Ephesians 5:3

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” (Ephesians 5:3 ESV). In the Topical Memory System from the Navigators, under the heading of purity in the Grow in Christlikeness section, we find the reference to this verse. The verse is found in the Walk in Love section in the ESV translation and begins the paragraph on what that walk looks like. In that walk we are to be imitators of God, as his beloved children, keeping ourselves pure.

Consider the three things listed in the verse; sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness, and think about our society today; it appears that even within the church this verse is being overlooked. If the Christian church were to live according to this verse it would stand out as being different from the culture in which we live. That difference would not go unnoticed would create a tension between them and us and we would then probably gain a better understanding of 2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV): “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

To set the standard even higher, extend your lifestyle to include the next verse: “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4 ESV). As believers in Christ, we are children of light and the fruit of that light is found in all that is good and right and true (Ephesians 5:8 – 9). It appears that the church today needs more than their feet washed; it also needs to get serious about submission to the word of God.

Prayer

Father, the gap between the Biblical standard of conduct and how we live has grown so large it is difficult to see a difference between us and the world. The command to be holy as you are holy and to walk in righteousness has become a foreign concept today. Constantly there is pressure to share our faith, but how does an unclean believer share the gospel that is not being embraced? Father, maybe it is time we stop being politically correct and create some fear to work out our salvation through some solid Biblical teaching. For sure the love of many is growing cold when it comes to knowledge of the word and obedience to it. Father, how much longer will you withhold judgement from us? Please have mercy on us. 

Matthew 5:16

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 ESV). This verse is found in a section of Scripture in which Jesus is teaching about us being salt and light. Salt is used to provide added flavor to food. We as salt are to add flavor or taste to life. Salt can also be used as a preservative.  Our presence should improve the quality of life of those around us and lead people to the savior.

Light is necessary to remove darkness so we can see better. As a lamp provides physical light we are to be the light of the world, but what does that mean? In 1 John 1:5, we learn that “God is light.” Jesus says in John 8:12 and 9:5: “I am the light of the world” and in Matthew 5:14, Jesus says we are the light of the world. According to our verse, this light people see is our good works, which are the works we do in obedience to God. These good works would include such things as our character, our conduct, our actions, and our spoken testimony. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 2:14 – 16a (ESV): “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” We are to help people see spiritual things more clearly.

It is important to note that we were not dim lights that became brighter, but we were once darkness that became light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). We didn't just improve in character; we became a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) when we were born spiritually. This light that we now have is not to be hidden, but seen as our witness to others about our Lord Jesus Christ. Through this witness, backed up by our works, people would desire to receive Jesus as their savior and give glory to our Father.

Prayer

Father, we need to be more dedicated to being the salt and light we are, not conforming to the ways of the world. Being salt and light tends to set us apart from the world as more righteous than they and may cause some to reject us, even causing some hurt. Father, we need to be willing to suffer as sheep among wolves to be effective salt and light. Provide us with wisdom and encouragement in this. 

John 13:34 - 35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV). Jesus was with his disciples and was informing them that he was going to leave them and where he was going they could not come. It was during this conversation we find our verses.

The command to love one another is not new because we are instructed in Leviticus 19:18 to love our neighbor. What makes this commandment new is how we are to love. We are to love one another as Jesus loved. In Ephesians 5:3, Paul tells us that Jesus gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God. That sacrifice was payment for our salvation and sets the example that we are to be willing to sacrifice for the needs of others as an expression of our love for them. This commandment is new in that it joins love with sacrifice for the benefit of the one being loved.

Another way this may be a new commandment is in ability to love. Now by way of the Holy Spirit, God dwells within us and God is love. This provides us with the ability to love as Jesus did. This is a daily occurrence with Christians living under severe persecution; they can endure torture and still be able to express forgiveness to and love for those torturing them.

Prayer

Father, this is a time when we are able to love sacrificially, but is appears to also be a time when the love of many is growing cold. Father, stimulate us to be more intentional in maintaining a sacrificial love for others as Jesus did for us and as many who live under persecution do today. 

Matthew 28:19 - 20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV). After reading these verses, the first question that comes to mind is how does one limit what can be said about these two verses to one short study?

Notice the action expressed: Go, make, baptize, teach. Who is to go and who is giving the command? Verse 18 tells us Jesus is giving the command and from verse 17 we learn the command is given to the eleven disciples. How do these verses apply to us? The disciples were told to go and make more disciples and those disciples, as disciples, would then go and make more, which would finally include you and me.

The “therefore” following the command to “go” looks back to “All authority” that was given to Jesus and links it to “I am with you always” of verse 20. Going forth to make disciples can be a dangerous task in many places, maybe even the cost of your life, but regardless of the outcome, Jesus is in control and will use your possible suffering and even death to find loss sheep to build his kingdom with. Here in the west we have forgotten that when we go we are engaging the enemy and in any conflict there will be casualties on the frontline. When we who are from the kingdom of God go and search the domain of darkness for loss sheep, we go under the authority of Jesus, aware of intimate danger, with the willingness to sacrifice everything if necessary to accomplish our mission.

The current emphasis today is to go as a witness, but unless these new converts are properly trained, your invasion into the domain of darkness will weaken and soon its evil will overcome you as it is currently happening in America. Go, make, baptize, and teach is much more than just witness. We each have different gifts and strengths which we need to develop and apply. As a Christian you have no choice; you are expected to sacrifice and be involved.

Prayer

Father, we will never have an effective witness unless we are in love with Jesus as the Word and are willing to be crucified with him to allow him to live his life in and through us. Unless we are totally committed to “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain,” our witness (actually our life) will have little eternal impact. It seems that our love is growing cold as we become a selfie generation. It's time we take the focus off ourselves and present an image of Christ-likeness to the world. Father, forgive us and have mercy on us!

2 Corinthians 4:5

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5 ESV). This verse is from a section of Scripture titled, “The Light of the Gospel” in the ESV translation. In this section Paul declares the gospel to be veiled to those who are perishing; those who are unbelievers in whom the god of this world has blinded their minds to understanding; who has kept them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. It is this gospel that our verse says we are to proclaim.

Looking at our verse we see a person and two groups of people. The first group is those who proclaim the gospel. The second group is those who the first group proclaim the gospel to. The person is who the gospel is about that is being proclaimed. The presentation being made has nothing to do about us; it is all about Jesus as Lord and his sacrifice in purchasing our salvation. We are to simply present the gospel and any mention of ourselves would be the effect Jesus has made in our lives. We are God’s servants, working on behalf of Jesus, not ourselves.

Prayer

Father, the Scriptures are clear that we, as believers, are a new creation created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God through proclaiming the gospel. Here in the west we seem to be encumbered with safety, security, comfort and convenience. One or more of these idols tend to persuade us to go on living for ourselves and not be concerned about the unbelievers who will suffer in hell forever if not brought to salvation through our presentation of the gospel. Father, I am so thankful I heard the gospel and learned the way of salvation. Oh, how thankful I am!

Philippians 2:3 - 4

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3 – 4 ESV). Our verses are from a section titled, “Christ’s Example of Humility” in the ESV translation. The Son of God came to earth, taking on human flesh through a virgin birth, and became the man we know as Jesus. He did not take pride in the fact that he was the Son of God, but instead he took on the form of a servant and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. From that context, our verses have significant application for us.

The two verses form a parallel in which each begins with what we are not to do and ends with what we are to do. Verse 3 begins with “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit” and verse 4 begins with “Let each of you look not only to his own interests. In verse 3 we are “in humility count others more significant than yourselves” and in verse 4 we are “to [also] look out for the interests of others. Jesus did not come simply to have fellowship with us and teach us about God, but came to suffer and die to purchase our salvation. Likewise, we are to be on the lookout for the needs of others and if possible help meet those needs, even if it requires sacrifice on our part.

Prayer

Father, the western culture has become very self-centered where life is all about us. This self-centeredness has even infected the church to where we fail to meet the needs of others as we should, especially our brothers and sisters in countries of persecution and poverty. If we really embraced these verses, we would not have a credit card debt, would have a few less things, probably a smaller home and a less expensive car, and would give at least 10% of our gross income to the Lord’s work. We would probably spend much more time studying the word and living out “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NIV). Father, forgive us for we fall short in living out these verses as we should. 

Hebrews 12:3

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3 NASB). The section from which our verse comes from describes a race that we are to run with endurance and without encumbrance and with our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are to look to him as our example, who for the joy that was placed before him endured the cross, despising the shame associated with it.

Our verse means so much more to the one suffering under persecution than it does to us living here in the west. As they experience evil hostilities by sinners they are to think of Jesus, who endured similar hostilities, as encouragement to press on with their race toward their inheritance in heaven. As Jesus did, we are to look beyond our temporary suffering to the eternal joy we will experience when we are with him. Remember, we will die once and whether we die under persecution as an effective witness or a natural death later, we still will die.

Prayer

Father, here in the west where we are friendly with the idols of safety, security and comfort, we tend to see suffering and the possible loss of life as unnecessary and a waste of resource. As a result, we tend to retreat from the frontline of spiritual battle, giving up ground to the enemy. Is it any wonder that the church is losing its effectiveness here in the west, but is growing under persecution where believers are willing to stand with the Lord against evil hostilities? Father, I am afraid that as we embrace our three idols we do not realize our coming judgment. Father, have mercy on us because we are so unprepared for what may await us in a short time. 

1 John 3:18

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 ESV). Our verse is from a section of Scripture on loving one another. No matter how we have been treated we are to love in return because whoever does not love abides in death. If we hate, we are known as a murderer and we are lacking eternal life; so how do we know love? We look to Jesus, who laid down his life for us, giving us an example that we should be willing to lay down our lives for our brother if called upon to do so. Love is also shown in our willingness to help a brother in need if we are able. It is in this context that we find our verse.

In an expression of affection, John says, “Little children” and then gives instruction. First he tells us how not to love, followed by how. We are not to love in word or talk by simply saying “I love you.” Those words are to be backed up with action, even sacrifice if necessary. Jesus spoke words of love and then sacrificed himself on the cross as a demonstration of his love for us. Saying, “I love you” may be more of an expression of feeling than a desire to do something for their benefit. Love and sacrifice cannot be separated; their like two faces of a coin. Jesus made that very clear by dying on the cross as an expression of his love for us in purchasing our salvation.

Prayer

Father, love has become primarily an expression of an emotion today, not an expression of commitment and sacrifice for the benefit of the one being loved. Jesus said to his enemies, as he hung dying on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” This example motivates believers to faithfully stand before those who hate them with an expression of love and forgiveness. Love is first an action, which may or may not be accompanied by the emotion or feeling of love. Father, thank you for your expression of love by your willingness to sacrifice your Son for our sin and Lord, thank you for your expression of love for us by dying on a cross to purchase our salvation. 

Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ESV). The chapter that our verse is in opens with the statement “I appeal to you therefore,” which is a challenge based on some previous information. The appeal has two parts and includes our verse. First, we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, and second, we are not to be conformed to this world, but what was this appeal prompted by? Going back to the end of the previous chapter we find: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33 ESV). Knowing what God is like we are then challenged to be discerning in our relationship with him.

Our verse covers the second part of the appeal which we need to embrace today if we are to walk in holiness and righteousness before our God. First is the command: “do not be conformed to this world.” The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of it's riches tends to cause the word we receive to be unfruitful (Matthew 13:22) and if this relationship with the world grows into a love relationship, then we do not have the love of the Father in us (1 John 2:15).

We are not to be conformed to this world, but instead we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The spirit of our minds are to be renewed by the knowledge of him through a study of the word (2 Timothy 2:15) in which we learn about God and how he wants us to live and relate to him. With renewed minds we are then able to know what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Prayer

Father, how little we understand the importance or willingness to sacrifice ourselves in serving you or in renewing our minds to have the mind of Christ. Our love seems to be growing cold and we are losing the desire and do not see the importance of dying to self and allowing Jesus Christ to live in and through us. We are becoming more attracted to the world and its things than we are to you and your eternal benefits. Unfortunately, we have come to the place where we don’t know what we are missing and don’t care to know. Father, have mercy on us for we are becoming a poor reflection of the image of Jesus Christ. 

Luke 9:23

“And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”” (Luke 9:23 ESV). Our verse today begins a section of Scripture about the cross we are to take up and carry if we are followers of Jesus. I don't believe very many believers in the western church embrace this verse and apply it to their lives. This verse lists three things we are to do if we are to follow Jesus. First, we are to deny ourselves of those things our sinful flesh desires for our own pleasure and comfort; what we have and do is not to interfere with our walk with the Lord.

Second, we are to take up his cross every day, not just on certain days. Bearing his cross daily implies that we are dying to self-daily. We are living out Philippians 1:21 (ESV): “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” It is also walking daily, by faith, Galatians 2:20 (ESV): “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Third, we are to follow him no matter where he goes. I planned to retire and enjoy life in Arizona, but he asked me to follow him to Texas and then from there to make 17 trips to China over the next eight years to teach Bible. Now the Lord and I sit together in front of computer screens writing Bible studies that are being read in many different parts of the world. These 15 years since retirement have not been according to my plans, but what a blessing it has been following him. For some, following him means much suffering, even physical death, but that suffering and death can be a very powerful witness, bearing much fruit to the glory of God.

Prayer

Father, a life of sacrifice in serving you provides a life of meaning, blessing and joy. As I study the Scriptures I have come to realize that I am not here on vacation waiting for my time to go to heaven, but rather I am here on assignment to do kingdom work. As a child growing up on the farm, I had hard work to do every day, but it was a good life working with my dad. I am a child of God and working with you, my Father, is truly a great blessing. 

Proverbs 3:9 - 10

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV). Our verses are found in a section revealing the rewards of wisdom. Here is an expression of the results of honoring the Lord with our wealth. In our culture our wealth is from money we earn working or in some cases from investments or gain through sales. At the time these verses were written, much wealth was gained through agricultural activity and they were to honor the Lord with the first part of their harvest. If we honor the Lord with the first part of what he blesses us with, and not keep it for ourselves, then there is the promise of further blessing. However, that blessing may not be given in the form we are expecting. How he blesses us for our honoring him is his choice.

Prayer

Father, so often believers do not honor you as they should, only to lose what should have given, or even more, due to unwise choices, illnesses or even accidents. As I have given from my “wealth” I am amazed at how you have met my needs, even allowing me to teach Bible for so long in China. Even today you have blessed me with such good health, allowing me to further invest in kingdom work through prayer, gifts and disciple making through writing and posting Bible studies. Father, thank you for your love, faithfulness and work in my life.  

Mark 10:45

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 ESV). Seeing the “For even” at the beginning of the verse, directs us to look back and review the context. Doing so, we find James and John requesting positions of authority with Jesus in his coming kingdom. They wanted to sit, one at his right hand and the other at his left hand. Jesus explained that he was not the one to grant that and then explains that greatness comes, not from positions of authority, but from humble service.

Having made the connection between service and greatness, Jesus then gives an example of himself. Describing himself as the Son of Man, he then points out that he came not to be served by us, but to serve us by meeting an important need we had; a sin problem which would end in eternal death unless some qualified person died in our place. God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect sacrifice to die on the cross as payment for our salvation. Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for us.

God is love and God was willing to sacrifice is only Son for us. Should we not then be willing to love others in a way that yields a benefit for them at maybe a cost to us? I believe that is what Jesus is teaching us and then demonstrating what greatness is.

Prayer

Father, how thankful I am that Jesus was willing humble himself and accept the shame of the cross and give his life as a ransom for us sinners who deserved eternal punishment. What an example he set before us that we should be willing serve others and even to sacrifice for their benefit, but to our shame we are all too willing to sacrifice for our own gain. Father, have mercy on us and urge us on to greater Christ-likeness.