May 23, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Find out what pleases the Lord. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 5.10; Ephesians 6.18-20)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As we look at those closing verses of Ephesians, chapter six, we will see those valued predictors which create a life that is pleasing to God and functional in fostering a life in others that does the same: prayer, alertness, discipling and fearlessness. Let us look at the call to “be discipling” which pleases God.

An example I used with students to illustrate the “sixth sense” I mentioned yesterday was something common to us all. We have had that moment when something “spoke” to us to make a left instead of a right, or vice versa, or something similar which changed our direction in that moment. We couldn’t really identify why or what. Only in retrospect, and not on every occasion, did we learn that following our regular pattern would have put us smack dab in the middle of something disastrous. Learning how to “listen” to that still small voice (ref. 1 Kings 19.13) has given me pause on many occasions after which I give thanks to God for His Holy Spirit who spoke in ways I could not have imagined. We may not be able to be alert to the totality of our surroundings and anticipate every nuance for and against us, but we can become more in tune and alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. While it may not be what Jesus was intending when He told Nicodemus “you must be born of the Spirit,” it was the affirmation of two truths I share with you.

The first is “the Holy Spirit is speaking to us whether we are believers or not. While Nicodemus was a member of the ruling council as a Pharisee in good standing, he was not yet a professed believer. Still, he was aware of the importance of the works which Jesus did and that they could only have come from God. His pursuit of the truth of Jesus led him into the call to be “born again” in spirit and in truth. Similarly, the Holy Spirit speaks to every one of us. What differentiates one from the other is claiming that voice to be of God and of no one else. The differences we see in the world today and throughout history is at this point. Who do we claim “said it”? Anything short of Jesus’ blessing of His Holy Spirit on us, in us and through us, is a misunderstanding of the truth leading to a denial of it and a substitution of the truth with a lie promoted into the lives of others.

The second is that there is a multi-faceted “fruit of the Spirit” which is given in the surrendering of one’s heart, mind and soul to God. Being aware, alert and acquiescing to the prompting of that Holy Spirit is an offshoot of that fruitfulness born in us and borne by us. Jesus affirmed this with Nicodemus as He urged him to pursue all righteousness and be “born again.”

Now having filled out yesterday’s faith character trait of alertness when it comes to prayer and praying without ceasing [praying at all times], let me transition into discipling. Without question, as mighty ones of God in Christ Jesus, we are to love all people: family, friends, neighbors, enemies, strangers, colleagues as we love and are loved by God. We also know that “love is our aim.” That is, as Jesus spoke it to His disciples, “By this the world will know that you are My disciples in that you love one another is our projection into the future as leaders of faith and not by sight. However, our aim points more to the finishing of our faith, the goal of our expectation as to where we shall find ourselves at the end of our service and worship of God and before God. We must also consider our “purpose.” While we serve here on earth in all we say and do, alerted by the prompting of the Holy Spirit to “love one another,” we are commissioned by the resurrected Jesus who is the Christ to “go, therefore, into all the world, preaching the gospel, baptizing believers into the community of faith and discipling them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors of the gospel of the kingdom of God. We are called to be Christ’s missionaries of provision and nurture in the body of Christ and as the body of Christ. We are also called to be evangelizers as the “hunter/gatherers” of the lost sheep of God’s flock. That means we are called to be shepherds of the flock. We must not only shepherd the flock, those who are in our various spheres of influence, but also the shepherd those who will be shepherds of the future flocks. I scratch my head at times when I hear the use of the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child.” Indeed, all hands need to be on deck as we care and nurture future generations into a well-founded community and society of functional and prospering believers. I am not so sure that is what many people intend when they use that phrase. I believe there is a sense of “let someone else do it” mentality being promoted by it. It is not a drawing in but a parceling out. That is wrong! That does not build community nor foster a positive future.

However, discipling will truly create that positive future promoting the Kingdom of God at hand in the here and now. Of course, I am not speaking of discipling in the generic sense of the word. I am speaking of discipling the faith culture and climate as it is meant for the body of Christ. Without question, Paul had this in mind. It was not merely about going out to sow seed as the sower on the hillside Jesus alluded to in one of His parables. It was also about cultivating, nurturing, prospering and increasing the fruit of the harvest as it is manifested by the truth of the gospel and its effect/affect upon the lives it touches. We are called to pray over these next generations and the current generations who are teaching them “in the way they should go so they will not wander far from it.” That unfortunate misunderstanding of the “separation of Church and State” has led to the fostering of massive collectives of people who don’t even know they have wandered far from the authentic truth of God’s presence, God’s love and God’s desire that “I will be your God and you will be My people.” Is it no surprise that the voice of the Church is muffled in their ears, in their hearts, in their minds and ultimately in their souls? Yes, the Holy Spirit continues to whisper in the still small voice echoing through the ages from past to future. It is heard but all too often as only an annoyance like a gnat or a mosquito. We swat at it. We drive it away. We even attempt to kill it. Yet it will persist because the Spirit cannot die and it is not an insect. It is a living, breathing entity of spirit and truth derived out of the very nature, character and being of God. We must pray as those who are discipled in the Word by the Word and who are called to disciple others in the same manner.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.