Live as children of light

Ephesians 5:6-20

When given the opportunity to minister to a new believer, what advice do you usually give them? Do your words motivate them to build up a desire to run hard for the Lord, or do you spook them with your version of how life is, and cause them to cringe in fear? The apostle Paul cared little for the feelings of those he taught, and more about strengthening their faith and trust in God. Although he was sensitive to their thoughts and curiosities, he never wavered from delivering the God-honest truth.

To the Ephesians, Paul gave some of the best advice any Christian could ever receive. Recognizing the times, Paul thought it necessary that the people remain guarded against deceivers, and those who practiced disobedience. During those days, men would try hard to turn people away from following after godliness by presenting false doctrines, and teachings that appeared legit on the surface, but their intentions were evil, and motives set on manipulating the minds of those who hungered after righteousness. As the children of God, we are not to be partakers of, nor participate in the habits of those who have no fear and reverence for God. Only with the mind of Christ, can the body be in sync, and function as a single, purposeful unit. Mixing your godliness with worldliness creates unstable character, and causes you to do things contrary to what you believe.

Paul admonished his audience to not even get involved with those who’s aim is to deceive, distract, and destroy the believer’s faith in God. He continued to teach, although the people were to refrain from joining themselves with those who worked in darkness, they too were once lost in their sins at one point in time, so it’s never good to judge, rather pray that God change evil men’s hearts from wicked to pure. Walking as children of light is a sure way to expose those who operate in darkness. Just as a light that’s turned on in the wee hours of the night exposes all the cockroaches holding meetings in your kitchen, the life of the believer will no doubt cause evil men to feel conviction, simply from the way they live. There are times when you’ll have an opportunity to witness to others with your words, but sometimes your life can speak louder than your words ever could.

Every day a Christian is granted the breath of life, and health, he or she should always be alert, and carry themselves in such a way, that their conduct and character mirrors that of Jesus Christ. We are to remain sober, so that our thoughts are pure, and our actions always please God. Paul touched on a subject that’s sensitive even today. Many Christians believe that drinking a little wine is good for one’s health, and that there’s no sin in doing so, but Paul commanded that the people keep themselves from getting drunk, and entering into all kinds of immoral acts. The Bible teaches that “wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). God has given us the spirit of a sound mind, so that we can make decisions motivated by the Holy Ghost, and not by ungodly influences. The mind is a terrible thing to waste, and we must guard against allowing evil entities to invade, and take residence in our thoughts too long, and potentially cause us to fall into snares of sin.

God is holy, and those who bear His name have a responsibility to live holy as well. The world needs to see a difference between themselves, and those who claim to be in God, because when they finally tire out from running in circles of sin and cycles of iniquity, they’ll look to us to guide them to the Light of the world.

Walk in love,

Ell

How believers judge grievances

1 Corinthians 6:1-6

This lesson is aimed to be a continuation from the previous one, as the apostle Paul weighs in on the matter of settling disputes amongst Saints. Matthew recorded Jesus’ teachings that Christians are to settle their disagreements with each other, face to face. For those instances where following that simple command proved difficult, other measures were to be taken, in order to pursue a peaceful resolution. Paul admonished the Corinthian church to also settle differences on the church level, and avoid seeking counsel from man’s justice system. As I mentioned previously, men judge based on bias and opinion, and develop conclusions based on their own wisdom. Oftentimes, the justice system cares little about the well-being of a man, and even condemn innocent people at times. God lives in His children, and the decisions they make are based on His love and care for their souls.

Paul reminded the people that if they are to one day judge the world, then settling small matters amongst themselves on earth should be manageable. During the Millennial period, and eternal reign of Jesus Christ, He and the Saints, will reign over all nations on the earth, and help administer the affairs of the world, along with the twelve apostles. Not only will believers judge the world, but they’ll also judge angels. Say what?! Angels?! Yup, the church will also judge the angels. If Saints are to judge angels, how much more should they be capable of judging things that pertain to life on earth?

Rather than take matters to court, believers are commanded to seek wise counsel from the church. Although many churches are unreliable and unstable in their foundations, God has many faithful men and women, capable of discerning most matters that are brought to their attention.

Walk in love,

Ell

Reigning triumphant with Christ

Revelation 20:1-6

Most stories presented in books, movies, or television shows, typically follow a basic pattern of events, where the good contends with the bad, the bad overwhelms the good for a season, but in the end, the good prevails. I’m a huge fan of Marvel and DC comics, partly because I’ve stored a collection of cards and books since the early 90’s, and also because the more modern movies have been really good. Heroes usually struggle against their rivals and foes in the comics, but they get the last laugh in the end.

In real life, similar stories can be found in the lives of all those who are heroes for the Gospel of Christ. All who are baptized in God’s Spirit, have been blessed with immense power and authority to do things that can never be accomplished by normal human strength. In The eyes of God, we are heroes, but have to contend against our arch nemesis, satan, and his band of evil spirits. There will be days when we will struggle, and maybe even fall a few times, because satan’s schemes can be very enticing, but our temporary downfalls don’t compare to our eternal victory.

In John’s vision, in our text, the Spirit of God showed him very unique, and powerful things to come. It appears that the church today, is on the losing end of the great spiritual battle, as we see good men and women fall to the wickedness of satan, but his works will soon come to an end, when the angel comes down from Heaven, binds him in a great chain, then casts that old serpent into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This is only the beginning of his eternal beatdown. Believers need not worry concerning our adversary, because his defeat is inevitable. We are guaranteed victory in this life, and the next, so we shouldn’t fear nor faint when our lives are attacked. Knowing that our living won’t be in vain, should motivate us to push harder in our witnessing and ministering efforts. Because of Christ, and His unbelievable example He left for us to follow, we can overcome evil with good. We don’t have to submit, nor give in to the pressure of this new world order. Times are changing, and many are falling, but the power of God that created everything, still exists to be used by His children to root out the seed of wickedness that tries to settle in the lives of God’s people, to pull down every stronghold that is set to fight against the believer’s purpose and mission, to destroy every plan that satan sets in motion to ensnare the Saints, to build and edify the body of believers, and to plant seeds of love in every person we meet.

Many of the Saints have, and still will suffer in this life for spreading the testimony of Jesus, not worshipping the beast nor his image, and for not taking his mark upon their foreheads nor their hands, but all those who are slain for Christ sake, will reign with the Savior a thousand years. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (vs. 6).

Walk in love,

Ell