October 6, 2011 … Children of Light

Passage of the Day: 1st John 1: 7 [see highlight verse in bold and underlined] … 5 This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

My Journal for Today: Again, as we’ve seen thus far in my studies this month (as above in 1st John 1: 5), one aspect of God’s character is light (i.e., truth from His holiness). In 2nd Peter 1: 3 – 4, a passage to which I refer often in teaching or ministry, the Spirit-inspired Apostle, Peter, makes it clear that the Spirit implantation of God’s character in the heart of the born-again Christian gives the believer all he/she needs to walk away from sin and into a way of life reflective of the light of Christ. In this way, surrendered Christians [and I emphasize the word “surrendered”], as they (we) mature, become habitual bearers of God’s light, which produces two distinct benefits.

The first of these character positives is an intimate and abiding fellowship with Christ. In today’s verse [see bolded and underlined above], the phrase “one another” refers to a mutual fellowship with God, which results as we walk in the path of God’s light – together as Christians. That unified walk, of course, is Christ’s church, i.e., His Bride, joining in togetherness, to shine their collective light into a very dark world.

As MacArthur puts it, from today’s Strength for Today devotional, “Believers share a common life with God, experience His presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and commune with Him through prayer and meditation on His word.” Hence, we should see that the way we experience the light of Christ in our walk in this darkened world is to do all we can to deepen the intimacy of our fellowship with Christ individually as Christians and then together as His Church. And I think you can see that this would mean determined, disciplined, and diligent devotional time spent daily in God’s word and in prayer … every day and as often as we can choose to do so.

Secondly, Christians experience cleansing from sin by the blood shed by Jesus for sinners. Again, from John MacArthur, “… walking in the light does not earn forgiveness; rather, forgiveness is freely granted to those who walk in the light.” And, as we’ll see when we delve into 1st John 1: 9, the only way we, as Christians, can walk as “children of the light” is to regularly and completely confess our sin, being cleansed by Christ’s blood, so that we can follow the mandate of Christ, Himself, who commanded us to shine His light into the world so that others can see our good works and glorify God, the Father (see Matt. 5: 16).

My Prayer Today: Shine, Jesus, shine! 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