We are to be in the world, not of the world, and protected from the world.
We are the light of the world! We cannot hide our lamp-stands under the bushels of spiritual monasteries. Yet we cannot let the darkness rub off on us. How do we accomplish such a balance? The answer is found in Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
God never called us to naivete. He called us to integrity. There is a very big difference between the two. Like Paul, we must be aware of what is out there before we walk into the middle of it. We must recognize situations that demand an extra degree of consecration, preparation, and protection.
It is about purity--purity maintained in the midst of an impure world. Understand this vital precept: Maintaining purity in ministry is the result of nothing less than deliberate devotion. We must guard our minds and put on our armor. A war rages out there. And we are satan's favorite prisoners.
Day 2 A Peculiar Priest
The responsibilities Jesus Christ assumed in His earthly ministry parallel those of the priests. He worshiped in the temple, He instructed the people in God's laws, He blessed the people, He determined God's will, He interceded for the people, and He sacrificed at the altar. He sacrificed Himself at the altar.
The Messiah would be both Priest and King!
Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood! (Hebrews 7:24)
Christ's indestructible life did not simply allow Him to assume a title of honor. It allowed Him to burst open every believer's grave and shout, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55) "Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6)
Day 3 The Open Door
Because Christ has faced our every temptation without sin, we never face a temptation that has no door of escape.
Do you realize what it means to us that Christ was willing to become a man and be tempted as we are tempted?
God became flesh so that He could dwell among us
Jesus faced every temptation known to humanity so He could identify with us
God the Father provided a door of escape for every temptation
Only Christ was in a position to unlock the door of escape (He became the door)
Two things about a believer's temptation never vary: (1) We always have an open door, a way out. (2) Every door we refuse to walk through makes the next one harder to enter.
God never convicts us of sin to make sure we know how wretched we are, for He calls us the righteousness of God in Christ. Rather, God convicts us through His Holy Spirit because He is grieved when fellowship between us is broken.
Day 4 The Right Hand of God
Hebrews 8:1-2 We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
Aaron could fulfill his duty to the letter of the law. He could work His hands to the bone and never miss a sacrifice, but he could not truly meet the people's need. He was powerless to make unrighteous persons righteous. How could he? He could not even make himself righteous. But "we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrew 8:1
The old covenant was based on a shadow. The new covenant was based on a Savior. Christ made it possible for an external covenant to be obsolete and a new covenant to be injected straight into the point of our need: the heart.
My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus
Philippians 4:19
Day 5 Heaven, the Blessed Adoption Agency
As God's adopted children. perhaps we need more discipline at times than anyone to conform to our Father's house.
Romans 12:1-13 tells of why God wants us to be disciplined.
verse 6 ~It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.
1 John 3:1-2
V. 1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.
These verses overwhelm me every time I read them. As God's children, we are the recipients of lavish love-a love that covers the lack of recognition this world system gives us, a love that motivates us to keep trusting even when we have no idea what God is doing.
You are not illegitimate, my beloved sister. You have been planned and purposed. Your Father has acknowledged you as His child. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
Have a Beautiful Day!
Christina
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