Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Hearer of the Word vs Doer...

A doer is someone who believes in the One He Sent ~ John 6:29. And, in that, we are called to spread that good news! Believe in the One He Sent, for in Him there is eternal life! John 3:16. 

In the knowledge of the One truth, we are commanded to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength ~ Mark 12:30 and to trust in Him, lean not on your own understanding ~ Proverbs 3:5. To run the good race til the end. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful ~ 2 Timothy 4:7. 

Remain faithful… believing, loving, trusting in God (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) The One True God who sent His Son so that in Him we have been washed clean of sin; indeed, delivered from the law of sin and death

Yes, with that truth in us, we are living to the Lord…we are doers?

That is why/how we can put God First because He is on First. In the recognition of that truth, one can and will experience suffering … suffering in the knowledge that He died for our sin, that we alone cannot overcome the world, that we are imperfect...less than the Creator who is Perfect.

In this fallen world, we are less than what God originally created us to be. Yes, in that truth there is suffering. And, it is painful to recognize as we may be seeing it for the first time in ourselves…that this is a fallen world, we are fallen too, struggling in a ‘beast’ system; and, so we suffer in that realization. 

It is not easy as often many people cling to this fallen world. We will find that those around us seem to be sailing along in this fallen world oblivious to their condition.

Yes, this is suffering in the Lord Jesus Christ but also hopeful in His suffering; that He overcame the world. Therefore, in such suffering, we are called to remain faithful to the Lord God in this trial even to the end. For we have become partakers of Christ, if indeed we should hold firm unto the end the assurance from the beginning ~ Hebrews 3:14.

This is our suffering… yet, it becomes a rich experience found in the Lord’s unconditional love through the sharing of God’s Word… that by God’s gracious gift (His Son Jesus Christ) we have been delivered from the law of sin and death. This is one’s own personal suffering; in that truth, a free choice to believe in the One He sent, we are called children of God.

In this way, the person who lives though suffering in the knowledge of the truth, actually lives abundantly for they know what His sacrifice meant and means for them every step of the way… in this truth, they /we grow more fully conformed to Him (Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 2:21).

The one statement of Pope Saint John Paul II that is worth pointing is that here and now in this fallen world we can and should rejoice in the spiritual dimension of Christ’s suffering (that He died for our sin), ever modeling for us how one can grow “more fully conformed to him.” He ‘Jesus’ has left us with a treasure trove of wisdom for navigating these difficulties, serving as a beacon to all of the faithful.

 


 

Monday, September 14, 2020

Stand Firm in the Lord Jesus Christ...



1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
How? Freedom in Christ...

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery ~ Galatians 5:1. Let me say it again… Freedom is what we have--Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."


John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.


2 Thessalonians 2:15.
With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you… 



Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord my beloved ~ Philippians 4:1.4.


In The Day of Trouble, ...Stand firm!
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm ~
Psalm 20:7-9.

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'" Isaiah 7:9.


It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord ~ 1 Thessalonians 3:8. For it is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us… 2 COR 1:21. 


Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain ~ 1 COR 15:58.