Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Obeying the Law



"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake."

This was a devotional I read in one of David Jeremiah's books yesterday.

It was the culmination of a series of events the Lord used to convict me to write this for myself and some of my Christian brothers who need to be convicted of obedience to the Law; God's law, certainly, but man's as well.

I don't want to get preachy, and I will let the Spirit talk to you if this applies, but there are some things that we need to be focusing on right now; at a time when there is so much deceipt and corruption in our society.

We as followers of Christ; no, as vessels for His Spirit, we MUST be above these things.

It is tax season. Do you cheat on your taxes? Jesus had such a high standard that if you hated someone, it was the same as murder; if you looked lustfully at a woman, it was the same as adultery.

Jesus said, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto the Lord what is the Lord's." Have we rendered unto Caesar? or do we play in the "grey" areas. Do we as Christian business owners run personal expenses through our business? Do we take deductions that may be "legal" but aren't necessarily truthful? I don't think with Jesus there were ever any "grey" areas.

I will take it a step further.

Do you get cable television that you don't pay for?

Do you use software copies without paying for it?

Do you download songs from the internet that you should pay for without paying for them?

Do you download things from the internet for use without paying for them (when you should)?

Do you watch pirated movies?

Do your Christian brothers and sisters see you doing these things?

How about your employees?

How about those around you who aren't saved yet?

Is that how Jesus would want them to see Him? (remember, He does live within you).

One thing I have found that I never expected: The way I live my life is watched by more people than I know. And that testimony is more powerful than any argument I can make to try to convince them of the One I follow.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Your actions speak so loudly I can't hear a word you're saying." I think St. Francis said, "preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary."

No amount of witnessing with our words can make up for a poor witness in our lives.

Let's remove the logs in our own eyes; then we will be able to see clearly to remove the specs in our brother's.

4 comments:

  1. Great message, David! Thanks, Billy

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  2. Thanks David. Always a good reminder that the world is watching. Reminds me of what Jesus said in Luke 17:1-2, look it up ya'll.

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  3. 1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

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  4. What about when believers and leaders of groups and churches cause a person to sin? All because of the leaders self appointed importance and interpretation of themselves as more Godly than others...

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