The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"An In the Moment Christ"
"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).
The Apostle Paul presents a profound responsibility to be acknowledged in his call to "do all to the glory of God." Far more, however, Paul offers a privilege of grace whereby the entirety of our life becomes a blessed opportunity to honor our Lord in all things. Indeed, the Christian life involves the experience of God as a matter of continual reality, as opposed to periodic ritual.
"Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord" (Colossians 323).
In any moment, born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can realize by faith that our doings - our "whatsoevers" - bear eternal significance and effect. We can glorify our Savior no less in everyday endeavors than in obvious and overt spiritual practices. In fact, our response to the Holy Spirit's working in seemingly mundane, insignificant moments bears great impact on how well or poorly we fulfill callings that seem more directly related to the Lord's doings (but which actually are not). "Whatsoever ye do…"
I once delivered a sermon to a group of internationals from various nations and different religious backgrounds. The subject of my message involved the testimony of the Christian. I suggested that this applies not simply to our description of how we became believers, but rather who the Lord Jesus is to us in this day, and even this moment. After the service, the director of the international ministry that sponsored the meeting told me that the theme of the message precisely correlated with the means by which his ministry sought to communicate the Gospel. "Many will listen, " he said, "when we share with them an in the moment Christ, as opposed to merely one of religious practice."
Our Heavenly Father calls us to honor the Lord Jesus in all things, a tremendous responsibility no doubt, but again, a blessed privilege of grace offered along every pathway of life. Indeed, we "get to" precedes and empowers "we have to." The calling requires and promises God's living and vital presence - "an in the moment Christ" - that bestows the possibility to fulfill the mandate as more than ritualistic duty. "We shall live with Him by the power of God" (II Corinthians 13:4). Realizing by faith that we can glorify Him at all times and in all things, as led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, bestows the mundane moments of our lives with a meaning only reality can provide. In any circumstance, event, or condition, the question presents itself: who is the Lord Jesus here and now? Answering the question by the leading of the Spirit and the truth of Scripture empowers our response whereby "do all to the glory of God" graces our moments with the greatest privilege our Father could bestow upon us…
"Thou shalt glorify Me."
(Psalm 50:15)
Weekly Memory Verse
Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord.
(Colossians 323).
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