MORE REVOLUTIONARY THAN THE REVOLUTIONARIES

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)

Though sympathizing with the revolutionaries' analysis of what was wrong with society and in fact being mistaken for a revolutionary Himself by the political authorities of His day, nevertheless Jesus did not advocate a new political regime to be established by force through revolutionary action.  He called for the love of our enemies, not their destruction; ... for readiness to suffer instead of using force; for forgiveness instead of hate and revenge.  One might even say that Jesus was more revolutionary than the revolutionaries, or revolutionary in a very different way.  The revolution He had in mind was a radical change of heart on the part of mankind, involving conversion away from selfishness and toward the willing service of God and of people in general. 

-- Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) in “Reason Enough” 

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SPIRITUALLY RENEWED CHURCHES

“Christ is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”  (Colossians 1:18-20 NKJV)

God has always desired to work through His people, but they have not always recognized His initiative in their lives or His activity around them. But for those churches who repent -- those who take time to hear the Spirit; to believe what He tells them; to adjust their plans, structures, and programs to Him, and then to follow the Lord regardless of how impossible it may seem -- these are the churches that will be spiritually renewed and that will experience God's mighty deeds through them to bring a lost world to Himself in a great spiritual awakening. 

-- Dr. Henry Blackaby in “What the Spirit Is Saying to the Churches”

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GOD-SHAPED QUALITIES

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words… The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 2:13,15,16 NIV)

Humility, hospitality, and loving-kindness; simplicity and deliberation -- all are God-shaped qualities of life. To have all the mind that was in Christ, however, means that these qualities flow from Christ’s holiness and righteousness in us through loving actions toward others. 

-- Paul Wesley Chilcote in “A Life-Shaping Prayer: 52 Meditations in the Wesleyan Spirit”

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THE VALUE OF SELF-CONTROL

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Question: What’s the most important word to know if you want to become the-best-version-of-yourself? Answer: Self-control.

Self-control determines whether you will have a life full of God. Without self-control, the-best-version-of-yourself will never be more than a dream.

There’s a reason self-control arrives at the end of the list of the nine fruit God wants to produce in you: Self-control provides the key to enjoying all of the other eight fruit of God’s Spirit. Self-control gives you the opportunity to choose to do those things that are healthy and helpful and to choose not to do those things that harmful and destructive. Self-control gives you the possibility to be open to God’s Spirit rather than resisting Him. Self-control gives you the strength to resist the temptations that lead you away from God and the-best-version-of-yourself. Self-control will be your best friend, and self-control comes from God. 

-- Allen R. Hunt in “Nine Words”

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ALIGNING OUR LIVES WITH GOD

“If My people would only listen to Me, if Israel would only follow My ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!”  (Psalm 81:13-14 NIV)

God wants us to align our lives with Him so He will accomplish His divine purposes in and through us. God is not our servant to bless our plans and desires. He is our Lord, and we must adjust our lives to what He is doing and to the ways He chooses to accomplish His work. If we will not submit to God and His ways, He will allow us to follow our own devices. But be sure of this: we will miss God’s activity, and we will not experience what God wants to do through us to bless others. As Christians, it is not only important what we do but how we do it…

How you do something is as important as what you do. It is possible to do the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. It is possible to perform a task God assigns but to do it in such an ungodly manner that it actually harms the cause of Christ rather than supporting it. Doing things God’s way is critical. 

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”

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