NT: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly… My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ  — which is far better  —  but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.” (‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:12-14, 20-26‬ ‭CSB)

One of the main and overriding themes of the epistle to the Philippians was joy. That, in itself, is pretty amazing considering that Paul wrote this epistle while he was under house arrest in Rome and likely chained to a Roman guard. Undoubtedly, the believers in Philippi were concerned about his well-being, as well as wondering how his imprisonment would affect his call of spreading the good news of the gospel around the gentile world. Though Paul’s travels had come to a halt, he wanted the Philippian church to know that his ministry to the gentiles had not. In fact, his arrest and imprisonment had actually provided an opportunity to advance the gospel to the whole Roman imperial guard, and many others within the inner workings of the Roman government. Not only that, but his boldness to witness for Christ was actually emboldening others to be a witness for Christ as well. Though circumstances looked bleak and discouraging from the outside-looking-in, there was hope and joy to be found in the challenges that Paul was facing.

How was Paul able to maintain such a hope-filled and positive attitude while undergoing such challenging and stressful times? His irrepressible hope and joy came from his view of life and death. Any selfish ambition had long since been rinsed out of Paul’s life. He was done trying to make a name for himself or trying to pad his future. For Paul, as long as he was allowed to live, his life would be about one thing and one thing only: Christ. Whenever his life came to an end, his afterlife would be nothing but gain – for the trials of life would be over and he would be able to spend eternity in the presence of God and his Savior Jesus Christ. His outlook on life and his outlook on death was all framed around Christ. Therefore in all things, he had hope and was full of joy. He was determined that whether he was alive or dead, Christ would be glorified, and so everything he did and said, and the hope that he had in his sure future was all about Christ, for Christ, and full of faith in Christ. As he let go of the lesser things of this world and grabbed hold of his higher calling in Christ, he had the fullness of joy everlasting.

Proverbs: “A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:2‬ ‭CSB)

The world is awash in people who are not really that interested in understanding, but are very interested in getting their opinions publicized. As believers in and disciples of Christ, as we grow in maturity toward the likeness of Christ, our opinions should matter less and less. There were a few things where Paul shared his opinions – and when he did share his opinion, he clearly qualified it as his opinion and not from the Lord. Otherwise, Paul was all about Christ… what does the word of God say about the matter, what is the wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit on the matter, what is the example that Christ left us to follow, etc., etc. When we are all about spouting our own opinions – especially opinions that are outside our realm of understanding – not only do we appear foolish, we are foolish. Let our lives be all about Christ and Him glorified… and in that we will be most wise.

Prayer: Lord, the more I live my life in You and walk out my life with You, the more I realize that this world has nothing for me. There is no gain in selfish ambition and self-serving agendas. I want to be able to say, with full integrity as Paul said, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Help me, as I submit to the leading of Your Holy Spirit, to so prioritize my life that everything I do and say is all about You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord? Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood? Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58:5-12‬ ‭CSB)

The Jewish people in Isaiah’s day were all about appearing righteous through doing things that would make them look spiritual and righteous. God had this against the descendants of Jacob: they pretended to seek God and said that they delighted to know His ways, yet in their religious practices they were not being godly and walking in true righteousness. One of the ways they were doing this was through their fasting. They, as many people still do, were using fasting as a means to move God… a way to gain leverage over God in order to get something good from Him in return. But in the midst of their fasting, they were treating people horribly and oppressing those who were beneath them. They couldn’t understand why their fast wasn’t working. That couldn’t understand why their fast wasn’t drawing God’s attention and bringing His blessing in their lives.

Through Isaiah, God explained what fasting is truly about. Fasting wasn’t established so that humanity would have a way to convince God to move. Fasting was established as a way to move humanity to humility. True fasting, when done in the right heart, will move us to humility before God and others, which then places us in a position to receive God’s blessing. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Many times in history, revival in the church has flowed out of times of sincere fasting – not because the fasting caused God to move – but because the sincere time of fasting caused the church to move into humility and get their hearts aligned to God’s righteousness. In the midst of a humble and righteous church, God will shower His grace and fan the flames of revival. That is what God was saying to the people in Isaiah’s day. If they truly wanted to see God move on their behalf and restore their blessed and favored status in the world, they needed to truly humble themselves and pursue righteousness through the type of fasting that the Lord was looking for.

NT: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus… And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:6, 9-11‬ ‭CSB)

The Epistle to the Philippian church was most likely written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. The details around the founding of the church of Philippi can be found in Acts 16:12-40. This church in particular had a passion for God’s mission on the earth and was a consistent supporter of Paul’s ministry. Because of that, Paul’s friendship with the church in Philippi was closer than his friendship with any other church. This friendship can be seen in the opening verses of Philippians, as Paul thanked them for their fellowship and partnership in spreading the gospel.

Because of their steadfast faithfulness to the things of God in Christ, Paul was confident that God would continue transforming them from glory to glory unto completeness and maturity. The good work that the Lord began in them through their faith in Christ, would surely continue until the finish. One commentator put it this way: “salvation includes a threefold work: the work God does for us – salvation, the work God does in us – sanctification, the work God does through us – service.” As we continue to submit ourselves to the Lord in faith, He will continue to save us, sanctify us, and serve others through us until the day we see Christ face to face.

For that reason, Paul prayed that the believers in Philippi would keep growing in love – and their continued growth in the love of God would be manifested in both knowledge and discernment. Knowledge is the precise and correct knowledge of what is true and right. Discernment is the ability to know the difference between truth and a lie, or between what may seem right and what truly is right. Knowledge and discernment go hand in hand. We must know what truth is before we can discern between truth and lies. We must know what God’s righteousness is before we can discern between true righteousness and something that is pretending to be righteous. As we grow more and more in the love of God (love for God and His ways, and love for one another) our knowledge will grow, and thus our ability to discern will grow… and as our discernment grows, our knowledge sharpens. The reason that the Jews in Isaiah’s day completely missed the point of fasting was because they did not have a sincere love for God and His ways. Because they lacked in love, they missed out on the fruits of righteousness. However, if we continue to allow God to have His work in us and allow ourselves to grow in His love, we will be able to involve ourselves in those things that are superior, grow in purity and blamelessness, and fully experience the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You are faithful to complete the work that You started in me. My part is to remain faithful to You and humbly allow You to work Your salvation, sanctification and service for me, in me, and through me. I humble myself before You and choose to walk in Your word and in the will and ways You have chosen for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit  — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-18‬ ‭CSB)

In the simple Ephesians outline by Watchman Nee of “Sit, Walk, Stand,” this is the “stand” portion of the letter. As we are in Christ and seated with Christ by faith, we are fully graced with everything we need to walk the life God has called us to live, and we are fully equipped to withstand our enemies that in the end we come out standing.

As believers in and followers of Christ, we have three main enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is the system around us that is opposed to the ways of God and caters to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The flesh is the nature that we inherited from Adam which is by nature sinful, selfish, and unable to please God. The devil, along with his demonic minions, is (as Paul described here) our primary enemy. The devil is the “prince of this world” and the “god of this age.” He uses our external enemy (the world) and our internal enemy (the flesh) to defeat, rob, kill and destroy us. While we may encounter flesh and blood “enemies” who oppose us and the word, will and ways of God, behind those flesh and blood “enemies” is the devil, along with his rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of darkness and evil spiritual forces.

The devil and his demonic minions are by far much more powerful and wily than we are – but the good news is that we are not alone in our battle. Through His life, death and resurrection, Christ overcame the world and the flesh, and defeated the devil. In Christ, we do not have to fight for victory – we fight from the victory that has already been won. Though the devil is stronger and more wise and cunning than we are – he is still a limited created being. In Christ, we have the unlimited strength and wisdom of the Lord God at our disposal. That is why Paul wrote, “be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.”

Not only are we empowered in Christ with God’s vast strength, we are also equipped with spiritual armor and weapons that are able to withstand the onslaughts of the enemy and allow us, when all has been done, to stand. Our spiritual armor and weapons are: truth (like a belt, it holds everything else together), righteousness (like a breastplate, it shields and protects the core of who we are in Christ), the gospel (like spiked battle shoes, it gives us a firm footing and the leverage to stand firm), faith (like a large shield, it protects us from the doubts, temptations and accusations hurled at us by the enemy), salvation (like a helmet, it protects our mind and our thoughts), the word of God (like a short sword that is easy to wield and deadly accurate to defeat the enemy), and spirit-filled and spirit-informed prayer which becomes our access to the power and plans of our Lord. In Christ, by His grace, we are to stay alert, stay prepared and persevere so that we, along with all the saints, may remain faithful and come to the end standing.

Psalms: “I am like a miraculous sign to many, and you are my strong refuge. My mouth is full of praise and honor to you all day long. Don’t discard me in my old age. As my strength fails, do not abandon me. For my enemies talk about me, and those who spy on me plot together, saying, “God has abandoned him; chase him and catch him, for there is no one to rescue him.” God, do not be far from me; my God, hurry to help me. May my adversaries be disgraced and destroyed; may those who intend to harm me be covered with disgrace and humiliation. But I will hope continually and will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell about your righteousness and your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up. I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭71:7-16‬ ‭CSB)

The writer of this psalm was able to, over the course of his life, persevere in the strength of God and remain standing. Because of that, he was a miraculous sign to many. His concern and prayer, was that as he grew physically weaker through age, that God would not allow him to grow spiritually weaker – that even in his old age, he would be able to withstand the enemies of God and continue living as a testimony of God’s righteousness and faithfulness to save. As we remain in Christ and make it a point to appropriate all that He has provided for us, we too will be able to say, like the writer of this psalm, “I am like a miraculous sign to many.” As we remain in Christ, Christ will remain in us and will not abandon us. Even as we grow old and feeble physically, Christ will renew our spiritual youth and strength and we won’t be able to sum up all the wonderful ways that God through Christ has kept us alive and fighting by faith.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that in You I am strengthened and suited to withstand all the attacks of the enemy that come from without and within. Help me, by your grace, to put on truth, righteousness, faith, salvation and the gospel, and skillfully wield the word of God and spirit-infused prayer that I may do all to remain standing. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! …Seek the Lord while he may be found; call to him while he is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up; this will stand as a monument for the Lord, an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:1, 6-13‬ ‭CSB)

The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 not only died for the sins of Israel, He died for the sins of the whole world. So, through the prophet Isaiah, God says to everyone, “Come.” Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 that whoever drinks from the water that He gives will never get thirsty again because it will become a well of water that springs up from within for eternal life (John 4:13). So, to anyone who thirsts for living water, God says, “Come… and seek the Lord while He may be found – call to Him while He is near.”

Our Lord God’s ways are not like our ways. He doesn’t hold grudges and at the core of His being, He is merciful, compassionate and slow to anger. Seeking the Lord involves repenting from (turning away from) our ways and our thoughts, and turning to the Lord to experience His compassion, receive His forgiveness and submit to His ways and thoughts.

God’s word to seek Him and come to Him have gone out. He spoke those words with intention – to draw people (all types of people) to Himself to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. His words will accomplish what He intended for them to accomplish. We, who have responded to those words in faith and have been redeemed by the blood of the Suffering Servant, have the call and responsibility of reverberating those words throughout the world. For those who respond to His words through us, there will be rejoicing and abundant new life. We don’t have to be concerned with whether or not His call will be effective, for it will be – we just need to repeat the call to come to the Lord and seek Him while He may be found, for a time will come when the opportunity to receive mercy and salvation will no longer be available.

Psalms: “Lord, I seek refuge in you; let me never be disgraced. In your justice, rescue and deliver me; listen closely to me and save me. Be a rock of refuge for me, where I can always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and fortress. Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive. For you are my hope, Lord God, my confidence from my youth. I have leaned on you from birth; you took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always about you.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭71:1-6‬ ‭CSB)

This anonymous psalm was written by a believer that was past the prime of his life and needed God’s help and protection. Through the whole of His life, he had placed His faith in the Lord and the Lord had always been faithful to His word. Now, as he was in his older years, he knew that the only place where he could receive the help and security that he needed was at the Lord’s feet, in His presence.  Security, salvation, mercy and justice are all found in the Lord – so seek Him.

Prayer: Lord, I know that ultimately everything that I need and desire – peace, joy, life, satisfaction, purpose, provision and protection – are all found in You. So I choose to repent from my ways and my thoughts and turn to You. I come to You,I seek You, to receive Your will and ways for my life, and to allow Your words to reverberate through me to all who will hear. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” …See, my servant will be successful; he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were appalled at you  — his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being — so he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of him, for they will see what had not been told them, and they will understand what they had not heard. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ 52:7, 13-‭53:1-9‬ ‭CSB)

This is probably the most well-known and most often quoted passage from the book of Isaiah – the description of the Suffering Servant. It is amazing how accurately this passage prophesied the plight and mission of God’s Messiah – even to the point of Christ dying a criminal’s death yet being buried with the rich. Encapsulated in this nearly 2,700 year-old prophecy (given some 700 years before Christ) is the gospel. God, through Isaiah spelled out so clearly what He was going to do. It is almost mind-boggling that so many in Christ’s day missed His coming because they did not remember or did not understand the Messiah’s mission.

The Messiah did not come like a hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He came as someone who was not impressive at all. He did not come to vanquish the Roman Empire with a swing of His hammer. He came to break the bondage of sin and the power of the devil through willfully laying down His life. We are the ones that turned away from God and went our own way – but the Lord God placed our punishment on Him… and what a punishment it was. He was beaten beyond recognition to the point that no one could even stand to look at Him. He was whipped within a few inches of death, and then He was hoisted on an excruciatingly painful and torturous cross as He bled out to pay for our sins. What seemed like a humiliating and utter defeat was actually a triumphant victory. His piercing paid for our rebellious ways. His crushing removed our iniquities. His wounds brought about our healing. His punishment sealed our eternal peace. He was successful… and He is now highly exalted above every name. What good news that is! We now, as people saved by the Suffering Servant, have the privilege of bearing the good news of Christ’s victory to all who will hear. We are the ones who get to stand on the mountain top and bring good news of good things, proclaim peace and salvation, and declare that our God reigns!

NT: “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise —  making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:11-21‬ ‭CSB)

So rich are the benefits that we have in Christ! So much has been done for us… all while we were still lost in our rebellion and enemies of God. Christ, because of His love for us, set aside His unbounded divinity to become an extremely limited man and died a horrible death – all so that we could be restored and reformed into God’s privileged children. Everything that we need to live a holy and righteous life full of the power and authority of heaven has been provided for us. What are we going to do with all that has been done for us? Can you imagine the sadness and ache it would bring to the Father’s heart if we threw all of that away in frivolous living – participating in the fruitless works of darkness, and catering to the whims and desires of our flesh.

Therefore, Paul charged that those who are in Christ should wake up… pay careful attention to how we walk and make the most of the time that we have been given here on earth. How do we do that? For starters, instead of participating in the works of darkness, we need to expose them through the light that fills our life. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we point condescending and condemning fingers at people – but that we live our lives so full of life and light that people are convicted for their shameful and selfish behavior. We don’t need to walk around blindly trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. We need to know what the will of the Lord is and walk in it. We don’t need to get drunk on the trappings of the world – we need to continually allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Instead of looking out for number one, we need to give ourselves to building up each other, reminding each other of the truth of who they are in Christ, and spurring them on to walk in His will and purposes. Instead of fighting for position and influence, we submit humbly to one another as we all work towards obeying and fulfilling God’s word, will and ways. If we do those things, we will not make Christ’s sacrifice a vain thing, but will live highly effective lives for the kingdom that lead people to the Lord and bring Him glory.

Prayer: Lord, words cannot express how thankful I am to You for all that You have done and provided for me. Because of Your great sacrifice that was born out of Your great love, I can live fully in the holy and righteous live that You have prepared for me and called me to. I don’t ever want to take Your sacrifice for granted and treat it as a vain thing. I desire to make the most of the years that You have given me on this earth to bring people to You and glory Your greatness. Help me do that as I seek to be filled always with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  —  for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth  —  testing what is pleasing to the Lord.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:1-10‬ ‭CSB)

As members of the family of faith and sons and daughters of God in Christ, we are called to be imitators of God – just as children imitate their father. As my children were growing up, there were two activities that I was heavily involved in: music and running. I served as a music minister and worship pastor at our church so practicing, playing and singing music was a big part of my time at home. From the time my son was a toddler, I was a very consistent runner – taking the time to run nearly every day for 10 years, until an injury sidelined me. It is no surprise that my daughter has taken up music and my son became a prolific runner through high school. They imitated me, their father. God the Father is love and God the Father is light, therefore, Paul calls us as dearly loved children of God to walk in love and light.

Love and light go hand in hand. Love – at least the agape love that we are called to walk in – is completely selfless. In our call to walk in love, we are called to love God completely and share with others the same selfless and sacrificial love that was shown to us by Christ. Sexual immorality, moral impurity, greed, obscenities, foolish talk and cruel and crude jokes are completely selfish and self-serving in nature, and are the antithesis of love. They show no honor and respect for God nor care for others. They are also products of darkness. Though faith in Christ, we are part of God’s ekklesia – His called out people – called out of a life in darkness, and called to live a life in the light as saints. As God’s light shines on us, works of darkness should have no place in us. The fruit of light is goodness, righteousness and truth. In order to walk in love, we must be filled with light – and in order to walk in light, we must be filled with love. As we are filled with and walk in love and light, as our Father is love and light, then darkness and depravity will have no place in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that through You I am dearly loved son of God. As a dearly loved son, I desire to grow up to be like my Father. Help me to walk in His agape love and be full of His glorious light – and as I endeavor to imitate my Father, rinse me clean of all darkness and selfish depravity. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are instructed to know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens me each morning; he awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn back. I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard. I did not hide my face from scorn and spitting. The Lord God will help me; therefore I have not been humiliated; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” (Isaiah‬ ‭50:4-7‬ ‭CSB)

Though Isaiah wrote these words, he wrote them in the voice of the prophesied Servant-Messiah – fulfilled some 700 years later through the life of Jesus Christ. Through reading the gospel accounts in the New Testament, we know that it was Jesus’ practice to meet with the Father in prayer early in the morning. It was then in those morning hours, as He was alone with the Father in the secret place, that Jesus was instructed on what He should do, what He should say, and where He should go. Hebrews 5:8 tells us that though Jesus was the Son of God, He learned obedience from what He suffered. Philippians 2:8 tells us that Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even to death on a cross. In Luke 9:51, after He met with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, we see Jesus setting His face like flint to Jerusalem in order to accomplish all that the Father had instructed Him to do. Though Jesus was treated shamefully, Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that because of His obedience unto His humiliating treatment, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name. His shame and humiliation lasted for a moment – His glory will last for eternity.

Though Jesus was completely human and was tempted in every way to react to things in a human way, He did not submit to His humanity, but in everything and in every way, submitted to the heavenly nature that was in Him by the Holy Spirit. Because Christ was obedient to the Father’s word, will and ways, we can too – by the Holy Spirit of Christ who dwells within us by faith.

NT: “Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity. Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:25-32‬ ‭CSB)

In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul told the Ephesian believers (and us) that in order to walk worthy of the calling we have in Christ, we need to take off the old way of living life and put on the new self that was created by the Spirit according to God’s likeness. In the verses above, Paul gave the Ephesian believers (and us) a practical application of taking off the old way (the way of humanity) and putting on the new nature (the nature of Christ). The human way of reacting to situations and dealing with challenges involves lying, anger, stealing, foul language and bitterness. Most people agree that lying is wrong, yet most people engage in lying when it benefits them. While anger in and of itself is not wrong, it is very human to give ourselves over to anger and allow it to control us – thus giving the devil a place of influence and power in our lives. Most people believe that stealing is wrong, but will often times justify it if it meets their needs. Foul language (rotten, immoral, corrupted, unfit words) has become an epidemic amongst believers in our day. Instead of using the curse word du jour to color or speech, we should be concerned with and involved in edifying speech that encourages and builds people up. Bitterness – something that is also rampant amongst believers in our day – is a poisonous attitude that we can allow to develop in us against those who offend us, mistreat us, or even disagree with us. If we allow bitterness to fester, it leads to wrath, slander, malice and other sinful behaviors.

All of those things are carnal and rooted in sin. Paul said that those actions and attitudes actually grieve (bring sorrow and offend) the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ that is within us. The Holy Spirit has been given to us as a guarantee… it is the Holy Spirit who seals us in Christ. What happens if we grieve Him so much with our attitudes and behaviors that He leaves us to our own devices? It is the Holy Spirit within us that convicts us, leads us, and equips us to be transformed from glory to glory into the likeness of Christ. We can, by God’s grace through faith, learn to listen and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the voice of our own carnality. Then we, like Christ, will be recipients and diffusers of God’s glory on the earth and in the life to come.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You have deposited Your Spirit within me, that I may deny the flesh and choose to submit to the new heavenly nature that I have in You. I don’t ever want to grieve Your Spirit – but instead desire to submit to His voice and leading fully. Give me grace as I choose to obey. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “Coasts and islands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The Lord called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb. He made my words like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; he hid me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I myself said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God. And now, says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him; for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God is my strength — he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.” This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is despised, to one abhorred by people, to a servant of rulers: “Kings will see, princes will stand up, and they will all bow down because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel  — and he has chosen you.” This is what the Lord says: I will answer you in a time of favor, and I will help you in the day of salvation. I will keep you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to make them possess the desolate inheritances, saying to the prisoners, “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” They will feed along the pathways, and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭49:1-9‬ ‭CSB)

The Servant mentioned here by Isaiah is understood to be the Messiah, fulfilled by Jesus Christ – who was called before He was born and named while He was in Mary’s womb. Of note is what God the Father said about the assignment for His Anointed Servant: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” Keep in mind that this was written some 700 years before the birth of Christ. It always was and will always be God’s intention to offer salvation, not just to the Jews, but to anyone from any nation that places their faith in God’s Servant and accepts His new covenant for the people. All the nations of the earth are the Lord’s inheritance. It is our job as His disciples and ambassadors to bring the good news of His salvation to every people group… and the Lord will not return to claim His inheritance until there is a worshipping community of disciples from every people group on the earth.

NT: “Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. But that is not how you came to know Christ, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:17-24‬ ‭CSB)

Gentiles from Paul’s day came from godless cultures. Though they may have believed in and worshiped gods and idols, they had no understanding of the True and Living God, nor of His ways of holiness and righteousness. When Gentiles came to faith in Christ, their understanding was opened and light was allowed to shine on their darkened hearts and minds. In Christ, it was no longer acceptable to live like the godless gentiles lived. Though they were still gentiles by natural birth, they were no longer gentiles by their new spiritual birth. The truth of God and the knowledge of His word, will and ways was found when they came to faith in Christ, were born again into His new life and adopted as sons and daughters into the family of God. Therefore, Paul implored them to take off their former way of life and put on their new self which was created in righteousness and purity according to the likeness of God.

There is a phrase that has begun making it’s rounds in recent days: “Practical Atheist.” Practical Atheists are people who claim to believe in God – they may even claim to be followers of Christ – but they live their lives like there is no God. Practical Atheists do not know the word of God, much less live their lives according to it. They do not submit their lives to the will and ways of God, but live according to their own will and desires – much like the way Paul described the lifestyle of the gentiles. Faith in Christ involves so much more than just saying, “I believe in Jesus.” Faith in Christ involves staking your entire life on the claims of Christ, submitting fully to His word, will and ways, taking off your former ways, and putting on the new nature that is committed to holiness and righteousness. Do saints in Christ sin from time to time? Yes, they do – but they do not live a lifestyle of sin… and when they do sin, they quickly repent of it when the Holy Spirit makes them aware and receive God’s forgiveness through Christ. Christ established a new covenant with God. That covenant is a covenant of grace to anyone who places their faith fully on Christ. That grace provides everything that is needed to live a holy and righteous life toward God. In Christ, there are no more excuses for sinful, godless living. For those in Christ, it’s time to take off your old ways and put on your new life.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You came to be a light of truth for those who lived in godlessness. I thank You that in You I am led to all truth. In You, I no longer have to live according to my old godless ways. In You I have a new nature that is holy, righteous and committed to the word, will and ways of God. I choose to take off my old ways and put on my new nature that is obtained by faith in You. Grace me to walk in the holy and righteous life You have called me to live. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head  — Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:11-16‬ ‭CSB)

The “He” that Paul referred to in verse 9 of this passage is Christ, the head of the body and the Lord of the church. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Paul explained that each member of the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) graces the members of the family of faith in different ways. The Father graces everyone with different core motivations. Those are described in detail in Romans 12:6-8. The Spirit graces spirit-filled believers by manifesting through them in different ways. Those manifestations are described in detail in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. In this passage, Paul describes the ministries that Christ graces certain people to function in. In verse 7 of this chapter, Paul explained that grace is given to all in Christ, but in verse 9, Paul differentiated the ministry graces of Christ from general grace, by saying that Christ does not give all these ministry roles – He gives some. These five ministry graces are roles of leadership in the Church. When Christ ascended into heaven to be with the Father and intercede for us, He appointed some to roles of leadership to equip the saints and build up the body. Keep in mind, the people that are graced for these leadership roles are not to do all the work, they are to lead and equip the body for the work.

Some in the body of Christ are graced to serve in the ministry of apostleship. The word apostle means one sent forth with orders. While all in the body of Christ are sent forth to proclaim the gospel and make disciples, those who have been graced with apostleship are graced by Christ to grow, expand and establish the church on the doctrinal principles of the word. The gift of prophet/prophecy appears in all three types of gifts. There are those graced by the Father with the motivation to prophesy. Those people are truth-tellers with a no-nonsense bent to tell things like they are. All spirit-filled believers are able to prophecy (speak forth words of edification, exhortation, and comfort from the heart of the Father) as the Spirit gives them the ability. In this passage, Paul was referencing the office of prophet – someone in leadership graced by Christ to speak forth the wisdom and direction of God to bring clarity to the body. The ministry role of evangelist isn’t graced by Christ to some to do all the evangelizing. The evangelist is to equip and encourage the members of the body to evangelize. Finally, Christ graces some to be pastors and teachers. Pastors and teachers are people graced by Christ to shepherd flocks (local assemblies of the church) and teach them the word, will and ways of the Lord.

The purpose of these leadership roles in the church is not for the people that hold these roles to become rich and famous. The purpose for these roles of leadership is to see the entire body of Christ grow to maturity. One of the measures of maturity is that the members of the church will not be tossed around and blown about by the philosophies and popular teachings of the day – nor will they be duped by cunning and deceitful people. Right now, as I look at the church in America, it is obvious to me that we have not grown into maturity. Why is that? Either those graced for ministry leadership are not actually engaged in building up the church, or the members of the church are not willing to submit themselves to those who have been graced for ministry leadership… or a little bit of both.

As redeemed, chosen and called-out saints and members of God’s family of faith, God desires to transform us from glory to glory into the very likeness of Jesus Christ, the perfect and holy Son of God. We can’t do that in isolation. We are all individual parts of a body, and Christ is the head. In order to fully function according to our God-given purpose and grow in maturity toward the likeness of Christ, we must unite with the greater body of Christ and submit ourselves to those who have been graced by Christ to equip us and build us to maturity.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that as a member of Your body, You desire me to grow together with the rest of the body into maturity… into Your likeness. I also thank You that You have graced certain people in the church to lead and equip me to do just that. Lord, I know that for me to be all that You have called me to be, I can’t isolate myself from leaders or from the body – so I humbly unite with the body You have placed me in and submit to the leaders You have placed over me. As I become properly aligned, grace me to grow into Your likeness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit  — just as you were called to one hope at your calling —  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-6‬ ‭CSB)

In the simple “Sit, Walk, Stand” outline of Ephesians, the first three chapters contain the “sit” portion. The first three chapters of Ephesians are all about who we are in Christ and the riches that are available to us in Christ. The forth chapter of Ephesians begins the “walk” portion of the letter, where Paul admonished the family of faith to practically walk in the reality of what was revealed in the first three chapters.

Paul began chapter 4 with the word therefore. The “therefore” was there to indicate that everything that Paul was going to encourage the believers to actually do was based on the doctrines he had just established: That we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, that in Christ both Jew and Gentile alike are chosen by God and called to belong to Christ’s body, that Jews and Gentiles become members of the family of God and joint-heirs to Christ’s inheritance – not by works, but through faith in Christ, that as God’s church – His called-out people – we have the honor and privilege of being the revelation and expression of God’s glory on the earth. Based on that reality, Paul said, “I urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.”

How do we walk worthy of that great and gracious calling? Paul gave some keys. We need to walk in humility (having an honest and modest sense of self). Humility is not thinking too highly of yourself, but it is also not thinking too lowly of yourself. Humility involves both knowing your strengths and weaknesses, along with acknowledging what the Lord can do through You despite your strengths and weaknesses. We need to walk in gentleness (meekness). Meekness is not weakness. It is power under control. We need to walk in patience (endurance, perseverance and longsuffering). This involves the ability to endure discomfort, challenges and wrongs without fighting back or avenging yourself. We need to bear with one another in love. This involves lovingly embracing and bearing the weight of each-other’s weaknesses and shortcomings. Finally, we need to make every effort (exert effort, diligently endeavor) to keep (guard, attend to, preserve) the unity of the Spirit through the peace that we all have with God and with each other through faith in Christ.

The unity of the Spirit is not uniformity. God’s grace and wisdom is multi-faceted and is expressed uniquely through each and every one of us. We are many parts of one unified body. We don’t all look the same or do the same things – but we do all things as a body to accomplish the purposes of God. The unity of the Spirit is not unanimity. Not all members of the family of faith will agree on every insignificant detail – but it is important that we all agree on the foundational truths of our faith. Paul listed those core foundational believes here: One body (we are all members of the body of Christ), one Spirit (the same Holy Spirit of God dwells in each and every believer), one hope (we have all been made joint-heirs of the kingdom, and we will receive that inheritance when Christ comes again), one Lord (our Lord is Jesus Christ, the head of the body), one faith (our faith is in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God), one baptism (we have all died to sin, have been made alive in Christ and baptized by the Spirit into the family of God), one God and Father (as members of one family, we have one Father Who is the Lord God and Creator of all). We must all diligently put out effort by grace to maintain our unity based on those core truths of who we are in Christ. In doing so, we will walk worthy of the grand, glorious and gracious call that we have been given as the Church and bring glory to God on the earth.

Psalms: “Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; sing praise to the Lord, -Sela- to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens. Look, he thunders with his powerful voice! Ascribe power to God. His majesty is over Israel; his power is among the clouds. God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭68:32-35‬ ‭CSB)

David doesn’t just call Israel to sing praises to the Lord, he calls all the kingdoms of the earth to praise. Through Christ, all the kingdoms of the earth have access to God’s salvation by faith. As people from every nation, tribe and tongue come to faith in Christ, they are baptized into the family of God and become God’s people. To all who are in Christ, God lavishly pours out power and strength, that they may walk worthy of their calling and bring glory to Him. Only God could do that, and only God is worthy of all the praise from all the earth. Blessed be God!

Prayer: Lord, You have expressed Your love to me by saving me, calling me and blessing me with every spiritual blessing. My proper and reasonable response is to walk worthy of all that You have done for me and called me to by the grace that I receive from You by faith. Help me to do just that, and to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit with all my brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.