Living in Peace

“One man esteemeth one day above another: another man esteemeth every day alike.” Romans 14:5

We are in the season of Lent; whether we do or don’t practice it, it is still in the season of Lent. Some esteem these days and some do not. Here is the sad part, some condemn others for practicing it and some condemn others for not doing so. Paul said that no one is going to hell for practicing a day or for not practicing it. Since it has no effect on our eternal salvation, Paul adjures us to not make a fuss about another person’s practice of a day or of a season.

Paul was actually quite clear that we are not to condemn our fellow believer for a great many things that we may or may not like. He even declared that nothing is “unclean of itself”. Our forms of Christian practice should be ours to do, or not to do, with full conviction of their rightness if we do them for the Lord. This Lenten season let us remember not to judge, but to love, and our Christian brothers.

Dear Father, Receive the worship we give you from our hearts. Amen.

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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It Changed Augustine

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Romans 3:14

This verse carries great historical significance for the early church. Saint Augustine sat in his garden reading the Scriptures when he heard this verse being read on the other side of the garden wall. Suddenly he understood. Christ is everything! Everything! He stopped toying with the idea of Christianity and committed himself to Christ and His service. Christ, not self, was to be the consuming fire of the believer’s life. It is what Paul said in Philippians, “For me to live is Christ” and again in Galatians “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Or yet again it echoes what Christ said in Gethsemane, “Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done.” Oh, what power we would have if we let go and truly let Christ live through us.

Dear Father, Help me to surrender myself to You each day. Amen.

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A Little Respect, Please

“Render therefore to all their dues.” Romans 13:7

Many people are dues paying members of some organization or another. To remain as a member they must pay their dues. Fortunately Christians are not held to that high standard of some worldly organizations or many would be declared non-Christians for failing to pay their dues. That might sound harsh, but why don’t we pay our dues? Do we respect our leaders? The Bible says not to speak evil of our leaders and that applied to Caesar as well as Caiaphas, both very ungodly men. Civility and respect are part of our dues.

There are millions who have never heard the Gospel message. Jesus assigned us the task to tell others. It is their due to hear the Gospel message. God told Malachi to let God’s people know that we owe Him our tithes and offerings. That is His due. The two great commandments, love God and love our neighbor both reflect the dues we owe to God and man. We need to take stock at how we are doing at rendering to others their dues.

Dear Father, Help me to remember the debt I owe to man and God. Amen.

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In Turmoil, Bring Peace

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18

We live in a hostile world. It isn’t just hostile to Christians; it is just hostile. Violent crime is rampant all over the world. Terror reigns in many countries. Christians get angry and start to shout back. But wait! That is against what Jesus taught and what Paul commanded. Peace is to begin with us. We are not to add to the cacophony of confusion and anger. Clearly we are not to be those who promote violence or destruction because we have been offended by someone.

The world is in crisis. When a crisis happens we have people who are called “First Responders”. They pick up the pieces of the crisis. Christians are supposed to be “First Responders” to a world in crisis. We are to help alleviate the stress of life, absorb the pain, and offer the solutions. We are not to contribute to the problem. We are to be peace makers not hate mongers. That power does lie within us. He is called the Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, Help me to be a peacemaker in my world. Amen.

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Cleave or Decay

“Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans 12:9

We have become rather accustomed in our lives to “go with the flow”. We do object to some things that we find to be bad; it is just that we keep redefining what is “bad”.  My grandmother was a shut-in for the last six years of her life. TV was her constant companion. Sunday mornings she had a full list of TV preachers. She rarely ever watched evening TV except a game show or two. Every time I turn on the television I wonder what Grandma would think of what is on now.

What was evil when she died forty years ago is now so tame that it would be a laughing stalk for modern viewers, yet Christians watch it without batting an eye. Why? Because it isn’t as “evil as it could be”. God’s message to us is simple: Abhor evil things! Cling to good things! We cannot be lights in an evil generation if we love the same evil that they love. God calls us to cling to that which is good.

Dear Father, Help me to be discerning and to hate evil and love good. Amen.

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Transformers or Transformed

“But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

My grandson likes the Transformers. I can’t tell one from another, but he can. He thinks Transformers are neat. They can change from one thing into another. That is pretty cool, actually. Just think if we could transform ourselves into anything we wanted to be; what would it be? My grandson would probably want to be transformed into a car that could stop bad guys. We are not two, so what do we want?

God wants us to transform the programming center of our body. He wants us to renew our minds. He wants our minds filled with His Word. He wants our thought processes redirected from self to Christ. This will happen as we read, study, know, hear, and love the Word. His Spirit, who wrote the Word, will bear witness with our spirit how we can live that Word. Like my grandson, we need to love the idea of being transformed.

Dear Father, Help me be transformed each day through the Word. Amen.

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

For quality inspirational, educational, and fictional Christian books visit www.davidccraig.net  

March Milestones

March is upon us and there are many events that occur in this very exciting month. The month begins with St. David’s Day, yes that is true, a day which I am happy to note. Shortly afterwards comes Command Day, March Fourth, a day all Christians should take note of. This year it comes on a Sunday which is a good day to preach a sermon by that title. The following Sunday we return to Daylight Savings Time where we will begin to get another hour of light each day, which also is a great sermon idea. If we like the Light, how about shining some of it into the darkness of this lost world of sin?

Within that same week we have St. Patrick’s Day, which is not really a day to drink green beer and wear funny shamrock hats. St. Patrick was a great missionary evangelist who should be remembered in the church for his extensive work in converting a pagan nation to Christ. We can all commit ourselves to follow his pattern. Only three days later is the first day of Spring. It is a time of renewed energy and the prospect of new life coming to our cold earth. How many sermons could be made from that day’s celebration?

Five days later we begin Holy Week with the bringing of palms to celebrate the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. But, lest we forget that those who were waving palms on Sunday were calling for Christ’s crucifixion on Friday, we want to stay vigilant in our own faith walk, not for a day but for a lifetime. Throughout the week there will be many opportunities to worship together in our expression of contrition of sin and praising Christ for His sacrifice. March is certainly a month full of events that will remind us of our walk with and work for Christ. Let us take them all to heart.

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