a Christian. It is the process by which God, the Holy Spirit, reveals more and more of the reality of Christ in our being. It is the specter of growing newness also revealed by Paul in 2nd Cor. 5: 17. It is the opportunity we have, with God’s Spirit planted in our heart, to make choices which allow us to morph into Christlikeness. Now, … is that not wonderfully cool?!!

As Paul refers in today’s passage, it’s like looking at our reflection in God’s mirror of truth, which progressively reveals our unworthiness; and yet, at the same time, we see, excitedly (I hope for you as much as for me), more of what is wrought by the Spirit’s transforming grace as He molds and completes us into our predestined image of Christlikeness (see Romans 8: 29 and Phil. 1: 6). Just as in the allegory of The Ugly Duckling, one day (which will be in glory) our ugliness will be completely transformed into the beauty and full grace of the swan we desire to be and were created like in God’s image, and that image we are predestined to become … i.e., the image of Christ.

I hope it’s as exciting for you as it is for me, as I look into God’s mirror of truth (i.e., His word) day-by-day … to see more and more of Christ’s beauty being shaped into my countenance. The reshaping process is certainly not all that easy; but it most certainly is worth it! It’s as John wrote (see 1st John 3: 2), “ …now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known." Though we don’t exactly know what we’ll look like in our spirit-body (see 1st Cor. 15: 42 – 49), we do know that somehow it will reflect Christ’s image; and that’s good enough for me to have heightened hope in what God, the Holy Spirit, is doing in shaping my life – now and forevermore in this live – and the next.

How wonderful is the transforming power and grace of the Holy Spirit!

My Prayer Today: O Lord, shape me into Your image. Amen

July 22, 2011 … Diligence and Excellence

Passage of the Day: 2nd Peter 1: 1 – 5a [NIV] … [see emphasis in bold in verse 5a] … 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, …To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; …

2nd Peter 1: 1 – 5a [NASB] … [see emphasis in bold in verse 5a] 1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, …

My Journal for Today: Since John MacArthur uses the NASB version of the Bible in his Strength for Today devotionals, in today’s exposition of 2nd Peter 1: 1 – 5a, he makes reference to several phrases in the NASB which use different wording than the NIV, which I’ve been using as my default Bible for my journal entries. Therefore, I’ve given any reader for today both versions for your study or meditation. And in today’s passage, Peter, especially in verse 5a, was much like the Apostle Paul when Paul wrote in Romans 6: 1 – 2 …

---------------------
SCRIPTURE: Romans 6: 1 – 2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
----------------------

Both Apostles held no quarter to any Christian with a slovenly attitude toward sin. And in today’s passage, Peter is teaching about the empowering grace of God’s Spirit given to all believers. See 2nd Peter 1: 3 – 4, where God’s Spirit, through Peter, states that it is the Christian’s charge to “make every effort” (NIV) or “applying all diligence” (NASB) in order to use God’s grace for “goodness” (NIV) or “moral excellence” (NASB) – or if you go to the NKJV, the term translated is “virtue.”

This latter quality, Peter refers to as “moral excellence, virtue, or goodness,” is “arête” in the Greek. The Grecian culture valued the character quality of “arête” greatly, thinking of one who had this quality as one who stood above the rest in GOODNESS. Many word pictures or language uses of “arête” from the Greek illustrate this. If “arête” was used for describing a knife, it would the sharpest or most useful knife available. A horse with “arête” would win the race. Therefore, the Greeks used “arête” to describe a Christian’s goodness or virtue; and he would be one who focused great energy toward being the most virtuous person he/she could be. And that, according to Peter in today’s passage and Paul in Rom. 6, is what is expected for the truly surrendered Christian.

Our model as Christians, when we strive for “arête” (or goodness/virtue) is, of course, Jesus. He lived in the way of virtue (see Acts 10: 38) we should emulate (see Phil. 2: 5); and according to Paul in 1st Thess. 4: 1, we should do more and more in our lives, day-by-day, to achieve Christlikeness in the quality of “arête.”

My Prayer Today: Yes, Lord, help be to be more like You. Amen

June 15, 2011 … Integrity Walks In Humility

Passage of the Day: Daniel 3: 13 – 15 … 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"

My Journal for Today: Nebuchadnezzar had to learn a hard lesson … the hard way. It was the lesson of Proverbs 3: 34 (repeated in James 4: 6 and 1st Pet. 5: 6) … that God ignores or rejects the proud and only gives His grace (i.e., unmerited favor) to the humble. In today’s passage (Dan. 3: 15), we read how the King’s prideful attitude toward the God of the Hebrews had gone from recognizing the greatness of the God these Hebrew boys worshipped (see Dan. 2: 47) to a prideful/haughty declaration, putting himself above the power of the one true God. His attitude was a human picture of Satan’s declaration that he was greater than God [see Isaiah 14: 13 -14].

But Proverbs 16: 5 declares that anyone with such pride in the face of God will not go unpunished; and if one reads ahead in Chapter 4 of the book of Daniel [linked here in case you want to study it], we read a letter written by Nebuchadnezzar telling of how God brought him down so completely that he, the king of Babylon, could see the greatness of the God to Whom these four Hebrew lads so humbly and faithfully worhipped.

This teaches us a lesson we all must learn … that Christlike integrity walks only as Christ walked … in humility and meekness (see Matt. 11: 29). And if we, by our choices, cannot humble ourselves before God’s throne of grace, He – our Lord – will have to do it for us; and that can be, as it was for Nebuchadnezzar, a very tough lesson to learn. A meditative re-look at Prov. 3: 34 shows believers that God really wants to pour His grace into the life of His humbled servants. However, He can only do so into lives of humble servants who worship Him faithfully and obediently.

May we be those servants?!

My Prayer Today: Be merciful, Lord, in helping me learn to be humble. Amen

May 31, 2011 … Our Ultimate Example

Passage of the Day: 1st Peter 2: 21 - 23 … 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. 22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." [quoted from Is. 53: 9]
23 When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

My Journal for Today: Talk about a role model!

This month I’ve been in devotional study, helped along by John MacArthur’s Strength for Today as always during this year, looking at how we Christians walk [i.e., live] worthy of Christ’s Name (see Eph. 4: 1-2) even when we face trials and tribulations. And in today’s passage from the Apostle Peter, we read of THE Role Model of role models in this regard – Christ, Himself. And it was appropriate that Peter reflected on the prophesy from Isaiah 53 of the “suffering Servant,” Who would suffer for all mankind and still look to His Heavenly Father in the midst of the man’s most horrible trail – His death on the cross.

This month we’ve looked at both Stephen and Paul as wonderful human role models of suffering servants who ended their lives, living out the strength in suffering exhibited by Christ on the cross. We see how they exhibited a Christian’s worthiness in their ability to stand in Christlikeness in the face of pain, suffering, and persecution, … both of them dying as martyrs in the name of their Lord. These were certainly two role models of Christlike humility and meekness in the face of persecutions, much as was their role-model, Jesus.

But you may say, “Stephen and Paul, yes; but can I do it? Can a normal human walk so worthily in Christlikeness, even in the face of great tribulation. And for the answer to that we mentioned the story of Cassie Bernall, who died at Columbine High School in 1999, when one of the teen gunman who had invaded that high school on that November morning asked her, threatening her life with a gun to her head, if she was a Christian, to which she replied without hesitation, “Yes!” And she, like Stephen and Paul became a martyr for her faith.

Can I walk like these faith-worthy Christians? Until I’m challenged as were they, I’ll never truly know; but I would hope that my faith and walk in Christ has matured to the point that I could. I certainly know that my head says that I’m committed to such a walk of faith. That’s why I’m here every morning devoting the best part of my day early each morning, getting to know my God more intimately. BUT, … my heart is challenged daily to be ready to walk into the potentially hot fires of life, still following Christ in fruitful victory … the One Who died on a cross that I might have this walk.

As the author of Hebrews (in Heb. 12: 2) puts it, these martyrs mentioned above walked … fixing their eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith. And once more I turn back the words of that incredible hymn …

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

What more could we ever say about what we always need to do when we face trials and challenges in life?

My Prayer Today: And may that, Lord, as I come to this quiet place each morning to be with You, be my daily habit. Amen

====================

Blogger’s Note: Well, that concludes my journaling of my daily quiet-times with my God each morning in May, this month focusing on how to walk in a worthy manner in Christlikeness even when things get rough in life. Next month, I’ll be focusing, again with the help of John MacArthur in his devotional book, Strength For Today, on how to maintain INTEGRITY in the face of an enemy and a world who wants to denude Christians of our strength of character. Perhaps you might grow with me as we explore Christlikeness again this next month.

May 2, 2011 … Opposing the World = Hatred

Passage of the Day: John 15: 18 – 19 … 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

My Journal for Today: I don’t think it could be denied today that there is great enmity between the Christian world view and that of so many other sociopolitical forces, organizations, and religions in this world. However, in reality, we Christians should not be surprised that our Christ-centered world view is so despised, even to the point of outright persecution by various geo-political-religious factions.

As today’s passage indicates, from Jesus’ own words, once we are chosen by God and we choose to receive Christ as our Lord in faith, our new operating system (i.e., a heart as defined in 2nd Cor. 5: 17 or Gal. 2: 20) works in direct antipathy to the “kosmos,” i.e., the world, as devised and operated by Satan through sinful man. No … there should be no surprise that we, who hold a Christ-centered world view, will be hated in and by this world.

Christians simply do (or at least, should) see things differently from non-believers; and we are compelled to act differently as well. And that’s why the Apostle Paul exhorted Christians “…that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (see Phil. 2: 15)

So, I guess that begs the question for me [or us]: “Do I [we] shine like a Christ-like star in the midst of a dark and perverse generation?” Not brightly enough – at least for me, I’m afraid. Certainly and collectively the church does not shine a bright enough star with a divorce rate which some report to be even higher than that of the so-called secular world. What kind of a star is shining from the data reporting that over 50% [some surveys report over 70%] of Christian men are deeply into habitual sexual sin? How can we do what Jesus charged in Matt. 5: 16, … to shine our lights so that God, the Father, will be glorified, … if we are no different from or even worse than the world? How can we profess a love for God, if we love the world and create idols of from that world in our lives (see 1st John 2: 15-16)?

Yes, we are IN the world; but we cannot be OF the world and be Christians. It’s only when we take God’s word seriously, prayerfully devoting our lives as “living sacrifices” (see Rom. 12: 1, 2) to the truth of the Bible that we’re going to be able to shine Christ’s light into this darkened world.

My Prayer Today: Shine Your light in me, Lord! Amen

April 16, 2011 … Christlike Compassion

Passage of the Day: John 19: 26 … 26 When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Dear woman, here is your son [John],"…

My Journal for Today: Yesterday in my devotional journal I wrote how Jesus, in the midst of horrible agony and strain on the cross, stress which certainly is beyond our comprehension, was still able to focus on the spiritual needs of the thieves who hung there beside Him on Golgotha. And now, in today’s verse and from Dr. MacArthur’s devotional in Strength for Today, we read of our Lord, hanging there on that tree, speaking of His concern for the temporal needs of His mother, Mary.

I must admit that this is very convicting for me. Usually when circumstances make it difficult for me physically or emotionally, I have to admit that I lose my focus on the needs of others and I become very selfish. My wife could relate that when I get sick or have physical pain, I get very wrapped up in my suffering and often a “pity party” ensues; and the last thing I end up thinking about would be the needs of those around me. And yet, in the most dire emotional and physical pain imaginable, Jesus tenderly and unselfishly reaches out to see that the needs of His mother will be protected. What a model of selflessness we have in our Lord.

And though this model may be almost impossible for this humble Christian to reenact … or even imagine for that matter … it is still one to which I can (no, I must!) aspire. It may seem like “mission impossible;” but I believe the truth of Matt 17: 20, which says that, with my faith, nothing is impossible for God. And I also have the teaching of Paul, exhorting me onward from 1st Cor. 10: 13, which tells me that no matter what the challenge (i.e., test, trial, temptation, or tribulation) God is faithful to provide a way for me to endure and also from Paul [in 2nd Cor. 12: 9] that I have the strength from God’s very sufficient grace to do what it takes reach out and help others … yes, even when I would rather think of myself first.

May we all, therefore, recognize His truth … that God, the Holy Spirit, will continue throughout our lives to shape us into the Christlikeness we may have trouble envisioning for ourselves (but take the time to mediate on Phil. 1: 6 and Eph. 3: 20). God can and will do for our character much more in reshaping us into Christ’s image than we can ever imagine. But we must have faith that God can, and will, reform our character of compassion into that exhibited even by Christ on the cross.

My Prayer Today: O Lord, may I be ready, when tested, to be able to be compassionate to others. Amen

April 14, 2011 … Forgiving Others

Passage of the Day: Luke 23: 34 … 34 Then Jesus said [from the cross], “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

My Journal for Today: I don’t know about you; but when I read this statement from our Lord, the God-Man, dying on the cross, I think I’m probably more like Peter when the heat is on, running like a scared rabbit at the threat of death. It’s very hard for me to identify with the degree of sacrifice exhibited by My Lord, Jesus, on the cross. And some may say, “Well, He was God as well as man.” And that’s true; but Stephen (see Acts 7: 59 - 60) was just a man, a man with a sin nature like me; and yet, he exhibited the same degree of self-sacrifice and forgiveness when he was stoned to death unjustly as did Jesus on the cross. Remember the young teenager, Cassie Bernall, whom I’ve mentioned in my journal entries this month, highllighting how she died at Columbine High School by simply saying that she was a Christian to a deranged young teenager who held a gun at her head. So, obviously it’s possible for mankind to emulate Christlike strength and forgiveness … yes, even, while we are in the midst of dire or threatening circumstances.

But just think about what Jesus was all about as He hung there on the cross, dying by horrible physical pain and even worse, the spiritual pain of separation from His Heavenly Father. And yet, He showed the love of His father, forgiving those who crucified Him (and as we know, that includes you and me!). As He hung there, He was actually more concerned for the spiritual well being of His enemies than for Himself.

And therein lies probably the toughest challenge I have ever found in my pursuit of Christlikeness; and, though I’ve never been put in a position of having stand for Christ in a life-threatening instance or to forgive someone who was about to take my life, I would hope and pray that I could be like Stephen or maybe Cassie Bernall; and in my humanity, I could make the choice and genuinely forgive those who persecute me – even to the point of death for Christ.

Of course, I’d rather not ever be put in those circumstances; but I think we all need to ask ourselves, especially as we contemplate this in the light of Easter, which is often celebrated during this time of year, … “Do we have Christ in our hearts when we have to pick up His cross daily; or do we fall pray to our humanity as did Peter when he ran?” Tough question; but now is the time to be making the commitments and build up the discipline to be able to forgive our persecutors as did our Lord.

My Prayer Today: Lord, I feel so inadequate; but I know that Your grace is sufficient to give me strength to cover my weakness! Amen

March 27, 2011 … One More Enemy of Humility: Selfish Ambition

Passage of the Day: Matthew 20: 20 - 22 - [see underlined] 20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of Him. 21"What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in Your kingdom." 22 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" …"We can," they answered. My Journal for Today: The “Power Play” of James and John with their mother, which we revealed yesterday is an example of yet another enemy of Christlike humility for the human heart which is desperately wicked (as we know of from Jer. 17: 9). Salome, the mother of her “sons of thunder,” was using nothing but selfish ambition, edging for position with the One they perceived as their Messiah; and this is an interaction with Christ, from which we should learn about our own discipleship. First, this maneuver, using relationships for an insider edge, showed how impulsive and immature in their faith these first cousins of Jesus were at the time of this incident. At this stage, as Disciples, these two really didn’t have a clue about what it takes to be a leader in God’s kingdom; and that is surrender and suffering, which are both behavioral outgrowths of humility. It also reveals their pridefulness, which is just the opposite of what they would later learn it would take to become the leaders they ultimately became in God’s kingdom (i.e., humility and meekness). Had they known all of that, I’m sure they would have put the brakes on their mom intervening on their behalf and they would have trusted their Lord to help them become the servant-leader disciples they would become by following their Messiah in surrender. We now know from history and the New Testament, that James and John learned these lessons of life. James, whom we know from historical accounts, was also known of as “James, the Greater” and was the first martyred Apostle [44 AD], who was one of the prime movers in leading the peoples of Spain to the Gospel. His brother John, of course, much later penned his “Revelation” from exile on Patmos (probably some time between 68 – 95AD). But at this stage of their discipleship, as we see these biological brothers in today’s passage, both of these men needed a lot more seasoning as believers and followers of Christ to come to the place where they could become leaders in God’s kingdom. And we should take heart, or at least take pause, from this lesson in discipleship. We should be asking ourselves if we’ve grown in the faith to be in full surrender to God’s Spirit and our Lord. Are we humble and meek of attitude as charged by God through Paul in Phil. 2: 5? Are we ready to be used for God’s kingdom as followers of Christ as He commanded in Luke 9: 23? Are we ready to be an intentional servant first and an anointed leader thereafter, if God has such leadership in His plan as He most certainly did for James and John? I’ll leave that inventory for you; and I’m doing it even as I type this. But it is uplifting for me to know that two such impetuous and impulsively selfish characters such as the “sons of thunder” could become dynamically used for God’s glory when they chose and developed humility and meekness in their character. It points me in the direction of total surrender so that I might move from a focus on self to one focused on the Savior. I’m not there yet; but I pray that that is my direction. My Prayer Today: Prepare me, Lord, for what lies ahead in Your plan/purpose for me. Amen

March 25, 2011 … Practical Humility

Passage of the Day : Philippians 4: 5 - [see underlined] 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let Your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

My Journal for Today: In our look at “humility” this month, we’ve been looking at it as a reflection of Christlikeness, … Christ, … who was/is our perfect model of humility. However, in today’s passage/verse, Paul shows a shade of Christlikeness and humility which takes us deeply into the trenches of everyday life. He challenges the believer to exhibit the Christlike quality of “gentleness,” MacArthur citing exposing this quality from Phil. 4: 5 (from the NIV). That’s a quality which, like humility, runs counter to our culture, and which supports/promotes Christlike control, strength, and power. And remember Matt. 11: 29, which reveals Jesus using those two qualities, of HUMILITY (or lowliness of heart) and MEEKNESS (or gentleness), as the only two descriptive adjectives He ever used in Scripture to describe Himself.

This term, “gentleness,” in the NIV is the Greek word, “epieikes,” which is a difficult word to bring into the English translation for our Bible. One can see this difficulty of translation because of the many ways it’s translated. In the NAS, it’s having a “forebearing spirit.” The KJV has it translated “moderation;” and the NLT renders it “considerate.” Yet, in today’s NIV version it’s translated “gentleness” and in others it could be “meekness.” Obviously, English speaking Bible Scholars have had a challenge in finding an accurate and generic translation for this Greek concept, “epieikes.”

From what I can get from commentaries and John MacArthur’s devotional, Strength for Today, “epieikes” seems to convey the idea, for the Christian, of consideration of the feelings of others, drawing the strength to do that from God’s grace. Another angle would be having a patience or forbearance in the context of a believer having been mistreated or maligned unjustly, which was certainly modeled by Jesus during His Passion and crucifixion; as it was certainly modeled by 1st Century Christians under the tyranny of Nero standing in faith and meekness as they were tortured for that very faith. Christ manifested God’s grace ALWAYS, even unto death for our sins – certainly not for His sins - (see Rom. 5: 6 – 11 - linked here). Therefore, according to Paul, speaking on this one attribute, “epieikes,” we, as His followers, should strive as much as we can to be forbearing in love and consideration of the feelings of others; … yes, even when we’re unjustly attacked.

Our world and culture, however, certainly do not preach or value “epieikes” as a life quality to display openly in our socio-political choices. We are touted today to demand our “rights,” based on our individual feelings. That’s the existentialism of the post-modern 21st century, where “if it feels good, do it [!]” is the battle cry. Also there is almost an “anti-epieikes” mantra to become #1 at the expense of the feelings of anyone who might stand in the way. Control, … CONTROL, … CONTROL!!

So, how must we be like our Lord in the sense of “epieikes?” Well, to set ourselves in the right – and righteous – direction we have to ask ourselves as Christians …
• Am I holding any grudges or bitterness in my heart?
• Do I lash out with selfish anger when attacked or maligned?
• Am I a light of Christlike “epieikes” in a darkened world self-driven situational ethics?

If we cannot give an unqualified “NO” to the first two, and a hearty “YES” to that last question, we need TO DECIDE to fulfill Christ’s mandate of Matt. 5: 16 (and I would hope that you have that one memorized – but here it is below) …

SCRIPTURE: [Jesus from Matt. 5: 16] “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

And paramount in those “good deeds” ought to be an attitude and lifestyle if “epieikes.”

My Prayer Today: Lord, cut away all that is not Christlike “epieikes” from my being; and help me to shine Your light of meekness or gentleness into the world through my choices this very day. Amen

March 18, 2011 … Placing Others Above Self

Passage of the Day: [NIV] Philippians 2: 3 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Note the NASB version - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; …

My Journal for Today: I’ve added the NASB version of Phil. 2: 3 above as well as the NIV because this translation defines “humility” as “humility of the mind,” emphasizing the attitudinal quality we’ve been discussing in depth this month. The Apostle Paul had a real challenge in describing this quality to his Christian readers his epistle in the 1st century. According to John MacArthur in Strength for Today, these 1st century believers in Philippi were influenced heavily by the Greek culture of the day; and the Greeks thought of humility as an attitude only for slaves. So, using any term to describe “humility” to Greek minds in those days would have been considered as an extreme term of derision. Therefore, to discuss the concept of “humility of the mind” (see NASB version above), Paul invented a new Greek term, a compound word, “tapienophronsune,” because his readers in that culture would have never responded constructively to the common Greek term for humility, “tapeinos.” This latter term would have referred to slaves graveling in lowliness before their masters. So, Paul compounded this word for “lowliness” with the Greek word for “heart” or “mind” to produce what is translated in the KJV of Phil. 2: 3 as “lowliness of mind.” Paul was trying to help the Christians at Philippi to be able to put the concept of Christlike humility into some operational context where they would understand the importance of this attitude quality of Christlikeness without dismissing it as a “slave-like” attitude.

Paul, of course, fully understood how difficult it was for anyone to wrestle with pride and a deceitful heart [as you probably know from Jer. 17: 9]. One can read Paul’s story, reported by Luke in Acts 9, or his self described struggles with pride and sin in Romans 7, verses 14 - 24. So, Paul empathized with the readers of his epistle to the Philippians, as well he would with believers even now, as to how difficult it was or is to develop the Christlike mindset of humility that would allow believers to develop unity in Christ’s Church, which they (we) would need to confront the world and walk with worthiness as Christians (again revisit Ephesians 4: 1 – 4).

To bring the good news of the Gospel to a world which puts “humility” down, which is as true today as much as it was in the 1st century, is very difficult. We know that one cannot receive Christ as Savior and Lord without an attitude of humility. So, it behooves all of us, who follow Christ and His Great Commission (in Matt. 28: 19 - 20), to keep on being as humble as we can to receive the enabling grace we will need to bring the Gospel to a lost world.

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to think of others before self. Amen

March 15, 2011 … Threats to Humility: Possessions and Position

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 3 - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit; but with humility of mind, let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.

My Journal for Today: We continue on with a discussion of life issues which promote pride and thereby impede us from a Christlike attitude of humility. And two such issues are possessions and position.

Moses clearly warned God’s people, and thereby all of us, against the pride that grows out of achievement and accumulation, when he wrote in Deut. 8: 17 – 18 …

SCRIPTURE: Deut. 8: 17-18 … You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, …

I think we all know that the pride which can come along with the accumulation of wealth/power often goes hand-in-glove with class-related pride. I know that on more than one occasion, even after I became a Christian, on several occasions, I became convicted of thinking of myself as “better than” someone else just because of where I lived or because of those with whom I associated. But, in these instances, God has helped me to confess of this sinful pride and repent to pursue a more Christlike humility. What about you? Have you ever had to turn around from prideful selfishness or vain conceit?

But we have a model, the perfect model of just the opposite, in the life and ministry of our Lord, Jesus, … a life devoted to humble ministry to the poor, … a life totally devoid of class-related pride. And Christ’s most ardent and righteous anger was directed at religious leaders who loved to flaunt their position/power (see Matt. 23: 5 – 7).

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 23: 5-7 … [Jesus] "Everything they [the religious leaders] do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' "

The advertising industry today tries to get us to buy into the world’s siren call to have more … or to be the best we can be … or to build our self-image. But God’s anger is severe, as we read above, against such attributes [see also Isaiah 3: 16 – 26 - linked here]; and the Holy Spirit, through John taught us to avoid the pride of life which comes from the lust of the flesh and the eyes (see 1st John 2: 15-17) … because nothing eternal comes from these pride-driven attitudes.

My Prayer Today: Keep me, Lord, from the pride of life as seen in this world. Amen

March 12, 2011 … Understanding Who Christ Is

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: Back again to Paul’s exhortation to believers above toward a humble and worthy walk as a Christian, doing all we can as Christ’s followers to be like our Savior, Who walked in His short ministry on earth as the Model of humility and meekness. And it is a daunting charge from the Apostle Paul, who is not just asking Christians to walk in partial humility. No, we are to “be completely humble,” or what can be translated as “perfectly humble,” again with Christ as our mark of attitude and Paul (in Phil. 2: 5) indicating that we should aspire to the attitude of Christ in our Christian sojourn here on earth.

And John MacArthur slants us toward this difficult task in his devotional treatment in Strength for Today, emphasizing by his repetitious exposition of this passage, how important it is for Christians to strive toward humility. It truly is a daunting proposition; because who really can be like Jesus? But an awareness of Christlike humility is the first step in the right direction. To really KNOW Christ is to appreciate the depth of His relational humility as He walked in perfect harmony with His Father, attempting to minister to His inner group of disciples as well as other close followers. And it was difficult for those who chose to follow Christ to identify with His incredible degree of humility. In fact Christ’s inner disciples would have rather He be more pompous and aggressive as they began to recognize Him as THE Messiah.

We see that in John 13 as He washed the feet of His disciples; and they just couldn’t get it. Peter even balked at this display of humility in rejecting Jesus’ attempt to wash his feet. But Peter finally relented when Jesus rebuked his false humility. Peter had come to realize what an honor it was to be served by the humility of the Messiah. But later, after Christ’s resurrection we read in the writings of the Apostles how these formerly self-driven men, who had walked with Jesus, had become Savior-driven in their humility to serve Christ and His gospel.

They had known the God-Man intimately and had walked with Him; and after He rose from the dead, they came to realize that their lives would be marked to live as Christ had lived and to walk as closely they could the path that Jesus walked. Jesus came to serve the Father (see Mark 10: 45); and so His disciples learned that they were to serve others as He had served them. And we can have this same intimate relationship and walk with Christ as we get to know Him through His word and in our walk in His “footsteps” as His disciples.

Yes, when we truly know Christ, it is true that our self perception will be frustrating. The more accurate our picture of Christ’s holiness, the more painful it is to see our own lack of holiness. But that is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, helping to do what Paul wrote about in Phil. 1: 6 … to bring us into our predestined completeness, molded into Christlikeness. And the more complete this process becomes, the more we will find ourselves being humbled in relation to others as well as our Savior.

Hopefully you will join me in striving to live out, in the living sacrifice Paul wrote about in Rom. 12: 1, the humble and meek walk of our Lord. Because when we grow into His likeness, we will shine His light more brightly (Matt. 5: 16) and radiate Christ for others to see Him for Whom He is and whom they (we) need to become.

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to keep my eyes on You. Amen

March 11, 2011 … Understanding Who We Are

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: This business of HUMILITY must be important for John MacArthur to expose and discuss it so frequently in his devotional book, Strength for Today, repeating discussions of Paul’s exhortation in Eph. 4: 2 so often, last month and then again this month. And I understand the need for the redundancy personally because I struggle so to achieve the level of humility which God seeks for His children through Paul’s writing here. One cannot just declare that he/she is humble; because that would openly reveal pride. It is somewhat of a spiritual “catch-22.” And God is not demanding just “some” humility in today’s verse. No, He seeks “complete” humility.

Ouch! How could I ever get there?

Well, short of glory, I won’t! However, as a believer and a follower of Christ, I can follow Christ’s mandate in Luke 9: 23, seeking after Christlikeness, and choosing to radically pursue His attitude and lifestyle of humility as my goal for living as God’s word commands in Phil. 2: 5. I believe that was what Paul was searching for when he wrote such words as those found in Phil. 3: 13 – 14 or when he recognized his own tendency toward sin in 1st Tim. 1: 15.

SCRIPTURE: Phil. 3: 13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Tim. 1: 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.

Of course, all of us who believe and follow Christ as Lord and Savior still have a sin nature (see Rom. 3: 23); but to the degree that I recognize that reality and press on to the goal of Christlikeness, keeping short accounts of my sin and confessing when I’m convicted by the Holy Spirit (see 1st John 1: 9 and James 5: 16), I can expect that God, the Holy Spirit, is going to fulfill His promise of Phil. 1: 6 … to shape and complete me into the mold of my Lord and Savior. And as long as I keep God, The Son, as my Standard, not comparing myself to others (see 2nd Cor. 10: 12) as it is so easy to do at times, I will always see MY light in the Light of God’s Holiness – an ever humbling mirror for my attitude and way of life.

My Prayer Today: When I seek You, Lord, I am humbled. Amen

January 25, 2011 … Diligently Preserving Unity

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 3 – NIV 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4: 3 – NASB … being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

My Journal for Today: Paul’s exhortation of due diligence toward worthiness as a Christian in Eph. 4: 1 – 3 has now culminated in a charge that becomes the outcome command of Christians individually and collectively walking in worthiness to Christ’s sacrifice … i.e., in Christlikeness. Our charge here, by today’s passage in third verse of Ephesians 4, is to keep the unity that God’s Spirit needs to bring God’s love to a love-starved world …to bring Christ’s light to a sin darkened culture. And God has been saying, through the Apostle Paul, that this unity of Spirit will not happen unless we, as Christians, can walk intentionally and diligently with discipline in humility, meekness, patience, and forebearing love.

Christ prayed (in John 17: 20, 21 – below) that His Church would be one in Spirit.

>>> SCRIPTURE: John 17: 20 … "My prayer is not for them [Christ’s core disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [for the Church], 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.”

When a world, filled with discord, strife, and greed, sees the selfless love of Christ being lived out in a UNIFIED Church, Christ’s Body becomes a beacon of light shining into the darkness (see also John 13: 34, 35 and Matt. 5: 16); and we know that light always dispels darkness.

However, as we’ve seen, our unity in the church depends upon a collective presence and expression of God’s love whereby individual believers, working in unity, and glow with their collective individual qualities of Christlikeness, which we’ve been discussing, … shining their lights TOGETHER, powered by humility, meekness, patience, and selfless love … TOGETHER.

Yes, I said it; and it deserves repetition; … such expression, … the consistent, worthy walk of a Christian, … requires discernment, decision, discipline, and diligence so that we – as a Church – can walk TOGETHER in the unity of grace provided by God’s Spirit; … and the outcome is living a life of effective worthiness in Christ. Can we imagine the Spirit power of a large cohort of worthy Christian warriors walking in unison and accord in this word? Oh what as light – Christ’s Light – we would be!

My Prayer Today: Let it begin with me, Lord. Amen

January 24, 2011 … Forebearing Love

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1-2 [see bold/underlined portion] – As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: Okay, my fellow Christian, … if you are coming along with me and you haven’t been challenged or charged by the studies of Ephesians 4: 1 – 3 this month, then you, if you are like me, will likely be convicted today. The phrase under the scope of truth today from the Apostle’s letter to the Ephesians is “… bearing with one another in love;” and we first look at the term “bearing with [NIV],” which is the Greek term, “anechomai,” which could be translated “forebearing” as well [seen in the KJV] or “showing tolerance for [as in the NASB].” And when one combines that concept with the object term “agape,” that is, “forebearing with one another in love [KJV],” we have one of the most challenge commands in scripture to walk in worthiness to our Lord’s example [remember the command that Christians are to have attitudes like Christ – Phil. 2: 5].

We certainly know that “agape” love is one of the pre-eminent characteristics of God (see John 3: 16); and it’s the kind of love that covers all sins (Prov. 10: 12 and 1st Peter 4: 8) …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Prov. 10: 12 … Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.
>>> SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 4: 8 … Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

And the word picture, Paul is using, “anechomai” paired with “agape,” is the idea of the Christian throwing a blanket (i.e., a covering) of God’s love over the sin we perceive or encounter when dealing with others. Another word picture would be like covering a fire with a thick blanket for as long as it takes to smother the flames. John MacArthur, from his devotional, Strength for Today, says, “[forebearing love] … is unconquerable benevolence and invincible goodness; (and) it is completely selfless.”

I don’t know about you; but that is one God-shaped challenge to ask us, in living up to Christ’s command, to die to self (or selfishness) and follow Him (see Luke 9: 23); but it’s exactly what Jesus taught (turning to Matt. 5: 43 – 45) …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Matt. 4: 43 … "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

And wrapped up in these word of Jesus on the Mount, we have an attitude (i.e., forebearing love) to which we should continually ascribe and achieve to bring ourselves into Christlikeness in a world on fire with hatred, desperately needing a blanket of God’s love.

Wow, this surrender and commitment to Christ is certainly no easy walk in the park; is it?

My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to carry your blanket of love to put out fires when they erupt in my life. Amen

January 22, 2011 …Christ’s Patient Example

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1, 2 [see bold/underlined portion] – As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: Okay, for those who’ve been with me during these January devotionals, some of you may be saying, “Aren’t we dwelling a bit long in Eph. 4: 1-2?” But can I use a little double-entendre and say, “Please be patient!” Because my devotional shepherd, John MacArthur, in his Strength for Today is going deep to explore the enourmous need for us, as Christians, to be worthy of Christ with Christlike patience. So, perhaps just staying in this passage this long is a test of patience. ;)

But MacArthur recognizes, and I agree, that it’s difficult to be a patient Christian in a world that always is in “go mode;” and with our sin nature, we all have hearts so filled with the vulnerability of selfishness and sin. But as I’ve said, Jesus Himself commanded that we follow Him (see Luke 9: 23); and Paul, in Phil. 2: 5, which I will quote again here for emphasis, strongly declares that all Christians should have the attitude of Christ …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Phil. 2: 5 … Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; …

Certainly, Jesus was the perfect model of patience! Think about it. In the few years of His earthly ministry, He endured incredibly negative circumstances. First of all, He left the perfection of The Trinity [as I’d encourage you to review in Phil. 2: 6 – 11] to be humiliated, rejected, blasphemed, and spat upon, … all to endure the cross (see Heb. 12: 2) for my soul and yours.

>>> SCRIPTURE: Heb. 12: 2 … Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Truly amazing grace, isn’t it? And Christ also showed His perfected patience, being fully God and ministering in His humanity, by coping in a loving way with all kinds of difficult people. I’m thinking now of how, during those three years with His inner 12, He endured their disbelief and questions, over and over again, in spite of all the miracles they witnessed. Just think of how patiently the Lord endured the pain and ignominy during His Passion as He marched to the cross. And in the garden of Gethsemane He so patiently and lovingly, in such agony, accepted the will of His Father to accept the cup of death upon His shoulders (see Matt. 26: 39); and then hanging there in the darkness on the cross, dying, He would say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23: 34). Is that not patience personified?

It is no wonder that Paul charged the Church (all of us who are Christians) through Timothy (in 1st Tim. 1: 15-16) to be as Christ in our patience …

>>> SCRIPTURE: 1st Tim. 1: 15 … Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I [Paul] am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

When I meditate on that passage, I identify so completely with Paul’s mindset. Paul saw himself as a sinner of the prime order; and so do I. Yes, he had matured in his faith over the years of his discipleship, as have I. But I’m no where near as sanctified as was Paul when he wrote this; and he was almost blown away by Christ’s patience in His willingness to become a man and to save a former Christian hater and killer. Wow, the model of patience we follow is worthy of that followership in our worshipful living. And yes, I need more seasoning in sanctification to be as patient as was my Savior.

My Prayer Today: You are worthy, Lord, of all the patience I can muster to honor You in this life I lead. Amen