WATCHWORD:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So, I really don’t know which is better.23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Philippines 1:20-24
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Luke 18:18-23
Meditation:
Let Go!
In a recent Our Daily Bread, there was the story of a missionary couple living in West Africa who developed a strong friendship with a man and shared the love of Jesus and the story of salvation with him. Their friend had a lifetime of allegiance to another belief and was a leader in his faith. With sadness, he explained, “I’m like a man fishing with his hands in the stream, who caught a small fish in one hand, but a bigger fish is swimming by, and to catch the bigger one, he had to let go of the smaller one.”
As I read that, I thought about much of Jesus’ teachings that speak of putting behind us our old self in order to fully embrace life in Christ. I think about the rich young ruler who seemingly walked away from the key to eternal life because he was very wealthy. I think about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus about being born-again.
Accepting Christ or being born again, by its very nature, requires us to let go of our old self, our old thinking and our own way of living our life. Our priorities change, and realign with our faith, and we step out as a new person. In essence, we are letting go of the smaller fish, our old life, in order to embrace the bigger fish, a life in Christ.
The transition that we have gone through in our commitment to Christ is much easier to describe in words, than it is to live it. In Paul’s missionary work with the Galatians he ran into judaizers who said that embracing Christ alone, as a faith, was “too easy”. The idea of faith based on Christ alone was so contrary to the Jewish faith, with their array of 613 laws that must be obeyed. Embracing Christ. Too easy?
consider you and me. Think about this: Was it easy to truly embrace Christ in our lives and walk with him moment by moment through each day? How about turning our backs to those things that are contrary to what we know Christ would have us do? Was that easy? Speaking up and defending the defense-less, was that easy?
I had a strong Christian friend, who is now with Christ, who, when speaking of his faith, would, in candor, say, “You mean that which I often would backslide from?” Maybe that is the answer to the “easy” matter of the questions. We try to follow. We try to make choices that honor our Lord. Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we ‘backslide’.
I think about something that Spurgeon or Chambers or Calvin, one of those, said: “I give it all to Him, including my imperfect faith.” That is like our imperfect perfection that allows us to leg go, and to let God take charge, even when we fall short. He is ours and we are His. That is peace, God’s peace. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
A rabbi was always teaching his followers to seek the answers in themselves. But the followers always came back expecting more answers from him. Finally, he set up a booth with the sign: “Any two questions answered for $100.” After some deliberation, one of his richest followers decided to ask and brought two important questions. As he paid the money, he asked, “Isn’t $100 rather costly for just two questions?” “Yes, it is,” replied the rabbi, “and what is your second question.”
Closing Prayer:
Ten single-sentence prayers from C.W. Spurgeon
Lord, help my heart be blameless toward You. Amen.
Lord, remind me how Your grace is sufficient in my weakness. Amen.
Lord, remind me how You are my refuge and strength at all times. Amen.
Lord, remind me of Your strengthening presence. Amen.
Lord, help me seek You at all times. Amen.
Lord, restore my hope and joy in You. Amen.
Help me to pray in this trying time. Amen.
Strengthen me with Your Word! Amen.
Help me battle in Your strength and understanding, not my own. Amen.
Strengthen me by Your Spirit to know the love of Christ and be filled with Your fullness. Amen.
