UNITED YET UNIQUE AND GIFTED

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

However, He has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.

Ephesians 4:7 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the last two messages from the A Worthy Called Life series, we saw how God expects His believers to be united, one in Him and His Son Jesus. All Christians are a part of one body and led by one Spirit. They have one hope, one faith, and one baptism, and are called by the one true God, the Father of everyone who is “who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6).

Because of this, God wants the church to be united through the Spirit and bound together with peace. In yesterday’s final devotion, we saw where the church has a lot of room for improvement in this regard.

As we move onto verse 7 of this chapter, we find the Lord shifting the focus from what makes every believer alike to the additional truth that there are differences between each member of the body of Christ, differences defined by the gifts given to them “through the generosity of Jesus”.

Note how the central scripture verse for today informs us that every gift we get to carry out the work the Lord calls us to is special, a blessing personalized just for that Christian which allows the believer to honor and glorify the Almighty, Divine Gift Giver with their dedicated service and commitment to His will and way.

With this, what special gifts has God given you through His Son?

I pray you have done an inventory of them. If not, right now would be the perfect time to do so. Here’s what mine looks like:

God has given me the special gifts of singing, teaching, preaching, writing, and leading and serving others. Additionally, He has blessed me with the gifts of discernment, wisdom, and compassion.

Each gift is distinctly personal to me and the Lord shows me how to use each gift to accomplish His purposes.

Yes, we are to be united in the church but we function in unity through exercising the special gifts God has granted each of us through Jesus.

Today and every day, give thanks for your gifts and then allow the Lord to lead you so you can use those gifts to further His kingdom here on earth. For God has called us to work and labor for the cause of the Gospel, doing so with the comfort of knowing our eternal future is secure through our belief in Christ, our Savior. For just as it was in biblical times during Jesus’ ministry, the harvest is plenty (Luke 10:2).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

A WORTHY CALLED LIFE (PART 4)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:1, 4-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance for others born out of love, and unity.

These are all behavioral indicators that a Christian is living in a way worthy of the calling they have received from God.

Today, we will finish this series by looking at the matter of hope, a hope that we have been given and are required to share with others in the way we live our lives for Christ. Look again at these words from the Apostle Paul:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1. 4-6

In yesterday’s message, we looked at how Christian believers are expected to be united with Jesus being the great Uniter. Instead of focusing on ways that Jesus followers are different from one another, like the church has become today with its myriad of denominations that too often choose to segregate, the scriptures call the church to be one in Christ.

All Christians have one God, one Savior Jesus, and one Holy Spirit. The call is to stand together in all parts of the Holy Trinity. This leads to one Christian body bound collectively by one faith and one baptism, a body filled with believers who have a single significant hope of eternal life through Christ that no one can ever take away. Here’s what God’s word commands when it comes to how we are to put this hope to work:

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15

A Christ follower who is living in a way that shows he or she is worthy of the calling God has given will always be ready to share the hope they have in Jesus, whether solicited or not. Every person a Christian encounters in any one day is an opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel, the good news that brings hope to the hopeless.

We should all be united in this matter of sharing hope but we aren’t. Yes, we are all different. No two people are the same anymore than there are two identical snowflakes that fall from the winter sky. But Jesus transcends our differences. He is the One who is our hope and allows us to unify as one people under God, saved by His Son. This is one true God is the Father of all, the Maker and Master of all creation, the Lord who is over all, through all, and in all. He is the God who so loved the world so much that He chose to make a way to save people instead of destroy them. We are only Christians because He made it possible.  

So why aren’t we united today?

It’s because we have a lot of work to do when it comes to being worthy of the calling we have received from our God. It’s time to start now and join hands with other Christ believers outside of our church walls. We are called to ecumenicalism, not isolation. We’re not to bracket the Christian church off into compartments, comfortable within the confines of our congregations. Rather, we are commanded to be united as one body of Christ, made up with its multitudes of parts, a single entity with a single eternal hope.

Friends, we have a lot of work to do in this regard and the scriptures are demanding we get to work now. It’s time for the church to show it is worthy of the calling it has received and it starts with every Christian coming together as one in Jesus.    

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

A WORTHY CALLED LIFE (PART 3)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1, 3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A person who accepts God offer to follow Him and believe in His Son Jesus is responsible for behaving in a certain fashion so to show that they are living in a way worthy of their calling. This truth is at the core of the opening verses of Ephesians, chapter 4.

Over the past two messages, we have looked at some of the traits God expects from His believers, traits that included humility, gentleness, patience, and a tolerance for others born out of love. Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to ensure they were living in accordance with these principles and these words equally apply to us today.

Today, we continue adding to the characteristics of a Christian that show they have shown themselves abiding in a way worthy of God’s calling. Look at the next thing God’s word calls Christians to do:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Vv. 1, 3

Here we find the Apostle providing important guidance to the body of Christ, the collection of Christian believers in Ephesus. Yes, each member of the church in Ephesus was an individually saved Christ follower but the church isn’t about individuals. It’s about the collective and it’s always been that way.

The scriptures from the Old Testament to the New call God believers to be united. Consider these verses:

...the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 30:12

“I (Jesus speaking to His Father God) have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.” John 17:22

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

First, we see how in the Old Testament, God’s hand was on His people so that they might have a “unity of mind”. Here we see how God is at the heart of unity, the thread that is woven between believers to keep them tight knit in Him. If a church has lost its unity, you can bet that the believers within have lost their unity with God, in only One who can bring unity of mind and therefore a church one in Him.

Jesus reinforces this truth as He speaks about those who would receive His ministry and Gospel teaching. Like God, Jesus was focused on making His followers united as one just as He was united with His Father. For if God was in the Son and the Son was in Christian believers then there would be an amazing, divine connectivity that would bring the church together in complete unity.

Too often, churches are looking within their body to try and figure out how to be better united with one another. A lot of focus is placed on figuring out how individuals can better relate to each other in a spirit of togetherness.

The scriptures would inform us that this is a futile effort. In and of itself, the church is powerless when it comes to uniting people unless it shifts its attention to Jesus and Him alone to be the great Unifier. Relationship first begins with each individual Christian devoted fully to Jesus and when this happens, then every single Christian in a church will unite in Him. Jesus was, is, and always will be the tie that binds the church together and He does so through the power of His Father God, our Father God who sent His Son to save us.

Friends, think about how this would be a major game changer for the church today, just as Paul hoped it would be for the Ephesian Christians. Imagine every single church in the world being one with Christ because every believer within the church was one with Christ first. It would be the way the church was meant to be, not centered on anything else but the Savior Son and the God who loved the world so much that He sacrificed His Son to save it.

It’s an image of beauty and majesty, born out of the beauty and majesty found in God and Jesus.

It’s a vision of unity we all should be aspiring to as Christians.

It’s a unity that David experienced and testified about when he wrote:

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

A WORTHY CALLED LIFE (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received...be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:1-2b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

God calls everyone but not everyone answers His call.

It was true in biblical times and unfortunately it is still true today.

For those who do answer the call of the Maker and Master of Creation, there are expectations that the Lord expects, behaviors that show a person is worthy of the calling they have received.

Yesterday, we started looking at the opening verses of Ephesians, chapter 4 where we find the Apostle Paul encouraging the Christians in Ephesus to display certain traits that would show them worthy of the calling God had given them. In Part 1, we saw how the Lord desires that believers be completely humble and gentle in the way they live. Today, we add two more important qualities of those called. Look at these words again here:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received...be patient, bearing with one another in love. Vv. 1-2b

Let’s examine these separately, starting with patience.

Let’s face it. Tolerance isn’t exactly a strong suit of most people these days, even in the church. It seems more and more like people are unwilling to hang in there and put up with people who might annoy or delay them.

What gets on your nerves the most?

If you answer that question honestly, you will be able to identify your impatience triggers.

Maybe it’s whenever you are in a checkout line at the store, there is only one register open, and the cashier is working incredibly slow.

Or maybe it’s when your internet connection slows down right when you are trying to download or stream something.

Or perhaps you are on the interstate and needing to get somewhere and the person in front of you is texting someone while driving slower than anyone else in the fast lane.

I could go on and on with examples but you get the point. There are a lot of moments that happen in any one week that serve to test our patience. And don’t think that the Lord isn’t watching to see how we behave in these situations. He wants to see if we exercise patience, a fruit of the Spirit by the way (Galatians 5:22-23), and show that we are worthy of the calling He has given.

Now, I don’t think it’s a reach to say we are all works in progress when it comes to the matter of patience. Thankfully, we find the Apostle Paul provide one additional quality we need to exhibit as we carry out our calling. He exhorts Christians to bear with one another in love.

Note here that love is the key to being patient with others. We simply have to allow our love for others, and especially our Lord, override our impatience.

Love breeds tolerance and allows us to bear with one another. It’s not easy, that’s for sure. We don’t have the wherewithal to do it on our own. No one is that strong.

But with the Lord’s help and by His power, we can do all things. This is why we need to be in constant prayer over the matter of patience. If you’re feeling annoyance and aggravation beginning to rise up, turn to the Lord in prayer and ask Him for the strength to bear with the source of your irritation out of love. This will keep you from allowing your frustration to lead you into sinful responses, responses that are not indicative of someone who has been called by the Lord. Call on God and He will never let you down. He’ll always help you respond in ways that will glorify Him and assist you in becoming more the person He wants you to be, a person who shows that he or she is worthy of His calling.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the call to unity and peace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com