Is Church Changing the Way that You Live?

Romans 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Inspired by Inspiration

When I say we should be inspired by inspiration, I mean that we should be inspired by the Word of God, which is inspired by the Spirit of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Faith comes by the hearing of the Word of Christ, and since we know that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1, 14), the inspiration comes from the hearing of the Bible. When the Bible takes second or third place at services, you can almost guarantee that no one’s going to be inspired at church. If you’re not hearing the inspired Word of God at church, you’re probably not going to be inspired. And if you’re not being inspired by the Word of God at church, it’s likely not going to change the way you live.

Is Church Changing You?

If church is not changing you, then maybe you should be changing your church (but don’t do it yet–read the last paragraph to see why I say that). I understand that true, lasting change comes by the Spirit of God, but a church that is not centrally focused on the true passion of Christ (Isaiah 53:5) is not really focused on Christ. The reason Jesus came to earth was to redeem sinners who are unworthy and to purchase for Himself, by His own blood, a people of God to be called the children of God. At a recent Resurrection Sunday service, we had a segment of the song “Blessed Redeemer” interwoven with parts of the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” and people wept. They left church much differently than when they came in. That’s what church should do. When the Word of God gets into the people of God, the change by God makes the children of God live differently.

You as the Agent of Change

A lot of people might not like their church and things about it. So how about this: Change it yourself! You can be an agent of change in your church by giving people encouragement, thanking them for what they do, inviting them out for lunch after church, joining an evangelism team, starting a ministry, or whatever else you can think of. We need one another, and no part of the body of Christ is dishonorable. We need one another. If you are not inspired by your church, be part of the solution instead of doing nothing about it. Your being there might be why God has placed you there. God has “arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Corinthians 12:18); that includes you, of course. If you can inspire others, you can make the church more inspiring, and if the church is more inspiring, it can change the way people live.

A Closing Prayer

God, my Father, please help me to be an agent of positive change and inspiration for others. Use me by Your Spirit to elevate others and glorify God. Thank You for Your church and for Your Son, in whose awesome name I pray.

Amen

Living The Life God Wants For You

Colossians 1:10

So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Striving for Holiness

There is no way that a Christian can ever be perfect, only forgiven perfectly by God through Christ’s perfect sacrifice. But this doesn’t excuse the believer from striving to live a life of holiness. Even though we have Jesus’ own righteousness attributed to us, which is how God sees us now (2 Corinthians 5:21), we cannot lie back and just coast into the kingdom. We are to grow in holiness, grace, and the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). How can we do this since we all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23)? How about trying to present your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and acceptable to God because that’s our spiritual duty (Romans 12:1)? We do this by being transformed in our minds by God’s Spirit and not by not being conformed or pressured or shaped into the image of this world (Romans 12:2).

Being Filled With the Spirit

God has given us everything we need to live a godly life through the knowledge of Him Who called us (2 Peter 1:3). We are commanded to make every effort to add to our faith the goodness that can only come from His Spirit (2 Peter 1:5), but we must participate in striving for obedience. This is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, that we are to be obedient in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2). This means we should be careful in how we walk in this life (Ephesians 5:15), know what God’s will is for our life (Ephesians 5:16), and be constantly filled by His Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). If we are led by God’s Spirit, we’ll not yield the members of our body to sinful activities.

Living Like a Child of God

God has called us to be kings and priests in His coming kingdom (Revelation 1:6). But some of us–and that includes me–don’t live as if we are.  If there is scandal in our life and we claim to be a Christian, we can bring shame to the cause of Christ. John MacArthur said that we might be the only Bible some people will ever read, and if people see that we’re no different from the rest the world, they will have no desire to become a Christian. In fact, just the opposite might occur because they’ll see the hypocrisy in living a life of duplicity. Are we living the life that God wants for us? If most of us are honest, we must answer not so much–or for some, no, not at all. As Paul wrote, “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). If we are not representing the kingdom like good ambassadors should, we cannot attract new citizens to the kingdom.

A Closing Prayer

Father, I know that I fail You so many times. Please convict me when I am sinning and to be the best witness or ambassador for Your kingdom as I possibly can by Your Spirit’s power, and in the King of that kingdom’s name I pray.

Amen

A Shimmering Quality {Passage Genesis 1:27-31}

Verse: Genesis 1:27 Author: Claire Cloninger

 

Just thinking about Eden sometimes gives me an ache in my chest. I find myself wondering about the pure and shimmering quality of life there that somehow slipped through our fingers.

 

Just picture it. it was nothing to begin with. Nothing. And then God opened his mouth and spoke, and when he did, everything started taking shape. He used his words to make a world! He called forth forces of symmetry and beauty and great power. He laid boundaries of order and balance and proportion. With the precision of a master clockmaker he set in motion the weights and wheels of a perfect creation. And then, seeing the beauty of his own handiwork, he proclaimed with pride, “Good. Good.” And “Very good.”

 

Light, darkness, sky, land, water, winds and tides; plants, trees, sun, moon, stars and planets. And animals-flying, soaring, swimming, loping, crawling, galloping. All things in their vast array he created.

Then finally he created human beings, both male and female-his shining glory, whom he put in charge of it all.

 

Additional Scripture Readings: Psalm 8; Psalm 148:1-6; Isaiah 40:25-26; Revelation 4:11

A Lack of Love {Read Psalm 22:1-11}

Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads saying, “Is this the one who relies on the LORD? Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!” (Ps. 22:7-8).

 

When someone is seriously ill, we think of it as a terrible trial. But emotional and spiritual suffering is worse. We experience emotional suffering when someone betrays or rejects us. We may feel that God has deserted us.

 

This is just what happened to the writer of today’s Scripture. It was bad enough coping with sickness. It was a terrible feeling that God had forsaken him. But when his so-called friends mocked him because he trusted God, it was too much. In their opinion, the only reason why people believed in God was to have someone to help them when they were in trouble. So they ridiculed him and this made his suffering even harder to bear. The words and attitude of his friends showed a total lack of love.

 

When you are seriously ill, some of your “Christian” friends will probably tell you that your condition is caused by a lack of faith. Jesus suffered - and He definitely didn’t lack faith in His Father. Others might say that you must have done something terrible to suffer God’s wrath in this way. Both wicked and good people suffer. Don’t allow anyone to add spiritual suffering to your physical pain by planting seeds of doubt in your mind that your faith is not strong enough. Ignore them and hold on to Jesus through good times and bad. 

 

Lord Jesus, hold me through my dark days and help me to trust You at all times. Amen.

Do You Keep Your Promises? {Read Psalm 22:23-31}

I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship You (Ps. 22:25).

 

Years ago there was a politician who became known as “Piet Promises.” He was given this nickname because he always promised to solve the country’s problems, but never delivered. Many people are like this. It’s easy enough to say that you will do something, but much more difficult to put your words into action.

 

God set David, the psalmist, free from suffering and misery and David wanted to do something big to celebrate his healing. He would go to the temple and bring an offering to God to thank Him for His grace and mercy. Words alone were not enough for the Israelites. You had to praise and thank God with a gift worthy of Him; a gift that cost you something. When everybody saw David doing this, they would be satisfied that he gave God the honor and that he fulfilled the vows he made to God.

 

At some time or another, all of us make promises to God. Perhaps you made a vow to love Him dearly, to serve Him devotedly, to worship Him only, to always put Him first in your life, to give up your previous sinful life. It is likely that you made these vows while you were riding the waves of enthusiasm and emotion. How successful were you in keeping your promises? It is all very well to promise God these things, but it much better to make sure all your plans, vows and dreams lead to positive action.

 

Lord Jesus, I promised to serve You to the end. Enable me to do this through Your Spirit. Amen.

The Source of Praise {Read Psalm 22:23-31}

From You comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly (Psa. 22:25 NIV).

 

What do you praise the Lord for and how much do you do it? When someone has performed a heroic deed, or created an astonishing work of art or a magnificent woodcarving, we praise them by telling them how exceptional they are.

 

Some people can’t tell the difference between thanking God and praising Him. We thank Him for what He has done for us; for the fact that He gave us life; for the beauty of the world around us; for specific things He gives us, like the rain, for healing, for a safe journey; or for obtaining a job. We praise Him because He created the universe; because He rules in glory; because He is the Savior and Helper of those who look up to Him; because He empowers us through His Spirit.

 

In Psalm 22, something very important comes to the fore. David is so happy that God carried him through his trials that he states that God is the one who gives him the theme for his praise: “From You comes the theme of my praise.” In other words, when David praises God, it is God who gives him the gift of praise.

 

God lifts him out of his own foolish and inadequate words and gives him the ideas, words and theme to praise Him. Even the praise we bring the Lord is a gift from Him. If you find it difficult to praise God, pray that He will give you this gift.

 

I want to praise You, Lord; praise You with all my heart! Amen.

Touched and Purified {Read Isaiah 6:1-13}

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven” (Isa. 6:6-7).

 

It is no secret that human beings have disappointed God since the beginning of time with their sinful weaknesses. On top of it, their sin causes a tremendous abyss between God and them. The desire to have our sins removed is an exercise that all religions share. The big question is: How should it be done and who must do it? Many people agonize about their guilt and go to extremes to get rid of it.

 

Isaiah was overwhelmed by his feeling of guilt. But he would soon discover the solution. There was no profound ritual that had to be performed or fine that had to be paid, no formula or words to be chanted. The confession of his sin was as far as he could take the matter. Then God took over and forgave him. In the temple, where sensational offerings were normally sacrificed to atone for sin, no offering was required. God used one of the seraphs who simply touched his impure lips and he was purified. All Isaiah had to do was to be aware of this and accept God’s act of love.

 

If feelings of guilt happen to be your problem, come to Jesus and let Him touch you. You can’t cleanse or forgive yourself - only Jesus Christ can do that. If you want to be healed and need to be spiritually equipped to serve Him better, surrender yourself to His purifying and healing action.

 

Merciful Father, through Christ Jesus purify me, heal and forgive me so that I may serve You better. Amen.