Live Honorably

Monday, October 29, 2012, 7:09 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with this song playing in my mind:

My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;

for Thee all the follies of sin I resign. 

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;

if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,

and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;

if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight;

I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Hebrews 13:1-21 (NIV 1984):

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings…

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Be Content

To be content means to be satisfied and joyful in our life’s circumstances, whether in good times or in bad times. It is a willingness to accept the situations of our lives, whether they are negative or positive, as in the providence of God, and that he will work them all out for our good. Contentment also focuses away from self and our selfish wills and desires, and it looks to how we can please God and serve and obey him.

If we have truly learned to be content with where God has us, and with our circumstances, and if we are truly trusting in His providential care, then we won’t be hungering and thirsting after the things of this world and the lusts of our flesh to satisfy the longings of our hearts and minds. We will, instead, hunger and thirst for righteousness, and we will look to God to meet all of our needs, instead of trying to satisfy what we think are our needs through our own self efforts, especially those efforts that take advantage of others.

Then, we will be in a better frame of mind to hear from God and to receive his instructions on how we are to live godly lives, pleasing to him.

Our Leaders

There are many kinds of leaders in our churches today – some good and some bad; some who preach the true gospel, and others who preach a diluted (false) gospel of men. We should imitate only the faith of those who are true to God’s word, who live exemplary lives, and who do not dilute the gospel. I grew up under the preaching of a man who I believe lived what he preached, and who preached the solid word of God. He wasn’t perfect, but he was/is a man of God.

We need to be spiritually discerning and test everything we hear to see whether or not it is of God. The sad reality in our churches today is that many are preaching a Jesus other than the Jesus of the Bible, and a different gospel than the one preached in God’s word, and yet so many professing Christians are putting up with it easily enough (see 2 Co. 11:4, 20). We need to not rely on men to tell us the truth, but we need to seek out the truth in God’s word through careful study and prayer for understanding, so we can discern truth from error. Then we will not be in danger of being carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.

So, if anyone tells you that all you have to do is pray a prayer to “receive Christ,” that you now have your ticket into heaven and no one can take it away, and/or that God is pleased with you no matter what you do, don’t believe him. Read the word of God, in particular the New Testament, from beginning to end, chapter by chapter (in context) and see what God’s word teaches. Ephesians 4:17-24 and Luke 9:23-25 alone tell the truth of the gospel. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we must forsake (die to; run away from) our lives of sin, we must be transformed in heart and mind by the power and working of the Holy Spirit within us, and we must turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, putting on his holiness and righteousness. We must find out what pleases the Lord and live holy lives pleasing to him (see Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 5:10; 1 John 3:22).

We are to obey our leaders and submit to their authority with these Biblical exceptions:

1)    I will not deny my Lord Jesus Christ and his authority over my head by bowing to another god, to the gods of men, or to men as gods. God is and always will be the number one authority in my life.

2)    I will not stop speaking in the name of Jesus Christ, nor will I stop sharing the truth of the full gospel message of Jesus Christ - His truth, His word, and His messages, i.e. I will not stop speaking of the things I have seen and have heard from Him.

3)    I will not comply with sin: I will not agree to sin against God in any way. I will not go against his commands and his teachings in scripture, i.e. I will not disobey His word to me as is applicable to my life under the New Covenant, and as is in complete agreement with God’s divine character and will for my life.

So, we should obey our leaders (church and government), and we should submit to their authority unless they ask us to disobey God and his words. Yet, we should not fear them or what they might do to us if we choose to follow these Biblical exceptions in obedience to God, and are persecuted or even martyred for our faith and testimony for Jesus Christ, because God will be with us through it all. He will never leave us or forsake us. Amen!

Clear Conscience

What does it mean to have a clear conscience? It means, as far as we know, we are not holding on to any sins, unforgiveness, lies, deceptions, etc., but we have been honest and forthright in all our dealings with people, we are walking in obedience to Christ to the best of our knowledge, and we are presently living holy and honorable lives pleasing to him. This is where we should all be living, and if we are not, then we need to get right with God today.

God will equip us with everything we need for doing his will, and he will work in us what is pleasing to him if we will cooperate with that work. He has made the way out for us from underneath temptation to sin. He died on the cross and shed his own blood so that we could be set free from the power and control of sin over our lives. He conquered death, hell, Satan and sin when he rose victoriously from the grave. We have a new master now – Jesus Christ! Sin shall no longer be our master so that we obey its evil desires. But God is now our only master! All glory, honor and praise be unto him! Great things He has done! Amen!

Father God / Jennifer Love Moss / Mark Bradley

Oh, God above,

I’m falling down before you.

There’s something I just

Can’t get off my mind.

It seems so long

Since I’ve come to you.

Do you remember

This child that once adored you?

Can you forgive me

Now that I’ve ignored you?

How can I now come before you?

Will you hear me when I cry?

Father God, hear my prayer.

Father God, I want to know your will.

Help me, Lord, I need you now.

I don’t know what to do.

Show me the way.

Oh, precious Lord,

Do not remain in silence.

I need your help.

There is no other way.

I can’t go on living life for me.

All my decisions

are falling to the ground.

I’m empty handed

And feeling so alone.

I want to be still and know you,

But I feel so far away.

Father God, hear my prayer.

Father God, I want to know your will.

Help me, Lord, I need you now.

I don’t know what to do.

Show me the way.

Oh, God above,

I’m falling down before you.