Author: rbeaird

THE LOST VOICE IN TODAY’S CHURCH…


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Ezekiel 2:1-7 – “Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” 2 As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. 3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 “I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 “As for them, whether they listen or not — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 “And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. 7 “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.”  NASU

 

I have found times in my life when the LORD instructed me to deliver a message that I knew would not be well received by my audience.  It was not pleasantries or platitudes but a challenge from the Spirit of God over a condition or a call to action.  Ezekiel was called of God and his assignment was not an enviable one for anyone who wants peace and has even a smidgen of love in their hearts for people.  God told Ezekiel that He was sending the prophet to a rebellious people, a stubborn people who were obstinate.  Does that sound like an assignment you’d relish being given?  Not me!  I know what it is like to stand in the middle of the proverbial stream and everyone wanting to go with the current and the Spirit of God having me declare, “NO!  Not that way this way.”  Going against the current is not the easy path and will meet much resistance and opposition but if that is what God says, that is what God wants, and the prize is not downstream but up.

Then God tells him, “neither fear them nor their words…”  Okay, God, I have learned from experience and from reading your word that when you say DO NOT FEAR there is something to fear.  There is something that potentially can do harm.  There is something I will face that will be difficult and might make me want to concede and go with the flow.  LORD, when you so “do not fear,” my flesh says, “be afraid, be very afraid.”   If he had simply said, DO NOT FEAR it might not be so bad but he goes on to say, “…though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions…”  WHAT?  Wait a minute God that sounds like severe persecution and physical as well as spiritual pain.  It’s about that time, we begin to say, “Lord, I’m not qualified…”  We try to pull a Moses on God and offer our excuses as to why we cannot fulfill His commission.  However, God will not be deterred and we might have a Jonah experience and our only deliverance and theirs is for us to OBEY.

There is a truth in God that would behoove us to consider.  If God tells us to WARN people it is our responsibility to give that warning often in tears.  It is not our responsibility to make them repent.  That is totally and completely their decision and choice.  But, if we fail to warn them and fail to sound the alarm then we become guilty of their failure.  We are messengers, He is God of the message!  We convey the message and He brings conviction to the heart.  Today’s church has largely lost the voice and office of the prophet of God declaring God’s “Thus Says the Lord.”  When the Church goes silent evil prevails and I am praying for the voice of God to be heard loudly in our churches again so that we might hear His still small voice saying, “This is the way walk in it.” 

God help us to return to You so that You might return to us and restore us!  Abundant Blessing is my desire and prayer for each of your lives.

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AN IRREFUTABLE PRINCIPLE FROM GOD’S WORD…


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2 Corinthians 9:6-11 – “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written,“HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”  NASU

 

There are several things I wish to address in this devotional other than specifically the “Law of Sowing and Reaping”.  That law is emphasized in v 6 but the expansion upon that principle by the apostle Paul in the next verses is vitally important for our consideration.  Let’s consider the principles, promises, and potential of Paul’s declaration.

This giving or sowing is to be done uncoerced and out of a reasoned decision of the giver or sower.  The need is presented, prayer offered, and a decision or desire expressed based on what the heart longs to do not through shame or coercion.  If we give grudgingly but out of a sense that we must do so to either put a salve on our conscience or for appearance it is a waste of time as far as any benefit spiritually or naturally we will receive.  God is moved not by what is in the hand but what is in the heart.  If a gift is not joyfully given from one’s free will it is not a gift in the truest sense but an attempt to buy or earn something.  There is no reward for that.

The promise found here is that when the giving is completely a result of the free choice and done cheerfully out of a heart overflowing with love and compassion, God makes ALL GRACE abound to the giver.  That grace produces some specific happenings, one of which is the giver will have ALL SUFFICIENCY in EVERYTHING and have an ABUNDANCE or overflow enabling them to give to EVERY GOOD CAUSE they encounter.  That is an incredible promise and potential.  How would you like to be in a position where you had overage that would allow you to give to whatever good cause you encountered?   The verse quoted by the apostle is from Psalm 112:9 and is an incredible promise of the LORD.  It not only indicates a return on your giving but God’s viewing your stewardship as righteousness.

The explanation of the apostle Paul in vv 10-11 is encouraging and inspiring.  Paul reminds us of God’s ownership of everything in the world.  He highlights the truth that God is the one who supplies the seed for sowing and gives the increase of harvest.  God takes our gift(s) and enriches our lives in every way enabling us to become givers or sowers with even more liberality and that ability and liberality produce a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving to God.  Thus, giving becomes worship to God and enriches our lives in more than material possessions.  Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 6:38, “Give and IT shall be given to you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 

What we give determines what we receive for it will be IN KIND.  How much we give determines the return for it is MORE than we have sown.  Our sowing determines future harvest in our lives and what we give determines the kinds of harvest.  We reap WHAT we sow, MORE than we sow, and LATER than we sow.  But REAP WE WILL either good or bad.  This is an irrefutable principle and law of God and when we realize that through our giving we impact our lives in more than just money we have found the truth that can liberate us and propel us into God’s kind of liberality in sowing and reaping.

God, bless you as you enjoy this day the LORD has given us to live.

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UNITY IN CHRISTIANITY, A Requirement for Worldwide Revival…


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1 Corinthians 1:10-17 – “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”  NASU

 

Please understand that I am not saying we all must have exactly the same preferences in life or even in church but we MUST all agree on the foundational principles and truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  This is His Church not a following of particular doctrinal view or personalities.  The message of the Church is Jesus and the Cross not our pet doctrinal points.

The Early Church had divisions and those in positions of authority and leadership in this movement, such as Paul, felt compelled to address those divisions and remind everyone that the message was Jesus not personalities or particular sectarian doctrinal views or pursuits.  He made the plea for them to lay aside differences and become of ‘one mind’ and ‘one judgment.’  It is incredibly easy to be swayed by personalities in life and the church is no exception.  There were those who were saying, “I follow the teachings of Paul, or I follow Peter, and some said I’m a Christ follower.”  The latter statement is wonderful if it is not the type of thing that I have observed in the modern world of Christendom where even the name of our organization, fellowship, sect, or church is divisive and suggestive that “Only We Have the Truth.”  Paul reminded, them that they were not and should not be baptized in his (Paul’s) name.  He had not been crucified for them and Christ was not divided into various sects, groups, or camps that excluded others and divided believers.

Paul’s purpose and our purpose is to Preach Christ, deliver the Gospel in word and deed and in so doing ensure that the Cross of Christ would not be made void.  Jesus said, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.”  That was a clear reference to the Cross but it should also serve as a reminder that if we LIFT HIM UP in our lives and preaching the Holy Spirit will empower those lives and words to draw people to Jesus.  When the world sees a divided Christianity, it is not impressed.  They do not care when we say, “I Love You.”  It is when we demonstrate a unity, commonness of purpose, and commitment to our Lord Jesus and an acceptance of each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.  In our dog eat dog world that impacts them because they cannot understand that kind of unity and love.  It is other than what they know and is used to and tugs at their hearts.

God is sending a revival, renewal, and restoration to our world and those that experience it will be those who follow the directives of the Word of God and walk in Unity with Christ and Unity with Each Other.  We will cease to be a divided body but become a unified body.  As the Unified Body of Christ, we can impact the world.  As the Fragmented Body of Christ, we will turn the world off.  Which do you think is God’s desire?

God, bless you as you embark on today’s leg of life’s journey.

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THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES FOR SIN and VIOLATING GOD’S PRECEPTS…


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Romans 1:18-32 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are  gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”  NASU

 

Let me declare emphatically that God LOVES ALL PEOPLE even those in sin but He is also a just and righteous God and will not excuse, overlook, or justify sin.  This passage is clearly an indictment on the lifestyle of homosexuality but it is much more than that.  The words of the apostle Paul through the Holy Spirit are a clear indication that God’s anger burns against ungodliness and unrighteousness, but is white hot toward those who ‘suppress the truth’ walking or living in a state of unrighteousness.  He makes clear that God created people to be a people of righteousness, and godliness.  His wrath is directed at those who create idols to replace the Living God and commit abominable acts.  The revelation of the apostle Paul is that God, over time, will ‘give them over’ to their lusts and impurity of heart, bringing, in a real sense, a curse physically.

With regard, to sexual sins, the text and context found here indicate that homosexuality is more than simply a choice, and is assuredly not simply a genetic matter.  Its root is found in vv. 18-25 if you will consider them.  Paul declares in v 26, “for this reason…”  For the aforementioned reasons, God ‘gave them over’ to degrading passions…  God is not to blame as some would argue, but He finally reached a place in his longsuffering that He said, “Okay, if that’s what you want, that’s what you have but there is a serious and severe consequence.”  He then addresses the matter of homosexuality.

Then in v 28, He begins a clear explanation of the consequences.  They “did not see fit’ to acknowledge God any longer.  The result was a ‘depraved mind’ which propelled them into the darkness of their choices.  The result was a heart and mind filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, hatred for God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient, lacking understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.  If that was not bad enough consider v. 32, “and though they know the ordinance of God, that those who practices such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same thing, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”  What an indictment on a society that rejects God’s basic principles of behavior.

            We are not haters of people but haters of sin.  We want to see people delivered from the power of darkness and the corruption and vileness of sin, regardless of what that sin might be.  We want to see everyone come to repentance and receive the forgiveness of sin and experience the New Birth.  We should all pray the prayer of David in Psalm 51:8-12 -“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy Spirit from me. 12Restore unto me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit.”

Let’s pray that the Lord of Harvest sent forth laborers into His harvest.  God, bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Jesus!

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NEVER LET FEAR OF MAN SILENCE YOUR WITNESS…


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Acts 18:9-11 – “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”   NASU

 

In this present hour, I am amazed at how many in Christian leadership have become silent on many things.  I’m not sure of all the reasons but am fully cognizant of the reality that many are willingly silent and I am keenly aware of the result of that silence.  This is a devotional and not an attempt to make a political statement but regardless of what the issue before us, if we are charged with caring for the flock of God dare we not sound the alarm or declare God’s purpose and principles?  How can we stand before God and explain why we opted to remain silent on those areas in which God’s heart, word, precepts, and principles were violated, ignored, or trampled underfoot?  How can we stand before our people and explain to them why we have been silent?

We would not be silent when it comes to your own children if we saw them heading for difficulty, trouble, or disaster. We love them too much to remain silent.  Do we not love people enough to take a position that might be viewed negatively by human authorities and those opposed to God and His purposes?  Do we not believe that God’s Word is true and that God is the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Creator of all things?  If we do, then we must realize that we have a mandate from Him to “Sound the Alarm” when the alarm needs to be sounded.  Is God not God over all matters of life?  Does God not have authority in both spiritual matters and political matters?

Paul was undergoing some severe trials and facing incredible persecution including the threat of death and this vision indicates there was trepidation in his heart.  When God comes to anyone as He did with Joshua and says, “Do not be afraid” there is fear lurking or attempting to take root in the heart and mind.  When God says, “Do not be silent” He means “Do not be silent” but proclaim that which is true and right.  We have a mission and a commission to take the message of the Gospel to the entire world.  We are also charged with sounding the alarm when danger is present or possible. 

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I speak to the under-shepherds watching over local flocks of God’s sheep, this is a love and obedience matter.  Your silence is, at times, disobedience and could be viewed as a lack of love.  A lack of love for the flock and a lack of love for the LORD!  Before, you become angry with me to consider how God and people might view your silence.  If your child was about to step into a busy street and you sat silently watching that act would that be a demonstration of love?  If you could give a word of advice to another and you failed to do so, do you suppose they would look back on that event and say, “I’m so glad you loved me enough to be silent?”  NO, they would wonder if you loved them as much as you said you did.

Christians, we have the benefit of God’s Truth revealed to our hearts and we are responsible for our handling and distributing that truth.  We can fear man or we can demonstrate confidence in God.  Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:26-29 – “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  27 ” What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.  28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” NASU

May the Lord be with you as you experience the Holy Boldness to say that which needs to be said on all matters of life for God and good.   Blessings!

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LOVE TRULY MAKES EVERYTHING WORK… (Part Three)


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Ephesians 4:15-16 – “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASU

 

God has an end game or purpose for all He has and is doing in and through  His children, the Body of Christ.  LOVE is not just a major factor it is the central element in the purposes of God.  Paul wrote to the Philippians saying, “This I pray.  That your Agape (God’s Nature) may abound still more and more…”  The word abound indicates overflow.  Paul is saying, “I am praying for you that there will be such a surge within you, that you spill over in your Agape!”  He says in all “knowledge / discernment”.  If we consider the context, which we must, we find that he is praying that they and we grow in our knowledge of how to live with each other.  How the world needs that!  We need constant surges of power and need to be empowered by the Spirit of God from whom that Agape flows and overflows from us to our fellow man and to all in the Body of Christ.

Until we are overflowing in Love the Gifts of the Spirit cannot function to their perfection and in their designed purpose.  It is because I love you that I see the need in you and I realize that I need a gift to meet that need so I can help you.  That is Body Ministry.  Paul’s words to the Thessalonians about increasing and abounding in love is interesting.  The word “increase” is a banking term.  You put money in and it accrues interest and there is more than when you began.  The word “abound” implies a desire that there will be more and more and in those moments of need there will be a supernatural surge of Agape and the need supplied.

For example, we do not always need the ability to forgive but when we meet people who are mean-spirited, evil, and with words or deeds seek to harm us, THEN we need the power to forgive.  We need a surge of Agape to enable us to forgive!  I heard an illustration that is apropos here and germane to our discussion.  Suppose you were sitting in a field under a shade tree, enjoying the beauty of God’s creation and you were almost nodding off in wonderful peace. Suddenly you hear the snort of a raging bull and he begins to charge at you.  You have a surge of energy rush through your being and you run faster than you have ever run and leap over the fence higher than you have ever leaped.  Can you always do that?  Obviously not, but that surge of energy and power enabled you at the moment, of need.  That is Agape overflowing to enable you to BE!

Before we focus on loving the world I suggest we focus on loving each other in the Body of Christ.  Jesus said, “By this, shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you have love for ONE ANOTHER…”  Until we get that right we will be like rain on a tin roof trying to love the world.  You can rest assured that the world is not impressed when we say, “I love you.”  They just don’t care!  But, when they see a group of people professing to be followers of Christ demonstrating Agape to each other, they take notice and they are frequently impressed enough to check us out.  I recall when I was lost and the one thing that kept drawing me back and puzzled me was the love I sense and saw in the people in that little church in Palestine, Texas.  I could not shake the drawing power of Love.

Let me suggest that when any cell in the Body of Christ ministers to another cell it is truly ministering to itself.  Also, every time you serve one another you are directly serving Jesus!  “In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these… you have done it unto Me.”  We need to learn to become ‘supply routes’ ministering to others.  Agape refuses to be rejected.  It is love for the long haul.  It is not fickle and is not conditional.  When you encounter someone, who is difficult to love and you feel no compassion for them you love and forgive!  Agape is not based on feeling or emotion.  Yet, those feelings of resentment rising within your being and you struggle.  You resist and reject them, but if you think you are somehow going to be rid of them completely, think again.  That is a battle you will have until the resurrection so the key is not trying to never have them but allowing the Agape of God to overpower and overrule them.  Remember we are told that Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are…  He was tempted but He did not sin or succumb to those temptations or feelings.

Never let the devil enslave you to a mental image that if you ever have negative feelings or thoughts you are somehow a failure as a Christian.  Simply remind him of the Cross and come boldly before God’s throne and receive that surge of Agape so you can forgive and banish those thoughts and feelings.  You have not arrived but you are pressing toward the mark and you will reap in due season if you do not quit.  We need to learn to look ‘into’ people rather than ‘at’ them.  Jesus never saw a prostitute or tax collector; He saw a person.  He saw their need never the package they were wrapped up in.  Out of or in and through Love the Body is build up!

God help us to become a fully functioning cell in the Body of Christ through which the power surges of Agape can flow to other cells and strengthen feeble hands and lift them up.  Blessings as you embark on this leg of life’s journey!

 

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LOVE TRULY MAKES EVERYTHING WORK… (Part Two)


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Ephesians 4:15-16 – “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASU

  

How many times have you heard the phrase, “Love is God?”  I suggest that is wrong to say “love is God” but rather “God is Love.”   He is not controlled by love but is love!  He gives His love by choice!  He does not set his love on demons but He chose to love us while we were still firmly entrenched in the camp of the enemy of God.  His Love seeks our highest and best good.  He works in us to bring us to completeness in Him and total fulfillment.  He is working to bring us to our purpose and destiny and enable us to achieve our greatest potential in life.  He was and is committed to that purpose even if it kills Him.  (The Cross).  God does not have casual affairs, he never just lives with someone, He marries for eternity!  That is the picture of God’s Love!

What is man’s highest or best good?  What is man’s highest potential?  What are we when we are in that position and condition?  We are manifesting His life and being what He created us to be.  What is that?  We are to be a receptacle for His incredible, Agape Love.  Living in the complete consciousness of that Love and expressing that love to the world.  That is what we are at our highest potential.  One definition of sin could be “failing to fulfill that potential.”  Before you protest that sin is ‘missing the mark’ is that not missing the mark of God’s purpose?  The Bible tells us that “…all have sinned and come short of the glory (LOVE) of God…”  A man has failed when he has cut himself off from that incredible Love!

Man, did that in the Garden in and through Adam and Eve and has been doing it for centuries.  The Good News is that does not deter God. He keeps coming, loving, and calling us.  Nothing separates us from or causes Him to stop loving us.  When we truly SEE, the Love demonstrated at the Cross and comprehend that God LOVES us so much that He gave His Son for us, FAITH rises inside your being and you cry “Abba Father!”  It is then that we turn from rebellion and repent of our rebellion and commit ourselves to obeying and following Him.  We are then transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of God’s Light and become cells in the Body of Christ.  We are then united and joined to every other cell in the Body in Love.

Paul, in Romans declared regarding salvation, “The Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts…”  Then in Thessalonians, he spoke to new converts and said, “You have been taught of God to Love one another…”  LOVE is the key characteristic of the Body of Christ!  It is not your particular brand of Christianity that identifies you as a Christian it is God’s Love shed abroad in your heart and the manifestation of that Love!  You will never be the same as any other believer or sect.  Just like we all have different fingerprints in the natural we are all unique in the spiritual but the one thing we all have is LOVE!  Remember what Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you have Love, one for another…”  Some would argue, “well there is more to Christianity than just love.”  True, but without Love, there is nothing else!  That is the bedrock foundational principle of being In Christ!

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul strongly addresses the importance and power of love.  He says that without it, we are nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.  He goes even further and declares that without love we are NOTHING!  In the New Testament, we learn that the first act upon entering the Family of God and the Body of Christ is to be EMPOWERED by the Spirit.  That indicates we are given ability, strength, and energy to BE.  Have you ever considered that the number one concern of the Holy Spirit in producing the New Testament was the Empowering of the Body of Christ?  If we are empowered, what are we empowered for?  I believe this is an area where the modern church has gotten off track a bit.  The number one purpose of this empowering, in my understanding, is that we might LOVE or manifest AGAPE!  We have focused on ministry, building, numbers, gifts, etc. and failed to realize that those things are beginnings not ends. The gifts do not function to perfection without Love! They become nothing but dangerous noisy gongs clanging and drawing attention to themselves not producing life.

I want to move at least one step further into this so I will pause again and pick up next time as we consider the POWER and PURPOSE of Love in the Body of Christ.  God, bless you richly is my prayer and desire!

 

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LOVE TRULY MAKES EVERYTHING WORK…


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Ephesians 4:15-16 – “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  NASU

 

Let me offer some definitions or identifications regarding the Body that a couple of words in this text reveals.  The two words to which I refer are JOINT – The nervous system or the nerve paths that run through the body.  SUPPLIES – The full supply for any part of the body in its moment of need comes through the ‘paths’ within the body or through the nerve system.  Why is that important?  It is important because Paul frequently used analogies and comparisons to the human body in understanding the Body of Christ.  But that is only a part of the picture.

We are told by the apostle that THE BODY is built up in LOVE or that it builds itself up in or through LOVE.  The supply spoken of here is abundant and is sufficient to satisfy the need of any part of the body regardless of what or where that part is.  That supply flows through the individual cells in the body bring the needed supply, produces life, and makes whole.  The result is the Body through its individual cells ministering to each other builds itself up in Love!  Thus, a perfectly functioning Body, human or the Body of Christ is where every cell is ministered to fully, completely and according, to need.  Body Ministry, a term we have probably heard frequently, is when all the supply lines are open and functioning as they were designed.  It would behoove us to remember that we are individual cells within the Body of Christ, not isolated entities.

Our relationship with Jesus, the Head of the Body, is the same as the rest of our human body relates to the human head of that body (brain).  We are Christ’s Body!  That is not a hope, wish, or objective we are striving to attain – WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST if we are IN Christ.  You did not originate the Body and your inclusion did not cause it to begin, it was there before you were included.  But, since you have been included you are a part of the Body of Christ and have a specific function in that Body.  One of those functions is to be a nerve path, a connecting cell, a supply route where other cells within the Body can receive what they need to function completely and wholly.

Someone said, “There are only two bodies in the world and greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”  Therefore, we can see there is the Body of the World and the Body of Christ.  The head of the Body of Christ is Jesus and the head of the Body of this World is Satan.  At conversion or salvation, you were adopted, grafted, or born into the Body of Christ.  In the human body, the head and the rest of the body is one.  The head is the brain the control center of the body.  The life that the body exhibits flows from the brain or head and the life that we have spiritually is flowing from the Head, JESUS!

Scientist and biologist tell us that out from the brain come energy, life, and electrical current or Power!  So, inside each of us is a pulsating power flowing from the brain to every cell or life.  It is not a matter of which church you belong, or the religious rituals you practice, or even the doctrine you believe it is BEING a LIVING CELL in the Body of Christ.  In Him, we live and move and have our being.  This is a supernatural life that can only be manifested through our connection with the head being supplied through the nerve paths of the Body.  We are living His Life and that life is LOVE!

William Shakespeare popularized ‘romantic love’ and ever since the human race has been captivated by the idea of “Falling in Love”.  God does not fall in love; He is love and loves!  You fall in ‘mud puddles’ and if you ‘fall in love’ you can be rescued or ‘fall out of love’ as easily as you fell into it.  God’s love is Unconditional, human love is conditional.  God’s love is spontaneous, it does not have to be earn, courted or wooed it is an extension of Who He Is.  It is Agape and that Agape is what builds up the Body and transforms it into the Glorious Church Jesus said He was building and would return for.  God’s love is a premeditated choice not the fire of emotion.  He decided to love us because that is who and what He is – LOVE!

I want to press deeper into this so we will pause here and pick up next time considering the Body of Christ and it’s building of itself up in LOVE!   Until next time may the richest and best of the blessing of the Lord be yours in all things and, at all times.

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LET’S TALK ABOUT WHEN LIFE BEGINS…


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Jeremiah 1:4-5 – “Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  NASU

 

In my own nation, the United States of America, the debate rages even among people who profess Jesus Christ as their personal savior about WHEN LIFE BEGINS.  Some of that debate is seeking to justify stances or experiences in abortion.  It may be personal or it may be related to someone they know and love not wanting to be harsh and seeking to be compassionate.  The issue is not what you or I think about abortion it is what God thinks about WHEN LIFE BEGINS.  That question alone moves the abortion debate into an entirely different arena.

Even after I say what I believe, and refer to Scripture, some will still reject my argument and presentation.  I can do nothing about that, but I feel compelled that I must address the matter.  The alarming factual reality is that over 60 Million babies have been aborted since the inception of Rove v Wade.  That is more than the entire population of some small countries.  If God deems life to begin before that baby breathes the air of earth and is fully out of the womb and birth canal, then this becomes genocide.  If those who believe that that which is in the womb, formed with arms, legs, vital organs, and feels pain are right and this is nothing more than a blob of tissue so long as it is in the womb then it is a small insignificant matter.  I do not truly believe that anyone considers it insignificant.

Let’s take the word that God gave to Jeremiah as He called him into ministry.  These words resonate powerfully or should in identifying what God thinks about that which is formed in the womb.  Consider the words of God, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…”  BEFORE I formed you… BEFORE you were born… The word before is quite revealing, in my view.  I will acknowledge that if this were the only reference to that life BEFORE being fully birthed into the world we might still wonder.  But consider Psalm 139:13-16. and consider the words of the Palmist and consider how it relates to the formation of that person many call a fetus.  He identities that God is the one that forms that life and it is a marvelous miracle.  He identifies that God knew all his parts before he was born and that God saw his UNFORMED SUBSTANCE and all his parts are written in God’s book even before they existed after conception or development.  Then, in Isaiah 44:24, we read, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the One who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone…”  In the New Testament in Galatians 1:15 we find, “But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace.”  When did God know him?  BEFORE HE WAS BORN!  I must not omit what happened with Elizabeth when she heard the salutation of Mary – “the baby (not fetus… not blob of tissue… BABY) leaped in her womb.”  (Luke 1:41,44).

There is much that can be said about the sanctity of life but my focus is the cry of the blood of the innocent (unborn) and the impending judgment of God because of our participation in genocide through abortion.  When does, God view life as having begun?  It begins, at a minimum at conception, but in truth, according to scripture, it begins in the heart of God.  Life does not delay it beginning until that infant in the womb is fully and completely born into this world.  Since I believe this strongly all my political decisions are influenced by this belief.  But, it goes beyond anything political and touches all of life.  I believe that God values life, all life and so, should we.  I believe that we are in serious danger of incurring the wrath of God when we violate the sanctity of life, especially in the defenseless.   If you consider this devotional too political, I am sorry but I sense the Spirit of the Lord would have me address LIFE and this matter that too many even in the church have become too calloused.

God, bless you richly as you embark on today’s leg of this life’s journey!

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HUMAN REASON AND SALVATION…


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Isaiah 1:18-20 – “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, ” Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. 19 ” If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; 20 “But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”  NASU

 

I have been told by well-meaning ministers that human reason has no place or part in the salvation experience.  To them it is all about emotion and the entire work is done on God’s side and man has no role in that experience.  Please understand, I do believe that man cannot save himself and that it is wholly God who washes away the sin and transforms that life from lost to saved.  However, these words of Isaiah, speaking as a prophet of the Lord, ‘human reason’ is a significant part.  Confession of sin most assuredly involves ‘human reason’. 

Sadly, many use ‘human reason’ to justify their sin but if I do not evaluate my condition and consider my guilt I will not repent.  If I do not think through my condition and what I have done I will not repent.  If I do not think through what God offers through the work of Jesus on the Cross I will not repent and seek His forgiveness.  Therefore, we need to ‘reason’ with the LORD about our condition and sin.

The promise is that even as vile and stained as my soul is through my ‘missing the mark’ (SIN) God will wash me and make white as pure snow.  It is only as we are ‘born again’ are our names written in the Book of Life.  Only then are we translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  Only then are we ‘new creations’ in Christ and BORN AGAIN spiritually.  But, the Promise of God does not stop with, “you will go to heaven when you die” it is “you can have heaven here on earth.”

Look at the last part of the promise.  IF and be sure to see the word ‘if’, because it demands thought, consideration, and evaluation.  “If you consent or agree with God that you have sinned and turn from those sins in obedience to the Word of God…”  IF you do that, THEN you will eat the best of the land!  That is what Jesus spoke of when He said I am come to bring Life and that more abundant.  That is what Jesus was speaking of when He said, “Fear not little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  That is what Paul is talking about when he tells us that “The Blessings of Abraham” belong to the believer.  That is what he meant when he said, that we can be “more than conquerors through Christ.”  You do not realize the instruction of Paul to Timothy to ‘study to show himself approved unto God’, without thought and reason.  Therefore, human reason is involved in the process of salvation.  It does not produce salvation but leads us to that place of repentance and receive restoration.

The negative of the last part of the promise is IF again.  If you refuse…  If you refuse you will be devoured by the sword.  The powers of hell will have direct and open access to your life if you refuse to receive that which God has offered in salvation.  Consider the blessing and the curse.  Consider the matter of life or death eternally.  Consider what is being offered and ‘reason together’ with the LORD and I do believe that His Spirit will convict your heart and lead you to repentance and salvation.

God, bless you as you embark on this day in Jesus!

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