Spirit of Liberty

 2 Corinth 3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

We were once in bondage to sin and the law. Servants to sin that controlled our lives. But Christ has set us free from sin. Sin is no longer Lord over us. The Holy Spirit who leads us to experience a full surrender to His will and control is now our Lord. We now have the freedom to approach the throne of God. We have been delivered from the bondage of sin and now can live a life of liberty to show God’s love to the world. Sin keeps us from doing what is right, it is a road block from obeying God when He speaks to our heart. The world’s concept of being free is to do whatever you desire without any thought of how it may affect others or how it may lead to harmful consequences. Liberty in Christ is not a license to disregard the commandments of God and behave in a manner that will reflect a negative influence on the Christian life. Paul warns the Galatians: You have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. The Holy Spirit is our truth detector. He will lead us into all truth, and the truth will set us free and keep us free. True liberty comes when we are set free to live how God wants us to live without any inhibition or fear of what the world might think.

He Gives Life

 Act 17:28,25
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;..seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things..

He is all in all. With our whole being we make Him Lord of our Life. We live because He lives and provides us with all that is needed to survive on earth, and life beyond the grave. No one holds their own destiny. We make choices that determine our destiny, but our life is ultimately in the hands of God. The breath we take daily is given to us by our Creator, who determines when we will take our last. We live each day thinking there will always be a tomorrow, but out of nowhere, like vapor, it is gone. A tragic accident, a heart attack, or cancer makes its way into our life, and we are now counting the days. We don’t hold the number of days, we can only hold on to Christ who is our life, even in death He is our substance and our being. 
As my wife and I walked around the cemetery on the mountain side of Morrison to start making arrangements for our burial place, I was made aware of the certainty of death and the unpredictability of life. Gravestone markers of people of all ages. I wondered how many knew Jesus. Did they have eternal life that only Jesus can give?
 There are many teachings out in the world that give false hope. Paul faced this in Athens, where images of false gods were erected throughout the land. He acknowledged that they had been blinded to the truth, but He preached Jesus, and admonished them to repent. We still live in a day of many false gods. We who are born of God, and have life in Christ, have the answer to the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and life, and He alone can take that which is dead and give it life and life everlasting.  

The Sacrificial Lamb

 1 Peter  3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,

The observance of the death of Christ is recognized today, Friday, the end of Passion Week. As Christians, we celebrate this special day with thanksgiving that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins, renting the veil of the temple in half, giving us access to God, closing the chasm between man and God.  The week follows the Jewish Passover, which changes from year to year depending on the full moon after the spring equinox. The Passover occurred when the death angel came and killed all the firstborn in Egypt. The Jews were spared this death if their house had the shed blood of the lamb stricken over the door post of their home. The blood, signifying Jesus’ blood that was shed on Friday of Holy Week, covers our sin and the penalty for sin that we owe. He paid the debt that we could not pay. He was the sacrificial lamb who took on the wages of sin for you and me. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life eternal because He died on the cross and became the substitutionary lamb of God.  It would appear to be a sad day for those who followed Him, grieved that their Messiah was being nailed to a cross between two thieves. But Christ, who willingly gave His life, said, “It is finished.” The songwriter pens, “It is finished, the battle is over, it is finished, there'll be no more war, it is finished, the end of the conflict, it is finished and Jesus is Lord.” The victory has been won. The good news is that Good Friday is God’s gift to us, and Sunday is coming!

A New Commandment

 John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Making His way to the last supper, Jesus had a basin of water ready. He took the basin and went to each of his disciples and started to wash their feet. The Master and Lord of all, the Creator of man, was on His hands and knees at the feet of His followers washing their feet. Peter was horrified that someone as honorable and great as Jesus would stoop down to be a servant and do what the work of the lower class of people in society normally did. I can imagine Peter’s thinking, “Hold on Jesus, this is beneath your dignity, you are the Messiah, the Son of God, I should be washing your feet.” Jesus, who loved His disciples, rebuked Peter, and explained to Peter why it was important that He wash their feet. The washing of feet is not given as a commandment from Jesus, it was done to demonstrate what it looks like to serve and love others. The commandment that Jesus gave was that the disciples were to have a servant’s heart, and love one another. Jesus demonstrated His love for them by washing their feet. To love as Jesus loved is an act of the will, and not a feeling or emotion. Showing love is not always preceded by a feeling and a desire to act. It is motivated by the knowledge that it is the right thing to do. It is the Love of Christ that controls our actions and the things we do. His love that dwells in our heart sets in motion how to act and love in a way that pleases Him. Real love that comes from God is not pretentious, or done grudgingly, it is made possible because the Holy Spirit dwells in our heart, and His Spirit compels us to love.

Rooted and Grounded

 Eph 3:17
 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. 

Like a tree planted close to the river banks, our spiritual roots go deep into the ground of God’s love. Because Christ lives in our hearts, His abiding presence is what allows us to live a life that is surrounded by His love and grace. The dwelling presence of Christ is not made possible by adhering to church sacraments, or intellectually agreeing with the teaching and doctrine of the church. The church plays a vital role in the building up of our faith, but it is our faith and belief in Christ that we have been saved from sin and made right before God. This firm belief is the ground on which we grow and become established in God’s love. Love is the ground that we begin to truly grow healthy in being what God wants us to be. Our roots take up what is good, giving us the strength and power to live each day in Christ. Living a Christian life goes beyond the formality of conforming to a religion. Our religion holds us to Bible doctrine, but it is not the ground on which we are rooted to be like Jesus. To be like Jesus requires that we be saturated in His love and allow the roots of our life to take up His love and be manifest in the way we live our lives.

Give it your Best

 Col. 3:23
Whatever you do, do it  heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 

We find similar admonition in the book of Ecclesiastes 9:10 from Solomon. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” The daily task of the day may not seem significant in light of a life-span or eternity, but our time on earth is given to us by God, and we are to be stewards of this time. “Whatever” is all inclusive, it means in everything we do we need to give it our best. This is the motto I have used to inspire my students over the years I taught. I did not expect my students to be perfect, or even always get the right answer, but I did expect them to give it their best effort. God has given most of us hands to work, and a job to do. Sometimes others may not appreciate the work we do and the effort we give. It may even go unnoticed by those around us, but the work we do is for the kingdom and for Christ. We may ask, “Why should I care, no one else seems to care.” But God sees our hearts and our desire to serve Him. We all desire the approbation of others and as human beings the need to be appreciated and needed. This is not wrong, but our ultimate motivation is to honor God and to do our best to please Him. Whatever lot God has given you, do it to the best of your ability and do it to glorify the Father in heaven.

That Good Thing

 2 Tim. 1:13,14
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

“That good thing.” We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinth 4:7) We pray that good things will happen. We desire the blessing of God to bring us things that will bring joy to our lives, and bring contentment. But we know that for reasons not always known, bad things also happen, because that is the consequences in living a fallen world. But despite all the bad things that are happening, we have “That good thing” that God has given us through Christ. He has given us a clean heart, through His blood shed on the cross we have forgiveness of sin. We have the assurance that God is good and He does all things well. “That good thing” that is given to us remains in us because the Holy Spirit is living and guiding us each day. Giving us the power to overcome the bad things that come our way. We hold fast the sound teaching handed down through scripture and feed on the  good things of His word. We hide His word in our hearts and integrate them into the way we live our lives. Let us not let go of “That good thing” for it is the treasure He has given us. 

Our Vocation

 Eph. 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

Not everyone that is a believer is called into full time ministry. Someone needs to pay the bills and support the work of the kingdom. As part of the body of Christ, we all have a part and function within the body.  Beyond the work that God has called us to in the church, He also has given us a vocation, work that will not only support the livelihood of one’s family, but support the church and other ministries around the world that are spreading the Gospel. God has given each of us a talent, an ability to learn and acquire specific skills to work. All work is honorable if the work is honest and does not violate the scripture. We are to always give 100% of our efforts to the job that is given to us. Whether it is rolling out pizza dough, or doing heart surgery, we glorify God in what we do. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” words given to us by Solomon. We are ambassadors for Christ, let our vocation and work ethic reflect the life of Christ.

Simplicity in Christ

 2 Corinth 11:3

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

It is possible to be deceived even when you have good intentions. Not everyone that says, “Lord, Lord.” will be true followers of Christ. Paul continues to warn believers that there will be those out there that will not be teaching sound doctrine, that they will preach Christ, but not the simplicity of His teachings and the purpose of His coming. The sound doctrine of Christ is that He was born of a virgin, His Deity as the Son of God, came to die, to pay the penalty for the sins of man, providing salvation to whosoever will believe in Him. He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and sits currently at the right hand of the Father. He is more than a good prophet, teaching us how to live. He is the only way to heaven. “I Am the truth and the way, no man comes to the Father except by me.” This is the simplicity that is in Christ.

Put Off and Put On

Eph 4:22

Regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires.... and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature]..

The way we lived before coming to Christ will look different for everyone. Before Christ, we looked at life through a different lens. In our sinful state, we were focused on our own desires and contentment. For some, it may have been the pursuit of a career and financial security. Others focus on personal and social relationships, and there were those who looked for contentment by partaking of the pleasures of sin. But we have come face to face with Christ, and our way of life has changed. The looking glass of life has been renewed and we now see life through the eyes of Christ. Life takes on a new perspective, we may still desire to have career goals, social relationships, and even some of the pleasures of life that God has blessed us with.  But we now seek to please our Creator in everything we do. Christ is the center of our life and through the help of the Holy Spirit, we put on behaviors that will please Him.

I Shall Not Be Moved

 Psalm 16:8
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
When our focus is on Jesus, we are able to stand and not be moved or shaken from our faith. When everything in life is changing and things seem to always be moving we can trust Him to always be at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Christ is our firm foundation and we shall not be shaken when the winds blow, the storm hits, and the earth is moving. Keeping our eyes on Jesus, believing He will see us through, even when we don’t see it for myself. We can choose to trust Him, “I shall not be moved”.

Complete in Christ

 Matt 19:21

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete (perfect), go and sell…

What do you possess that you are not willing to let go in order to be complete and whole in Christ? The call to follow Christ requires that we take up our cross and let go of those things that hold us back from fully serving Him. The scripture has many examples of those who held back, and did not gain entrance to eternal life. The love of money has kept many people from having eternal life, but money is not the only thing that keeps people from having eternal life. Eternal life is given to us only through Christ, and knowing Him is to follow Him in complete obedience to His word. We cannot be perfect or complete in Christ if we don’t have a heart single toward Him and Trust Him with our whole heart.

Worship Him

 John 4:23-24
The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 
The place of worship is a special place. I often feel that God dwells nearer in these places. The reality is that God is not confined to a location or building. I still feel that the house of God holds special meaning, and that He is pleased that we have dedicated a place to gather together as believers to praise and worship Him as a collective body of worshipers. But as true worshipers of the Father, we worship Him everywhere we go. We worship Him in the way we live. Christ is the center of our lives, and in everything we give thanks. He is the air we breath, we find solace in knowing that He walks with us, talks with us, and abides in us. I love to worship Him in His house, but God is not seen in the material things of this world, He is seen in the hearts of believers, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Through the Eyes of Grace

 1 Thess 5:15
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

The old saying, “I don’t get mad, I get even” is what Paul was referring to when he wrote down the word, see that none renders evil for evil. The human reaction to being wrong is to strike back. That is the carnal and natural man's response, but the spiritual man sees people through the eyes of grace, and follows that which is good. “Do good to those who persecute you.” The words of Christ, as He preached on the Sermon on the Mount. Turning the cheek towards those that despise and hate you because you stand for truth and seek to live as Christ lives is made possible because the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to love and forgive. This is not to say that we should not defend ourselves and our family from being hurt, but when situations are out of our control, we trust God to take care of us. Most people render evil because they have hate in their heart and sin causes them to hurt others. It is the grace of God that is able to change this heart, and we are the light of the world to show others there is another way to live. We can live to show love and kindness to all men, even in times when evil is being rendered to us.

Belonging

Gen 2:18  And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.

God created man with the desire to have relationships. We all long to be connected and belonged. It is not good for people to live in isolation in a world of being alone. As a body of Christ, we need each other. We need the personal relationship with Christ and the fellowship of other believers. Even tho we sometimes walk in the valley of loneliness, He has promised to be there with us. It is not God’s plan that we go through life alone, fellowship and belonging are critical to our social and spiritual well being. There are some things in life that we must bare alone with Christ, but we should never forsake the fellowship of others and walk alone.

The Light of the World

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Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

As follower of Christ, there are no secret Christians. How you live will portray what you believe. The life of a Christian is to show the world that it is possible to live a life of love and kindness. Not only possible, but essential to calling yourself a follower of Jesus Christ. Being  the light of the world implies that the world is filled with darkness and those that live in the world walk in darkness and are lost. Light is what pierces the darkness. It illuminates the way and serves as a beacon to help people find their way out of darkness. We our the light of the world when we reflect the true light for “He was the true Light, which lights every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9). If your light is shining, it is seen by all who know you. Christian are not to hide this light, but we are to let it shine, not in word only, but in the way we live.