16 What I am saying is this: run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants. 17 For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.
19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.
24 Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. 25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Complete Jewish Bible)
***“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (vv. 14-15).
As a pastor I have found that criticism and a lack of unity are some of the hardest things to heal in a church once they have taken hold. The complaints come fast and furious. Rarely are they undone or replaced with a positive opinion when they have begun, even when change is obvious. This is why Paul made such an emphasis on being part of the same Body, unified in the same Spirit, and one in our humble recognition of the work that Jesus Christ did for us.
The church kitchen can be a mess, the bathrooms may not be fully cleaned, and the kids may not respect the space they have been given, but when we approach each other in the command of loving each other as ourselves—sinners saved by immeasurable grace—then we can better avoid “devouring each other.”
Hymn for Today: "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" by Elizabeth C. Clephane.
1. Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty rock
within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat,
and the burden of the day.
2. Upon that cross of Jesus
mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One
who suffered there for me;
and from my stricken heart with tears
two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love
and my unworthiness.
3. I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.
Thought for Today: However, if someone loves God, God knows him. (1 Corinthians 8:3).
Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Vanuatu.
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Reflecting God - The Global Church of the Nazarene's foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Friday, 6 April 2018 – Embrace Holy Living - "Sticks and Stones" by Sean Carr - Proverbs 12:15-28
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Reflecting God - The Global Church of the Nazarene's foundry Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Friday, 6 April 2018 – Embrace Holy Living - "Sticks and Stones" by Sean Carr - Proverbs 12:15-28
but the wise pay attention to advice.
16 A fool’s anger is known at once,
but a cautious person slighted conceals his feelings.
17 He who tells the truth furthers justice,
but a false witness furthers deceit.
18 Idle talk can pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise can heal.
19 Truthful words will stand forever,
lying speech but a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but for those advising peace there is joy.
21 No harm can come to the righteous,
but the wicked are overwhelmed with disaster.
22 Lying lips are an abomination to Adonai,
but those who deal faithfully are his delight.
23 A cautious person conceals knowledge,
but the heart of a fool blurts out folly.
24 The diligent will rule,
while the lazy will be put to forced labor.
25 Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down,
but a kind word cheers him up.
26 The righteous guides his friend’s way rightly,
but the way of the wicked will lead them astray.
27 A lazy man doesn’t roast what he hunted;
but when a man is diligent, his wealth is precious.
28 In the road of righteousness is life;
no death is in its pathway.
***I come from a very stable family. My parents were always two of my best friends and their opinions of me mattered more than any other. This provided protection to my sense of self-worth and my way of relating to others. Criticism, though, does shape our view of ourselves and even our understanding of our worth before God. To this day I find myself reverting back to my adolescence when I was a "too skinny, awkward looking child," who had his every flaw pointed out by others.
Proverbs 12:18 says “the words of the reckless pierce like swords.” A reckless word can destroy a relationship. A reckless word can cause doubt that lasts a lifetime. This is why we are commanded by God to speak in love, with compassion and kindness. We are told to measure our words and to use them to build up rather than tear down or destroy.
A mature person learns to listen to criticism—measure it, weigh, and evaluate it for truth and then apply the valid points. At the same time, we reject those less-than-truthful words as harmful and destructive. The words that match God’s view of us can bring life.
Hymn for Today: "He Loves Me" by Isaac Watts.
1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die,
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
2. Was it for sins that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
3. Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When the incarnate Maker died
For man, His creature’s sin.
4. Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.
5. But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here Lord, I give myself away:
’Tis all that I can do.
Thought for Today: and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[Mark 12:30 Deuteronomy 6:4–5] (Mark 12:30)(Complete Jewish Bible).
Please pray: That many people in Vanuatu will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKadosh.
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