To carry out the Law of Christ here, we must first know what it is. James 2:8 tells us, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” When we bear other’s burdens in a way we would want to be treated, we are fulfilling the royal law of King Jesus. But what does this look like? It’s done with compassion and love in a nonjudgmental way…listening attentively and always speaking the truth of God’s word. It’s inspiring hope in places of sadness and always it’s done with integrity, and trustworthiness.
Tag: Daily Inspirational Devotional
Revelation 22:18-19 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
Humans and religion have always gotten into trouble when they attempted to overlay the Word of God with ritual and tradition. So the message in the Scriptures above are quite simple…don’t even think of adding to or subtracting from what it says in the Bible. We are reminded of the authority and sufficiency of the word of God in II Timothy 3:16 that reads, “All of Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible contains everything we need for salvation, trust, hope, and love….its words more than adequate to meet every need and accomplish God’s divine purpose in our life.
Proverbs 27:9 ” Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.”
When a close friend takes the time to give you sincere advice…you listen. Why? Because first, they know you, what you’ve come through, and what is happening right now in your life. To you, they have credibility… for often they can perceive things you are blind to…or sadly, choose to be blind to. Finally, you trust them and their wise advice…for you know it comes from that deep place in their soul that loves and cares for you. I’ve just finished 30 classroom hours of Biblical Counseling and it has opened my eyes to how often we counsel people in our everyday walk. Just think how many times a day you minister to the hearts of family and friends with earnest counsel. So in a way, we are all Counselors…our arm around the person, pointing to the Cross.
Leviticus 13:45-46 ” The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.”
In Mark 1:40 we find a man with leprosy approaching Jesus. Now according to the Law, this man should have stayed far back from Jesus yelling, “Unclean! Unclean!” and letting Him know that someone ceremonially unclean was in the vicinity. This man…outcast both socially and spiritually, was forced to live outside the city alone with no physical contact with his family, so it was by sheer desperation and hopelessness he boldly came to Jesus asking to be healed. For what did he have to lose? Despair had driven him to the only hope he had…to be healed and then be able to return back to his loved ones. It tells us that Jesus was filled with compassion for the man and reached out and touched him…and he was healed. Have you ever felt like a social and spiritual outcast…alone and lonely? Jesus is there waiting to touch you today.
Exodus 3:4 ” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ “
“Here am I.” It’s a well used statement made by many great people of the Bible when called by God. In Genesis 31:11 when God summoned Jacob, he answered, “Here am I.” and so did Abraham in Genesis 22:1. In I Samuel 3:4 the young Samuel answered God’s voice with, “Here am I.” And when Isaiah was being commissioned, he also replied to God’s call with, “Here am I.” There’s so much meaning within those three little words. It says, “It doesn’t matter what You have for me to do, great or menial, I’m happy to serve You Lord.” It also says, ” I desire to do Your Will Lord, not what I want.” Three little words of submission that force us to set aside ourselves, pick up our Cross, and follow Him.
John 13: 37 ” Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow You now?’ “
This conversation happened during The Last Supper…Jesus had just told His disciples that where He was soon going they could not come. So in verse 36, Simon Peter asks Jesus, ” ‘Lord, where are You going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.’ ” It happens so often…we catch a glimpse of what God has for us to do and we are impatient…desiring to heed Him immediately. So like Peter, we anxiously query, “Why can’t I follow you now?” But all of our gung-ho enthusiasm can’t measure up to the basic training and discipline we may need prior to God’s nod of approval. Over these years I’ve found one of the hardest words to accept gracefully from God is, “wait.” But I also know in the end any delay is only for my good and benefit.
Isaiah 53:3 ” He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.”
We are not “acquainted with grief” in the same way Jesus Christ was. When illness, injury, or affliction strikes us…we suck it up, endure, and just live through it, waiting for it to end. But Jesus faced sorrow head-on…knowing intimately what it was to suffer. He very plainly explained to His disciples in Luke 18:31-33 how He would be mocked, insulted, spit on, flogged, and killed…personally taking on and experiencing all the pent-up evil of this world. We taste suffering and sorrow…but Jesus is intimate with them.
Luke 12:40 ” You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”
Jesus rarely shows up where and when we expect Him to. He usually appears when we least anticipate Him, and always in the most illogical situations…that’s because most of the time, we’re so absorbed in our own little “Ministry” that we forget Him. And it’s almost as a after-thought we ask God to be present in our work…just assuming He’ll show up and be part of it anyway! Our Ministry may be just that…Our Ministry alone… devoid of God’s presence and blessing. For just because we’re doing the Lord’s work, doesn’t mean the Lord is part of it.
Psalm 69:1-3 ” Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help: my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.”
In the verses of this Psalm, David is lamenting…he is battling depression…and he is searching. To the Believer, depression may seem as something only non-believers suffer through…but it’s not true. Statistics show 18% of Americans have been or are currently depressed. I myself went through a period of clinical depression years ago when a combination of debilitating emotions, negative thinking, and a sense of sadness overwhelmed me. But what got me through the distress was the awe of God. I clung to His Word as a drowning person would cling to a life-preserver thrown to them. I would recite Scriptures out-loud that God is in me, (Colossians 1:27-28) God is with me, (Philippians 4:4-9) and God is for me. (Romans 8:31) and slowly the hope in God returned… just as we find it did for David later in this Psalm. (Psalm 69:30-36)
Romans 1:11-12 ” I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”
We all have Spiritual Gifts graciously given to us by the Holy Spirit at conversion. But they are not meant to be hoarded, hidden, or stashed away…they are given to us for the edification of others. But you can’t encourage others if you’re not actively within the Body, and they can’t exhort and inspire you if you’re not attending Church. As Believers, we all need each other for mutual encouragement on a regular basis…so if you haven’t attended Church in quite a while…maybe it’s time to re-engage.
Safetypinlove 