Living in Christ, Not in This World

Psalm 119:19
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

God’s commandments have been given to us. They are not new and there is no revised edition. The Lord’s commandments have been the same for thousands of years and will be the same as long as time exists. They are pure enlightenment, so needful for our journey in time on this earth.

Along with His commandments, Our Heavenly Father also has given us His inerrant Holy Word to confirm His guidelines for our lives. There is nothing hidden from us except what we manage to hide from ourselves. We have allowed our fellow man to take the laws of Almighty God and hide them from us by replacing them with the laws of fallible men.

The laws of fallible men invariably turn toward tolerance of things that are not pleasing to God and these same laws are used to pressure one another into accepting wrongful behavior as truth. We must guard against becoming citizens of this earth and foreigners in God’s kingdom. In this day and time, we must dare to be strangers in our own land.

Let us follow the commandments and the inerrant Word provided to us by Almighty God. Let us guard against being drawn into the thinking of those who wish to deviate from God’s plan. Let us live in Christ and not in this world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is revealed to us in Your Holy Word. We bless the name of Jesus who is the Word made flesh. Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit may direct us to repent of the things in our lives that are not pleasing to You. We ask for the strength to turn away from these displeasing things and the grace to turn toward all that is pleasing to You. We beseech You that all of our faith will be in Jesus Christ and not in the world. As we surrender to Your will, equip us, Lord, to reveal Your kingdom to those around us. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.

Creating New Standards from the Pulpit

John 6:67
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

After teaching a particularly difficult lesson, many of the early disciples that had been following Jesus turned away from Him. At that point Jesus inquired of His apostles, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” If the apostles had chosen to walk away from Jesus because His teaching was too hard, where would the church be today? Fortunately, the apostles were grounded in the way, the truth and the life that was Jesus Christ. They chose to stand firm. They went on to build the foundation of the Church for the benefit of all mankind.

Today, pastors and evangelists are being challenged to answer the same question that Jesus presented to His apostles. Unfortunately, too many of them are quick to create new standards when their beliefs are different from the clear directives of God’s Holy Word. The arguments presented by these misguided pastors and evangelists seem so eloquent and enticing. Their teachings provide a pathway that seems easier and more attuned to our fleshly desires or, at the very least, is more compliant with what we are willing to tolerate. Unfortunately, these errant teachers who have decided to listen to the world, instead of the inerrant Word of God, are destroying the foundation of the Church.

We must decide how we will answer Jesus’ question. Are we going to walk away from His Holy Word and seek out and accept our own new version of Scripture? Are we going to choose not to follow God’s Holy Word as it is written? In effect, are we going to walk away from Jesus because His lessons are too hard for us to follow?

Let us stand with the apostles. Let us stand with Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ. Let us cling to the inerrant Word of Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided Your inerrant Word for us to follow. We pray that You enlighten us. We ask that You open our minds so that we may understand the exact standard to which You are calling us. We beseech You that You may perfect Your strength in our weakness so that we may be steadfast in following the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the Rock upon whom we stand, Jesus Christ.

What We Stand for Makes a Difference

Acts 24:16
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.

Paul spoke these words when he was giving an account of himself to his followers. He was under attack from his enemies at the time. He wanted his followers to know that he was under attack because he was leading a life that conflicted with how his attackers wanted to live their lives. Paul may have been the first to warn us about living our lives according to political correctness and not according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

How many of us take the comfortable silent path of “tolerance” in order to avoid being accused of being a fervent believer and devoted servant of Jesus Christ? Unfortunately, this is exactly where the world wants us. Much of what we see, hear and read that comes from the world is designed to desensitize us to evil and to move us away from the holy life style to which Jesus Christ calls us. When we give in to what the world wants to hear, we give in to Satan. We diminish our testimony that goes out to those who need to hear the truth.

It has become all too common to hear of the slaughter of Christians around the world. In most of these heinous cases, the martyrs are asked to deny Christ. Those who proclaim their loyalty to their Savior are subsequently beheaded or otherwise mercilessly killed. What is remarkable is how many continue to proclaim their faith in the face of the slaughter. Be certain that the faith of the first victim works to strengthen all the way to the last victim. One after another they lift and strengthen each other.

We will be held accountable for our testimony. What we stand for does make a difference.

Let us stand on the infallible Word of Almighty God. Let us strengthen one another through the bold expression of our faith.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to keep us mindful of the truths that You have revealed to us through the life of Your Son, Jesus, and through the writings in Your Holy Word. We pray that You enlighten us so that we may avoid the tricks of the wicked designed to get us to accept the self-serving ways of the flesh. As we live by your Word, Lord, we ask that You strengthen us to stand up to the ridicule and hatred of the world. Teach us, Lord, to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us to become bold ambassadors for Our Savior. May those around us be strengthened by our faith. We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

Bold Expression of Our Faith

Acts 24:16
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.

Paul spoke these words when he was giving an account of himself to his followers. He was under attack from his enemies at the time. He wanted his followers to know that he was under attack because he was leading a life that conflicted with how his attackers wanted to live their lives. Paul may have been the first to warn us about living our lives according to political correctness and not according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

How many of us take the comfortable silent path of “tolerance” in order to avoid being accused of being a fervent believer and devoted servant of Jesus Christ? Unfortunately, this is exactly where the world wants us. Much of what we see, hear and read that comes from the world is designed to desensitize us to evil and to move us away from the holy life style to which Jesus Christ calls us. When we give in to what the world wants to hear, we give in to Satan. We diminish our testimony that goes out to those who need to hear the truth.

It has become all too common to hear of the slaughter of Christians around the world. In most of these heinous cases, the martyrs are asked to deny Christ. Those who proclaim their loyalty to their Savior are subsequently beheaded or otherwise mercilessly killed. What is remarkable is how many continue to proclaim their faith in the face of the slaughter. Be certain that the faith of the first victim works to strengthen all the way to the last victim. One after another they lift and strengthen each other.

We will be held accountable for our testimony. What we stand for does make a difference.

Let us stand on the infallible Word of Almighty God. Let us strengthen one another through the bold expression of our faith.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to keep us mindful of the truths that You have revealed to us through the life of Your Son, Jesus, and through the writings in Your Holy Word. We pray that You enlighten us so that we may avoid the tricks of the wicked designed to get us to accept the self-serving ways of the flesh. As we live by your Word, Lord, we ask that You strengthen us to stand up to the ridicule and hatred of the world. Teach us, Lord, to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us to become bold ambassadors for Our Savior. May those around us be strengthened by our faith. We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.