Verse of the Day 9/17

Through the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5-6, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

 

Good morning,

I'm sure that all of us have received e-mails that have contained attachments that we could not open up.  They may be photos, maps, or other type of additional information about or in reference to the e-mail.  Without the attachment, the message may be incomplete, unclear, and not convey the overall purpose of the e-mail.

 

As Christians, if we don't show or should I say, if Christ doesn't show through in our lives and actions we are not giving those around us the complete message of who, or whose we are.  Why don't we "let it shine"?  The Bible is God's Word, his principles are applicable in our everyday lives, from the workplace to school and socially.

 

Consider today's verse from 2 Corinthians 5.

2 Cor 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.    NIV
or from The Message

2 Cor 10:3-6  The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way — never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.   The Message

In his book, "Who is this King of Glory" , Tony Ev ans writes, "I'm afraid for most Christians, Christ is an attachment.  A nice, attachment, an important attachment, but an attachment nonetheless.  But the mind God wants us to have is the way of thinking that makes Christ the sum total of our lives.

In other words, Jesus must be the reason you wake up in the morning and the reason you go to bed at night.  He must be everything in between, the whole show.  You must define your life by Jesus Christ, "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ".

 

We need to realize that there is a spiritual battle going on out there.  Why wont we use the "divine power ' that can demolish strongholds?  What are some of the strongholds in your life?

 

God's Word, His principles are just as powerful in the boardroom, in business meetings, in sales calls as they are in life in our homes or at church.  His presence should be evident in our lives through the "whole show" and not just in scenes played on the weekend.  Dennis Fisher writes, "In the war of ideas, God's truth contends with the evil one's deceit.  Rather than retreat from active engagement with the world, we are to interact with the weapons God has supplied.  His Word and His Spirit are competely sufficient for this."

 

It's a lesson that I realize needs to be taken to heart in my life.  How about yours?

 

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,  neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   NIV

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

2 Cor 10:1-9

 

Tearing Down Barriers

 

10 And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I'm being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I'm with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. Please don't force me to take a hard line when I'm present with you. Don't think that I'll hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say I'm an unprincipled opportunist. Then they'll have to eat their words.

 

The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way — never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

 

You stare and stare at the obvious, but you can't see the forest for the trees. If you're looking for a clear example of someone on Christ's side, why do you so quickly cut me out? Believe me, I am quite sure of my standing with Christ. You may think I overstate the authority he gave me, but I'm not backing off. Every bit of my commitment is for the purpose of building you up, after all, not tearing you down.   The Message