Easter LIVING
Easter Living I Timothy 6
This lesson was one of the mp (morning prayer) readings this week, and as the Gospel proclaims the risen Christ , truly living now in heaven, seated at the right hand of God, so we look to this history and truth for our lives now, and Christian living is the issue. We who are in the world and part of the church witness to a living Lord , and we do this by our faith and in its practice in the moments and days of our lives. This is the whole point, is it not? For these are doctrines not just of the head, but they are of the heart as well, and that is that where the rubber meets the road , in our living. I have often hummed this hymn : " Because He Lives"
God sent his son
They called him Jesus
He came to love
Heal and forgive
He lived and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave
Is there to prove
My Savior lives
(Chorus)
Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because he lives
If we believe that, how our lives to be different from the rest of the world then? Timothy in light of that in his letter spoke to the Christians and the God we worship, " alone having immortality" 6:16 to as people of God to " flee these things." What things are we to flee from?
The Apostle enumerates them -----" the love of money" 6:10; " controversies" " strife , envy , slander, evil....." This seems obvious. If Christian lives are not showing love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion for fellow believers, the root may be a lack of spiritual life in the person. " men corrupted in mind and destitute of the truth"
Instead the Apostle encourages Timothy to pursue "righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness..." These are to be the hallmarks of our faith and our fellowship, not the other things. Yes , as the hymn, said " life is worth the living, just because He lives"
So does the Resurrection of our Lord from the dead permeate your living or is it just something we recite from the Apostles or the Nicene Creed?
What is the root of strife, envy and slander ? " perverse disputings" comes from one greek word meaning " empty business" or " wrangling" /" constant arguing" as Strong's has it . If we are doing this we are not pursuing God's way. Couples get into this in marriage and usually because they fail to communicate. Proper commo is respect first for the other person and giving them the benefit of the doubt. If we are talking and thinking about what we are going to say to the other person instead of listening, we are not listening . " You, man of God, flee these things"
Instead we are to pursue after righteousness. " the condition acceptable to God" as one greek scholar said. We must start with this, not the rituals of the church or the ins/ outs of church politics. We must start with ourselves and our standing before God . In other words, " integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in feeling and acting" This is what we call belief in Christ for salvation , is it not? This is at the heart of our religion , the good news , the gospel, the evangel, that we who deserve eternal death because of our lost condition and sin, receive eternal righteousness and love in Christ Jesus.
Then if we have received and are rooted in Him as our Epistle lesson from Colossians 3 read last week, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.....Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." Pursue ,lit. run after love, godliness, kindness,gentleness and endurance.
Yes , life is worth the living just because He lives. And I know He holds the future, just because He lives. Easter is about hope that life can be different. So on this Low Sunday may we not be low in our faith or our Christian conduct, but always think about who we are in Him before we speak, and utter words of hurt and instead say words of healing and love.
He Lives! Do we? Amen.
This lesson was one of the mp (morning prayer) readings this week, and as the Gospel proclaims the risen Christ , truly living now in heaven, seated at the right hand of God, so we look to this history and truth for our lives now, and Christian living is the issue. We who are in the world and part of the church witness to a living Lord , and we do this by our faith and in its practice in the moments and days of our lives. This is the whole point, is it not? For these are doctrines not just of the head, but they are of the heart as well, and that is that where the rubber meets the road , in our living. I have often hummed this hymn : " Because He Lives"
God sent his son
They called him Jesus
He came to love
Heal and forgive
He lived and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave
Is there to prove
My Savior lives
(Chorus)
Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because he lives
If we believe that, how our lives to be different from the rest of the world then? Timothy in light of that in his letter spoke to the Christians and the God we worship, " alone having immortality" 6:16 to as people of God to " flee these things." What things are we to flee from?
The Apostle enumerates them -----" the love of money" 6:10; " controversies" " strife , envy , slander, evil....." This seems obvious. If Christian lives are not showing love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion for fellow believers, the root may be a lack of spiritual life in the person. " men corrupted in mind and destitute of the truth"
Instead the Apostle encourages Timothy to pursue "righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness..." These are to be the hallmarks of our faith and our fellowship, not the other things. Yes , as the hymn, said " life is worth the living, just because He lives"
So does the Resurrection of our Lord from the dead permeate your living or is it just something we recite from the Apostles or the Nicene Creed?
What is the root of strife, envy and slander ? " perverse disputings" comes from one greek word meaning " empty business" or " wrangling" /" constant arguing" as Strong's has it . If we are doing this we are not pursuing God's way. Couples get into this in marriage and usually because they fail to communicate. Proper commo is respect first for the other person and giving them the benefit of the doubt. If we are talking and thinking about what we are going to say to the other person instead of listening, we are not listening . " You, man of God, flee these things"
Instead we are to pursue after righteousness. " the condition acceptable to God" as one greek scholar said. We must start with this, not the rituals of the church or the ins/ outs of church politics. We must start with ourselves and our standing before God . In other words, " integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in feeling and acting" This is what we call belief in Christ for salvation , is it not? This is at the heart of our religion , the good news , the gospel, the evangel, that we who deserve eternal death because of our lost condition and sin, receive eternal righteousness and love in Christ Jesus.
Then if we have received and are rooted in Him as our Epistle lesson from Colossians 3 read last week, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.....Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." Pursue ,lit. run after love, godliness, kindness,gentleness and endurance.
Yes , life is worth the living just because He lives. And I know He holds the future, just because He lives. Easter is about hope that life can be different. So on this Low Sunday may we not be low in our faith or our Christian conduct, but always think about who we are in Him before we speak, and utter words of hurt and instead say words of healing and love.
He Lives! Do we? Amen.
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