…and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

Ephesians 6:17b-18

Often we approach a passage like this thinking we already know what we will find. It seems crystal clear, no questions, and unfortunately, no thought. Usually verse 17 is finished, “Study your Bible.” Then, if verse 18 is even read, it is treated as a new topic, “Pray.” These verses (and in fact well into verse 20) are one solid thought: “…and take up the sword of the spirit (which is the word of God) through prayer of every kind, always in the power of the Spirit, watching and making request on behalf of all the saints…”

From the very start, this passage is harder than it might seem. The word “which” in the phrase “which is the word of God” could refer to more than one thing! One possibility is that “which” refers to the Spirit. The other is that it refers to the whole phrase, “sword of the Spirit”. Now, the difference is not very great once looked at as a whole, but it does affect the way we will view the rest of the passage, and relationships that are being made between expressions.

And it doesn’t stop there. Multiple Greek words can be found translated “word” in English. The one found in this verse most often refers to spoken words. This often refers to revelation: all that has been and continues to be revealed – “spoken” – by God. Isaiah 11:4-5 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8 speak powerfully of this “breath of God”. Hebrews 4:12, using slightly different language, refers to the way in which God’s words are alive and active, penetrating into our very being. But going beyond revelation, Paul often uses this same word to refer to the proclamation of the gospel – the good news of salvation and God’s new Kingdom.

What Paul is sharing here is rich and powerful. This living word of God that penetrates us is made possible, or is even equated with, the Spirit of God. This living word empowers us to proclaim the message that sounds Satan’s defeat. This living word includes Scripture. We are blessed to have a written account of all that God has done in Jesus Christ, all that he did to prepare a people and a place for him to accomplish his purposes. But God hasn’t stopped there. He has not just left us with a book to muddle through. He has placed his own Spirit inside us, who helps us grasp it and remember it. He promises to be with us when we are brought before men and forced to give an account for our relationship with God and the gift he offers. He will speak his own words to and through us, in that moment.

What is equally important to note is that we take up the sword of the Spirit through – by means of – prayer. These are not separate activities. It is prayer that enables us to respond to these words from God. It is in prayer that we offer requests for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul sought, along with the prayers for all the other believers, that they would pray for him regularly (Ephesians 6:19). He asks them to pray that God would speak words into his mouth to make known the mystery of the gospel.

Praying for all God’s people to be able to effectively share the good news is exactly what it means to take up the sword of the Spirit. This is the offense that we present to Satan and all the demonic forces and world systems that muster against the Church: For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16 – see also 2 Timothy 1:12)

]]> http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/05/07/the-final-tool/feed/ 0 http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/05/06/to-the-world/ http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/05/06/to-the-world/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 05:00:07 +0000 sojourner http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/?p=525

Then Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

The whole world… that’s a pretty big order. I was watching a news show this morning, and the reporter commented that the city of Tehran in Iran has the population of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City combined. When the cameras panned the skyline, the city seemed to go on and on in every direction, so many people. And that’s just in that one city. Our objective, given to us by Jesus himself, is the entire world.  That scope is truly beyond my comprehension.  But that clearly is our job, our goal, our command.  With a job so incomprehensible, where do we start?

Oddly enough, I believe the very first place we must visit is our own hearts. If our hearts are not properly directed and motivated, we will never get past our front door. So, what is our proper direction and motivation?

Our direction or power can come only from the Holy Spirit. I am not talking about a dramatic, emotional experience with God’s spirit, although those have their place and merit on our Christian walks. What I am talking about is a moment by moment walk with God, where we are confessing our sins to him as they occur (so that fellowship with him is not broken), and asking God to fill us with his Holy Spirit so that everything we do is in his power and not our own.

Then when we teach school, buy groceries, work in the office, and cut the grass, we do it all in the power of the Holy Spirit.  If we are practicing that kind of dependence on God, it is a natural thing to be used by him in the lives of those around us to share God’s love and forgiveness with them. Whether it is at work, at home, in leisure activities or in an intentional appointment with someone, sharing Christ with those we come in contact with is a natural overflow of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  It just makes sense that God would talk about himself to others through us.
If that’s the direction or power source for evangelism, what is the motivation?  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:11, 14-15: “Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.  What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is plain to your conscience.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Our motivation is love. Not our love for the world, for I fear we would have little of that to offer. It’s Christ’s love for that lost and dying world, like sheep without a shepherd. For some reason, Jesus looks at this world that ignores him, rejects him and persecutes him, and he loves it. He loves each individual despite their sin. And that love can flow through us, to motivate us to want to speak to those around us that don’t know God. He beckons the lost to himself through us, if we are willing to obey God and be his representatives in this world.

Yes, the scope is beyond our understanding and our means to reach. The world is huge, and we are small. But God has placed tiny pieces of “the world” all around us. Our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances, and even strangers are around us in need of a personal relationship with him. We can open our mouths and allow God to use us. We can open our schedules and make time to be with those who need to know. We can open our wallets and give to missionaries who go to places we cannot and will not go. We can open our hearts to join in prayer for ourselves and others to be ministers of reconciliation.  And if each of us were obedient to do these things right here that he has for us, and if Christians all over South Carolina and the United States were obedient, and Christians all over this world were obedient to do and say the things he has commanded us to do, “the world” would not seem like such a huge and daunting goal.

Every giant accomplishment on earth began with many small steps that led up to the final product.  The question for us is, “are we willing to take those small steps that will lead to the world being reached for Christ?”

points to ponder

• What is directing and empowering my life?
• What motivation force is controlling my life?
• Am I practicing being filled with the Holy Spirit?
• Am I willing to be obedient to God and be used by him?

prayer

Lord Jesus, I don not know why you love me and choose to use me in your plan here on earth. I acknowledge that I often fail to listen to you, and fail to speak for you in my relationships with others.  I know you have put them in my life for a reason, and I ask for you to fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can speak for you. Show me what this world looks like to you. Help me understand your love for people, and your role for me.  I love you and desire to be used by you on this earth. Give me the courage to take the first steps of obedience. Amen.

So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.

Ephesians 5:15-16

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b

Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.

Colossians 4:5-6

When I was a kid, I remember hearing a song in church about the need to value the time we’re given in our lives and not take a single day for granted. The song was entitled, “Plenty of Time” by a lady named Connie Smith. It talked about how we go through life hearing about God and the Truth of His Word, but we so often procrastinate in giving our lives over to Him, thinking, “Oh, I’ll do that sometime later because right now I’ve got ‘plenty of time.’”

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. James 4:14 asks the question, “How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” We must not put off until tomorrow the opportunity we have to build a relationship with Christ today.  We don’t know that tomorrow will ever come for us. And, if we already have a relationship with Jesus, we must not put off today’s opportunity to grow in that relationship and to invite others to give their lives to God. Just as we’re not promised tomorrow, neither is anyone else.  We must make the most of every chance we have to share Jesus with those around us who may not have yet given their hearts over to Him.
It is so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life; the mundane, routine, “get up and go about the day just trying to pay the bills, clothe the kids, feed the family, please the boss” way of living. But, while those things are important, they are not the primary reason for our time on earth. We are here to worship God, to serve Him, and to help others learn to do the same. When we lose sight of that, we fall into the pit of aimlessness, regret, confusion, and a feeling that our lives have no purpose.

How many people do you know who have said they just want to know what the purpose of their lives is? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, was consumed by millions of people because that’s exactly the kind of life everyone wants, but few people actually feel they have it.

We must be living our lives on purpose for Christ, everyday, because there is a very definite timeline for when this life will be over and we will have no more opportunities to accept Christ or invite others to do so. The Bible says that though no one but God the Father knows the exact hour when Jesus will return to earth and call His children to live eternally with Him in Heaven, THAT DAY IS DEFINITELY COMING! You can and are staking your life on that truth, one way or another!

We must sense the urgency to seize every opportunity we have to share God’s love and His message with those around us. We must realize that TODAY could be the day when Jesus returns!  Do you really believe it could be today? Do you live in such anticipation of His return that it actually effects your actions today, or are you succumbing to the mind-set that you have “Plenty of Time?”

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.  First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Make no mistake, Jesus is coming back! There is a point in the human timeline where all will be completely said and done and all our work on earth will be over. When that day comes, whether in our lifetime or another’s, will we have done everything we could to share Christ and live our lives for His purpose? Don’t waste the time you’ve been given.  It is precious and it is fleeting. No matter how much time you may think you have, the truth is you really don’t know.  Share Jesus today!

Plenty of Time, Connie Smith
I got up on Sunday morning went to the church at ten
I listened to the words I’d heard time and time again
The preacher spoke of sinful lives, it seems he spoke of mine
But I was young, I had plenty of time.
I walked on down life’s pathway living as I wished to live
Out to beat the other fellow, how to get what life could give
Making money isn’t sinful having fun is not a crime
So I’ll just wait, I’ve got plenty of time
Plenty of time to decide where I’m bound
To eternal darkness or to a Heavenly crown
I’m just a young girl not yet in my prime
So I’ll just wait, I’ve got plenty of time
Before I knew what happened life scenes had passed away
And millions stood before God’s throne
For it was judgment day
Now eternal darkness beckons and the name it calls is mine
But I thought that I had plenty of time
Eternity waits I’ve got plenty of time
To think of all the days that Christ could have been mine
Now my chance is over, earth’s days are left behind
And here am I, I’ve got plenty of time.
Now I’ve got nothing but plenty of time.

When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?”

“The Father sets those dates,” he replied, “and they are not for you to know.”

Acts 1:6-7

Then Jesus answered, “I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

Pilate replied, “You are a king then?”

“You say that I am a king, and you are right,” Jesus said. “I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

John 18:36-37

“When God?”

“When are you going to show yourself? Look at all these heathens, cursing your name in traffic! How they make my life miserable! Could you just step out from the clouds and let them know how upset you are about what’s going on? Show me some retribution, some payback for all me and my friends go through!”

You might be able to imagine this mental conversation, today, and in the minds of the disciples as they talk to Jesus. Is it finally time? Are you going to finally give them “what they deserve”?

Jesus is our king. All too often that means very little, a trumped up title for a gift-giving Santa Claus. It meant the world to the early followers of Christ. It was enough of a claim to send the religious elite into a murderous tizzy.

The early disciples took their limited knowledge of scripture, and the claims of Christ, and made a simple logical leap that Jesus had to correct. “The Messiah is the king in David’s line and Jesus is the Messiah; therefore he’s a king! Maybe he’ll overthrow the Romans tomorrow and setup his eternal kingdom!”

Jesus wanted to be clear. He had no intention of setting up a worldly kingdom, political or otherwise. There would be a time and a place for that, but he wasn’t about to share those details.

One might ask, “Why?” Why not be clear about the when? And it seems reasonable to want to know. Jesus, however, with all the wisdom of God, keeps his mouth closed.

I have a simple reason, born out by the passage of Acts we have looked at. Jesus knew that the disciples focus was misdirected. They weren’t on the same page, yet.

Here, Jesus was attempting to spread the Kingdom of God, a family relationship with the God of the universe. This relationship had the power to transform the heart of people around the world. To shake the way things were done, the way people interacted. To shape the way God could work to heal the hurting, free the oppressed, offer hope to the down-and-out.

The disciples are thinking about getting even. Not to say that they aren’t in tune with the holiness of God, his great sovereignty, even zealous for God to be seen in all his power and glory. But they had missed the point. They expected God to think the same way power-craving people do. “God’s power was to be an overwhelming force that crushed those who didn’t believe.” Instead, they are told of a power that would indwell them and allow them to communicate God’s love to the nations.

Jesus is our king. He rules an everlasting kingdom made up of those connected by His Spirit. He longs to see that Kingdom advance. More than any hope for growth we could have, Jesus sees the full power and potential of a church empowered. A people empowered. Individual lives lived intentionally through prayer and humility, bleeding into the lives next door.

more scripture

For further study on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the relationship to our new life and power, and the “kingdom of God”, turn your eyes to John 3. The popular kid’s story goes far deeper for an adult with eyes and ears ready to see and hear.

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me…The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to the one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!

Psalm 50:14-15, 23

Man’s chief end is to glorify God (Henry, Piper). Ultimately the greatest reason one should seek to develop a thankful heart is that this is what brings the Lord glory. This is our ultimate goal and purpose in life. Rather than requiring sacrifice, the Lord longs for us to respond in praise and thanksgiving. This is what brings Him greatest glory as His creation recognizes His goodness, His blessing, Himself, and responds in joyful thanks. A heart that responds with thanksgiving in all circumstances is a heart that trusts, a heart that knows God and rests in this knowledge.

One cannot truly be thankful without seriously considering the situation and the cost (or benefit) incurred. And while it is a natural response to be thankful for blessing, it is a supernatural response for one to praise the Lord in the midst of pain; to be thankful for the pain. And yet, how much more is the Lord glorified when his children thank Him in the midst of difficulty and strife, when they respond in thanksgiving through the power of the Holy Spirit and view their circumstances as light and momentary troubles that soon pass away in light of eternity with Him?

A thankful heart is not one that naturally develops, but one the Lord must grow in each of us through time and experience, blessing and pain, making the repeated choice to receive the cup given to us and to respond obediently, and yes, thankfully, because you trust that all is done for His glory and your good, and in the end you see Him that much more clearly.

What does a thankful heart look like?

Dave, at 18, looked like a cross between Genghis Khan and Buddha. He was magnificently large, over 300 pounds on a 6 ft. frame…But he was gentle and deeply kind. He loved children, and they loved him…The gentleness of the Good Shepherd was in him…He had been with some of the youth on an afternoon trip to a local island. Big-D wanted to see the view from atop the cliff above the shore…Near the top, a large boulder, embedded in the ground, perched at the edge of the cliff. Dave sat on the boulder and everything gave way. He dropped 90 feet to his death…Carol and I met half an hour later in the parking lot of the townhouse complex were Dave’s parents lived. We were the ones to break the news. We looked at each other, too raw to speak. We prayed. But honestly, I hardly believed in God right then. I was angry with Him, if He was there at all…Dave’s mom, Justine, opened the door and she lit up. “Look who’s here to see us” she called to John, and he came over to the door grinning. But they could tell, looking at the two of us, something was wrong, terribly wrong, and they stopped smiling…”there’s been an accident. David’s dead.” And then I saw a miracle. Justine began to worship. The first words out of her mouth were “O God, You chose him, You chose my David. O Lord, thank You that You chose him, and he is with You right now, seeing You face-to-face. He’s dancing in your throne room right now. Lord, I love him. I love you. I miss my son, Lord. I need Your strength. But thank you that You chose him.  (The Holy Wild)

So what does a thankful heart look like? One who is thankful moves from a disposition that is humble and submitted to the Lord. There is a recognition that this life is not your own. There is a willing acceptance of the Lord’s will in your life, both the difficult and the good. There is a quiet belief that the Lord consistently moves ultimately out of goodness and love for those who are His.

Furthermore, one who is thankful lacks a sense of entitlement. In Luke 17:12-18 Christ heals ten lepers, yet only one (a Samaritan) returned to Him praising God. Did Christ owe it to them to bring healing? A thankful heart recognizes blessing and responds. One who is thankful consistently lives with a sense of their own need for the Lord and His consistent grace in their life. A thankful heart lives out of deep understanding that the Lord always moves for His glory and your good.

How do we develop a thankful heart?

Paul writes to the Ephesians a story of immense depravity, a heroic rescue, and a restored life (see Ephesians 2:1-10). We often use these verses to explain salvation to someone who does not know the Lord. However, Paul wrote to believers. Why would he feel a great need to remind us of our own story of salvation? Luke 7:36-50 describes an encounter between Christ, a Pharisee, and a prostitute. The Pharisee has invited Christ into his home, yet fails to treat him as an important guest. The woman, however, comes before Christ broken and humbled, honoring Him with her repentance and recognition of her desperate need of Him.

Christ responds “…her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (v. 47). It is not that the Pharisee had little to be forgiven—we are all far worse than we could ever realize. It is that he realized his need for Christ so little. When you see how great your sin is, you then see the depth of forgiveness and mercy shown you. A heart which truly grasps this reality cannot help but respond in love toward the Lord, with great thankfulness.

application

Spend time in Ephesians 2:1-10.

• How does Paul describe your life before Christ? (v.1-3) What is the tone of these verses?
• Where does the tone shift (with what phrase)?
• How is God depicted? Christ?
• What is your natural response to this truth?
• What do you fear most? If the Lord allowed this to occur in your life, if He willed it for your life, could you respond thankfully, trusting that all He does is for His glory and your good?

prayer

Father, thank you for the greatness of your love for us! Thank you for being our hero, for rescuing us from our own depravity, our deep lost-ness, even while we were enemies of You. Your love is great. May we never forget this. Open our eyes to our need for you. Open our eyes to your work in our lives moment by moment. May we never take this for granted. Grow in us thankful hearts that honor and glorify you alone.

So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.

Ephesians 5:15-18

There are many Christians who are content to simply get excited about God on the weekend, but the rest of the week act as if Christ did not even exist. They live a life of spiritual detachment, believing all the right things but lacking any spiritual will-power to obey. This is not the way God intended it!

God intended us to live in the power of his spirit continually. This passage from Ephesians tells us to be continually filled by the spirit. It is a command. “Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you…” may not make that clear, but in the Greek the word-forms we find are powerful and clear. More literally, we are commanded, “Do not keep on getting drunk with wine…instead, keep on being filled by the spirit.”

The phrases “be drunk” and “be filled” are both present tense commands in the Greek. Now, present tense in Greek means that the action should be described as habitual or progressive (ongoing). What is clear is that this is not intended as a one-time event, or even a limited encounter. We are to be regularly and repeatedly filled with God’s spirit.

In addition, the command is in a voice which tells us that we are to submit to the action. We are to allow the spirit to fill us. That is why the NLT says, “Let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.” We are not supposed to work up some emotional event that is “being filled with the spirit”. No, we are told that the spirit is going to attempt to fill and control us, and we should be ready.

Why would we want or need to be filled continually, on an ongoing basis? Why is it so important to treat our time as if it were God’s; to hand over our priority-setting? There are three reasons that I want to look at: comprehension, opportunity and maturity.

Ephesians 3:16-21 tells us about comprehension and being strengthened by God. Verses 18-20 remind us …may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is… Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. So we know that God has placed his spirit within us to continually help us know Him.

That means when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are able to better understand God’s love. We are able to better grasp his character. We can see how he is merciful, just and still forgiving. We can see how he shows compassion to those we overlook. All these things are made available to our minds when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:16 tells us to, make the most of every opportunity. If we refuse to be filled by the spirit, allowing our priorities to dictate our schedule and our involvement, then we will not act on the opportunities God places before us. We might not even see them. Please God, help us to see these opportunities. Help us to submit to your will, being filled by the Holy Spirit so that our eyes might be open and our hearts ready to serve!

Finally, Galatians 5:22-23 tells us about the maturity that comes when we are controlled by the Holy Spirit: But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is full circle, from us seeing these things in God’s character, growing through the opportunities God gives us, to living in maturity through God’s spirit.

prayer

Jesus, help me to submit my time and schedule to your will. It is so easy to get swept up in the day’s details and end up at the end of the day wondering what happened. Whether it is on the golf course, lounging on the couch, at work at the coffee-counter or on the playground at church, help us to be ready to serve, filled with your spirit.

Help us to see how important it is. We can see lives changed and experience spiritual growth in our own lives more than ever before. We can see you do something in our community that is nothing but miraculous. Lord, help us to believe your word, what you say you are willing to do if we would trust you. Help me to comprehend the great love that moved you to die for me.

Send me – habitually, repeatedly, every day.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.

1 John 4:16b-17a, 20-21

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

Ephesians 5:1-2a

The Bible is replete with verses that talk about love. In fact, love is the central theme of the entire Bible!! The Bible is the chronicle of God’s ongoing, eternal love affair with mankind. God is in love with you!! God is in love with every human being walking the planet. And, as followers of Christ, we are called to be imitators of Christ, and that means we are also to love everyone. No exceptions.

Of course, some people are easier to love than others, but what depth is there to a love that really requires little to no effort? Real love, divine, Christ-like love is the kind of love that embraces the unlovable. True love is the kind that stares a difficult, stubborn, selfish, manipulative, lying, cheating, unfaithful, backstabbing, ungrateful, hateful person in the eyes and still conjures up compassion for them. That really is the kind of love that Jesus displayed to prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, and even Judas, the man who betrayed Him. That is also the kind of love we are to demonstrate.

Most everyone walks around with an inflated opinion of themselves, feeling pretty good about their behavior when compared to “those people.” But the truth is, all of us are sinners. All of us are the scum of the earth and we all deserve to be punished for our disobedience to God. None of us measures up to the standard of God’s holiness. But, despite that truth, God still demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to the cross to take our punishment instead. We were and are the difficult, stubborn, selfish, manipulative, lying, cheating, unfaithful, back-stabbing, ungrateful, hateful people that God looked in the eyes and had compassion for. It wasn’t just the prostitutes and tax collectors and adulterers and Judas-es of the Bible that God died for. It was for every sinner who ever has or ever will live! And that certainly includes you and me.

God loves us when we are unlovable, and we are to show our gratitude for that kind of love by offering the same to others. This kind of love ALWAYS requires sacrifice. Ultimately it cost Jesus His life, and ultimately it will cost you yours as well. You will have to lay down your will and your agenda, your wants and desires and needs, in deference to those around you, so you can turn your focus from yourself to others. And, as those around you are obedient and do the same thing toward you, your needs will be met also. When we love, we are loved in return. When we’re selfish and egocentric, we find loneliness and isolation are our companions. The way to get love is to give it away!

God is love personified. I love that concept. God literally IS love. That is His nature, His character, His being. He is love walking, breathing, and acting. I want that to be my nature too. I want people to know that Jesus’ love is alive in me, and I want them to be recipients of that love through me! May we truly be known as Jesus’ disciples, His children, by our love for one another!

application

• When you think of yourself, do you feel like God should find it pretty easy to love you?
• Who in your life is not the easiest person to love?
• Who is God calling you to show His love to today?

prayer

Read anew this well-known prayer by St. Francis of Assisi, taking to heart the earnest sentiments expressed by this follower of Christ. Can you make this your prayer today?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1, 2

When I was younger I often heard the question, “What are you going to do with your life?” It sounds like a reasonable question to ask someone just starting out, but if you belong to Christ, the question carries an untrue assumption. Our lives are not out own. We do not have ownership of our present, or our futures. If you are in Christ, you are bought with a price; purchased out of slavery to sin. And you no longer call the shots. As the kosher foods commercial says, you “answer to a higher authority”.

What is not true about this purchased life is that you automatically make the right choices, and act as some kind of spiritual robot. No, Christ has not taken away our free will when he bought our lives. So, even though our ownership is not our own, we do have a choice of how we spend our time each day. And therein lies the problem. We do not always choose to follow his direction, to engage in the activities he wants us to, or to spend our time in ways that honor and reflect him. That is the continual struggle we face as long as we are on this earth. Perhaps if we look more closely at the facts of our lives belonging to God, we will understand the purpose behind and the benefits of living our lives wholly devoted to him.

Who were we before Christ?

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Maybe you thought you were not that bad. Maybe you thought, like my grandmother, that you hardly ever left the house, so you certainly were not a bad sinner! But clearly the scripture says we were dead in our sins, bound for the hell that we deserved as enemies of Christ. You may not have committed any of the BIG sins, but by nature you are a sinner and separated from God.

What did Christ do for us?

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-7

His love was the motivation—love extended to us even when we were his enemies. His plan to save us was to take Jesus’ death in our place. And with that gift of his life, we also received the right to become children of God and share in all the inheritance that Christ has. Just think about that. While we were deserving of death and hell, we instead were given life, and were adopted into God’s family. What a gift! What unspeakable gratitude we should have.

What should our response be?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1

Our response should be to give our whole life to him. In that we are willing to go where he asks us to go, and do what he asks us to do. That will involve the job we work, the activities we choose to involve ourselves in and the place we find to serve the body of Christ. It will affect how we do that job, how we play those activities, and how we perform our jobs of service. We should perform, act and live as a living sacrifice, as one who totally belongs to God and does not own his own life. In that way we will demonstrate to all around what it means to be a child of God. This surrendered life is a tiny sacrifice, but it is all we can give to him. It is our spiritual act of worship.

thoughts to ponder

• Who do I believe owns my life?
• Do I live like I am totally surrendered to Him?
• Do my activities and attitudes show all around me that I belong to God?

prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for giving your life for me when I was your enemy and bound for hell. Thank you for taking me into your family, and blessing me with all spiritual blessings. Help me to remember that I belong to you, and help me give you my entire life. May everything I do reflect my surrendered, sacrificed life. Amen.

As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you no matter where you go.”

But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head.”

He said to another person, “Come, be my disciple.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first, let me return home and bury my father.”

Jesus replied, “Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God.”

Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-62

Let’s cut to the chase today. Honoring God comes before honoring our parents. Obedience to God’s word and will comes before obedience to the words and advice of our parents. I know deeply what it is like to have to reject a parent’s will in favor of God’s will.

I don’t say that lightly. This isn’t about some childhood dream that my parents would have squashed. It isn’t a tale of overcoming a parent’s overbearing desire for me to be a lawyer and make a name for myself, something they were never able to do. Those are the stories we hear, the pop-culture of turning from our parents to our dreams. We need to be very careful we aren’t substituting our hopes for God’s will…

Many of the events in my early days as a Christian caused my parents grief. My parents often showed me they felt rejection, betrayal and jealousy and my growth as a Christian was often an opportunity for strain in our relationship, rather than joy.

It isn’t that they were upset with my decision to follow Christ. Their reaction just seemed to say that it was inconvenient. When I started following Christ, becoming a disciple in ways that had material cost, things definitely got more heated. Destroying thousands of dollars worth of my music was the tipping point, an event that cemented in my mind that I was choosing to fill my mind with those things that pleased my God, rejecting those things that didn’t. To my parents, it was an act of betrayal, a statement of my disrespect and lack of consideration for their feelings.

Please understand me. I am not bad-mouthing my parents or saying I always handled things the best way. However, I want you to understand that there are times when honoring God will mean you will hurt your parent’s feelings. There may come a time when you will have to choose between your parents and following God. Even when the act of following God seems in direct conflict with your parents’ stated will, you can still choose to show them respect.

But I want to also add that having to choose between God and our parents is not the typical pattern addressed in scripture. Jesus, in Luke, is not exactly trying to say that we should honor God before our parents (though this is true). Rather, he is very direct that we should not use our parents (or any other family member) as an excuse to avoid following God.

That’s what Jesus is showing in Luke 9. The man who requests leave to bury his father seems to be asking a noble thing. But it is possible that his father was still alive. In essence, this man was saying, “I’ll follow you, but it isn’t convenient right now. I’ll follow you when I don’t have anything else going on (like when my parents are dead, and I’ve gotten the inheritance; maybe then…)” The next man’s request seems similar to that of Elisha (1 Kings 19-21), but Jesus’ reaction shows that he saw through this man’s heart. Elisha ran to his parents and told them “good-bye”, then left. He sacrificed his livelihood, and then followed God’s call. He was seeking to honor his parents and God. This man, on the other hand, was looking for an excuse, some reason to avoid following, some loophole in the call to discipleship.

When it comes to the question of honoring God or our parents, it is a question of discipleship. We must ask ourselves; Are we truly deciding between God’s will and our parents’ will? Or are we looking for a reason to avoid doing what we know God has called us to do?

prayer

God, I want to thank you for my mother and father. I know we have not always seen eye to eye. My own sinfulness and childishness has caused me to act in ways that did not properly reflect you before them. Lord, give me great wisdom when dealing with my parents, so that they will see the love you have for me, and the plan you are working out in my life.

Thank you for the way that they raised me. They set a high standard and they always let me know that I was loved. Help me to show my own children unconditional love. Help me to raise them in a way that they will see Christ and come to know Jesus personally.

Father, help us to honor our parents. Help us to follow you unwaveringly. Help us to be an example to the world of what families and communities built on true respect and love look like.

“At last!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Genesis 2:23-24

The Hebrew word for leave in the verse above is ‘azab, awzab’ and it means to loosen, relinquish, or forsake; the meaning is crystal clear. Instead of clinging to one’s parents as most have probably done their entire lives up until marriage, spouses are to forsake the primary bond to their Dad and Mom in deference to their bond with their spouse. It is a process of going from dependency on one’s parents to independence from them. And a lot of times this transitional process gets sticky!

Are we called to still honor our parents even after we’ve moved out of the house and are now clinging to our spouse? Yes! Does that mean that if my parents prefer me to do one thing and my spouse prefers another that I automatically still obey my parents? No!

Honoring our parents, as the fifth commandment exhorts us to do, takes on a different hue once we are married. Clearly, it does not mean that our father and mother retain carte-blanche authority over our lives. Once we are joined with another in matrimony, in the sight of God and whatever witnesses, our primary responsibility and accountability, humanly speaking, is then shifted from our parents to our mate.

This “shifting” is often an awkward and somewhat painful time in most young people’s lives. It isn’t easy to relinquish the authority that has been in place in one’s life for a couple of decades and turn to give it to another. The tension is frequently felt by all parties, from the adult child to their parents to the new spouse. An emotional tug-of-war is common and if things aren’t handled properly in the early stages of a new marriage, it can mean years of resentment and hurt feelings until the severing of the apron strings is properly completed. Some couples handle this process better than others, depending on their upbringing and relationship with their parents. Some couples never properly detach from their parents and their marriages are wracked with the scars and bruises to prove it.

There are so many variables that come into the picture when talking about leaving one’s father and mother and being united to one’s spouse. Physical proximity to the parents is a huge factor, health of the marital relationship plays a big role, whether or not children/grandchildren are involved is another issue, and how dependent one has always been on their parents is also a major question. But, whatever the circumstances may be, the fact still remains that though we are called to honor our parents, we are not allowed to dishonor our spouse. Once we are married, after God, our spouse should have first place in our hearts and in our actions. Our mate should be second to no one but God. And our parents don’t even show up third on the radar if children are involved! At best they may be fourth!

Read the following quote by Irv Thomas:

If we pause to think about it, each of us has a large amount of precedent in our own life in structuring and altering reality. We have all made transitions from child to spouse to parent, from student to occupational specialist, in many cases from supervised to supervisor. Natural transitions, yes, but in each instance we have assumed a different role, and to some large degree our life pattern was altered in the process; often our entire relationship to the world around us altered with it. None of these transitions was inevitable. We made choices, we moved toward goals, we pursued directions of our own free will.

When we decide to get married, exercising the freedom of our will, we are still bound to obey God. Though we grow up and leave the confines of our parent’s provision and protection, we are still always dependent on God. He tells us to honor our parents and to be united with our spouse,
which means it is healthy and possible to carry out both mandates. We just have to have our priorities straight and know what to do if a tough call has to be made. We should always do our best to honor our parents, but if it comes down to a choice between them or our mate, our spouse should never have to worry where their ranking is!

application

• Does your spouse know that you are more committed and loyal to them than your parents?
• Do you need to have a talk with your parents about certain behaviors in their lives that undermine your marriage?
• What examples can you think of in your life where you have been able to honor your parents without disrespecting your spouse?

prayer

Dear Father, please help me to make my spouse the most important priority in my life after You. Please forgive me for the times when I may have made them feel less important to me than my parents. Please help me establish boundaries with my parents so they will know and understand my desires to honor my spouse while I at the same time honor them. Please build within my marriage a relationship between my spouse and my parents that is honoring to You so that everyone will be in agreement about the way things are supposed to be ordered in our lives.

Please help our family to support one another and base our connections with each other on the Truth of Your Word and the principles You’ve established. In Jesus’ Name I ask, Amen.