Memorials are for Remembering
In our nation, as in many others statues are erected to great men and women in memorial of their great contribution to their nation and in many cases to the world. Most often memorials are erected AFTER the person or event being memorialized has come and gone. Around our nation and world there are a number of memorials set in place to remember what – war? Do the monuments to our WW I veterans at Pershing Park in DC, the WW II memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the national mall also in DC or the various Vietnam Memorials in our nation CELEBRATE war?!
NO!!!
They memorialize men and women who rose above fear and personal concern for safety during those conflicts to stand for something greater – their nation, their countrymen and the freedom we ALL hold dear. Those memorials do not celebrate blood shed but rather sacrifice for the greater good and they serve as a reminder of the COST of freedom.
in 1970 Crosby, Stills Nash and Young recorded a song in the wake of the Kent State Shootings called “Find the Cost of Freedom.” It included the countercultural anthem titled “Ohio” written by Neil Young which was meant to protest America’s ongoing presence in Vietnam (specifically the Cambodian campaign); it contains a lyric that verbally encapsulates the PRICE of freedom and simply states:
“Find the cost of freedom buried in the ground.”
Sometimes, standing for something will cost you everything – this IS the cost of freedom.
So, let me ask you, does the way we as individual citizens of America use our freedoms sometimes degrade the cost paid to obtain it?
I know that the remainder of this post may offend some of my Libertarian friends but do we have a responsibility as citizens to use that for which such a priceless value has been paid wisely and carefully?
This is, of course a page given to Christian commentary and as such this would be a good place to insert a verse from the Bible to consider in light of my assertion. Consider what Paul wrote in (1 Corinthians 10:23-24):
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.”
As a Roman citizen, Paul had freedoms like we do in America – the Apostle was free to do what ever he wanted as a citizen of Rome. But as a free citizen of heaven, made so by the precious blood and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, other considerations had to be observed, namely the effect his choices would have upon those he was trying to reach for Jesus Christ. In essence, Paul said, “I am free to do anything, but not everything that I’m free to do ought to be done.” And so, there is a tension for the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ between what we’re free to do and what will be beneficial to others and honoring to God.
When we willfully disregard the direct revelation of God in His word and sin, our actions devalue the price paid to obtain our freedom and standing before Almighty God and we are seen as treating the blood of Jesus, the blood which paid our sin debt to God in full (Colossians 2:14) as “a common thing” (Hebrews 10:29). Furthermore, our actions work against the efforts of God’s Spirit in the lives of our children and weaker brethren in the faith.
As Christians, sometimes our actions do work to degrade the cost paid to make us free but again let me ask you, does the way we use our freedoms as individual American citizens sometimes degrade the price paid to make us free?
“How?” You might ask.
For one, the students at Kent in 1970 were free to protest but not threaten or violently attack local business owners and residents who did not join in their protest. For another, when people born in America willfully burn or trample the flag representative of the freedoms which we enjoy and under which countless men and women gave their lives – the cost of freedom is degraded. And then there is this recent news story about the Vietnam Memorial on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Boston where it has been reported that the monument has been defaced by graffiti including swastikas and the destruction of numerous American flags: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/vietnam-war-veterans-monument-defaced-ahead-memorial-day-63253992. These are a few in a growing list of the ways that some citizens of this great country have degraded the sacrifices made and the cost which was paid for our mutual freedoms.
As I wrap it up, I was just thinking about the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The Tomb of the Unknowns as it has officially been known since 1921 stands as a memorial to those men and women of the armed forces who died in combat but whose remains cannot be identified.
I was just thinking about how the name “Unknowns” fits these men and women who paid the ultimate price for their country and their countrymen – most hero’s that I’ve ever heard of didn’t do what they did for recognition….they would tell you that they simply did what needed to be done.
I was thinking of the vast sea of grave markers which surround the Tomb of the Unknowns, each of them with a name and a symbol of their personal faith or life. Their names are common everyday names like Jack, Frank, Joe, Pete, Tim, Mike, Mary, Liz, Ralph etc. but they were not common men and women. Some of them were farmers and farmers sons, cowboys, business men, young men straight out of high school, wives, daughters…..some enlisted, many were drafted; all of them mattered to someone and ultimately because of what they did they ALL matter to the nation.
These uncommon men and women, like those who survived them through the many wars and conflicts exhibited uncommon valor, uncommon patriotism and uncommon bravery as they faced a common enemy. From every walk of life they came, united in purpose and willing up front to lay it all down.
My friends, it has been said that, “Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you; Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul; the other for your freedom.” We have all benefited or stand to benefit from the uncommon blood of both those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom as Americans and the blood of the Son of God Jesus Christ – may each of us live lives which remember and respect their sacrifices.
Transformed?
Metamorphosis is the process of transformation of an insect or an amphibian from its immature form to its adult form in at least two distinct stages. Maggots become flies, tadpoles and polliwogs become toads and frogs and caterpillars become butterflies. Often, it is image of the transformation of the caterpillar in its chrysalis that Christians use to illustrate the process of a believers transformation.
But is that really what happened when you or I trusted in Jesus?
First of all, the caterpillar creates the cocoon into which it enters to begin the process of metamorphosis. Secondly, the entire process is natural, triggered by God given instinct; spiritual transformation is neither self initiated or naturally triggered. Finally, the person being transformed is not being reconstituted into something functionally and physically different – we still look the same the day after “all things have become new.“
So, what is spiritual transformation?
Spiritual transformation is a process initiated or begun in the heart (the seat of our emotions and thoughts) by the Holy Spirit the moment we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote in (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV):
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Whether this verse is new to you or you are very familiar with it, a careful reading, even in context leaves the reader scratching his or her head asking themselves “since I have trusted in the Lord has EVERYTHING about me changed?” Since the obvious answer is “NO!” what is Paul talking about in this verse?
I think that Paul is here speaking of the fact that our justification in Christ changes our standing before Almighty God rather than the tension that remains between that reality and the fact that we are still living in a fallen world and struggling with the temptations of it. You see, as believers we are citizens of heaven still living on earth and waiting for our final salvation and because we are still in the flesh we are also still prone to sinning.
In one sense, we are immediately changed – we are justified, that is, we are made righteous by the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21), forgiven by God (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14) and granted eternal life (1 John 5:11) the moment we trusted in Jesus Christ, but the process of bringing our lives in line with our new standing will take the rest of our lives and require our cooperation and complete submission (Galatians 5:16) to the Holy Spirit of God within us who began the process (see John 6:44) in the first place. Nevertheless, something will be OUTWARDLY different about a person the moment they trust in the Lord – it will be immediately apparent that SOMETHING has happened in the new believers life.
Consider the Apostle Paul himself for a moment, before he met the Lord, he was persecuting, imprisoning and consenting to the death of Christians and thinking that he was doing the will of Almighty God (see Acts 26:9-11; John 16:2) but after meeting Jesus on the Damascus road (see Acts 9:1-6) Paul the persecutor of Christians trusted the Lord Jesus with whom he had formerly been at war, and becoming a willing vessel unto the Lord He made him His ambassador to the gentile world.
In a moment, Paul’s heart was totally changed – he served a new master; but it would take a lifetime for his transformation to be completed (Philippians 3: 12-14 NKJV):
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
We’ll talk more about this towards the end of the week but I want to wrap up this post by reiterating the main point and asking you a question.
It is my belief that those who have been born again (see John 3:3) – given new life (spiritually speaking) from God through faith in the name and work of the Lord Jesus ARE IMMEDIATELY different in some recognizable way – even without words, they cannot help but give evidence that Father, Son and Spirit have all impacted his or her life.
My question to you is one that I have asked myself – what about you has changed as a result of trusting in Jesus? What unmistakable difference has the Lord made in your life?
Sustaining Encouragement
Let me speak from my frame of reference, I am a white, conservative fifty-something male; to some that means I am a toxic, nay saying, bigoted and privileged part of the problem in America today but they don’t define me. I have never been a wealthy man nor lived in abject poverty; I know what it is to struggle to get ahead but I have never done without the basics of a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food in my belly. I use vehicles like the internet and social media to share truths from the Gospel of Jesus Christ KNOWING that most people really don’t care what I or it has to say. This I do in the hopes that someone will listen and come to trust in the God not only of the Bible but of the Universe and in the Son who He sent – Jesus Christ the righteous; who died to give life to spiritually dead men by satisfying the equally righteous requirement of God concerning our sins.
I mention my background because I know what it is like to pull myself up by my bootstraps in making a bad situation better and while I have NEVER experienced the poverty that some people in our nation and town have – NONE OF US have EVER experienced the kind of squalor that exists in some of the poorer nations of the world today. But we have brothers and sisters in Christ in those places – most of them equal in their poverty, some of them, despite their poverty serving others in Jesus’ name.
One of them, a friend of mine, Dr. Joseph Samuel serves as an indigenous missionary in India. He is NOT funded by the IMB (International Mission Board) nor any of the other well-known sending institutions but he is no less on the mission field in Jesus’ name. I recently had to write to him and explain that certain resources that he’d come to depend on for the ongoing work would no longer be coming. I can say that prior to writing this letter I was probably more like most people reading this post – rarely if ever giving much thought to the conditions in which missionaries serve nor to the encouragement which both our prayers and our material support bring to those serving.
Dr Samuel not only has the pressure of poverty all around him limiting the degree to which he can help others but he also faces the persecution which preaching in the name of Jesus draws in a predominantly Hindu nation. Nevertheless, in his upward age this Christian brother and those with him is making a difference. I have never been to India and can only imagine the difficulty one faces to minister there – most of us as ministers here only have to deal with the occasional complaining member or overbearing deacon; for the most part the lights are on, the A/C blows cold and everyone is comfortable in what I have come to call the “fish tank;” we face disappointments and setbacks but, if we set our minds to it, we can recover.
We have our American wherewithal – men and women like Dr. Samuel only have God.
God uses people to supply the need in India like He used the people in Philippi to supply the need of the Apostle Paul:
“Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.” (Philippians 4:14–16, NKJV)
During a deep time of testing, it was the prayers of the people of God which the Lord used to comfort a man (Paul) literally at the end of his rope:
“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.” (2 Corinthians 1:8–11, NKJV)
Not being where the missionary is, not experiencing what he or she faces in the service of the Lord where ever it may be, it often becomes easy in our air-conditioned churches to turn our back on them as it suits our own purposes. We forget to pray. The instant contributing to them materially becomes challenging to us – we cut off the supply; if his trust was in men, the servant of the Lord would often be VERY disappointed.
But men like the Apostle Paul and Dr Samuel don’t trust in men, they trust in God and because they trust in God, they are able to say:
“… I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11–13, NKJV)
My friends, it is too EASY to let down on prayers and on supplying the needs of those serving the Lord in less than ideal circumstances, especially when we do not directly and mutually experience their suffering. Let us be more determined to faithfully support them who go where we won’t and suffer what we don’t…
From Rags to Robes of Righteousness
Look at that picture, what do you see?
Did you come to Jesus as bankrupt as this man did? Oh, he wasn’t penniless, the man depicted in this picture was a spiritual leader in Israel – the high priest Joshua in the days of the prophet Zechariah. His bankruptcy was not financial it was spiritual and the rags he wore represented the loathsomeness of the sins of Israel (and his own) in God’s sight – he was performing his priestly ministry, praying for the sins of the people and his own.
But I want you to look again.
What you don’t see is Satan, the accuser of the brethren, standing beside this man ready to oppose him – ready to protest any grace which may be afforded on behalf of the man or the people by God and to mercilessly accuse him before the Lord. You don’t see him but he’s there.
Before I go further, let’s look for a minute at where in the Bible this “picture” can be found (Zechariah 3:1-5 NKJV):
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.”
In the passage, “The Angel of the Lord” stood before Joshua and rebuked the accuser but note what He did not do – He did not condemn Joshua, instead He pronounced over him the grace of God which Satan hates.
In the picture, you may have noticed that the Angel of the Lord is depicted to look much like we have imagined the Son of God – the Lord Jesus Christ looks like. The reason for this is simply that in the Old Testament, every reference to and appearance of “THE Angel of the Lord” is a reference to the preincarnate Christ. Remember that Jesus always was, always is and always will be (see Revelation 1:8); Jesus has no beginning or end, He was present at creation (see John 1:1-4, 9-10,12-14) and at various times in the OT (see Dan 3:24-25). He appeared before Hagar (the handmaiden of Sarah and the mother of Ishmael) in Genesis 16:7-11; before Abraham as he prepared to offer Issac as a sacrifice as God commanded (see Genesis 22:11-19) and before Moses at the burning bush (see Exodus 3:2); these are a few of the numerous Old Testament appearances of the Lord Jesus as THE Angel of the Lord.
Returning to the picture, Jesus (aka THE Angel of the Lord) is depicted to be covering the man’s filthy rags with what appears to be a scarlet robe. In the fourth verse of the passage we read, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will cloth you with rich robes.” All of us come to Jesus in the same way – dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and, spiritually speaking, wearing the “filthy rags” of unrighteousness (Isaiah 64:6) but the Lord covers us as He did the man in the picture – in garments of salvation and the robe of His righteousness (see Isaiah 61:10).
You see, when I look at this picture I also see me – do you see you?
This picture is a powerful illustration of each of our lives the day we met Jesus. Now I may be projecting myself onto Joshua at this point but can you hear the man saying through his tears, “Me Lord?! Who am I that you should do this for me?” Can you see the humility of this man and the profound gaze of Him who is not afraid to make sinners His friends? His gaze is not to say “This robe is expensive, it cost Me My life – don’t mess it up!” but to say, “I am giving this to you because you need it and I love you.”
The grace of the Lord is costly! His righteousness is priceless, but the Lord will so clothe you if you will but turn to Him in faith.
To hear more on the subject of grace and Christ-likeness, click the link https://www.thetextmessages.org/sermons/striving-for-christ-likeness-pt-8/
HE is Still Risen!
Opened Eyes
It struck me as I re-read the account of Matthew concerning the last portion of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem (Matt.20:20-34) that so often we seek the WRONG thing when we have the Lord’s attention.
Consider that two of the disciples, James and John – the proverbial “Sons of thunder” (clearly because their father’s name Zebedee meant thunder) sought greatness in the coming kingdom. That it was pride driving their request is evident when, after their mother had petitioned the Lord on their behalf, Jesus asked (v.22):
“Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said. ” We are able.”
Later, as they were journeying out of Jericho, the Lord Jesus and His disciples encountered two blind men. Mark tells us that one of the men was Bartimaeus, he and another had apparently taken their usual place beside the road out of town to beg for charity from the passers by (Mark 10:46). When they learned that Jesus was passing by they cried out to Him and in mercy He stopped and asked them what He had earlier asked the mother of Zebedee’s boys (Matt. 20:32):
“What do you want me to do for you?“
The blind men quickly replied,
“That our eyes be opened.”
Just as quickly, the Lord (v.34) had compassion, touched their eyes and restored their sight “and they followed Him.”
Many people are coming to hear the message of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem today. Many of them as blind spiritually as Bartimaeus was physically. The reader of this post today may also be spiritually blind to the fact that Jesus didn’t come to make you great in this world – to prosper you; He came to make you whole – to free you from bondage to sin and pride and to give you life.
I have learned that even the lost and spiritually blind man prays. Do you have enough faith to believe that He to whom you pray has the power and desire to answer you? Can you believe the words of Jesus in (John 3:16) which declare that from love God sent His Son and the words of Paul in (Romans 5:8) which proclaim that God extended and demonstrated His love toward us while we were still His enemies?
Knowing these things, what will you say when the Lord responds to you? When He mercifully asks, “What do you want Me to do for you” what will you seek?
I pray it is for sight that you ask. For opened eyes to see and to follow after Jesus.
Faith Has the Last Word
Where do you go to “get away from it all?”
The world is full of strife and striving and it is clear that we cannot “all get along” as Rodney King hoped in the midst of the L.A. riots of the early 90’s. Daily we are assaulted by another ignorant soundbite from society in the media. Daily we are hit by the realities of our mortality – the sudden onset of illness, the sudden loss of loved ones, or of freedoms, or hopes and the dashing of dreams – these come at various times sometimes fast and furiously to punch us once more right in the gut.
About that…Jesus warned us; He said in (John 16:33), “In this world you WILL have tribulation...” – we will have trouble.
So let me ask you again, where do you go to get away from it all? Does peace have an address?
First of all, lets consider where peace CANNOT be found; it cannot be found in this world – Jesus said it. Specifically speaking to His followers, the Lord declared that nothing on earth can give you lasting peace. Look what He said in (John 14:27):
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Through His cross, Jesus has “overcome the world” and because of that He said that we could rejoice or “be of good cheer” (John 16:33).
If peace cannot be found around us in this world and Jesus promised that He would leave such a peace with us that we need no longer be overwhelmed by the troubled of this world – where is it?! Where is this peace of which the Lord spoke?
It is IN you. Trusting in Jesus, abiding in Him and He in us (John 15:5) through the person of His Holy Spirit (John 14:17) combine to make peace an ever available resource in every place where your feet may take you.
Sometimes though, we don’t draw from that well within us at first. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed that we become temporarily overcome by the storm around us. Like Peter, we often tend to focus on the storm (see Matthew 14:26-32) around us rather than on Him who calms the storm – we focus on the uncertainties of life and in that moment we are walking in fear instead of faith.
If we focus too long on the storm our heavenly vision gets out of whack and instead of eyes of faith we see through eyes of flesh and what we see drags us down to discouragement, despair and depression.
In that moment, emotion wins out over truth.
The fact is that our emotions and eyes of flesh are always at war with our faith – they seem to have been with the writer of Psalm 42 and 43 and in those moments we must cling to our hope in God and to His promises.
In (Isaiah 26:3) we see one of those promises:
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed (focused, concentrating) on You, Because he trusts in You.”
“Why are you cast down, O my soul?” the Psalmist asked himself in (Psalm 42:5), “and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”
Because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead; because he keeps His promises and dwells within us in the person of His Spirit we don’t have to search for a peaceful place nor be run over by our troubles.
Faith in Jesus makes peace possible in every place and at ANY time.
Giving Till it Hurts
This is Rudy Vargas and he is an unusual man.
Rudy is the pastor of a ministry called Heaven Scent Baptist Mission. His is a mission what goes to people most people reading this would NEVER go to. Forgive me but first of all, way too many ministries expect the people to come to them – to their churches.
Rudy goes.
Rudy was an inmate in the Texas correctional system, now he ministers from the outside to those he formerly ministered to on the inside. Offering those who want to go deeper with the Lord a rigorous study of Biblical doctrines so that they may rightly divide (rightly understand and teach) the Word of God. Corresponding with those men, Rudy encourages their study and rewards those who complete the program with a certificate and a Bible.
Rudy was also on the streets for a time as a homeless person, now he ministers to the same in the city of Victoria Texas. Weekly, he ministers to those he finds on the streets; once a week (at least) he and his wife (Julie) prepare sack lunches for the homeless which they take to the people on the street sharing the “bread of life” with them first and then the food and at various times also clothing that has been collected.
Rudy was once a troubled youth, now he ministers to at risk kids, showing them the love of Jesus, leading them to faith in Christ and then discipling them to live out their faith in Jesus Christ. His ministry to these youth, mostly junior and senior high school age, is the only Christian influence some of them are exposed to.
The Lord is making a difference in lives through Rudy Vargas; so why am I bringing him to your attention today?
Rudy’s ministry is not brick and mortar – he works from his home office; in addition to that, Rudy does not receive the benefit of tithes and offerings from which to conduct ministry. Unlike most full time ministers, he receives no compensation nevertheless, from his own “mites” he serves the Lord by serving others; like the widow of (Matt. 12:41-44) Rudy does not give from his excess but from his own poverty.
This is how Rudy describes his ministry to his Facebook subscribers:
” We are a faith based and Jesus Christ centered non profit 501c3 organization, with a three fold function. First we are a congregation, and assembly (Church) of Bible Believing Christians, who come together on the basis of the Bible. We have a youth mission, in which we reach out to, and disciple young people, to nurture them in their faith, guiding them towards a Christ centered life. Our team of disciples, built from the ground up, discipling others to be apart of Jesus Christ’s mission to the world. Second we are a Street Ministry that takes the gospel to those who might not be reached by other Christian organizations, feeding the homeless as we minister, and counsel the less fortunate with God’s holy word. And thirdly we are a Prison Ministry, going into the prisons, reaching out to those who have quite often been forgotten, or discarded by their families, and society. Offering Bible correspondence courses, providing Authorized King James Bible’s upon completion, certifying them as inside ministry team members in order to continue the mission from the inside. All for the glory of God our Savior, and to touch those with the love of Christ Jesus, who died for our sins, and with the hope of leading others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, helping them change their lives as we have. Bringing hope to the hopeless in this world. ”
I am writing in hopes that as some of you read it you’ll send up a prayer for this brother in Christ. Additionally, I am writing so that some of you might share a word of encouragement with Rudy and I am writing in the hopes that a few of you might even consider helping this ministry materially. You can contact Rudy by searching on Facebook for Heaven Scent Baptist Mission or by clicking the group link https://www.facebook.com/groups/301237056957743
If you are led to help materially you can do so through PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/tortugaink
Additionally, if you can help and don’t want to use paypal, please message me directly on The Text Messages Facebook page for other ways to help.
Please like and share this post to get the word out….
Thanks.
The Calling of the Everyday Christian
Nearly eight billion faces, each representing a story and a soul – every last one of them different in so many ways. Some are homeless, some are addicted to anything from food, drink and sex to any one or more of a number of drugs; some are single parents trying to make it work; some are happy and some are stressed and frustrated even suicidal, everyone of them believes in something even if they call it nothing. Atheists, deists, pious, self-righteous; Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian – people who look like you and people who don’t.
As a Christian witness where do YOU draw the line? Who is there in your life or in your day to day routine that you WILL NOT reach out to?
Why? Who were you and what were you doing when someone told you about the One who loved you anyways?
Last week we talked about loving, forgiving and serving others like Jesus loves, forgives and takes care of us; is there someone in your life for whom you could not do that?
After having heard how Jesus willingly set aside His rights and prerogatives as God (see Philippians 2:5-11) for the sake of those He came to save and that those rescued and redeemed by Him are called to do the same thing many believers would quickly say: “Yes, but he is Jesus, I am not.”
After hearing the command of the Lord after He had set aside His robe, filled a basin with water and washed the dirty feet of those who followed Him that they who believe in Him are to “do likewise” (John 13:15) many believers would quickly say: “Yes, but He is Jesus, I am not.”
After hearing that believers should love others (including those who don’t love them) as Christ loved them (John 5:12, Matthew 5:44) and that they should forgive as the Lord has forgiven them (Ephesians 4:32), many believers would say: “Yes, but He is Jesus, I am not!” as if those commands and instructions are beneath our dignity and beyond our own spiritual experience.
What does that even mean – “He is Jesus, I am not“?
Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, holy, perfect, sinless – the creator of all things! If anyone had the right to decline setting aside their rights it was Jesus! If anyone had the right to say: “I am not loved by them, neither will Iove them” it was Jesus! If anyone ought to have been served rather than serve or had the right to refuse to stoop to the level of washing the filth from another persons feet – it was Jesus! But He did NOT claim His rights – He did all of those things which many believers today could NEVER bring themselves to do.
When we attempt to excuse ourselves from the call of the everyday Christian with words like “He is Jesus, I am not” we are not saying, “I can’t do it” in reality we are saying “I won’t!” Such are not merely overwhelmed by the thought of obeying, rather, they literally cannot find it in themselves to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable or to minister to the “undesirable.”
My friends, selfless living is what you and I are called to as everyday followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the greatest example of Christ to show us how, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to encourage, empower and enable us to do as Jesus did and we have the examples of people just like us who have been “Christ” to the “least of these” to prove that it is possible for the redeemed to act like it.
Would you be willing to go outside of your comfort zone to reach the ones you haven’t spoken to about the love of God in Christ Jesus? Let us all TRULY model the mind of Christ today – the world is waiting and the Lord is worthy.
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