"Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him
the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
-Phil 2:9-12
Each of us comes from a different spiritual background, with perhaps
a different perception of who Jesus is. Some of us have only known God
as our all powerful God, a God to be reverently feared, while some say
that through Jesus we can be friends of God. Both are true, however
sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that because we are God's
friend everything (including our sin), is accepted by Him. This is a
dangerous presupposition.
If we were to think about a romantic relationship, the two parties
of the romance must decide at some point, that if they are to go further
in relationship, they will be choosing each other and not another
people who could have held their interest before. Now their
relationship is exclusive - with one choosing the other, and not someone
else. It is much the same in our relationship with God.
Sometimes there will be things we'll need to sacrifice in order to
make Him Lord of our lives. The Bible says those who practice "sexual
immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery,
hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition,
dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins
like these" (Gal 5:19-21) will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Don't
let this be you!
"You say, 'I am allowed to do anything' - but not everything is good
for you. And even though 'I am allowed to do anything,' I must not
become a slave to anything." -1 Corinthians 6:12
It all comes down
to what we are following. Are we following our sinful desires or God's
Holy Spirit? As sons and daughters of God we are called to a higher
standard. And although we need to live in "God consciousness" vs "sin
consciousness", we need to be sure that there isn't any sin that is
holding us back, or holding us hostage.
Have you embraced Jesus as the Lord of your life today?
"Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: 'Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked him. 'Only God is truly good.'" -Luke 18:18 & 19 Have you ever said about someone, "She's such a good person," or "He's a good person"? I've found myself saying this many times, admiring people who do right by others. But when I read the verse above, I was completely taken aback! How can anyone be good, if Jesus Himself said He wasn't good - that only the Father was good?Though it is a figure of speech, "being good" brings up an important point. You might have heard it said before, good doesn’t get us into heaven. That seems kind of harsh, doesn't it? However, Jesus wasn't interested in good. He made the statement "only God is good", because only God is perfect, and no one on earth is perfect. The Pharisees got tripped up on this point - after all, they did all the right things! They were "good" people. But, they completely missed the boat when they encountered Jesus - that He was the truth, He was their salvation - and they didn't even recognize Him. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves good, or perfect. The truth is, none of us are good on our own. But through Jesus, we have been provided a way out. The one thing we can do is receive the gift of Jesus, so that we can be saved from our imperfections and live in eternity with Him. When we receive God into our lives, we become more than we ever could be, and His "good" rubs off on us, which then rubs off on others. Why not receive God’s goodness today? "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps 100:5
