January 25, 2020 MARCHING ORDERS
From Romans 12: “Love without hypocrisy-abhor what is evil-cling to what is good-be devoted to one another in brotherly love-give preference to one another in honor-not lagging behind in diligence-fervent in spirit-serve the Lord-rejoice in hope-persevere in tribulation-devoted to prayer-contribute to the needs of saints-practice hospitality-bless those who persecute you-rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep-be of the same mind toward one another-do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly-do not be wise in your own estimation-never pay back evil for evil to anyone-respect what is right in the sight of all men-do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
The Christian life is anything but boring or stagnant! The above is not an exhaustive list or description of what the life of a believer is to look like, but it is a good sample, or starting point. Our first thought we may have is that who in the world could keep all of these instructions! If that is our thought, there is good news for us. Even though these are commands, or instructions, given to believers, we should not view these as a list we must keep. The good news is that these ‘instructions’ are actually pictures or descriptions of what the life of a believer looks like when life is lived out of the new creations they are in Christ. Living in or walking out of our new heart, our new mind and our new spirit results in living according to the heart of our Father. When living out of our newness, it becomes our nature to live in agreement with these instructions. It is our old nature that sees these commands as burdensome, and it is our old nature that tells us that we must in our own strength obey God’s word. One major thing that hinders believers from living out these commands-these marching orders-is that we all too often make our decisions and our actions based on how we feel. In Romans 6:11 we read: “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” In the book, Orphans No Longer, Dudley Hall relates that the word ‘reckon’ means that we count it as true and we act on it whether or not our emotions line up with it. The fact that God gives us instruction and commands is all the reason we need to carry out what He says; there is no room for debate-just do it. The words of God should indeed move us, change us, and be what sets the course of our life. Who are we to debate the clear instructions of God? Again, to ‘reckon’ the word of God so, to act on His word regardless of how we feel, is the doorway that leads to life indeed. We discover the ultimate freedom when we come to know that the instructions of the scriptures-the commands of God to His children-are all pictures or pointers of, or descriptions of what our new nature and our new heart is like. Let us reckon, to count as so, to act on what God has said about us; He has said that He has given us a new nature, a new mind, and a new heart. If we walk in our true identity, we will find great joy and fulfillment in carrying out all that God has said. Only as we walk in our newness will we discover life as God designed-overflowing, abundant life. If we are not currently living according to the ways of God, then let us confess that to God, turn from our ways, and then begin to simply do what the scriptures tells us to do. It sounds simple-and it is simple- because God has already made us new creations-our part is to live out what He has done. His words are life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Blessings, Buddy
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