Category: Christian Living

For April 22, 2019
After a religious gathering, inquiries were made about someone who missed the event. A person who knew the absentee responded by saying: “Gladiators,” and the message was clear.

A self-imposed representative of God, “straightened out” a person about a religious matter. As a result, the person who was criticized felt insulted, hurt, and chose not to attend the meeting.

In Luke 18:9-14, the Lord Jesus Christ addressed the issue of self-righteousness:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

In Matthew 7:1-5, the Lord admonishes us not to judge by attempting to remove the “speck” from someone’s eye when we have a “log” in our eye. A similar theme is presented in Galatians 6:1-3 (NIV):

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Religious gladiators slay their wounded. This dynamic is difficult to understand since failure is part of the human experience. Each of us, even gladiators will inevitably make mistakes and/or disappoint someone at some point during our lifetime.

In working with those who were sinners and outcasts, Jesus used an approach based on love whereby although the sin was addressed, the recipient felt loved and valued.

His new paradigm brought an extraordinary inner transformation, via the Born Again experience resulting in an eternal fellowship with God and others where faith, hope, and love are celebrated and practiced.

Also, the vicarious work the Lord performed on our behalf we could not perform for ourselves inspires our humility and gratitude. He loved us and died for us when we were sinners with no desire for Him or the things of God. As result, we now can have a deep abiding faith in the Lord while we hope in His promise of eternal life; completely motivated by love.

Because we are sin-tarnished, we must rely on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His perfect righteousness at all times. There is no place for self-righteousness in this model because our focus is never on our righteousness, which will always be “filthy rags” even on our best day according to Isaiah 64:6. Sanctification is a full time job that requires our attention 24/7.

Thus, civility, forgiveness, and reconciliation should be our aim when we encounter people who have either stumbled and/or have fallen into sin. Expressing love, and restoring the person to a right relationship with the Lord should be our objective. In other words, we should never shame or disgrace the person since we can stumble too.

Our goal is to restore, but our success is not guaranteed. Everyone has the freedom to choose to obey the Lord. Yet we can assist them into wholeness and restoration just as Jesus modeled.

Got tranquility? Yes! When Christ is our example.

For March 27, 2019
Our peace with God is the foundation on which our being, identity, choices, and destiny are forever changed. Through the vicarious and efficacious work of Jesus Christ, God deems us as having satisfied all of His righteous standards; suitable to have eternal, holy, and loving fellowship with Him according to Romans 5:1-2:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 

Romans 6:23 notes the wages of sin is death. In other words, someone had to die to pay sin’s price and reconcile us to God forever—Jesus did!

Our peace with God is complete and eternal because we are no longer at odds with Him due to our sinful past. (Jesus’ spilled blood at Calvary washes away our sins forever!) God accepts us into His family and into His holy presence forever. Jesus says those who come to Him will not be cast out in John 6:37. Also as the latter part of Romans 3:23 assures: “The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Sometimes the Enemy (Satan) uses our memory of past negative experiences to perpetuate the lie we are worthless and cannot be loved or forgiven. People who struggle in this area will often say something like: “God will never love or forgive me…You don’t know what I’ve done!”

We should be ever mindful our past is immaterial since it has been erased and forgotten by the cross as Colossians 2:14 (NLT) states: “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He is aware of our past hurts as well as those “secret” sins no one else knows about. Yet He is willing to love, accept, treasure, value, and forgive us. Thus, we should be all the more willing to love, accept, treasure, value, and forgive ourselves.¹

When we have peace with God, we can be at peace with others and ourselves. Here, we do not seek to avenge, harbor grudges, or express ill will toward the people who may have wronged us in the past. Nor do we express ill will toward those who are of a different color or culture. Instead, we give them all a “clean slate” and treat them as though they are precious in God’s sight—just as He does for us.

At Joppa, God reminded Peter that He shows no partiality, and He expects us to follow suit (Acts Chapter 10). There while Peter was ministering to the non-Jew Cornelius and his family, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit similar to the one the Jews experienced at Jerusalem, as presented in Acts Chapter 2.

Ultimately through this experience, God shows how Christians are one body, and one family in Christ. Thus, today we can express genuine brotherly kindness (Greek: philadelphia) toward each other, or the social (or horizontal) dimension of our faith (the vertical dimension) in Christ, which allows us to fulfill our Lord’s prayer for unity:

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:20–23 (NIV)

Christians are a diverse people with Christ at the center. God loves, saves, and treats us as equals, while his Word and Spirit enable us to practice a loving fellowship (Greek: koinonia). This miracle of simultaneous unity and diversity under the banner of Christ validates our distinctive message of God’s grace and love.

The world is a cold, cruel, and lonely place, where smiles are rare, and where people are so busy that they do not have time to establish and maintain connections. Yet Christians yearn for opportunities to fellowship, because we enjoy our interconnection as a Christian family; where even strangers can feel welcome as we share their world and allow them to share ours.

Worshipping, praying, and fellowshipping, sharing a meal, spending time together, celebrating birthdays and special occasions, and attending events of mutual interest are all ways that we show the world that we are a family where no one is a stranger or outcast.

Over time, together we will affirm there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, by growing in His grace and not walking according to the flesh an its desires but according to His Spirit as Romans 8:1-2 teaches.

When we Christians show kindness, honor and prefer one another as Paul teaches in Romans 12:10, we show kindness, honor and prefer our Lord, who says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren [and my sisters], ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40 (KJV)

Our peace with God results in a clear conscience that frees us from our past and opens new and exciting possibilities for our future. Now we can express positive, constructive feelings toward God, others, and ourselves.

 

 

For March 21, 2019
Approximately seven-hundred and sixty years before the birth of Christ, the Old Testament Prophet Amos warned ancient Israel of the consequences of disobeying God. In Amos 8:11-12 (NLT), he declares a most catastrophic warning to God’s people—both then and now (my emphasis):

The time is surely coming, says the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

For ancient Israel, this was a time of material prosperity under the reign of Jeroboam II. Yet rampant idolatry, wanton licentiousness, corrupt and abusive leaders, injustice, excessive self-indulgence, and insensitivity to the needs of the poor and underprivileged plagued this nation.

Because they chose to pursue the pleasures of sin while rejecting their Lord, they were subject to His chastening and dispersion at the hands of the Assyrians less than 40 years later.¹

If Amos’ warning sounds familiar, 2 Timothy 3:1-7 presents a similar declaration concerning the grave spiritual condition of many during the “last days (my emphasis):”

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power…always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Like ancient Israel, are we spiritually bankrupt and in grave danger today amidst our affluence?

I am concerned with how so many people adopt the opinions of “experts” who insist human beings are not created by God—in His image—with special, unique, incomparable intrinsic value; then we spoil, pamper and worship the animal kingdom, along with our pets, almost to the point of supreme deity.

Yet we can show little consideration for the sanctioned murder of a precious human life in the womb—especially in those instances when the medical technology to preserve life (coupled with the Hippocratic Oath) is an available, feasible alternative.

In Mark 10:14 (KJV), our Lord Jesus declares: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Yet many feel our children’s exposure to the Bible and prayer is somehow detrimental. Here, some will argue that supplying youngsters with contraceptives (instead of teaching abstinence) is somehow more beneficial and practical.

In addition, socially underdeveloped people (with a misplaced sense of entitlement) will often resort to violence to obtain the newest, biggest, or best “toy” they can have. Unfortunately, their actions often conflict with another person’s physical, financial, or emotional well-being; leaving behind vast numbers of abused, exploited, physically and emotionally traumatized victims of the perpetrator’s self-centered extravagance, sexual prowess, tyrannical oppression, and brutal assault.

Although these victims are often irreparably devastated, the harmful outcomes are irrelevant to the perpetrator because “it’s a dog-eat-dog world” where “only the strong survive.” Thus to them, the “ends will always justify the means” because “it’s not personal; it’s only business.” No wonder our news reports seem to grow gloomier by the day…there is a famine in the land!

God is the embodiment of love and holiness. He does not delight in our deprivation and famine. As 2 Peter 3:9 teaches, He is patient and longsuffering towards us because He does not want anyone to perish. Instead, He wants everyone to come to repentance.

To remedy the famine, God sent His Son as the Bread of Life, as presented in John 6:35-40 (NLT), to satisfy us forever:

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them…For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus is the Seed of the Woman promised to Abraham, through whom the entire human race would greatly benefit.² He is God’s Suffering Servant who redeemed a lost humanity as Isaiah 53:6 (KJV) foretells: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

As “The Good Shepherd,” His vicarious death imparts new life to His precious sheep just as He promises in John 10:10 (KJV): “The Thief [Satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Our Lord’s mission and message was distinct from anything seen or heard before or since, and His theme is simple:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”³

The Apostle Peter summarized these revolutionary ideas when he declared: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (NIV) We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the final analysis, absolute safekeeping is ours because He died for our sins and rose for our justification according to Romans 4:25.

As Christians, we should never live our lives based on the false assumptions of those who do not know the Lord and scoff at the Bible. Instead, we should always live by the biblical principles contained in our Christian faith. In this way can create an oasis where others can benefit greatly from God’s grace and love along with ourselves (as we grow spiritually as well).

By faith, we are a spiritual people whose very existence depends on Christ the Bread of Life and the Living Word. As we obtain His life-giving resources from the Bible that enable us to grow spiritually and morally, over time we can become astute practitioners of the Christian faith who express a growing moral consciousness to produce the living fruit that changes lives positively while validating our Christian witness.

Is there a famine in the land? Not for those of us who love the Lord…and love His Word.

 

 

For March 7, 2019
The Bible depicts a time in history, immediately before the Lord Jesus Christ’s return, when a callous disregard for the incredible, intrinsic value of other human beings, coupled with wanton lasciviousness and random, escalating violence would be commonplace.

It has been shown that ours is a segregated society where class and culture are often the mitigating factors deciding how and where we choose to live. Unfortunately, where we choose to worship is often scrutinized in this manner as well. Here, we allow sin to separate us into divisive factions that resort to violence to settle the most harmless of disputes.

Even worse, many professing Christians attempt to exchange our radical yet fundamental Kingdom principles for world-centered ideals at the expense of our extraordinary Christian witness.

Two of the more insidious examples are status and prejudice, which deceive us into making false assumptions about and/or imposing unreasonable, arbitrary restrictions on others.

In other words, here we can falsely assume that someone’s faith in God is invalid because they do not share our culture. Or we can choose to disassociate with certain people because they do not share our social/economic status and/or political affiliation (and/or vice versa); even though we profess Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior.

Unfortunately, there are some communities that have Christian churches on every street corner within a one-mile radius, and yet they share similar doctrines, liturgy, and rituals. How can we testify to the world that we are one body in Christ and yet maintain our divisiveness as though we were soldiers guarding a military base in enemy territory?

My brothers and sisters, this should not be when the Bible depicts a way of living that juxtaposes the hostile tendencies of this fallen world: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1 (NIV)

Imagine living in a world where we not only demonstrated benevolence towards others, but we also valued each other equally. This would create an environment where we practice civility, respect, care, support, and goodwill towards each other consistently. That would be wonderful!

The Lord introduced such a magnificent Kingdom to a sinful, clandestine world almost two thousand years ago where His people are one—even as He is one with the Father. (John 17:22) Today, this glorious Kingdom remains a radical, counter-culture to a fallen world as it values unity and harmony among all its citizens regardless of culture or class.

He made us one with God through His vicarious death and triumphant resurrection. As result, the Bible teaches that we are united in Christ and serve the one true God:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  (Ephesians 4:3-6 NIV)

While the world promotes and celebrates factions and dissension, we Christians promote and celebrate peace and harmony. We understand we share the same identity and lineage as we are created in the image of God, and we share the same ancestry: Adam and Eve.

As such, since our ancestors fell, we understand that none of us are righteous before God in our own merit. Thus, we all share the same fundamental need for a Savior who will impart His amazing grace to us as we place our faith in Him.

More than ever before, this world needs to be reminded of the unifying message our Lord and Savior offers all people everywhere. Not only do we have this capacity, but we also have the responsibility to offer this world a glimpse of Heaven with its rich diversity of people united in Christ.

In this way, we can show that we are the blood-washed and blood-bought Saints who are one in Christ in Heaven forever, just as we are one in Christ on earth today. Now that we know that we are precious in His sight, let us view one another through His gracious and forgiving eyes.

 

For February 16, 2019
In this age of specialization, one has to have an exceptional level of specialized knowledge and/or skill to be considered competent in his or her profession. Yet there are those occasions when even the most adept of us can experience feelings of doubt and insecurity when challenged to perform a new task or assignment; despite having the ability and training to perform the task more than adequately.

In those moments of uncertainty, we can resemble the Moses featured in Exodus 3, who exhausted every excuse not to deliver the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage when he and the Lord  were discussing his splendid qualifications at the burning bush. Because even after having successfully completing the assignment, feelings of inadequacy may emerge and cause us to pause–wondering if we performed everything to specification–instead of a celebrating our accomplishment.

To remedy any possibility of doubt in our quality of Christian service, Our Lord Jesus Christ used a fruit analogy to deliver this memorable lesson on Christian competence and service:

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:43-45 (NLT)

In many ways I’m sad to say, I am old enough to remember when honesty and integrity stood for something. Now, lying, cheating, and stealing have become commonplace and accepted behavioral standards—even for some professing Christians—around the world. Yet I believe these duplicitous people are like a troubled sea, and there is neither rest nor peace for them as Isaiah 57:20–21 declares.

Although many try to discredit the purpose and importance of producing good fruit, God never has. His eternal purpose is to create offspring who will do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him each day. (Micah 6:8) Also, Jesus declares that He is the light of the world, and anyone who follows Him will not walk in darkness; we will have the light of life instead. (John 8:12) Thus, He affirms His moral competence and that of His followers.

As the Lord demonstrated, strength is not always defined by how much physical force we can exert on others. Respectable moral character also defines it.  As the Lord’s branches, we can yield moral fruit consistently, just as He declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Our faith-driven, Spirit-powered, and Christ-centered life of moral excellence produces lasting good fruit that contrasts the prevalent, sinful bad fruit of those who celebrate pretense and reward dishonesty. We share a compelling Christian witness to those we encounter in our personal and social lives.

Our personal lives are spent not trying to please or impress others in sanctimonious exhibitionism. Instead, we covenant with the Lord daily by choosing to walk after His Spirit and not our sinful impulses. Our moral strength flows from the power of the Holy Spirit within us so that the “who we are when no one is watching us” can interact with God, others, and ourselves safely and appropriately.

In other words, without Christ, we were villainous; with Christ, we are virtuous. Before Christ, we practiced deceit; after Christ, we practice sincerity. Once duplicitous, now we act and speak with integrity at all levels. With His Spirit-driven distinguishable lifestyle, we now can keep our word, speak the truth in love, and ask for help when needed.

Also, we seek spiritual, emotional, and psychological harmony by growing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and others as the Lord did. (Luke 2:52) Confiding in a pastor, a trusted mature Christian friend, or in a qualified professional can be invaluable to us as we seek to attain spiritual and moral balance. ¹

Now on those occasions when we experience temptation and fall into sin, we do not mask our immorality with blame and excuses. Instead, we ask God for forgiveness, reconcile with the offended person (or persons), and practice an improved moral and spiritual lifestyle.

In addition, we strive for emotional security and are not afraid, threatened, or intimidated by the status, abilities, accomplishments, or possessions of others. Envy has no place in our hearts when we interact with other people. Because we understand that it is the Lord who causes people to rise or fall, and we should not waver from trusting His infinite wisdom and providence.

Here, we are never proud, boastful, or haughty over our position, abilities, and possessions, we view ourselves as God’s stewards. He blessed us with resources so that we can be a blessing to others, and He has every right to expect us to be faithful in our stewardship.

We also protect, preserve, and strengthen our bodies through adequate rest, exercise, and diet. We reduce unhealthy levels of stress, abstain from drug and alcohol abuse, and engage in physical activities that honor Christ. We also provide a positive witness to others as good winners or losers because He is at the center of everything we do.

Since our goal is to grow closer to the Lord, passivity is not an option for us. We strive for spiritual maturity by saying no to sin, Satan, and self, while saying yes to fasting, praying, reading God’s Word, attending church, and serving others.

Socially speaking, our good fruit will advance the cause of others as we treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve. We treat all people with sincerity, honor, and respect, regardless of class or gender, and we interact with them without expressing bigotry and prejudicial lawlessness; because we understand that God created all people everywhere in His image–as equals.

Once aliens, we were reconciled to God when He called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Using His example as our model, we can extend ourselves to others to form and nurture meaningful working and learning relationships that will honor God while improving our social condition. Thus, we obey the laws of the land, and we submit to and pray for our civic leaders regardless of party affiliation

Good fruit is the byproduct of our reverence toward God and His penetrating Spirit within. We can live out a pure religion that is undefiled before God and keep ourselves unspotted from the world while refraining from practicing a sinful lifestyle. Such embodies our Lord’s work in us, and His will for us.

Most of all we love God, and we want to do all we can to please him; because it is the right thing to do.

Continue producing good fruit.