The first parable Jesus relates is that of the lost sheep.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he find it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  The he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me;  I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

-Luke 15:4-7 NIV

Reflecting on this passage I have thought about myself, as a sinner.  How often do we feel so alone in our sins?  How often do we attend church and view ourselves as that one out of the hundred with a sin problem?

I know I have felt very isolated at times by sin.  And in that discouraged state we think, ‘Surely God loves the rest (the righteous) and he has no need for me.’  Yet, this parable says the exact opposite.  God searches for the sinner, for the one out of a hundred.  He rejoices and all of Heaven with Him when the sinner is found.

Next, comes the second parable of the woman who loses a silver coin.

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.  Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

-Luke 15:8-10 NIV

Again, Jesus lays out a simple principle.  God is interested in redemption.  God is not interested in judgment and punishment and sending people to hell.  Yet, so often that is the picture people paint of God or secretly believe in their hearts.

The special thing I found in these first two parables is that both the Shepherd and the Woman, who represent God in the parables, both do the searching.   Imagining the scenario you can sense a type of longing, an urgency to find that which is lost.  This tells us that God is searching for us when we are lost with urgency.

If you imagine, again, the Shepherd and the Woman, you can gather from the parables that the lost sheep and the lost coin are of such tremendous value to them.  We are that coin, we are that sheep, and God earnestly seeks us because we are of value to Him.

The last parable from Luke 15 is commonly known as the story of the Prodigal Son.  I won’t write it out but it encompasses verses 11-32.  In it we find the story of a son who asks for his inheritance from his father.  He goes off to a distant land and lives it up.  He’s a big time sinner.  He spends it all on prostitutes and who knows what else.  Then his money runs dry.  He sells himself into slavery because he needs food.  A famine hits the land.  He decides to swallow his pride and humbly go back to his father and ask to be a servant so that he can eat.  As he approaches his father’s estate his father sees him and is overcome with joyous emotion and runs out to meet him.  Then his father exhalts him back to the position of a son and holds a feast of honour for him and clothes him with robes and puts rings on his hands.

Imagining the homecoming scene from this parable evokes such a joyous emotion.  Again we find a picture of God as the father putting such value on his son, wiping away memories of the past, exalting him, and much rejoicing.

Does this challenge the way you view God?  As Christians, we often know the correct answer to give to our Christian friends and to non-Christians, but how do we feel in our heart?  Do we have doubts, insecurities, and a feeling of worthlessness?  How does reading Luke chapter 15 challenge those doubts, those insecurities, that feeling of worthlessness?

In these 3 teachings Jesus is reaching out to each of us.  He is giving us a picture of God and the value we have in God’s eyes.  He is showing us that it’s never too late.

Another challenge to the Christian reader is given in the response of the brother of the prodigal son.  When the brother sees all the father is doing for the prodigal son he gets angry and jealous.  He embodies arrogance and self-righteousness.  He has a pharasaical attitude.

We can all to easily fall into the trap of embodying that same arrogance and self-righteousness as Christians.  If we find ourselves preaching the gospel of ‘You reap what you sow’ more than that of ‘God loves and is willing to accept all’ we are in a problem spot.  We need to listen to what Jesus says here, that those qualities are not part of the Christian attitude towards the worlds, towards sinners, towards anyone.

When we count ourselves as one of the ninety-nine righteous we need to realize that the one that’s gone astray is just as valuable, if not moreso, to God.  We need to embody these qualities of God in the way we treat others.

How can we apply the things we have learned in this meditation?

1.  Accept the gift of gracious forgiveness in our lives.

2.  Grow in our relationship and understanding of the character of God.

3.  Relate our experience of divine love and compassion to others.

4.  Realize God loves sinners just as much as us and is actively seeking them as persons of value.

5. Impart the love and compassion to all, even the worst sinners we meet.

So whether you feel isolated by your sin or you feel you’ve got it all together, today’s meditation presents challenges from our Lord to all of us.

May we rejoice in the absolute purity of God’s grace towards all humankind.  May we find security in that God is searching for us.  May we find worth in knowing how valuable we are to God.  May we share this gospel in the way we live and let it resonate in our heart of hearts.

Amen

Here is the passage of scripture we are going to meditate on:

Matthew 25:35-40:

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

I find this scripture passage to speak to depths of compassion and love we need to have for our neighbour.  In a world that is often so cold-hearted, it is only through the love of God that we can attain such softer hearts to actually care.

This scripture coincides with what Jesus said summed up all the law and the prophets… love God and love neighbour.  That’s it.  If someone were to ask me what Jesus taught, that is exactly what I would tell them.

In this scripture passage Jesus tells us that our acts of service and benevolence towards others are counted as acts of service and benevolence to Him.  When we love our neighbour, we are loving God.

For some people reading today’s passage would make them think of giving money to charity.  And certainly, that is one way to help out our neighbours.  Coming from my point of view, there are many ways, besides giving money, that we can act out this command.

The scripture speaks of those who are hungry, who need clothes, who are in prison, etc.  This scripture encourages us to never think we are better than anyone else, it encourages us to meet people at the point of their need.  Sharing a meal, donating our hand-me-downs, helping someone stranded at the side of the road, visiting the sick and the aged, offering understanding and compassion to prisoners, these are all noble things that Jesus calls us to do.

Let us remember that Jesus died on the cross for all.  There is not a single person on this planet who God loves less.  Indeed Christ became sin so that we might have life.

This scripture passage speaks to the following:

-Love

-Compassion

-Giving

-Forgiveness

-Non-judging

And just think, when you do that “good deed”, when you find a way to apply this scripture, we are told that it is counted as doing that towards Christ Jesus.  What if instead of seeing the sinner, the poor, the diseased, the criminals, we only saw Christ as we peered into people’s faces?

This scripture has been on my mind for quite some time now.  I feel that I have truly meditated upon it.  One insight that I would like to share is that applying this scripture does not come from opening one’s wallet, it comes from opening one’s heart.

It is our heart’s condition that will dictate how we fulfill this passage in our lives.  It is a call to forgive those we’ve been holding back forgiveness from.  It is a call to see other’s with new eyes.  It is a call to soften our hearts in a bitter world and to truly let God’s love in our hearts transcend everything else that’s going on.

Today’s scripture meditation is from 1 Corinthians 10:13:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful;  he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (NIV)

Temptation – What is temptation?  The origin of the word is ‘a testing’.  As Christians we are constantly under attack and being tested.  My last post about being no part of the world lists some of the common things in which we are tempted.  Consider 1 John 2:16:

- Cravings of sinful man

- Lust of the eyes

Really, though, as individuals it would be of benefit to consider the individual ways we are tempted.  For some of us sexual impurity is an issue, for other’s it is not.  For other’s of us it is the temptation of materialism — loving money and things more than we love God.  Indeed I think that an excellent application would be to pray for God to reveal to us our weaknesses if we are blind to them.  Identifying our particular temptations is so important.  It is how we can become conscious of our spiritual need.

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him…” -Matthew 5:3 (New Living Translation)

Indeed, breaking down today’s meditation we first realize that temptations vary, yet no temptation comes to us that is not ‘common to man’.  This reassures us that no matter what our temptation is, there is someone else, somewhere, who has been tempted with the same.  So often we feel alone in our struggles, that no one understands… but as the scripture says the temptation you and I feel are ‘common to man’.  And what about Jesus?  He too faced temptation as a man and so we can be assured that even God himself understands our temptations.

Secondly, how often do we feel that what we are tempted with — our struggles — are just too much to handle?  Do we constantly live in fear of failing?

Are you discouraged because you feel you can’t win against the struggles you face?

Let us be encouraged!  The scripture today tells us that God is on our side when it comes to temptation.  ’God is faithful!‘  AMEN!  ’He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.‘  God recognizes our individual limitations and God is here for us.  The scripture states that he will provide a way out of our temptations — our tests!

I’m sure some of you are thinking that this scripture sounds good and is encouraging, but do you actually believe God will help you with your temptations?

When things get tough will this scripture, this PROMISE, be one that comes to you mind?

One question you might be asking yourself, especially if you are struggling right now is ‘How will God provide this way out.’  We want a practical plan.  We want to know the specifics.  I smile writing this because I often ask God, ‘How are you going to answer this prayer of mine.’  I am sure many of you wonder the same.

The disappointing news I have for you is that God is not likely to give you the specifics of how he will deliver you from your every temptation.  It’s not God’s way! What does God want from us?  God wants us to surrender our troubles, our problems, OUR TEMPTATIONS, to Him!  He wants us to rely on him for our strength, for our peace, for our joy and for our comfort. God likes to lead us a step at a time.  He delights when we take our steps in faith and let him lead.

What can we conclude from today’s meditation?

WE CAN OVERCOME OUR TEMPTATIONS WITH GOD’S HELP!

The real test, where the rubber meets the road, is how we will respond.  We need to go to God in prayer when we feel tempted. It’s as simple as that.  We  need to pray that the Holy Spirit equip us and rely in FAITH that God will deliver us.  The only way we can fail is if we rely on our own strength.  God’s strength and his grace will help us weather any temptation we face.

Blessings to you!  Let us choose today to take our struggles to the Lord and taste victory!

Our meditation today is on 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

At first glance we might think that this is a very restrictive command and ask ourselves ‘How can we really apply this?’  Does this scripture passage have a practical application to Christians today?

The answer is yes! Considering the context that John was writing to believers who lived in a world full of false belief and gnostic teaching we can easily parallel that with the culture we live in.  Our cultural embraces an attitude that there are many different pathways to God, that morals are flexible, that materialism often called ‘consumerism’ is a good thing.  Jesus said that narrow is the gate leading to Heaven and few are the one’s finding it.  If we desire to be in Kingdom of God we must find that narrow gate because wide and spacious is the road leading to destruction.

In verse 16 we can analyze the characteristics of the world:

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORLD

• Cravings of sinful man
• Lust of the eyes
• Boasting over possessions
• Boasting over occupation and status

Let’s examine these.

What would you consider are the cravings of sinful man?  We all know about cravings.  As an example look at the plethora of addictions that people attach to which range from drugs to gambling to sex to food!  It is even crazy and mindboggling to mention that people are addicted to Facebook.  Did you know that Facebook has been cited as a reason in 1 in 5 divorces?

What is the lust of the eyes?  How many images of sensuality and pornography do we find in our society.  Everything from the commercials on tv to the advertisements on internet sites to the movies in our theaters.  Yes, our entertainment is saturated with lust.

Boasting over possessions — Again we live in a society that values ‘things’.  In an introductory psychology course I surveyed there was a lecture on what makes us happy.  Lots of people think that things make them happy.  Actual research shows that when we buy something new, happiness is rather fleeting.  We get a high when we pay for it and when we take it out of the box and then almost immediately our happiness levels dive down.  When we turn on the tv or read a magazine we are flooded with messages that say ‘Buy this and you will be happy.  Buy this and your life will be more convenient and easier.’ In response to the economic recession the government of the United States encouraged people to go out and buy things to bolster the economy!  It is crazy how materialism is such a cancer in our society.

Boasting over occupation and status — When you meet someone new what is the one of the first questions you ask them?  Is it not what they do for a living?  We live in a society that is career driven and status driven.  We often, and sinfully I might add, define ourselves by what we do!  Haven’t we yet learned that our identity is in Christ Jesus?  Haven’t we yet learned that nothing is possible without God?

Yes, I would say that verse 16 accurately depicts the world we live in now and so we can say it is applicable.  Futhermore we are told that these worldly characteristics are not from God.

Ultimately the message today is about mistaken priorities.  We can choose to live with a worldly viewpoint or we can choose to live with a Godly viewpoint.  Consider my last post where Paul tells us that our citizenship is in Heaven and not here on Earth.

As Jesus says we can have our reward in full now, or we can store up treasures in Heaven.  Today’s meditation is a challenge to examine our priorities and gives us a chance to reflect:

How can I realign my priorities to live for God?

In what ways are my priorities driven by the world?

Is God convicting me to make a change?

Let us prayerfully consider this scripture passage and let us be open to listen to Spirit in us that can direct us to be no part of the world.

Blessings!

Today I am focusing on Ephesians 6:18

¹⁸Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people). (Amplified Bible)

Life can be hard with many struggles.  Let’s list some of the common struggles we deal with:

• Money
• Relationships
• Illness

Indeed, as Christians we live in this world but we are called to separate ourselves from it.  Our calling is to Heaven as the Apostle Paul states in Phillipians 3:20.  Wherever we live, whatever nationality, culture, we are unified as a body in Christ Jesus and our ‘citizenship is in heaven.’

So then how are we to live and cope with the struggles of the worldly order all around us.  How are we to deal with the consequences of having a body born of sin?  How are we to obey the many things Jesus commanded in the Sermon on the Mount.  Ephesians chapter 6 talks about the weapons we have at our disposal in this spiritual warfare.  What I’d like to highlight today is the need for and the benefit of prayer.

I know lots of Christians and most of them pray.  For some they pray only in church on Sunday.  Others pray thanks before meals.  Still others, even those who have not accepted Christ pray when life get’s real tough or they’ve hit a personal bottom.

Prayer is gift.  Prayer is communion with God.  It is our way of deepening in relationship with Him.  If you want to be friends with someone, you’d agree that one thing you’d spend a lot of time doing is talking with them.  Prayer is the ultimate way in our drawing close to God.  Prayer is also a way for God to speak to us.  If you desire a relationship with God then it is essential to invest in a prayer life.

For a lot of people I know, prayer makes them nervous.  They don’t really know what to say.  For other’s all they’ve heard and all they pray is the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew.  Indeed there is nothing wrong with the model that Jesus prescribed to pray, but there is so much more to prayer.

Prayer is you conversing with God.  Imagine picking up the phone and calling your best friend. You tell them everything about your day.

“I woke up late and one of the children was sick and later I burned the spaghetti….”

Having a relationship with God is about authenticity.  Remember God created you as an individual and he loves you as an individual… in light of this then, should we not be authentic and real in our prayer life?

As today’s scripture says we should pray all the time, not just in church, not just before meals, not just in hard times.  We can pray as we walk down the street, as we stand in line at the grocery store, and my personal favourite as I am falling asleep at the end of the day.  Prayer is a great gift and it is a spiritual discipline… something to practice!  As you open up to an authentic dialogue with God you will find that prayer becomes addictive, you’ll pray more and more often… this is exactly what the scripture says we should do!

One big stress reliever I’ve found in my own personal prayer life is the knowledge that God knows everything, our every thought, deed, desire, and yet he loves us anyways.  That means that in prayer there is nothing off limits.  We can pray about our struggles, pray praises for our blessings, pray for strength, for comfort, for peace, for joy.  Remember that part of God we sometimes don’t think about — the Holy Spirit — well in Romans the Bible says that the Spirit intercedes (goes on our behalf) for us when we pray.  When we don’t have the words the Spirit takes our moaning and groanings and makes it all intelligible to God.

A personal thing that I like to pray for are the fruitages of the Spirit found in Galatians.  Indeed prayer is not only a way to communicate our needs with God but it also a way for all other types of spiritual growth to occur.

There is much to say about the ACTION of prayer.  We could talk about praying for others, praying for forgiveness, praying for this world we live in, praying for our needs and wants.  But for this post, let’s keep it simple, let’s renew our commitment to just opening up and talking to God… nothing is too trivial to pray about.  Let’s all make it our goal this week to pray authentically and thank God for this wonderful means of communion with him — it’s the one call that will never get dropped.

Blessings!

I hope my last post perked your interest and alerted you to the cancer that is religious legalism.  I feel very strongly about it.  So did someone else, the Apostle Paul.  In my study today I find that the entire book of Galatians is basically refuting legalism that had eroded the faith of the church in Galatia.

The key issue in Paul’s day was observance to the law given to the Jews.  In particular the issue was circumcision.  Circumcision was originally the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham.  It was the law in old testament times that to be righteous one must be circumcised.  When Christ came His redemptive sacrifice replaced the burdens of the law.  As things go, people want to hang on to what they know.  What was easier, to live by faith or to live by law.  We might answer that to live by faith is easier, but is it really?  Consider that if one lives by the law one has the benefit that the law provides an easy way to measure just how well (or not well) one is doing.  Living by faith, an inward thing, is not so easy to measure.  Perhaps the early Christians that stuck to living by the law, observing circumcision, found it easier to measure themselves and others by the law.  But this is not what God intended.

When Jesus ascended to Heaven he gave us the remarkable gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us, to teach, to comfort, to guide, etc.  Indeed the scriptures say that our bodies are the temple for the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit comes to live in us when we live by faith in Jesus Christ.

In response to the legalism Paul was faced with he writes in Galatians 3:3:

‘Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?’

Another scripture that really has poignancy is Galatians 2:21:

‘I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteous could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!’

The latter scripture is so very important to meditate on.  The battle in Paul’s day was between GRACE and LAW.  It is still the same today in the case of legalism.  Which shall we choose?  Shall we choose to ignore the grace of God?  Grace simply means a gift we cannot earn.  How great is God’s love.  John 3:16 tells us of His love that he gave His son for our saving!  What a slap in the face to God to say ‘I would rather follow the rules and you can keep your gift–the ultimate gift.’  If we measure our Christian walk by law and works then as the scripture says ‘Christ died for nothing!’  To be a Christian we must refute legalism at all costs, our salvation comes through a person — the person of Jesus.  Any deviation from this point deserves condemnation… and Paul points this out in Galatians quite clearly.  If the Apostle Paul walked into a legalistic church today he would have some pretty strong words for that church too.

Since the Apostle Paul is in Heaven and isn’t going to visit your or my church thanks be to God that we have the Holy Bible.  Let the Spirit of God speak to you through the letters Paul wrote.  The book of Galatians is a great resource for refuting legalism and gives us a proper perspective.

Another point that I want to make about legalism that perhaps would merit a full post on it’s own is that so far I’ve only referred to churches being legalistic.  This to me is important but what’s even more important is your personal faith and personal relationship with God.  You could be going to a grace filled church and still be infected with legalistic ideas for a variety of reasons.  Let us examine our personal attitudes.  Are we putting an unnecessary yoke on ourselves thinking that we are inadequate and thus need to be so harsh on ourselves that we are personally legalistic of ourselves?  Is that what God wants for you?  Again read Galatians 3:3.  If we adopt a personal legalistic stance, thinking that if we read our Bibles a certain many hours a day, the time we spend in prayer, our church attendance, is this going to bring us closer to God or earn us a place in Heaven?  No!  As Paul says our human efforts are foolishness.

As Scripture exhorts let us examine our ways and test them.  Are we living by the Holy Spirit or living by our own efforts?  Even when we accept the message of grace we tend to always want some measure of control.  Personal legalism creeps into the little things that define our faith walk.  Let us surrender to Jesus every aspect.  Surrender takes practice and takes a daily commitment, it’s not something that comes natural to us.

Let us put aside our foolish efforts and any foolishness that legalism has brought into our lives and align ourselves to walk by the Holy Spirit which dwells in every Christian.

Blessings until next time!

I feel really compelled to address a specific issue that is rampant in the church today — legalism.  Legalism can be defined as salvation by works and arbitrary man-made rules.  Legalism states that we must be a certain way to be right with God.

Let me make it perfectly clear that legalism is a sin.  The reason legalism is a sin is because it denies that our salvation is a gift from God.  In my study of Romans Paul reiterates that no one is righteous before God.  Paul also reiterates that our only way of right standing with good is through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

I have no doubt that legalism starts with good intentions.  People try to avoid what displeases God and that in itself is good.  But you see the problem is that obedience by law is not what God purposes for us.  God wants our obedience to be out of love for Him.  It is so very important to recognize that it is not on our own power that we are transformed but through the power of the Holy Spirit.  No man can do enough good on his own will.  We are made to need God and need His power.  When we get legalistic we deny grace, we lose our joy, and inevitably we fail.  Legalism is Satan’s tool to keep us down and out, feeling like we are never good enough for God.

The antidote to legalism is to really understand that God gives us the gift of salvation through Jesus.  What does grace mean?  Grace is unmerited favour.  We can’t earn God’s grace.  It’s a gift.

I grew up in a legalistic religious system.  Everything from what to wear, to how to do my hair, to what to watch on tv, to how many hours to read my Bible a day was dictated.  From my experience this showed me nothing of God’s supreme quality, that is love.  Legalism robs us of joy and legalism robs us of God’s intention.  God intends for us to rely on Him for strength, for peace, for joy.

Today I encourage you to examine your beliefs about how to please God.  Look at the people God used in the Bible — were they perfect?  A quick glance will show you that God uses broken and sin filled people to His glory.  Who did Jesus denounce?  Was Jesus harsh towards the sinners — think about the woman by the well?  No, Jesus denounced the Pharisees.  He called them hypocrites.

There exists today a form of godly devotion that proves false to it’s power.  Legalism, rampant in Jesus day is still rampant today, and it is not what pleases God.  To please God is to enter into a relationship of surrender to Him.  The key is in the relationship, when we empty ourselves we make room for the Holy Spirit to change us into what God desires us to be… not on our strength and will but through the power of God himself.

Remember today that God is a God of love.  He has a plan for each of us.  The scriptures talk about finding freedom in Christ and no legalistic system can do that, only Christ alone can give us that freedom.

A great book on the topic which I am just finishing is called Breaking The Bondage of Legalism written by Neil Anderson.  I think it is essential reading for every Christian, it offers healing to those who have been hurt by legalism, it offers a proper perspective on the truth of God’s love and purposes for us.  Please check it out… in many ways breaking free from legalism is a path to a fresh start with God, with church, and understanding our salvation.

Hello readers, this is my first blog post.  I created this blog to share my meditations on certain scriptures from the Bible.  I am currently doing a study of the book of Romans, so you’ll notice that for the first while most of meditations will be from the book of Romans.  I invite you to grab a cup of coffee, read the scripture, and meditate with me on what this scripture might mean to both you and I.

My thoughts:

In this scripture we are told that we are called to belong to Jesus Christ.  We are bought with his blood — indeed our salvation is through Him.

Interestingly, the scripture says we are called.  Imagine your phone ringing right now.  What will you do?  You are presented with two choices:  to answer, or to ignore.  If we are to belong to Christ we must answer that call.

What are the alternatives?  If we do not belong to Christ, to whom do we belong?  Do our lives reflect answering Jesus’ call? or are we ignoring the call and answering the call of this world and the desires of the flesh?

Verse 5 says we are called ‘to obedience that comes from faith.’  Romans 3:22 says it is ‘faith in Jesus Christ‘, his mission on the cross and his resurrection, that leads to ‘righteousness from God.’  Also a good scripture to direct us is Romans 10:17 which says “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  Therefore, if we are to belong to Christ and be obedient to his call for us to belong to him we must know the word of Jesus… the good news, the gospel!  We must have faith in that good news and the promises contained therein.

A question for reflection:

• What did Jesus teach?
• Whose call am I answering when I do something God forbids?

Conclusion:

In a way, Jesus is calling at every moment of the day.  With our decisions, choices, words, actions, etc. we choose whose call to answer.  Belonging to Christ means being no part of the world.  We live with a constant spiritual warfare around us.  Satan the devil, the great deceiver, would rather us ignore Jesus’ call to our grace given sainthood and have us live out the call of the desires of the flesh, which are sin.

In a sense, this verse, to me, says that we are constantly facing a choice.  True Christian living requires a persistent answer to the call in Romans 1:6, the call to belong to no other but Christ.

Blessings to you!