Category: discipline

Victory

Posted on by Dorci

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:54-58

The apostle Paul wrote these passionate words in a letter to a church he founded in Corinth, Greece.  I can imagine the pleading of his heart as he wrote to encourage them to not be lured back into the materialistic and immoral world that churned around them.

He reminded them, and us, that this life is not all there is.  There is a resurrection, Christ being the first, and because of Him, we will follow.

We no longer belong to this world, and our victory is not here.  Our victory has already been won through Christ – the gift of our immortal souls and our resurrection to the next life with Jesus Christ, our Great Reward.

There is no shortage of attention-grabbers whether it’s social media, or the news, or just the busyness of our own lives.  They can suck us in, altering our perspectives from spiritual matters to earthly ones, and rob us of doing the work for which we’ve now been called.

Not much has changed in the 2000 years since Paul wrote to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

All of us who have put our faith in Christ know how difficult it can be to keep our hearts and minds focused on the Lord, especially when the world revels in sin all around us.

After all, sin looks fun, and we can feel like we’re missing out on something.  Well, we are, but nothing good.  We miss out on the consequences of those sins; we miss out on feeding our flesh but not our spirits; we miss out on a life of fruitlessness.  We miss out on leaving our faith behind.

But Paul reminds us there is so much more given to us in its place.

We have a real Christ-given hope that when our bodies die, our immortal souls will live on for eternity in the joy and peace of the presence of God.

While, tragically, those who lived for the temporary thrills of this short life will abandon all joy and peace when their mortal bodies die, and their souls will be given over to judgment and eternal death.

While we who have put our faith in Christ may have to give up a few things here, we already have the ultimate victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, what do we do?  We get back to work.  We let go of the distractions of this world and stand firm in the faith, being about our Father’s business and fulfilling the calling given to each of us just as our brothers and sisters in Corinth did almost 2000 years ago.

“Let nothing move you.”

Nothing.  Don’t look to the left or to the right at what others are doing.  Don’t worry what others may say about your faith in God.  Don’t worry about what can be done to you, even if it means your earthly life, because we already have the victory.

Look to Christ and “give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.”

The text in the Greek puts it like this: “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”  

Abounding is the Greek word perisseuō which means “to superabound, be in excess, be superfluous; to excel, abundance, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).”

If there’s anything we should strive to do with excellence, it’s our work in the Lord.

He’s not only given us life, but He’s give us an abundant afterlife.  He sees our labor in His name, and He will reward us with eternal treasures worth far more than the trinkets of this life.

 

Heavenly Father, please help us keep our minds focused on you and not get sidetracked by the world or even by fear. Help us serve you with all our hearts, with the excellence that you deserve, that through our lives the world may see your love and grace and you may be glorified in the salvation of many. Thank you for the victory you’ve given us by clothing us with immortality and preparing a home for us in heaven with you. We praise your glorious Name, Jesus, and pray it all in your Name, amen.

Sound Doctrine

Posted on by Dorci

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:1-5

Overcoming

Posted on by Dorci

“For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.
Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5

Belief here is not just knowledge, but of entrusting oneself to Jesus Christ as Lord. We must continue to do that very thing every minute of every day, and even more intentionally as the days grow more evil.

Spiritual Vision

Posted on by Dorci

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”  John 9:25

Up until the very moment I was saved, I had always believed two things: that God and satan were equal powers at opposite ends of the spectrum of good and evil, and that abortion was acceptable.

spiritual visionBut the second I believed in Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit, my spiritual eyes were opened and I knew those things I had believed were lies.

In Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we have been given a second set of eyes, if you will, that gives us the vision to see, to walk, to know, to trust, in the Spirit. That spiritual vision allows us to see the truth that is Christ, and to walk this journey in the light of God.

We have a choice every day to use only the eyes in our head by feeding our flesh, or to use the spiritual eyes of our hearts by feeding our spirit.

While on the island of Patmos, John wrote that he was in the Spirit as he was given a revelation of Jesus Christ, a vision of Him in all His glory in the heavenly realm.  He saw Him dressed in holy robes with a golden sash, eyes blazing like fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, voice like the sound of rushing waters, a face like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  He was the One Who had the authority to hold the angels and the churches in his hand, and also the keys of death and Hades. 

When John wept because no one was found worthy to break the seals and open the scroll that would unleash the timely events of the future of all things, an elder comforted him with this, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  Revelation 5:5

When we, too, are walking in the Spirit – praying, worshipping, taking in the Word of God, obeying, forgiving, fellowshipping, loving – our spiritual vision will become clearer, and our foundations stronger.  We will see Christ for who He is, high and exalted, with authority over all things.  We will believe and experience the depth of His power and love in our lives, along with His wisdom and discernment, and no puny trial will take us down.

It’s easy, though, with all that goes on in our busy lives to forget to feed the spiritual life, and then our dim, human eyesight prevails again, the flesh follows it, and we revert back to seeing and living and believing like the world.

We see (and judge) others by how they look outwardly instead of by the beauty of their souls.  We see them through their worldly wealth or poverty instead of by the riches of their inherent value as one made in the image of God.  We see them through their sins instead of as people whom Christ died for and who are in need of prayer and a Savior.

John told us that “…anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” 1 John 2:11

We can choose, instead, to see with our spiritual eyes – the vision we’ve been given through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Just as we’ll see and know Christ more clearly, we’ll see others through His eyes, the spiritual lens of His grace and mercy and forgiveness.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

Holy Spirit, please interrupt our busyness and remind us to seek you in all we do. Remind us to stay in prayer about all things at all times; remind us to be thankful; remind us to feed on the bread of your Word; remind us to fellowship with other believers, that we might encourage and be encouraged.  Help us to see with the unique vision You give us, to love You, Your people, and even those who consider us their enemies.  Help us to walk in You, that we might grow in faith and grace, and not stumble when the enemy comes.Help us to be disciplined to allow Your light to shine through us in this ever-darkening world.  Help us to discern Your still, small voice, that we might follow You on our constantly winding journeys, that we might one day hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.