Today's Reading:
1 Kings 6, 2 Chron. 3, Ps. 97, Ro. 1
I've added an extra section after my daily devotions. I call it "Personally Speaking" (or "PS" for short) where I share my personal thoughts on what's happening in the world and the Church.
Scripture
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Ro. 1:16-17)
Observation
Romans chapter one is God’s recalibrating tool for our faith. It addresses God’s law, our obedience, and the consequences of refusing to recalibrate back to the Scriptures. It tackles one of the more controversial topics in today’s shifting world: our sexual morality. The rest of the chapter clearly addresses immoral and same-sex relationships. We as God’s people have most probably handled this shifting tide somewhat improperly, it seems to me, anyway. We could have done better. We were either too lenient or too legalistic, but nevertheless, we must agree on one thing: and that is that the standard of God’s Word still remains.
We live in a me-centric world where morals are shifting, and with each iteration, the definition of right and wrong broadens until it is completely redefined. However, Romans chapter one clearly sets the standard, and we must decide if we will demote the Scriptures to our level of life, or ratchet up the level of our life to match Scripture. There will be two kinds of people:
- The ones who reinterpret Scripture to match their lifestyle. Or… the ones who recalibrate their lifestyle to match Scripture.
Application
In order for me to recalibrate my life to Scripture, I will need to change my mind about many things. We learned certain ways of thinking from the environment around us, from the news and from the crowd, but these sources are, more often than not, erroneous. The word, “repentance” is the Greek is “metanoia” meaning, “to change your mind.” When we repent, we not only admit to our wrongdoing, but we now change the way we think from that point on. For example, the bible will reveal something that needs recalibrating, and once I see it, I get to change my mind (and not the Scripture), and never to go back to the old way of thinking. I will have “renewed my mind. I must also be reminded that in the Life Journal, on each page is written, “How will I be different today because of what I just read?”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, please help me to cooperate with You as You change me from glory to glory into Your image! I am still a long way off, but I will not delay the alchemy of the Holy Spirit by revising and reinterpreting the Word to fit my flesh… no matter how spiritual I can make it sound.
I finally got a haircut! I was beginning to look like Willie Nelson for a moment there but opted for a shave and a haircut instead. They made me put on a mask, so I did. (Now we are hearing that if you wear a mask too long, it alters the PH balance in your blood system from breathing your own breath over a period of time, so it’s unhygienic and not very healthy.) I don’t know what to believe anymore about this COVID-19 situation! … but at least I got a haircut!
Seriously, what should we be about during this season? Protest? Hunker down more? Hoard more toilet paper? Stay at home and save more lives? Actually, Matthew 24:46 guides me in my conduct in the last days. In Matthew’s Gospel, everything seemed normal just before that fateful day, and we read:
“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage … they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
But at the end of this section, God commends certain servants. What are they doing?
“Who is the faithful and wise servant … who gives the others their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whose Master returns and finds him doing his job. I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions”
I figure after reading these instructions about the end times, we should follow the same instructions. Jesus left the same guidelines with Peter, remember? “Feed My sheep!” And in Matthew 28, He said, “Go and make disciples of all nation … teaching them to observe all I commanded you…”
So that’s it. That is what I will do. Even though the COVID-19 era is still changing everything, one thing remains the same: God’s purpose for us…. “Feed my sheep." “Find the lost.” “Train up disciples.” “Proclaim the Word!
Jesus is our passion
Generosity is our privilege
The Gospel is our purpose
The Bible is our proof
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