Over the last few months, I’ve been so stinking embarrassed over the political rhetoric that I have removed myself from hearing it. It was upsetting, and I had a greater task at hand. I’ve been involved in a life change, a move. As soon as the boxes were at a “see over” level, I committed a big mistake. I turned on the TV. And nothing had changed. Nothing. The raw hateful mess was still there, stronger than ever. I’m so stinking embarrassed over this!

Psalm 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside. They have become corrupt; there is none who does good. No not one.”

Doesn’t it feel that way?

God refused to leave me in this mindset. Spiteful and annoyed. A dear friend gave me a present which has become a precious gift. Sparkling Gems by Rick Renner. Today, January 19, 2017 I read “Comrades In The Lord Jesus Christ”. Here it is just one day before Donald Trump is to be inaugurated as the 58^th President of the United States of America and I’m reading this and it has changed my perspective. I hope it will yours, too.

From Rick Renner (not in its entirety),

1 Thessalonians 5:27 “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.”

Throughout Paul’s writings in the New Testament, he uses the word “brethren” when he writes to the churches. This word comes from the Greek word adelphos, which is one of the oldest words in the New Testament. In the King James Version, it is usually translated as the word “brethren.” However, it actually has a much deeper meaning than this.

In the oldest sense, the word adelphos (“brother”) was used by physicians in the medical world to describe two people who were born from the same womb. So when the early Greeks addressed each other as “brethren,” they meant to convey the idea: “You and I are brothers! We came out of the same womb of humanity. We have the same feelings; we have similar emotions; and we deal with the same problems in life. In every respect, we are truly brothers!”

But the word “brethren” also had another very significant meaning during New Testament times, a meaning that it doesn’t have in our world today. It was used during the time of Alexander the Great to describe faithful soldiers. These fighting men were true brothers, comrades, and partners who were united to fight the same fight, handle the same weapons, and win the same wars!

Thus, to be a “brother” meant that a person was a true comrade. Through the thick and thin of battle, these soldiers stood together, achieving a special level of brotherhood known only by those who stay united together in the heat of the fray. This was also part of what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Early Church.

When Paul called his fellow Christian “brothers,” he was telling them:

“In addition to being blood brothers, we are all in a similar fight, slugging it out against the same enemy – and this common fight makes us real comrades . . . “

I’m sure that Paul’s readers were struggling in their personal lives, just as we do today, but they hadn’t given up the fight. They were still on the front lines, slugging it out and plodding along, one step at a time. They were the kind of believers who are worth knowing and worthy to be called brothers because they possessed an ongoing commitment to stay faithful in the battle and committed to the cause.

No matter how well or how badly these believers were doing in the midst of their fight, at least they were still fighting! Others had given up, but they had not. As long as they remained faithful to the fight and refused to relinquish their stand of faith, Paul viewed them as exceptionally fine soldiers – the kind of soldiers anyone would be happy to associate with!

The word “brother” emphatically declares that it’s not really how well you fight in life that counts. What really counts is that you keep on fighting! So don’t give up on yourself, and don’t give up on those believers around you who seem to be struggling. As long as they keep on trying – as long as they stay in the battle – they’re worthy of your friendship! You should be proud to be associated with people of such a spiritual caliber!”

Renner’s Prayer Associated with this devotional:

“Lord, I ask You to help me see myself and other Christian brothers and sisters as soldiers in the army of God. Help me develop an attitude of determination that refuses to surrender to hardship or to throw in the towel in the face of difficulty. At the same time that this attitude is being developed inside me, use me to help fortify the same determined attitude in other Christian soldiers who face hostile forces that have come to steal their victory and joy. I pray this in Jesus’ name!”

Renner’s Confession for this devotional:

“I confess that regardless of how much resistance the devil is trying to bring against my life. I will never surrender to defeat. Others may give up, but not I? As long as I am alive, I will stay in the fight. I refuse to relinquish my stand of faith. I am an exceptionally fine soldier – exactly the kind other Christian soldiers should be happy to associate with – because I am committed and determined to fight until my victory is complete! I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!”

The world and our culture are under the Enemy’s attack. We must hold strong and stand firm together and hold the banner of our faith high for everyone to see. I pray this devotional has helped you get back on track as a foot soldier for Christ. There are many that need our attention. Are you ready to armor up for Jesus and stand united for Christ?

In Jesus’ name I humbly pray,

Living In the Fullness of Christ

 

 

            Our first speaker at The Cove was Dr. Charles Price, senior pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His weekly television program, Living Truth, is broadcast across the United States, Canada, and more than 60 other countries throughout the world.

       

These are my prayerful considerations from Dr. Price’s first lecture.

            “Test yourself to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.” 2 Corinthians 13:5

 

            Dr. Price opened up our first session at The Cove with this scripture. Before arriving, I had prayed for a word or scripture to embolden me in my faith. Dr. Price slammed me with this verse. Test yourself. Examine yourself. The words stung and pierced. Was I a true believer? Was I a follower who was Christ centered? Did my actions represent who I am in Christ?

            Ian Thomas stated, “To so many people, the Lord is in danger of being no more than a patron saint of our systematic theology instead of the Christ Who is our life.”

            I want Jesus to be my life, my hero. I want others to see Jesus in me.

            Test yourself.

            No one can tell me if I’m a born again child of God. It’s the inner witness of the Spirit that shows me this. It’s only been in the last few years that I realized I had to die to myself to make room for Jesus. The whole concept seems insurmountable. Die to self? We aren’t programmed to do this. Our sinful nature wants to be fulfilled in ways that are not Christ-like. Our culture teaches us to live life to the fullest and please ourselves. Nothing we see suggests we should die to self.

            So how do I die to self?

            I become less so He can become more. The things of the world become less attractive to me. I begin to see truth in places where I once saw lies as acceptable. Once I began to see the startling difference, it was exhilarating and terrifying because I had to admit that the things that used to be impressive and flattering weren’t. Then I had to say “no” and disappoint people who didn’t understand that I’d changed. If I thought it was hard to change, it was harder to hear others tell me they liked me better before “the Jesus thing”.

            “Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.” (1John 3:24)

            Jesus lives in us by the indwelling Spirit of God.

            Examine yourself to see if you are becoming more Christ-like.

            1. Are you hungry to know more about Jesus? The Holy Spirit resides in us. His work is Christ centered. When we begin to draw closer to Jesus, the Holy Spirit creates an appetite in us for Christ. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we desire to live like Him. As we grow closer to God our relationship deepens. Paul said, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death.”

            The process to grow Christ-like is an ongoing process like any other relationship that is worth having and important to us.

            2. Do you hunger to be more like Christ? Qualities of Jesus are found in Galatians 5:22. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

            As I read these attributes, I checked off quite a few. Then I got to the one on self-control. A wall rose to great heights like a perpetual stumbling block. Here comes the battle between the spirit and self. I reread the attributes again. Patience struck a sour note. I haven’t been patient lately. I profess I’m tired, but isn’t that part of the self-control? Jesus, I’m in need of an overhaul!!!

            What I realized was the fruit of the Spirit is not like picking a bouquet of flowers and inhaling their beautiful aromas. Fruit is to be eaten. I have to consume the fruit to squelch my hunger, to be more Christ-like so I can feed fruit to others.

            Being like Jesus is not a trip to the fair. It’s more like going into the projects, or sitting with the homeless, the outcasts, and the misfits. It means denying self and not saying what we’d like to say in the midst of being tired, but refraining and reflecting on the situation and circumstance before speaking. To recognize that thrusting out bitter words is caustic, but when we purpose ourselves to act in love the outcome is usually quite different. This is so hard. Can I repeat this? It’s hard to push our feelings to the back, but when we remember the Holy Spirit resides in us as our Counselor then we are more apt to pause before acting.

            3. Are you hungry to serve like Jesus? This is one I can answer with a definite “yes”. I am hungry to serve. I search for avenues to be Jesus’ hands, feet, and eyes. I’m hoping this blog will be another ministry for me. There are so many ways to serve and so many needs to fill. As you grow closer in your relationship with Jesus, He will guide you to serve in capacities and areas you could never have envisioned.

            But I want to serve knowing I am using the fruit of the Spirit spontaneously in my home and on the ministry field. If I can’t be the wife, mother, and Nana I need to be, I may not be the servant I need to be. If I’m not in God’s Word, I may not be the witness He needs me to be. Daniel said he resolved not to defile himself. Resolve is self-control. I’ve got a lot of work to do!!

            Test and examine yourself.

            Do you recognize Jesus is in you? You might not until you fail the test.

Session 2 of the session from The Cove will broaden our understanding on how we can live in the fullness of Christ.

            God bless you!

Tackling That Scary First Posting

This is scary. Opening up and telling people about who you are, what you believe in, what you’re concerned about, and what you’re passionate over. You would think I would be more comfortable doing this since I actually do it a lot. I teach Bible Studies and speak in front of groups. But it’s not my comfort zone. At all. Writing is easier for me. I do it alone and on my own schedule. I can throw away what I don’t like or keep what I do.

Following Jesus isn’t always easy or comfortable. I wake up every day and purpose myself to follow Him. I believe in Rick Warren's purpose-driven life, but I have also endorsed Jason Benham’s stand, “We follow a Person-driven life. We let the Person of God take control of the purpose.” This grounds me further.

A Person-driven life keeps me focused on God. Sometimes my eyes fall to the right or left, and I let the world slip in and cloud my vision. Oftentimes I run into questions or situations that I don’t have answers for. There are days I just struggle for no apparent reason or for an accumulation of reasons. But, I’m learning that’s okay. It keeps me headed back to the Person-driven focus, to reading Scripture, and getting on my knees. I’m learning to trust that when I slide down the wrong side of the mountain, God will pick me up, dust me off, and point me toward the craggy end of the narrow path, the one I’ve skidded down so many times the base is rutted out. I never feel God's wrath over my struggle. I only feel His love. That’s the beauty of our faith. God loves us so much, even when we fail.

Picking yourself up is always an effort. Effort builds endurance. And trust. And intimacy. With perfect precision and timing. I notice I get up quicker now. I rush back to the start line with a sharper determination, realizing the pitfalls, and Satan’s taunting lures. Standing there with a lot of other folks is perfect joy. We’re running with one another, but not in a competition. We’re running to be encouragers and enablers to the whole assembly of Christ followers. It’s staggering and amazing. It's what we're called to do. So, let me ask you something.

 What takes your mind off Christ?
            My answer: Busyness. Filling up the calendar without blocking out time to worship.

What causes you to slip?

            My answer: Allowing Satan to drudge up my insecurities.

What's your answer?