Tuesday, February 15, 2011
END TIMES READING PLAN: Numbers 23-24
SCRIPTURE READING
Philippians 1:27a (NIV); Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
In all circumstances, we are to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. What is the gospel? It is the glad tidings of the kingdom of God brought to earth through Jesus Christ; who lived in perfect obedience to the Father, suffered death on a cross, and in doing so, secured eternal salvation for mankind. We are to act in a way that is worthy of this gospel. Imagine visiting your future in-laws for the first time. You would attempt to present yourself in a way that proves you worthy of their son or daughter. When pursuing a relationship with the King of Kings, we need to act with that same ambition; to show ourselves worthy of calling Him our Lord.
The problem is that many of us are not pursuing an intimate relationship with our King. We wait sluggishly for Him to pursue, but when He does we continue in our lazy patterns, not giving anything back, and our relationship stays stagnant. Or we pursue God for a little while, only to throw our hands up in despair when He doesn’t respond in the exact way we wished He would. When our relationship with God is not one of pursual, we will not conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of Him. If our heart’s desire is not to know God more deeply and love Him more passionately, we will not actually understand the joy of the gospel, and our manner will not be up to par! We will be more like a sloppily dressed date meeting the parents than a beautiful and glowing bride awaiting the Son.
As we come to know and love Him more we will grow in steadfast devotion, conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of Him.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1) Mediate on Philippians 1:27. What do you think it means to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?
2) Are you pursuing the Lord to the fullest? Ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything lacking on your part. Do you trust God that He is pursuing you as well? Ask Him how these things are affecting the way that you conduct yourself.
3) Spend some time praying that God would refine you, and that as you pursue Him, you would live a life worthy of the gospel.
