This morning we had our weekly MVP (Men Value Prayer) breakfast at church.
There is much talk today in our nation about illegal aliens, border patrols, and immigration enforcement. Soon, many people in the United States of America may have to prove, when asked, that they are a legal citizen or visitor in the “kingdom” of the United States.
What about the Kingdom of God? During the course of our Bible study, we discussed the issue of being a member of God’s Kingdom and a legitimate disciple of Christ. What’s the proof…how do you know for sure? Certainly a list of things that demonstrate genuine proof of citizenship could be many. We talked about one such “proof”.
Our Bible reading for today was John 13:33-35:
“Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:33-35 (NKJV)
When Jesus spoke these words, He knew that within the near hours and weeks, He will have given His life for our sins, risen, and ascended back to His Father. It is a critical time of instruction for His disciples and so this “new commandment” carries a lot of weight and is packed with meaning. The Kingdom of God does not have physical borders to fence-in and identify the children of God. There are not any visas or green cards to prove that we belong to Him. The Bible says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
For many people, they might list as proof of Kingdom citizenship some of the following: church membership, baptism, charitable giving, church attendance, interest in the Bible, an attempt to live a good upstanding moral life, etc. All of these things are worthy markers of a true citizen of God’s Kingdom, yet there is one thing that trumps them all according to Christ. Do you HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER? Can others see this love and know that you belong to a different world?
Today, I want to challenge you. Without a doubt, each one of us will face a situation where the “unlovable” people of this world will tempt us to act or respond in a worldly, ungodly fashion. When this happens, show them your citizenship. Don’t insist on your “rights”…but love them like Christ loves them. Why? Because you are a citizen of God’s Kingdom…represent Jesus well!
At our MVP (Men Value Prayer) Breakfast this morning, we looked at 8 essentials for great leaders listed in our study book (“Spiritual Leadership” by J. Oswald Sanders). When one reads such a list, there is a tendency to try to measure the strength of his leadership by how he is doing with these eight essentials (Vision, courage, integrity, compassion, etc). How do we measure up to such standards? Can I give a truthful personal assessment? I actually find that my assessment may be over the top toward my favor.
In the Bible, we discussed the following scripture: Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
How important it is not to “measure ourselves” or to think too highly of ourselves. Our self-judgments are subject to error because we are blinded by our own pride, our “measuring stick” is just plain wrong, and listen, it is God who gives success and gifts…they are not found in our own power and efforts.
I like the quote from the book, “God Can Use Nobodies” by James Montgomery Boice: “Moses spent the first 40 years of his life learning to be somebody. The next 40 years, he learn how to be a nobody. The last 40 years, Moses was taught that God is everything.
We may not have 120 years to settle this matter…Today, let’s give our lives to God…who is Everything
Grace. What a wonderful word! It is good to experience grace from the hands of others, but when God extends grace, it is indescribable. John Newton, the preacher/song writer simply describe it as “Amazing”.
I witness God’s grace in a most unusual way this week. I call it unusual, yet I have had this same experience before. This was a week where I saw new life brought into the world, and where a much older life left this world for another.
Samuel David Cox
God blessed our family with the long awaited birth of Samuel David Cox on Monday. He is a good looking boy and the whole family believes that he is truly an unmerited gift from God. Angela is doing fine and Grandma Carolyn is having the time of her life as she helps out for a couple of weeks.
Job said that God gives and God takes away…Blessed be the name of the Lord. This week we also witnessed the home going of an elderly saint, Bertie Dempsey. She was a faithful pastor’s wife and a member of this church family for many years. For the past 21 years she has lived by herself. Yet I still witnessed the grace of God. She was 90 years old and yet her mind was clear and very sharp up until a couple of weeks before her death. It was God’s grace that made salvation possible for Sister Dempsey; that made the home going possible; and it was God’s grace that reunited her with her husband, James!
A few days ago, my wife and I traveled to Bethel Baptist Church in Bentonville, AR to witness the baptism of our granddaughter, Ella Grace. Ella is the daughter of Pastor Brandon and Angela Cox and one of four precious grandchildren to Carolyn and I. Ella had recently trusted Jesus to forgive her of her sins and to be her Savior. Although very afraid of being immersed in water, she wanted to follow her Lord’s example and be baptized. Now I have to admit, that I was somewhat anxious about how she would react when it came time to go down in the water. As a Baptist pastor, I have witnessed adults who panic at the last second and then struggled against going under the water. Yet, it seemed that Ella fully trusted her daddy not to let harm come to her and she held tightly to him during the baptism. Just before she went under, she cried out, “Daddy”, and held on to him even tighter. Holding her father very close, Brandon had to literally half baptize himself to get Ella all the way under.
Days later as I observed the video-taped record of her baptism (see below) I was impressed that our faith in our Heavenly Father needs to be similar to that of my granddaughter. Water baptism was a hard task for Ella, yet she trusted her dad to keep her safe. She held unto her father tightly and called his name to let him know she was scared and needed help.
In our daily journey we are often times called upon to exercise our faith and do things that are not in our comfort zone. Ella has taught me that in those times I need to draw closer to God the Father, call out His Name for help, and trust Him completely to walk with me.
It worked for Ella…it will work for me as well!
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