The Calling of God Archives - Creation Beckons

The Christian Lifestyle

Ephesians 4:25-32 The Christian Lifestyle

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and slander be put way from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV).

I realize that this is a long Scripture quote, but I have good reason. I have been reading Belief that Behaves by Dr. David Jeremiah, a book based on the book of Ephesians. This particular section, Ephesians 4:25-32, speaks of the Christian lifestyle as described by Paul in his letter of encouragement to the church at Ephesus, a city at the crossroads of Asia Minor. The city boasted of having the largest temple in the world to the Roman goddess, Diana. The temple featured many “priestesses,” actually prostitutes, of Diana. Men were encouraged or even expected to visit the temple regularly to “worship” there. Evidently, Ephesus had many other reasons that helped to make it difficult to maintain a Christian lifestyle in the city. In contrast to the life lived by most in Ephesus was the lifestyle of those professing to be followers of Jesus Christ, and this section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was to outline for them the daily choices they needed to make to live as Christians, enjoy the blessings of Christ, and to be a witness to their neighbors.

In this chapter, A New Lifestyle, in Dr. Jeremiah’s book, he breaks down the Christian lifestyle into five topics, our morality, our moods, our money, our mouths, and our manners. I discovered that I have much to learn about how to live Christianly, and I am working on it. These five areas of life that Paul wrote about several thousand years ago are equally relevant to us today if we are to live Christian lives for our own benefit and also as a witness to others who may wonder about our actions and attitudes as we navigate the traffic jam of living in 2024. It has been said that actions speak louder than words. If that is true, then we may have a more effective argument for the Christian life by what we do than be what we say as we learn from Paul how to live as Christ would have us live. Join me in the next few days as we explore each of these challenging topics.

P.S. Picture is from my grandmother’s 1955 King James Bible.

Spread Out and Spread the Word

Mark 16:15 Spread Out and Spread the Word

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (NIV).

Rivers are beautiful, and they can be majestic in their size, flow rate, and power. Sitting beside a river and watching it flow can be an energizing, as well as relaxing, experience. Watching a river flow is something I greatly enjoy. To physically partake of the river, to get wet, one must put his hand or other part of the body in the flow. But if one stands near a waterfall, he can partake, get wet, without any effort of his own. The spray of the river spread out, separated into its individual particles, can immerse anyone standing close.

I believe the same to be true of the Church. Watching a strong God-fearing and God-loving church can be invigorating, but to take part in the activity, a person needs to make the effort to join the action. God, in Mark 16:15, has asked us, the Church, to reach out, to go beyond the walls of the church building. He asks us to move into society with His love and not to wait for them to ask to join us. We are to be as the water droplets of a waterfall–reach out and touch them with His love and presence. A waterfall affects many more people than a flowing river does. It spreads out to make everybody near it wet. That’s what we are told to do–spread out and splash the love of God, the love of Jesus Christ on to all those we meet. It’s more fun to be part of a waterfall than it is to be a part of a flowing river. Let’s get excited and splash all we meet, and sometimes even those just passing by.

We’ve Got Work to Do

Ephesians 2:10 We’ve Got Work to Do

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (NIV).

That’s a picture of a magnificent animal, standing tall, looking forward as if he has a task to do, and he’s ready to do it. He is a striking animal that God has created. Well, I believe that God sees us in much the same way He sees the animal in the picture, but with one big exception. God created the animals, and then He created man in His image, and that’s an important difference. Then, many years later, He created me and He created you.

We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that God has prepared work for us. If we read the verse closely and slowly, we discover that we were created for a particular purpose, a job that was itself, specifically prepared for us. That makes it pretty special, particularly when the one who created the universe chose us for a particular task. Implied is the idea that He has formed us and given us the abilities that we need, for this special task. If He chose me for this special task, then He didn’t choose someone else for the exact same task. That indicates that I am special to Him, the only one of all the people ever created who is exactly right for this job. Since God has spent time and energy preparing us for a task and preparing a task for us, it follows that we are able to do it well, but how can we do it well if we don’t know exactly what it is? Sometimes it seems as if God has left us alone to discover just exactly what He wants of us. He hasn’t, but He does want us to also spend time and energy, as He has, in discovering what His plan is for us. How do we do that? I’m no expert, and I don’t suppose that there is anyone, aside from God, who can tell each of us what we should be doing.

There are several obvious things to do to prepare. We can read the Word. We can pray. Then, we can read the Word, and we can pray. I would suggest that we then read the Word and pray. A few people are definite that they know by this time exactly what God has planned for them, but that’s not most of us. We get to study, read, and pray for a longer period of time, and sometimes we even have to try different jobs until we find out what we do best, and what we enjoy doing most. That makes for a longer journey, but any walk with our Lord is fruitful. Some of us try many things until we finally know our special place in His plan. I certainly can’t tell you when you will know God’s special call on your life, but I can tell you that it will be a blessed and satisfying journey during the search. I do know that whatever the task prepared for me, it is important, and God expects me to perform it to the best of my ability. So, Lord, I commit myself to the task you have chosen for me, and I intend to do it to the best of my ability. Lord, I ask for your help, wisdom, and encouragement along the way.

I Am Doing A New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-19 I Am Doing A New Thing

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (NIV).

When hiking on a trail, the look must always be forward. Looking backward makes forward steps uncertain because our eyes are looking in the wrong direction. If we desire to reach the goal at the end of the trail, we have to keep looking, thinking, and moving forward.

The same thing is true of the Christian life. As the Scripture above says, “Forget the former things.” The implication is that keeping one’s mind on the past will hinder future development. Our attention is to be focused on the future. We need to clear our minds of the clutter of the past in order to provide room for what God has planned. If we are going to see God’s “new thing,” we are going to have to be looking forward with expectancy. God said he is doing something new. Well, “God said it. I believe it and that settles it for me.” When God is doing something new, I want to see it and be involved in it. It may take effort on my part to “perceive it,” but the perception will be well worth the effort. If we look, we will be able to see His new way in the wilderness, and the refreshing streams where there was wasteland. Once we perceive what God has planned and prepared, we can gain excitement for the work and become useful and worthy workers in His plan. We are the ones who are here on earth, so we are the ones who will need to carry out His plans. So, with the help and encouragement of God, let’s look until we perceive His plan and then excitedly dive in. The rewards will be great, and some of them will be eternal.

Entrust Your Work to God

Philippians 1:6 Entrust Your Work to God

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (NLT).

Know that on the day that you accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, He began His plan in your life. He has something for you to do, something that you are uniquely prepared to accomplish. And if He has a plan for you, He will most assuredly give you the tools you need to accomplish the task. Be prepared to be changed, to be stretched in ways you may have never imagined. It will be an interesting and sometimes challenging journey, but it will be both satisfying and enjoyable. Don’t worry about being able to do what God asks of you. He has all the tools in the world in His hands, and He is willing and eager to put them in your hands. “Trust” is the big word here. We have to trust Him; in fact, we have to totally trust Him in order to perform the task to the best of our abilities. Worry about our abilities to perform the task is unacceptable. Philippians 1:6 tells us that He will “continue his work until it is finally finished.” Once you begin his work, He will continue to prepare you and work within you so that you can complete the task. You can’t pass it off to someone else. No one else has the unique abilities you have that are necessary to fully do the work. Yes, you can delay the work and perhaps even refuse it, but if you do, you will know that something is missing in your life. So, for a fulfilled and satisfying life, accept the challenge of God, and work with Him. You’ll be glad you did. Oh, and how will you know when the task is finished? Philippians 1:6 also gives us that information—“until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” And that will be a day of great rejoicing when God says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”