My husband and I headed across the street to walk through our son’s house which is under construction. He and his wife had just inspected the day’s work and returned beaming, full of descriptions of their favorite additions. “I have a hall tree!” Valentina exclaimed as she showed me the picture she had snapped with her phone. “All the interior doors have been installed and the doors and windows are trimmed. It’s all coming together.” Jacob added,“ You and dad go see.”
We strolled over together, sharing in their excitement. We paused inside the garage entry to admire the hall tree and across from it, the carved handrail with its black iron spindles leading up the stairs. On the back porch, we noted the scale of the support columns before heading through the kitchen. At some point after we passed the window in the stairwell, rain poured. By the time we stood in Amelia’s bedroom overlooking our own drive, even before we heard the rain, we heard peals of laughter from the grandchildren as they frolicked in the downpour. The image was blurred by the rain streaming down the windowpanes but it is etched into my mind and even now, brings a smile.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he thanks God for leading us in Christ to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere like a sweet perfume. He says our lives become a Christlike fragrance rising up to God but the fragrance is perceived differently in the world depending on whether the observer is also in Christ or not. “To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?”
2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.2.16.NLT
We are not equal to the task of faithfully and consistently revealing Christ on our own, but in Him, we preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. (II Corinthians 2:14-17)
Accountability has become a double-sided coin in our world. No one wants it imposed on them but everyone demands it of others. In the political arena alone, think of the oversight committees formed to unearth corruption on one side of party lines while refusing to accept responsibility for one’s own failures. We want others to answer to us while we remain answerable to no one but as I remind my grandchildren, God is always watching. He is not out to catch you with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar, though He sees and knows your thoughts.
“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ch.16.9.NLT
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/isa.26.3.NLT
Jesus taught that in the world, we are to be like Him, not copying the behaviors and customs of the world but letting God transform the way we think. When we abide in Him, obeying His commands, we show our love for Him and we become true worshippers in spirit and in truth. (Romans 12:2, John 4:24)
“So Jesus called his disciples together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world Lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.
But among you it will be different.
Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.””
Mark 10:42-45 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.10.42-45.NLT
“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?
Any comfort from his love?
Any fellowship together in the Spirit?
Are your hearts tender and compassionate?
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:1-2, 13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.1-13.NLT
As clouds obscure the sun, so self proclaimed followers of Christ who water down Truth to suit their own agendas and buy into cultural Christianity make it impossible to see God in the face of Christ. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, going along with the crowd in order not to make waves or being more concerned about offending someone whose opinion we value is thinly veiled idolatry. There is an entirely other side to this same coin where a follower of Christ is morose, treating obedience as a burden. The joy of the Lord that is our strength is masked and God cannot be seen as good and faithful to His Word and to His children. Only in Christ can we avoid both extremes.
In His Sermon on the amount, Jesus gave some very specific examples of what to do and what not to do.
““When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.
I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.
But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.
Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do.
They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.
Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
Matthew 6:5-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.5-8.NLT
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting.
I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.
But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private.
And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:16-18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.16-18.NLT
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking.
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
James 1:5-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.5-8.NLT
“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”
James 1:26-27 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.26-27.NLT
Driving in rain, whether a steady sprinkle or a downpour, requires me to use my windshield wipers and an abundance of caution. Otherwise my vision is blurred and I cannot operate my vehicle safely. The road becomes deceptively slick. I must slow my speed in order to brake without skidding or to react to approaching vehicles or objects in a timely manner. Whether I am with other believers or in mixed company, I must also take care.
“So be careful how you live.
Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.5.15-17.NLT
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Don’t use foul or abusive language.
Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:21-24, 29-32 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.21-32.NLT
“Then we will no longer be immature like children.
We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.
We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”
Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.14-15.NLT
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.
So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.6.6-10.NLT
“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself.
Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.
God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have.
For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.””
Hebrews 13:1-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.13.1-5.NLT
“Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.
Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.
Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.
Lord, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me.
Then I can answer those who taunt me, for I trust in your word.
Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for your regulations are my only hope.
I will keep on obeying your instructions forever and ever.
I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.”
Psalms 119:33-45 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.119.34-45.NLT
“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need.
These are the sacrifices that please God.
Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say.
Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God.
Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow.
That would certainly not be for your benefit.
Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— may he equip you with all you need for doing his will.
May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.”
Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.13.15-20.NLT
Take My Life ~Jeremy Camp https://youtu.be/fz3vKh651Hc?is=5w4anJOPwvSKRgGt
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