Tag: On Becoming Like Jesus

On Being a Good Citizen

Romans 13:1-3 MSG Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

3-5 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

6-7 That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 MSG The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

Observation

“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order.  So, live responsibly as a citizen.“  This was written to Christians in Rome, a pagan culture ruled by leaders who viewed Christians as rebels and a threat to the state.  Christians experienced persecution, imprisonment and even martyrdom.  Paul is directing this church to be in the world but not of it, peacefully, patiently, consistently increasing the contrast between other religions and faith in Jesus Christ.  Be first citizens of Heaven who demonstrate obedience, submission to authority and living a peaceful life so to model a better way of living in faith, even to the point of death. 

“Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation.”   Timothy was also leading a congregation living under Roman rule, an economy based in strongly entrenched idol worship, and discrimination in business and social acceptance.  However, again Paul is asking us to look past the outward obstacles to emphasize the basis of the evangelism Jesus modeled for us – be willing to be a sacrifice in whatever way is required of you, look past the outward to contend for the salvation of the soul, love your enemy, be a living example of what a life in Christ provides (Romans 12).     

Impact On Me

“Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.” I have lived a long time in this United States of America.  I have had times when I agreed with the federal/state/local elected or appointed officials and times when I have not.  Apparently, that is not the basis for how I am to respond to current rulers. I am to respect and pray for them whether I agree with them or not.  

I know that there will be no perfect government until all government is on the shoulders of Jesus. Paul did not say pray for those with whom you agree and rebel against those with whom you do not.  He reminds me that:   (1) God is sovereign; (2) I am first a citizen of Heaven; (3) I have been given to the USA as an ambassador of Heaven; (4) As an ambassador, I am to represent my country, its interests, and its ruler in a way that brings truth, peace, salvation, redemption, restoration and unity.   

“That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.”   So, it is my responsibility as a follower of Christ to pray for those who rule over me, to be a good and dutiful citizen without compromising my faith, to rely on my King to provide for and guide me in the right way to live regardless of how that is received in the secular culture around me, to never abandon mercy for judgment, to be willing to be misunderstood or persecuted so that Holy Spirit can accomplish His will and purpose, to pray for wise and Godly leadership at all levels while I strive to be in the world but not of it. 

Devotion

Father God, You are the One True God, Creator of the Universe, the Most High God, the Alpha and Omega, the All-Knowing One.  You have always been sovereign, always in control, always the One Who sets up kings and takes them down, always the One Who sees the whole picture of eternity, always the One Who is faithful to Your plan to redeem Your creation.  In these verses, Paul is telling me to put all my trust in You, all my responses rooted in Your Word, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what I may face, regardless of the chaos that is happening around me.  Like David, I can lament away, crying out against injustice, as long as I get to the “but God…”, recognizing the You alone see all, know all, and are the One Who has all things working together for good for those who love and serve You.  May I be fully submitted and obedient, especially when I don’t understand and things don’t make sense.  Make it so in Jesus’ name.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven


Matthew 6:9-15 Phillips  Pray then like this—‘Our Heavenly Father, may Your name be honoured; May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day the bread we need, Forgive us what we owe to You, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. Keep us clear of temptation, and save us from evil’.”  14-15 “For if you forgive other people their failures, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you will not forgive other people, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your failures.”

Colossians 3:12-14 Phillips  As, therefore, God’s picked representatives of the new humanity, purified and beloved of God himself, be merciful in action, kindly in heart, humble in mind. Accept life, and be most patient and tolerant with one another, always ready to forgive if you have a difference with anyone. Forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you. And, above everything else, be truly loving, for love is the golden chain of all the virtues.

Observation

I note that the importance, even necessity, of walking in forgiveness keeps coming up in the Gospels.  We pray the Lord’s prayer but neglect to include the next 2 verses.  In the Lord’s prayer, we ask to be forgiven as we have forgiven others.  Verses 14-15 give us the consequences for being unforgiving.  We will get what we give.  Our Father has been amazingly merciful, generous and charitable in forgiving us.  He asks only that we imitate Him with others who may or may not deserve the same grace and mercy.  This is the journey He has called us to undertake.

However, this is not always the easiest road to travel.  Unforgiveness is more than a rock in the road; it can be the unstable and crumbling cliffs alongside the road that will bury your soul in bitterness, anger, hatred, revenge.  Jesus told us that this world would have trouble.  He also told us that He has overcome the world – if we will abide in Him and walk with Him, obeying His word.  He did not guarantee that serving Heaven would be easy or that people would understand or accept what we do in His name for love.  He promised to go with us wherever the journey takes us and be with us whatever comes.

Impact on Me

“May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  There is no unforgiveness in Heaven, no grudges, no sickness, no sorrow, no pain.  In submitting to Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I became a citizen of Heaven assigned to the location in which I live and have influence.  I am called to represent Heaven and all it has to offer, to invite others to transfer their allegiance from the things of this world, and to commit to live by, support and defend Heaven’s values. 

“Forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you.”  This is about anyone (and everyone).  On the Cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive “them” for they did not understand what they were doing.  For me, “them” encompasses the religious leaders who plotted His murder, the crowds that yelled “crucify”, and the Romans who mocked, whipped and nailed Him to the Cross.  Yet, Jesus came to die for them and all who would follow.  So, “them” for me must include those who mock, insult, disrespect and otherwise crucify me.  I am not there yet, but I truly want to get there, where love overflows and freely forgives the hurt, the pride, the “what about my rights!”, the need to even the score.  Satan can only hurt me where I give him a foothold.  Free and abundant forgiveness removes that one.

Devotion

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God of Mercy and Grace, Redeemer, Light to my path, I stand in awe of You.  What depth, width, height of love You expressed by the Cross which opened the gates of Heaven for us all.  I want to walk out my life in that kind of love, freely forgiving as I have been forgiven.  Stop me when my soulish pride wants to be unforgiving.  I want to be an instrument in Your Hand to bring redemption, not carving out a foothold in myself or another for the devil to take advantage.  May my life bring glory to You in all I do.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.  Make it so.

On Exploding Pretensions

2 Kings 7:3-7 MSG It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, “What are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.”  So after the sun went down they got up and went to the camp of Aram. When they got to the edge of the camp, surprise! Not a man in the camp! The Master had made the army of Aram hear the sound of horses and a mighty army on the march. They told one another, “The king of Israel hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!” Panicked, they ran for their lives through the darkness, abandoning tents, horses, donkeys—the whole camp just as it was—running for dear life. 

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 PhillipsFor look at your own calling as Christians, my brothers. You don’t see among you many of the wise (according to this world’s judgment) nor many of the ruling class, nor many from the noblest families. But God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise; he has chosen what the world calls weak to shame the strong. He has chosen things of little strength and small repute, yes and even things which have no real existence to explode the pretensions of the things that are—that no man may boast in the presence of God. 

Observations

This may seem strange at first, but, to me, this is one of the most encouraging stories in the entire Old Testament.  The city has been cut off from resources for months.  The people in the city have resorted to unthinkable ends by the lack of food.  The prophet Elisha has predicted a sudden and dramatic turn around of the situation, but no one believes him. Outside the city gates, with no hope for help or food from inside the city, we have these four lepers.  Now lepers were avoided by others because the disease was communicable (it is a virus), had no cure and resulted over time in disfigurement, even to the extent of losing fingers, toes, noses.  Lepers were considered a waste of space and resources.

These four lepers have an epiphany!  “If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.”  I can see them hobbling and shuffling toward the enemy camp.  They have nothing to offer and nothing to lose.  But God, in the way He does, uses the least – foolish, weak and men of little strength and small repute, actual outcasts – to save the city.  This is clear evidence of how different God’s standards to judge value and worth vary from our standards for the same.

Impact on Me

There is great value in study of the Word, practicing spiritual disciplines and daily devotions, worshipping together, serving in ministry.  These are all a necessary part of growing in our Christian walk.  However, they do not define our value in God’s eyes.  While they demonstrate our gratitude – our recognition of the grace and mercy poured out on us and for us, our commitment to submit and obey, our desire to return love to Him – they do not make us more worthy in God’s sight.  We are worthy when we choose to be in Christ through the surrender of repentance and accepting the salvation provided for us on the Cross. 

These four lepers remind me “that no man may boast in the presence of God.”  My accomplishments, my talents, my knowledge, my accumulated wisdom, my faithful performance, only has real value when it is offered up in humility and used to walk in obedience to His will and purpose in my life.   The best thing I bring to the table is my ear to hear and my heart to obey. Our God is able to make the fiercest army flee before anyone He chooses, even four starving, crippled, rag draped lepers that society considers worthless.  What can He do with me if I will just get up and go when He calls?

Devotion

Lord God Almighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the One Who stooped down from Heaven to redeem my unworthy soul, I worship You.  I want to see with Your eyes and value others with Your heart.  I want to be just who You call me to be, not wishing to be someone else doing something else because they are being seen and recognized and I am not.  I want to remember that what You can accomplish in and through me is only limited by the freedom I will allow to Your Holy Spirit.  Change my heart, break loose the things in me that break Your heart so I may be Your good and faithful servant.  I pray this all in Jesus’ name. 

On Being Part of the Permanent

1 John 2:15-17 MSGDon’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

1 John 2:15-17 Phillips Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For the whole world-system, based as it is on men’s primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the man who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.

Observation

So, here we are again standing by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  John is telling us that “Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important…” is eating that same fruit.  If we do so, we are choosing to value (want) everything that is temporal, passing away, of no eternal value.  God has not said through John that we cannot have and enjoy things, or be good leaders, or attain high positions.  However, He is saying that we must watch the motives – is it to serve Him, His purposes, and His reward system or all about me, me, me and what I get out of it here and now.

I love this phrase – “The man who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.”  This is not speaking about physical death of the body but, rather, about the permanence of the rewards of eternal life guaranteed by placing our full trust in the Father and choosing obedience over our reputation, possessions and praise for our accomplishments.  To follow God’s will be hard on all that is acclaimed and held dear by the world’s system (“men’s primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid” – KJV “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”).

Impact on Me

I am guaranteed eternal life by the salvation provided in Christ.  John is speaking here to those who have done the bare minimum without any further investment in bringing the Kingdom.  John is speaking of the necessary equipping and the map for the journey of sanctification, becoming more like Christ.  Jesus tells me in Scripture to be lightly attached to the things of this world even though I must have things to live in it.  The Father knows what I need and will provide it.  He also tells me to overcome through love all that is evil in this world (driven by lust and pride).  Here John says it again.  “Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time.”  I must not value temporal things above eternal ones.

In this chapter, John reminds me that loving the Father and loving my neighbor (really anyone including my family) are interconnected.  He is warning me that the love of me and what I have at the expense of others is not moving me along the road to sanctification (becoming more like Jesus).  Being generous with what I have, content in where He places me, loving my enemy, praying for those who spitefully use me, freely extending forgiveness to those who mock and abuse me, trusting God to avenge in His time and way – these are footsteps forward on the journey.  These kinds of reactions to the world’s system may be slightly wounding to my soul (my pride, my reputation, my social status), but they are milestones on my path and please my Father in Heaven.

Devotion

Eternal Father, Redeemer, Comforter, Teacher, Almighty God, You are everything true Love embodies.  I want to do more than just the minimum.  I want to demonstrate my gratitude for all You have done for me by loving and serving all you bring my way so they may be changed by Your Love as I was.  I want to be one who is recognized as Yours in all I do.  Keep me watchful so I can always be following Your will and living/walking in the “permanent” (eternal) every day.  I ask this in Jesus’ name.

On Disreputable Characters

Matthew 9:9-13 MSG Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.

10-11 Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”

12-13 Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”

Matthew 23:13-14 Phillips “But alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors that you are! You lock the door of the kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces; you will not go in yourselves neither will you allow those at the door to go inside.

Observation

Tax collectors, especially Jewish ones, were anathema and traitors to the Jews because they served the Romans by agreeing to extract (and profit from) exorbitant taxes imposed on their fellows.  Anyone who associated with a tax collector would be a “disreputable character” in the sight of both Pharisees and fishermen.  Jesus regularly engaged in this kind of shock therapy with His disciples to break down their strongholds of prejudice and judgment created by tradition and teaching of the religious leaders.

Jesus also purposely challenged the man-made rules of the Pharisees, but never broke Mosaic Law.  Jesus accused the Pharisees of being so obsessed with duty and form that they missed the heart of God – grace, mercy and redemption.  He accused them of misinterpreting God’s intended relationship with His creation.  In Matthew 23 Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites who played the role of true spiritual men but were really only playacting rather than serving God with a pure heart.  Above He accused them of foolishly and jealously (and unnecessarily) guarding the door of Heaven to keep out disreputable characters and missing the blessing of entering in themselves. Jesus came to throw the doors open wide.

Impact on Me

So, I have to ask myself – who do I consider disreputable characters, traitors, unworthy of heaven?   Who do I mark as unredeemable, untouchable, crooks and misfits?  Where am I playing the role of a spiritual woman to look good when my actions don’t represent what is in my heart?  Where are the places in me that I don’t want Jesus to challenge and the Holy Spirit to touch?  Hard questions that must be answered if I want to avoid playing a role and start living a holy life.

When I was first saved, my husband and I had a charter sportfishing boat.  We spent many hours a day at the docks.  The docks harbor many people who lead a rough and raw life – most of us would label them disreputable characters.  On our way home one day I was thinking about (and judging negatively) a man on the docks who was coarse, hedonistic and disrespectful to women.  In that Pharisee moment, I saw him as filthy and unredeemable.  The Holy Spirit in His grace and mercy hit me with the baseball bat of His insight and I heard, “Yes, that is what your soul looked like before you received Jesus.”  I wept because I realized that I had so easily forgotten the undeserved and overwhelming grace and mercy I received from the God Who gave His only Son for me and for Whom all is possible.  This is why I need to ask myself again and again the questions above, allowing Jesus to examine my heart and the Holy Spirit to change me for the better.

Prayer

O Lord, God of the Impossible, Father of Mercy and Grace, how quickly I tend to judge other’s worth when I need to be judging my response to the grace and mercy I have received.  I want to be a Pharisee in diligence, in studying Your Word, but keep me from falling into the trap of thinking that You are performance-based and give more worth by my achievements.  Keep my heart soft toward the disreputable characters, the crooks and misfits that I might be an instrument of redemption in Your Hand.  May I be one hugging and welcoming those who enter Your gates.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.