“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The grace of God takes wicked, undeserving people and changes us. It enriches us. God’s grace develops us, giving value to our lives. It makes us into the people that we ought to be. This work of Christ in our lives should be observable by people because it effects our words and our very thoughts. It completes us, making us the spiritually minded people that we were designed to be.
And what is the purpose of this work of grace in our lives? It develops us as we wait. He is making us complete as we wait for Christ to be revealed to all. His grace will bring us through until this end. And when the time comes, we will be found guiltless.
When we wait for something, we can begin to doubt whether it will happen or not. But when we wait for Christ, there is no wonder concerning our position in Him. He will bring us faithfully through by His grace.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Corinthian believers (and believers today) are holy in Christ. We share one Lord. The Corinthians were people with many problems--some of them shocking. When Christians think about these believers, we are prone to focus on the excessive immorality or the petty squabbling. We think of them as shallow and immature, and we forget that they were sanctified and becoming more like Christ.
I find myself identifying with the Corinthians. Thankfully, I cannot identify with their gross immorality, but I know what it is to be one who is declared righteous and yet to be confronted with my flaws, sins, and other shortcomings. As I give attention to this church’s problems, I should note my own fallen condition. But I should also remember that they were transformed and being transformed. Likewise, I should behave as one who has been called to holiness. Paul prays for grace from God for these believers. I will need the same.
The Corinthian believers (and believers today) are holy in Christ. We share one Lord. The Corinthians were people with many problems--some of them shocking. When Christians think about these believers, we are prone to focus on the excessive immorality or the petty squabbling. We think of them as shallow and immature, and we forget that they were sanctified and becoming more like Christ.
I find myself identifying with the Corinthians. Thankfully, I cannot identify with their gross immorality, but I know what it is to be one who is declared righteous and yet to be confronted with my flaws, sins, and other shortcomings. As I give attention to this church’s problems, I should note my own fallen condition. But I should also remember that they were transformed and being transformed. Likewise, I should behave as one who has been called to holiness. Paul prays for grace from God for these believers. I will need the same.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
2 John 10-11
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”
If we encounter someone working against the truth, someone who has rejected the truth of who Jesus is (the very essence of the gospel), we need to avoid them. And if avoiding them is not a possibility, we will have to actively reject them.
If we so much as give them words of welcome or encouragement in the work that they are doing, we are taking part in the evil that they are doing. That is strong language. But if we are going to love as we ought, we are going to have to stand for the truth.
If we encounter someone working against the truth, someone who has rejected the truth of who Jesus is (the very essence of the gospel), we need to avoid them. And if avoiding them is not a possibility, we will have to actively reject them.
If we so much as give them words of welcome or encouragement in the work that they are doing, we are taking part in the evil that they are doing. That is strong language. But if we are going to love as we ought, we are going to have to stand for the truth.
Monday, June 4, 2007
2 John 7-9
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Right after being directed to walk in love, obeying God’s commandments, we are given a reason to walk in love. The motivation for living a life filled with faithful, obedient love is that their are deceivers in the world. The deceivers do not know Christ, and they deny important truths about Him. How is the danger presented by a deceiver a motivation to love believers? Perhaps the healthy relationships guard against unhealthy ones. When we love and are loved by those who walk in the truth, we are not tempted to seek love where we should not.
Right after being directed to walk in love, obeying God’s commandments, we are given a reason to walk in love. The motivation for living a life filled with faithful, obedient love is that their are deceivers in the world. The deceivers do not know Christ, and they deny important truths about Him. How is the danger presented by a deceiver a motivation to love believers? Perhaps the healthy relationships guard against unhealthy ones. When we love and are loved by those who walk in the truth, we are not tempted to seek love where we should not.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
2 John 4-6
“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”
Seeing others who are faithful to the truth is a joy. And if you played a part, even an indirect part, in someone walking in the truth, it is an even greater joy. We walk in the truth by obeying God’s commandments. One of God’s commandments is that we love one another, and one of the ways that we love one another is to obey God’s commandments. Although it comes naturally, and though we were to do it from the start, we must be reminded to keep loving one another. We must not only do the right thing; we must keep doing the right thing.
Seeing others who are faithful to the truth is a joy. And if you played a part, even an indirect part, in someone walking in the truth, it is an even greater joy. We walk in the truth by obeying God’s commandments. One of God’s commandments is that we love one another, and one of the ways that we love one another is to obey God’s commandments. Although it comes naturally, and though we were to do it from the start, we must be reminded to keep loving one another. We must not only do the right thing; we must keep doing the right thing.
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