Attributes of a Kingdom Citizen
Bing Crosby sang the following:
“You’ve got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative,
Latch on to the affirmative,
And don’t mess with Mr. In-between.”
Consider that being the choir singing before the following message.
All Scripture is profitable for reproof and correction in righteousness, but passages such as the following are easier to understand and challenging to live out.
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:12-17)
Read it again contemplating each word and judge yourself by it.
Who do you know that is an admirable example of it? Would you dare to aspire to become known as a living embodiment of its characteristics?
To do so it is essential to do what is encouraged in an earlier verse:
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.”
John Bunyan, author of the classic “Pilgrim’s Progress,” did so concluding, “What God says is best, is best, though all the men in the world are against it.” That type of conviction typifies such a person. By living such a life he was so out of sync with his society that he was imprisoned. When offered his release if he would renounce his convictions he said, “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience or a slaughterhouse of my convictions.”
Consider just a few of the virtues in this passage as a starting point.
Compassion is what is meant by “tender mercies.” It is in reality what is often said flippantly, “I feel your pain.”
Next comes “kindness.” This is compassion on offence, taking it to ‘um.
The third quality is “humility,” which has been described as “the rarest and fairest of all Christian virtues.” It is the exact opposite of a detestable sin, which is pride. Thus, we are to put on humility, to think humbly of ourselves.
The fourth quality is “gentleness,” which is often translated as “meekness.” Unlike weakness, it is strength under control.
With these four starters, resolve to practice them starting today. Gradually focus on others.
What God says is best, is best.
Constants on Which You Can Count
In our uncertain political climate so much is uncertain. We pray and wait uncertain of the outcome. There is a stabilizing constant.
In solving algebra problems it is essential to have a constant in order to reach the right conclusion. With all the variables in a problem there must be a constant against which to determine their value. A constant is a principle on which one can confidently rely. It is permanent, unchanging, immutable. In algebra a variable is an unknown such as “X”. A constant is something that is always the same, such as “1″ which always is one. To find the unknown start with the known. As in algebra, so in life, to find the unknown start with the known constant, Jesus Christ. He never changes.
Andrea Crouch had a song worthy of letting your mind marinade in:
“I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow;
There have been times I didn’t know right from wrong;
But in every situation God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come only to make me strong.”
“Through it all, Through it all,
O I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, Through it all,
I’ve learned to depend on His word.”
One blessed benefit our Lord desires us to learn is he wants to use all things to strengthen us. The Greek verbs used for the strengthening process were episterizo and stereco. Both come from the root for our word steroid which means to build up and strengthen from within. That is what God wants to do for us.
Assimilate the following verses and be built up, emboldened by them.
”So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Both verses use the word dismayed, which basically means don’t give up, don’t quit.
Those verses and others like them are constants. You can rely on them for stability. Despair and anxiety have always been a part of life, but we can find strength, wisdom, and guidance in these encouraging words from the Bible.
Always rely on the constant.
When God Says “Surprise”
Even when it seems you are being required to take a postgraduate course in adversity management, God is with you.
Pitch your mental tent over this, “When we are down to nothing, God is up to something.”
When our plans are complete, and we know how things are going to go, but something happens to throw us off course, what then? Have you been there?
Disappointment is inevitable, discouragement is an option. Our disappointments are most often God’s appointments. Like a deflated balloon we need to be reinflated. That is when God shows up.
There is a story about three princesses of Ceylon who set out in search for specific treasures. In each case they did not find the treasure for which they searched. Instead, they were constantly surprised by unexpected treasures that exceeded their expectations. They grew to understand that an adventurous life consists of unexpected surprises. If we are seeking God’s will, we will find He often destroys our castles in the air and replaces them with unexpected blessings.
Serendipity is a word meaning the ability to find valuable things which were not expected. It is the ability to find amid the rubble of broken dreams those which are more fulfilling.
God is not only a God of miracles, He is a God of surprises. Cruel sinners crucified Him and sealed Him in a lifeless tomb. It was a hopeless day —- BUT, on the third day God said, “Surprise.” Thus, what seemed like a hopeless end resulted in endless hope.
Live a life capable of catching the unexpected and making the most of it. Don’t rule out “God Moments.” Enjoy those “Well-would-you-look-at-that” moments. A holy “WOW” now and then is OK. There are more “I never thought of it like that” moments than we tend to realize. God can often be found in them.
Be open to letting God freelance and surprise you. Life with God is full of surprises —- and blessings. Expect both. Try to understand life through His lenses.
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. It was a perilous path to becoming prime minister of Egypt. He concluded, “They intended it for evil, God intended it for good.”
Today and every day, discover the good news God has for you.
It’s a Mental Matter
“stir up your pure minds by way of reminder….” (II Peter 3:1-4)
A pure mind is one uncontaminated by impure thoughts and programmed with Bible concepts. Evaluate your mind in light of this and honestly ask yourself if yours is a pure mind. Does it need to be cleaned up?
Philippians 4:8 chronicles the type of thoughts of a pure mind. They are:
“whatever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy —- meditate on these things.”
Keep your mind pure, wholesome, uncontaminated, sincere.
Be certain you haven’t reached a point of arrested spiritual growth. That is, have you reached, perhaps even a good stage of spiritual growth, but have not grown beyond it. Rebel against spiritual stagnation.
Are you a wasp Christian or an alligator Christian? A wasp is as big as it will ever be the day it is born. An alligator grows every day of its life right up to death. Be a spiritual gator, grow on.
“…gird up the loins of your mind.” (I Peter 1:13) This is an appeal to prepare for spiritual warfare. Warriors wore long garments. When approaching a battle in order to get ready they tucked them in their belts. It is like saying role up your sleeves. Expect and be ready for opposition.
The expression “be sober” means to avoid anything resulting in the loss of self-control. It is an appeal to engage in self-discipline. With a pure mind you can better reason and comprehend life’s situations. Fuel your mind with Scripture and let that fuel propel you into conduct worthy of the Lord.
Then a support clause follows, “be mindful of the words,” which means to know the word of God and how to apply it to various situations. This requires a lifetime of Bible study. Plan your program of daily Bible study.
Resolve, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)
Don’t let any thought walk through your mind that has dirty feet.
When improper thoughts pop-up in your mind, they should not be allowed to stay. You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building their nest in your hair.
Train your mind to think Jesus thoughts.
You Can Overcome Life’s Limitations
Cripple an individual and you have a Sir Walter Scott.
Put one in jail and you have a John Bunyan.
Nearly bury him in snow and you have a George Washington.
Have him born in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln.
Put him in a grease pit in a railroad roundhouse and you have a Walter Chrysler.
Make him a second fiddler in an obscure South African orchestra and you have a Toscanini.
Hardships, physical or encountered, as our daily activities aren’t designed to crush us, but to challenge us. None of us initially see them as such, but life proves them to be. Think of your own experience with things that were unwanted, but they proved to be a blessing.
A little red headed kid in a small Mississippi town committed his life to the gospel ministry. After the worship service his mother spoke to the pastor asking that he pray for the kid. Her concern as expressed was he had difficulty speaking to one person, much less a group of people. That young man was subject to a number of limitations leading to his maturity in ministry.
After he committed his life to serving the Lord as a minister he was told the following. He had been born with hole in his heart, known as a blue baby. He was given six weeks to live. His parents dedicated themselves to rearing the child for ministry if he lived. That kid was me. I am glad I know that, but I am glad I didn’t know that until after I had made my decision public. I am by no means a “big thing,” but I am a thing used in a big thing, the ministry.
Have a child hidden in an alligator infested river and you have a Moses.
Make a youth a shepherd in a barren desert and you have a David.
Let a little girl grow up as a member of an outcast minority race and you have an Esther.
Let a child have a speech impediment and you have a Joshua who became “mighty in speech.”
Sell a young sibling into slavery and you have a Joseph.
You may have a limitation you think is an inhibition. It doesn’t have to limit you. It can propel you to bigger things at any age. Your limitation may not be physical, cultural, or circumstantial, it may be self-imposed by your negative thoughts. Even they can be transformed by Jesus.
“Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)