April 8, 2022                                              A  HIGH  CALLING
Colossians 1:9-12 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
You might read this passage and think “This must be reserved for special people like Paul or it must be talking about how life will be in heaven.”  No doubt, this prayer that Paul prayed for believers is  staggering; yet, this prayer expresses what is available to us as children of God-it reflects the heart of God for His people. This prayer goes beyond human reasoning and it is beyond our grasp apart from the Holy Spirit bringing it to fruition. To begin, how awesome is it, or would it be, to be filled with the knowledge of Gods will and to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding! In this life, we need that for sure. Yes-we can walk, or live life on planet earth in a way that is worthy of the Lord; we do not have to think or live according to the ways of the world. In the nitty-gritty of life, in the everyday routine of life, we can please Him in all we do; and, the things we do will bear good fruit-we do not have to live a wasted life and a life without impact. Let us know that we can increase in the knowledge of God; no matter how long we have been a believer, there is more to discover of God. Rather than being weak and discouraged in life, we can be strengthened with all power in His glorious might! Think about it-we can experience all steadfastness, not being driven by circumstances; and we can have all patience in a world where impatience seems to be the norm. The really good news is that we do not have to work at having these traits; but rather, it is a matter of coming to understand our new identity in the Lord, to understand that these traits are what the Holy Spirit makes a reality for us. It’s true that we may not experience all of what Paul prayed for us at the present, and it is true that being transformed into His image is a process or a journey; but, as we as we increase in the knowledge of God and as we increase in the knowledge of who we are in Him, we will be experiencing just what Paul prayed for us.
Ephesians 1:18-19b “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power to all who believe.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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April 6, 2022                                                             BUT  IF                                                                               
Romans 8:5-6, 10-13,  “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”         “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, the live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The word flesh as used here refers to “affections and desires that run contrary to God.” Martin Luther. Throughout the New Testament we find the terms ‘flesh’ and ‘Spirit.’ As we read the scriptures, it becomes evident that believers have the choice of setting their minds on the flesh, or on the Spirit-and the choice they make has huge consequences. At the core of this subject is death to self-to our ways, or being alive to the Spirit; there is no middle ground. It may sound a bit confusing, but we are to consider our body as being dead to sin or dead to the flesh: that is where our mind set comes into play-that’s where we have a choice; we are to reckon, or consider bodies as dead to sin. Romans 6:11. We are not to make provision or allowance for sin; we are to quickly reject any temptation to sin. As the passage above instructs us, we are to be ‘putting to death’ the deeds (fleshly) of the body; that denotes an ongoing process.  We are to have a desire and a mindset to do things that are pleasing to the Lord-that mind set is powerful and it keeps us from ‘compromising’ with sin. This mind set will determine what we watch on television or on our smart phone, it may effect where we go, and it will cause us to guard our words and our attitudes. If we think that the mind set on the Spirit will rob us of fun or somehow reduce our quality of life-we could not be further from the truth. The truth is that the mind set on the flesh leads to death while the mind set on the Spirit leads to life. It is interesting to see in the above scriptures that God will give life to our mortal bodies; our physical body is created by God; the problem is when we yield our physical body to sin. Contrary to the philosophy of the world, when we put to death the deeds of the body (the sins), we will live! One thing to note: whether it is a ‘small’ lie, or murder, it is still the flesh. I say that to make sure we understand that wrong attitudes, ungratefulness, impatience, greed, and etc. or all deeds of the flesh-and we must be on guard against such things. For a list of the deeds of the flesh, see Galatians 5:19-25. Let us daily, even hourly, be setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, and not on things of the flesh. When we live and when we make decisions according to the Spirit, we will experience life to the fullest.
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
PS: In the verses above, when it says “you must die,” that means that we must die to ourselves, to the desires of the flesh.
       

 
April 4, 2022                                      INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  DAILY  LIVING
Romans 15:1-6 “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me.’” For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
The written word of God challenges the greatest minds, and yet it gives clear and easily understood practical insights on daily living. The life of the believer should be an expression of the life of God at work in the believer; the nature of God-what He is like-is to be reflected in the life we live. Jesus humbled Himself and came as a man to bear our sins and to reveal the love of God and to demonstrate to the world the character of God. Jesus is our example. We know from the scriptures, and from our own experience, that we are not capable of living up to the example of Jesus in our own strength; only through the working of the Holy Spirit in us can we live according to the ways of God. The passage above is a beautiful example of some of the practical instructions on how believers are to conduct themselves. Instead of complaining about or looking down on someone who is weak, lend them a hand and bear their weakness; we are not to focus on pleasing ourselves. Concerning our neighbor, we are to bless them and edify them; our neighbor is not limited to those who live beside us. Sometimes we may think that the Christian life should be smooth sailing-but if that was the case, we would not need to persevere and would not need to be encouraged. In this life where we face difficulties, we need hope, and hope is found in the scriptures. Also, God is about His people being in unity; we are to pursue unity and peace with other believers and we are to accept one another-even though they may not be like us and even though we may not be naturally drawn to them; our acceptance of others is based on each of us belonging to the body of Christ; we accept others just as God accepted us. God has been gracious to give us the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to live life according to the ways of the God-even in this fallen world. Let us read God’s word with the mindset of receiving instructions for daily living.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
April 2, 2022                                                   USELESS   FAITH
James 2:14-20 “What use it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and is need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
James does not mix his words; there is no way one could not get the message that James is conveying. James drives the point home very clearly; the faith that is of God is evidenced by works. Of course, we know that salvation does not come by works, but by the wonderful, undeserved grace of God. There has been an misunderstanding regarding grace that opens the door to sin. I have heard it said that “It does not matter what you do because we are under the grace of God.” That belief surely leads to shipwreck. As I read the passage above, I am compelled to examine my faith; do I just claim to have faith and yet not show my faith by works? Am I to busy or too unconcerned to put my faith into action; or too busy to even see a brother who is in need? We must understand, as James says, that faith without works is useless. The faith of God that we have is empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit-that is key. God is a God of action and a God who cares; and that same nature of God has been put into us-He has given us a new nature like His. As we go about life, we must be alert to the work of the Spirit as He leads us to be expressions of our faith. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Let us be on the look-out for the good works that God has prepared for us. Often, the good works we are called to do are very practical in nature; such as giving food and clothing, helping with a project, sharing a word, praying with someone, writing a letter or a note to someone, visiting the sick---and the list goes on. God has already equipped us to do the works He calls us to do. As we go about expressing our faith by our works, we will discover that that is what we are designed to do, and we will be blessed in the process. Hebrews 10:24 is a verse that the body of Christ needs to embrace-“And let us continue to consider how to motivate one another to love and good deeds.” Again, we are not to do good works as a way of trying to earn God’s approval; we do good works because faith is active and faith expresses itself through works. As James makes so clear; faith without works is a useless faith. May we be alert to the opportunities that would allow us to express our faith.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 “To this end we also pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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