Month: August 2023

Ephesians 4:17 – With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸ Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. ¹⁹ They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

²⁰ But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. ²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

²⁵ So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. ²⁶ And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. ²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 

In today’s reading, the Apostle Paul is giving us instruction on what it looks like to live a holy life.  When it comes to living a holy life, many Christians throughout the centuries have focused on sexual sins.  A call to live a holy life does, indeed, include our sexuality.  However, God’s call to live a holy life does not begin and end with sexuality.  In this passage, Paul lifts up other behaviors that should be just as high on any ‘list’ as sexual sins.

Being truthful – at all times – should be on our list.  Anger, as well, should be near the top. I am burdened and often broken hearted by the anger I see displayed by Christians.  This anger is even displayed in many Christian homes.  Let us note that Paul says not to let the sun go down on our anger, meaning that we will become angry, but we should resolve our anger quickly.  This passage mentions rage and harsh words, which so often follow anger.  Harsh words should never come from a Christian’s mouth.  Rage, no matter what the wrong, should never come from a Christian. 

Instead of these negative behaviors, Paul gives us some positive behaviors to model: kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness.  In chapter five of this letter, Paul discusses our relationships within our homes.  These positive behaviors in this passage must begin in our homes.  It has been my observation, sadly, that some Christians act differently towards their family members in private than they do at church!  Clearly, such behavior is no less sinful than any sexual sin we could name. 

Today’s reading ends with the beginning of chapter five: “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. ² Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.”  Today, let us strive to live life imitating what we know of God.  Let us live today a life filled with love! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

1 Thessalonians 4:1 – Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. ² For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  

³ God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. ⁴ Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—⁵ not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. ⁶ Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. ⁷ God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. ⁸ Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (NLT)

Morality, what is it?  What is morally right and morally wrong?  I dug into this subject recently, here are some interesting answers:  Morality is the way we think everyone else should be; Morality is a way that unhappy old folks enjoy making young folks unhappy too; The opposite of “fun”; Morality is a set of rules given by a higher authority, and if you conform to them, you will be rewarded. If you don’t conform to them, you will be punished.  

Interesting answers.  However, even if we were to define what morality is, who decides?  French philosopher Marquis de Sade put it this way:  “It is purely local and geographical; that which is vicious in Paris turns up, as we know, a virtue in Peking, and it is quite the same thing here; that which is just in Isfahan they call unjust in Copenhagen.  Amidst these manifold variations do we discover anything constant?”   

Well, for the Christian there is, indeed, a constant.  There is a moral compass. While it may be true that what is morally acceptable in one part of the world may be illegal in another, the reading today goes beyond the law of the land.  Paul reminds us that we are called – by God – to live a holy life.  He then tells us that refusing to live such a life is not merely disobeying human teachings, but rejecting God.  God has given us standards by which to live.  These standards are not given because God does not want us to have fun, quite the opposite!  The standards and guidelines given to us by God are for our own protection – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  

Do we always live up to these standards? No, but we must strive for them.  We need to note the last thing Paul says in the passage above.  Speaking of obeying God’s guidelines, Paul then says: who gives his Holy Spirit to you.  The Holy Spirit is given to us because on our own we cannot live by God’s guidelines.  On our own, there is no moral constant.  God’s Holy Spirit not only gives us strength to live a holy life, but directs our steps towards what is holy, and away from what is not.

Today, strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit, let us live a holy life!   

Posted by Ramón Torres

John 12:44 – Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. ⁴⁵ For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. ⁴⁷ I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. ⁴⁸ But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. ⁴⁹ I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. ⁵⁰ And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” (NLT)

The subject of God’s judgment will always generate debate amongst Christians. However, when I read this passage, I am not struck with fear by the talk of judgment, for I know who holds me for eternity.  I am struck by a particular verse in this passage that doesn’t speak of a coming judgment but speaks to my life right now – this very day!  

Let’s look at verse 46: “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”  As I see it, so many Christians are so busy debating about what God might do to some nonbeliever in a future judgment that they have forgotten that Christianity is about something more than the hereafter.  Christianity is also about the here and now!  A 2019 survey by the Pew Foundation reports that 65% of Americans identify as Christian.  If these statistics are true, are we to believe that 65% of Americans are no longer in the dark spiritually, and walking in the light?  I find it difficult to believe that this can be the case.  When I consider the brokenness in many Christian homes, the abuse, the addiction, I find it difficult to believe that two thirds of the people in our country are walking in Jesus’ light.   

How do we walk in this light?  Jesus tells us in verse 46 – by trusting in Jesus.  Too many who claim to be Christian see this trust as a trust in some future event (salvation for their souls) only.  How about trusting Jesus enough to live like Jesus right now?  How about trusting Jesus enough to humbly serve the needs of others right now?  How about trusting in Jesus enough to love all people right now?  I could go on, but I’m sure you get the picture.

Today, let us trust in Jesus so that we will walk in the Light this day.  Let us trust in Jesus so that the darkness of this world will not control and direct our words and actions. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 139:13 – You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me! (NLT)

Walk into any bookstore today and you will see an abundance of books and magazines that offer to teach us how to have a healthy self image.  A healthy self image, we are told, will enable us to be more successful in life.  In particular, parents of young children are taught how vital it is for their children to develop a healthy self image.  Experts in child psychology tell us that the three greatest needs for a child are: to be loved; to matter; to be heard.  A healthy self image is important, and God wants each of us to have a healthy self image, as well.  Indeed, everyone who claims to be a Christian should have a healthy self image!  If you or someone you know struggles with their self image, this is a great passage of Scripture.

Our first need is to be loved.  Consider verse seventeen: How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!  If you have ever fallen in love, then you know that in the newness of that relationship your thoughts are always being drawn to the one you love.  God’s love for us is new each day!  God thinks of us continually, as only one who is deeply in love with another can experience. 

Our second need is to matter to someone.  We matter so much to God that God kept watch over us as we were developing inside our mother’s womb.  No life is an accident in God’s eyes!  From the moment of conception, God is keeping watch over one that God loves.

Our third need is the need to be heard.  God hears us because God is with us (verse 18).  We may find ourselves lonely, but we are never alone. We can start each day knowing that God is there with us, for God is always with us!

Today, let’s lift our chins a little higher, knowing that we matter to God, that God loves us, and God is ready to listen to our every thought and word! 

Posted by Ramón Torres