Ephesians 4:5 - One Baptism

Ephesians 4:5 - One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

Message: One Baptism

Time: Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. Ephesians deals with topics at the core of being a Christian - faith and practice, no matter the situation.

What the Lord is Saying: This lesson ends 8 lessons on the sacrament of baptism. I conclude so far that baptism is not salvific. It remains a sign of the covenant God made with His people to be separate and distinct from all of the people on the earth. The practice of it is required for every believer in Christ. I don't believe it is something that we can simply make an option, and it needs to be done soon after trusting in Christ as Savior and Lord or repenting of our sins. Because it is no salvific I think it can be done at any time in a person's life. Believing parents can have their children do this as a sign again of God's covenant and the father commissioning his family to serve the Lord. Peter did mention baptism for the remission of sins but I think this is a confirmation of that act that Jesus did on the cross and I do not think baptism saves a person from their sins. I think the act of baptism is very powerful and unites us with Christ and his death and resurrection. It provides the believer in Christ clear meaning of God regenerating His people for Himself and choosing them to be His. It is Spirit that purifies us but it is the act of baptism which also confirms this work of the Spirit. 

Today's verse remembers the oneness meaning that we have and the Unity which we possess. When Paul addresses unity to the Ephesians he remarks on:

One Body and One Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6). 

It is noteworthy that baptism is included here. The words expressed here speak of unity. But they also speak of singularity. We do not have multiple bodies, but one. There are not multiple Spirits, but one. Our calling is by God and does not occur multiple times in regards to our salvation. And so does baptism occur multiple times? 

Tabletalk tells a story example of this and gives the idea that it is a one time thing as multiple baptisms give the idea of regeneration or salvation occurring multiple times. This is confirmed in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The idea is baptism is about God and not for man necessarily and its validity is not after a profession of faith. 

I guess I don't mirror this stance. I think it can be once, but if the person feels like it is needed again, then this seems fine. Perhaps a pastor needs to share from the pulpit a message so as to not bring about confusion. Salvation is once. 

Summary: We are united with Christ in baptism. Baptism presents a picture of unity and I believe as a command it can be more than once if the person sees a value in this. 

Promise: Salvation is entirely by God's grace. Water baptism does not regenerate us. But it provides a powerful picture of this and it is something we do out of obedience. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for teaching me through Your Word and helping me understand you better. I continue to define my faith and beliefs. Thank you for that process to learn. I pray that baptism will always glorify You and help us understand further you setting us aside. Help people in my life, in my family better understand the importance of this practice. Specifically, I pray for Brandon that you would help him see the need to be baptized. 

Exodus 19:1-6 - One People Throughout History

Exodus 19:1-6 - On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Message: One People Throughout History

Time: Moses is the most likely author of this book. His education and early tradition make him the likely author and it says in Exodus 24:4 that he wrote what the Lord said. The title Exodus means departure of Israel from Egypt by the hand of God. The book covers 80 years, from 1526 to 1446 with the events at Mount Sinai. God fulfilling promises and his story of redemption are the central ideas. 

What the Lord is Saying: 

The Apostle's creed states a belief in the church, the true Christian true at all times and in all places and the communion of the saints. I'm reminded of the conversations I've been having the past several years now with pastors and lay people throughout Africa. For the most part I don't know if these churches have affiliations with denominations. Some may but as I converse with these folks, what is central is people's relationship with God. We share scripture and study it and I'm encouraged. And know that we are all part of the church. Thus, there is unity. 

And yet as I've discussed there isn't unity. There are disagreements. And yet as I've grown up my mom was always listening to different pastors and teachers, like Chuck Swindoll regularly and Focus on the Family. Chuck was part of an EV Free church in Fullerton, California. Focus was in California and then later Colorado Springs. And even when I worked at Bibles Plus and saw all of these author's. There seemed to be a real unity among Christians in these books and teachings. That it didn't matter much what church you attended or led or maybe it wasn't talked about. What mattered was the doctrines and in this way it made the invisible church visible. And that seems to be what is being emphasized today. 

Ephesians 4:1-16 speaks of this unity. I looked at these verses yesterday and am reminded again of verse 2 and 3 - bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Again, this I believe is the church at large and goes beyond our local assemblies. I see this often as my mission with the online ministry I have been involved with -- GMO -- to bear with one another in love and maintain unity. And then in verses 11 and 12 realizing that different people have different gifts and all are there to help us grow and be equipped - And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Again, we are a bigger team than only our local assembly. Even myself, and the friends I have, like Bobby who attends a non-denominational church and Fred, who attends a different one, and Scott in Oklahoma, and Lance in Oklahoma, and Craig who is at the Presbyterian church and Karl and my brother T and his wife Brooke and Tyson and Megan and Brandon at their church in Colorado and my mom when she was alive and attended a different Baptist church and Janice (and Walt when he was alive) in Grand Junction -- everyone is at different places and yet involved in equipping me and building up the body of Christ. 

Even the church of the Old Testament days and the church in the New Testament times, the church throughout the next 2000 years and the church today - we all make up this Church Body, striving to become visible while we know that God is the one that defines us all together as the invisible church. 

And this brings us to our reading today, how this old testament people or church is with us today and part of us today -- you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Yes, Jews and Gentiles are distinct but we are also one and there can be unity among us that share the same doctrines and truths. 

Summary: We can see how the invisible church can be made visible. People in all walks of life, different parts of the world, different churches and assemblies, from old testament times to today - we are all part of the Body of Christ and all united as one Body.  

Promise: God has only one people, the promises He makes under each covenant to the corporate body apply to all of His people.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the church. Thank you for reminding me of the scope and breadth of us all, from the people we read about to the people we read to the friends and family members I have that you have called - we are all one Body. We are all part of the Body of Christ that you have established. Thank you for this. Thank you for the excitement and joy of connecting with people and learning from them and being encouraged by them and sharing life with them. Thanks for making us bigger than one place and joining us all together. It is all because of You and You bring us together. Thank you for them and for including me. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am now working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of August is about the Body of the Lord - the Church recovered in the Reformation; July was the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation, Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.  

Christ's Body

The Body of Christ - The Church is the Body of Christ and Christ loves the church. We are to imitate Christ and see that the Church is how Christ carries out His purposes in the world. The Head of the Church - Christ is Head of the church and he only has final authority and gives life to the church. Life is found only in Jesus Christ our Lord. - The Church We Can See - Belonging to a church is not optional, for anyone. We are meant to live in a community with other believers, to hear the Word of God preached, and to grow. The Church We Cannot See - What we see is the Visible church, the invisible church only God knows because He is omniscient and that is the Church we cannot see. 

Truths about the Church from the Apostles Creed

Church Unity - The church is bigger than our local assembly; there are core beliefs among the invisible church. 

My Utmost for His Highest - May 28th - .Unquestioned Revelation

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. - John 16:23

    When is "that day"? When the Ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. In that day you will be one with the Father as Jesus is, and "in that day," Jesus says, "ye shall ask Me nothing." Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested in you, you want to ask this and that; then after a while you find all questions gone, you do not seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the place of entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus which brings you into perfect contact with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why shouldn't you?

    There may be any number of things dark to your understanding, but they do not come in between your heart and God. "And in that day ye shall ask Me no question"--you do not need to, you are so certain that God will bring things out in accordance with His will. John 14:1 has become the real state of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong. When once your disposition is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, the understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will get to the place where there is no distance between the Father and His child because the Lord has made you one, and "in that day ye shall ask Me no question."

- From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition.

My Utmost for His Highest - May 22nd - Now This Explains It

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. - John 17:21

    If you are going through a solitary way, read John 17, it will explain exactly why you are where you are--Jesus has prayed that you may be one with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or have you some other end for your life? Since you became a disciple you cannot be as independent as you used to be.

    The purpose of God is not to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God, and this revealed in John 17. There is one prayer God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus--"that they may be one, even as We are One. (John 17:22)" Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
    

    God is not concerned about our plans; He does not say--Do you want to go through this bereavement; this upset? He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men, and women; or they are making us more captious* and fault-finding, more insistent upon our own way. the things that happen either make us fiends, or they make us saints; it depends entirely upon the relationship we are in to God. If we say--"Thy will be done, (Matthew 26:42)" we get the consolation of John 17, the consolation of knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom. When we understand what God is after we will not get mean and cynical. Jesus has prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far off it, and yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him, because Jesus has prayed that we may be.

- From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition.

Mom's thoughts

*captious - fond of taking exception or raising objections

My thoughts

Very interesting thoughts here -- praying is to discern the mind of God and God does not consult us but allow things to occur in our lives for His purpose. -- I must remember always my purpose and it is to be one with God, not to have a happy, carefree life. 

My Utmost for His Highest - April 7th - Why Are We Not Told Plainly?

As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. - Mark 9:9

     Say nothing until the Son of man is risen in you--until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you understand what the historic Christ taught. When you get to the right state on the inside, the word which Jesus has spoken is so plain that you are amazed you did not see it before. you could not understand it before, you were not in the place in disposition where it could be borne.

     Our Lord does not hide these things; they are unbearable until we get into a fit condition of spiritual life. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. (John 16:12)" There must communion with His risen life before a particular word can be borne by us. Do we know anything about the impartation of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His word is becoming interpretable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we have not His Spirit. An obstinate outlook will effectually hinder God from revealing anything to us. If we have made up our minds about a doctrine, the light of God will come no more to us on that line, we cannot get it. This obtuse stage will end immediately His resurrection life has its way with us.

     "Tell no man . . . " --so many do tell what they saw on the mount of transfiguration. They have had the vision and they testify to it, but the life does not tally with it, the Son of man is not yet risen in them. I wonder when He is going to be formed in you and in me?

Oswald Chambers - From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition

- Underlines and highlights are courtesy of Mom from her Print Edition,

My Utmost for His Highest - December 2 - Christian Persecution

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect… PHILIPPIANS 3:12

It is a snare to imagine that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do; God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements is apt to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you go off on this idea of personal holiness, the dead-set of your life will not be for God, but for what you call the manifestation of God in your life. “It can never be God’s will that I should be sick,” you say. If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son, why should He not bruise you? The thing that tells for God is not your relevant consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your real vital relation to Jesus Christ, and your abandonment to Him whether you are well or ill.

Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship to God which shows itself amid the irrelevancies of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that strikes you is the irrelevancy of the things you have to do, and the next thing that strikes you is the fact that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives are apt to leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary, by human effort and devotion we can reach the standard God wants. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God is not after perfecting me to be a specimen in His show-room; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes. From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition

My mom provided the highlights and underlines

My Thoughts

• My ambition is to be One with God, not to be perfect
• We get too caught up in our circumstances and this includes being sick. If it was God's will to bruise His own Son, why should He not bruise me? 

John 14:8-11 - Perichoresis

John 14:8-11
8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

Message: Perichoresis or the relationship of the three persons of the triune God.

Time:  While John does not admit to have written this gospel, there is ample evidence from others that he did. It was most likely written in Ephesus around 85-95 AD and is the fourth gospel. John provides a Jesus more clearly as the Son of God. John cites Jesus' seven "I Am" statements, mentions many miracles of Jesus, signifying Him as God's Son. He is the Son of Man and atoned for our sins and the Son of God with eternal implications in rising from the dead.

What the Lord is Saying:

It seems that the doctrine of God is really the doctrine of the trinity as the trinity has been the focus so far this month in the passages selected from Tabletalk Magazine. It remains a little bit of a challenge for me to study the Bible like this, using selected passages. This is the way our church now presents messages, doing series rather than books. I prefer book preaching.

But the Trinity is emphasized here probably because it is a doctrine central to Christianity as other religions have been started based upon a different definition of God. The word trinity was first used to explain the Father, Son, and Spirit as persons by a Latin theologian, Tertullian, in the 3rd Century. Today, we look at a Greek term scholars have used to describe the relationship among these three persons and has come about from a study of the Book of John and chapters 14-17.

We go back to the subject of modalism which at times can be what we think of the Trinity.
- seeing God like a man who holds three different roles depending on the context he is in and whom he is relating
- it collapses the distinctions between the three persons proclaiming that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are identical both in essence and in person
- God is like one person who wears different masks or hats at different times in history
Tritheism is another erroneous view of the Trinity that views God as a collection of individual, separable persons united by a common purpose.

Therefore, the term Perichoresis is used to refer to the mutual indwelling of the three persons of the Godhead. It means that the Father is in the Son is in the Spirit. Again, as discussed earlier, the Father is not the Son and not the Spirit. Jesus speaks of this in John 14:10 - Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? Thus, we can distinguish them but we cannot pull them apart. God created and it is not that God created with 3 persons. God created and because the Scripture mentions that God and Jesus created the creation happened at once, not each one have a separate role but it occurring once at the same time and all were present at that happening. The essence is one and cannot be divided or pulled apart.

In this passage Philip *said to Him as Philip comes to Jesus in the same way Thomas came to Him wanting more of an explanation of who Jesus was. We must be thankful that these men had questions of Jesus for because of that we have answers from Jesus. Man has questioned Jesus throughout all time and man will continue to do this. But it is important always to go back to the word of God for explanations. The problem is when we don't do this and instead invent extra-biblical definitions rather than accepting the Word of God. And so he says “Lord, show us the Father, as this in response to Jesus words in verse 7 that says If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. Philip says then make us understand what you mean and it is enough for us.” Thus, we will be content and satisfied.

Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? Though we appreciate questions, Jesus thinks that the disciples should have a better understanding of Him already. Philip has been present with Jesus for some time and so their is still a tone of sadness from Jesus that Philip does not know Jesus as well as he should. Jesus further states - He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Seen is not a visual term because we know God to be a spirit and here we see that the essence of Jesus and the Father are the same. In other words, Jesus is saying, if you know God, you know Me and if you know Me, then you know the Father. We are united; we are one; we are the same.

Jesus then speaks to Philip with a question of almost, "why is this being asked." Jesus has already spoken words and done things many times that only God can do and yet he still says, "Lord, show us the Father." And Jesus says sort of, "What do you think I have been doing all this time with you?" "Why can't you put one and one together." how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Our conclusion of him should be clear and yet it is not. And yet we have many religions coming forth with different conclusions still to this day.

All the words here are meant to say that Jesus is having to appeal to the Father because everyone agrees that the Father is divine. There is no question that the Father is divine but He knows that there is a question as to whether He is divine. In my study of Mark, Mark does not go here to these words. It is as if Mark is stating (from Peter) that Jesus said it and as God it needs no more discussion. Yet, John gives us the words that many thought. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

Two things testify of Jesus being God - His words and His works. We have both, if you struggle with one, then look at the other. There is ample evidence. Jesus and His words are enough, but if we still, if they still, have doubt then look to my words. Earlier Jesus said, "I am the way and no one comes to the Father except through me." In other words, you cannot know the Father if you reject me.

And Jesus says, "Believe Me." The words are simple and yet he still knows that many will not so he says, look to my works as well.

Promise: One cannot pull apart the persons of the Trinity. They are all united and the same essence and all one and seeing one is seeing all. We cannot love God and yet not love the Son. Jesus says that seeing Him is seeing God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for thinking many times that to understand you is to dance around certain facets of you in the hope that if people can simply see one part then all will make sense to them. Yet, you clearly state that the Word of God testifies that You Jesus are God. Your Words have said it but Your life also testified of it. Lord, help me continue to be a student of Your word and point people to You through these words. Help me to not ever back down but to trust You as You are. You are Holy. You are true. You are God.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Proverbs 5:15-20 - Standing Firm Against Adultery

Proverbs 5:15-20
¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.
¹⁹ As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.
²⁰ For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

Message: Rejoice in your wife

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

In the previous 14 verses of Proverbs 5, Solomon gives clear warnings to his pupil regarding committing adultery. Between the two warnings are the points that (1) it is not how it may appear, and (2) it will yield a hard life both today and for eternity. 

Solomon continues the conversation here in these verses, but here talks about how we are to live, with this adultery in mind. It is true there can be application to other idolatrous passions in our lives but it is clear that this is talking about adultery and cheating on our wife, or the woman that God has given us. And it really goes without saying that marriage is sacred and these are passions that are not meant to be stirred prior to marriage and so adultery is viewed even as a warning that is presented in Song of Solomon as "do not arouse or awaken love before its proper time."

Only enjoy your wife
Verses 15-17 are the clear direction from Solomon that, the pupil, or son, is to keep in mind that his relationship with his wife and more specifically, the sensual relationship with his wife, is for his eyes only and to only be enjoyed by him and he is not to seek out anyone else for this enjoyment. It is not a sin to notice beauty or a beautiful person but to seek out after that person for further gazing and interest is a sin. Society knows that sex and beauty pulls people in and so this temptation is present in our world all the more. 

I've heard verse 15 mentioned several times and it is a verse I have loved reading in the Bible. It speaks clearly and reminds me that God is very concerned about my relationship with my wife and the importance of that relationship. Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.

Adam Clarke (1760 or 1762 - 1832) was a British Methodist theologian and Biblical scholar. He wrote on this passage: Be satisfied with thy own wife; and let the wife see that she reverence her husband; and not tempt him by inattention or unkindness to seek elsewhere what he has a right to expect, but cannot find, at home. These are tough words especially to the wife to not tempt the husband to seek out attention and kindness from other sources.

Verse 16 says, Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Your springs or fountains are the lawful husband and wife relationship. The streams are their offspring. Children can be dispersed abroad when they are grown up and carrying on with other lawful relationships.

Not roving passions 
My passions are to be for my wife and my wife alone. They are not to be for anyone else. Again, this is hard as the world presents itself too many temptations. But, this is not their problem, but really my problem. My satisfaction is to only come from my wife and I am to be satisfied with her. Let them be yours alone. My passion is not for anyone else. If a person goes into a relationship with other women and their is offspring then it becomes unclear who's offspring is what. The harlot has many partners, so how can you be sure what is yours; and not for strangers with you.

Know (only) your wife
There is clearly an intimate union present between a husband and wife. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife; the Spirit of God is in her and she submits to me and satisfies me completely. This testifies more clearly to me God's graces. My wife is to be mine completely and it pains me to think of days when I have had the idea that she is not sufficient. At times, early in my life, non-married life, I trained my mind to think that I could engage in mind harlotry. Oh how this is contrary to God's perfect plan. I am to be patient and wait for the wife of my youth. When she came she was everything I could have dreamed of and more. 

The hind and does were prized and petted upon for their beauty and affectionate dispositions. They are not rough and tough creatures, but delicate and graceful and so they should be treated as such. The husband is to treat his wife with dignity and not simply an object for his desire. There is a union present there that is firm. Her bosom or breasts are to charm him and satisfy him, not for all days, but at all times. It is possible that sickness and illness may come to the wife. The important thing here is the body of the wife is for the husband and meant to be his charm. I often have thought of a mainstream song by Backstreet Boys which says she is my safest place to hind. The wife is my refuge and my safe place. I am to be exhilarated always with her love.  

It is clear that it makes no sense to be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner. Why should we seek after something that isn't kin to us and made for me? It makes no sense. 

Promise: Rejoice in the wife of my wife. She is everything that I need.

Jesus Calling: March 3

    I love you for who you are, not for what you do. Many voices vie for control of your mind, especially when you sit in silence. You must learn to discern what is My voice and what is not. Ask My Spirit to give you this discernment. Many of My children run around in circles, trying to obey the various voices directing their lives. This results in fragmented, frustrating patterns of living. Do not fall into this trap. Walk closely with Me each moment, listening for My directives and enjoying My Companionship. Refuse to let other voices tie you up in knots. My sheep know My voice and follow Me wherever I lead. 

Ephesians 4:1-6
English Standard Version
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

John 10:4
English Standard Version
When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

This does remind me of what I've been reading in Zechariah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. These books often speak of Israel's faithfulness and God does not welcome their actions of disobedience, but His gracious acts are because of who He is. It's not that He looks past the sin, but His goodness is greater than we could ever know. It's a great reminder of His love for us.

I need to pray and lean on the Spirit for His guidance. Walk closely with the Lord each day. The Lord is before us and we follow Him. Not because of what we see, but because of what we hear. We know His voice.

Walk. Walk in a way that mirrors what God has done for me. Be humble because He is humble. Be gentle towards others because He has been gentle towards Me. Have patience with myself and other people. Why? Because He has been patient with me. Come alongside one another in Love. Why? Because God's Spirit is in us and wants us to be united. There is oneness in Christ, in God, in faith -- so there must be oneness in each other. The oneness isn't a command because of anything but our position in Christ.

My Prayer
Lord, give me the strength each day to stand firm in Christ. I pray that I would practice humility, gentleness, patience, and a love community.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author. 

Hebrews 2:12; (Psalm 22:22)

saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
(Hebrews 2:12 ESV)

This quote from Psalm refers to the Messiah in the psalm. Jesus is declaring that he will make know to his brothers (us) the character of God. He is with them. He is united with his disciples.

Hebrews 2:11

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

(Hebrews 2:11 ESV)

There is a special union between Jesus and man, so much so that Jesus became a man and took on sufferings of man, and took lowly man and made him holy as He is. We have a oneness with Him. And we are part of His family.