Author: pastorscottwordofgracefellowship

So this morning I was listening to music and getting some honey do’s done when I remembered that I hadn’t had my devotions yet (My glasses had been MIA earlier).

The song that was playing right before I told Alexa to stop the music, was Steve Green singing the Philippians 2:14 song, “Do all things without complaining, do all things without grumbling..”

I sat down, with my glasses and a bright light, and read First Corinthians 10.  Paul’s rehearsal of Israel’s struggles in the wilderness led me to Numbers 16 and the story of Korah’s Rebellion that led God to open the earth and swallow Korah’s whole tribe lock, stock and barrel.

Shortly after reading that epic story I checked Facebook and a pastor friend had posted:

God does not evolve: His Person, Holiness, Word, & Will do not change – He is the Same from Eternity Past to Eternity Future. (Hebrews 13:8)

 You can see where this is going, right?  The God of the OT opened the earth to swallow grumbling complainers.  The God of the New Testament is the same God.  And while He poured the wrath we deserve out on Christ, His opinion about complaining hasn’t changed, because He hasn’t changed!

By His Grace I’m going to ask for His help to stop….   And I’m going to pray for all of us that our words and thoughts would be seasoned by salt not by gripes!  Of course the doorknob of your heart is on the inside, will join me in that prayer?

Pastor Scott

Perhaps you’ve seen the “thing” on social media encouraging us to pick our word for 2018.   I was intrigued and wanted my word to represent my New Year’s resolve to renew my mind constantly so I can live as a sacrifice while serving the body of Christ.  I also wanted my word to reflect our Church’s resolution to honor the Great Commandment to love others as just as Christ loved us (John 13:34-35).  And our resolution to honor the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

It occurred to me that “love” {Agape} captures those resolutions as well as any word, but “love” doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody.  Trying to get a better bead on my “word” I thought about the opposite of love – you can often better understand something by looking at its opposite; we may not be able to describe humility, for instance, but everyone knows what pride looks like – the opposite of love in the American lexicon is “hate” – but hate is passionate and is a better opposite for romantic love (Eros) or Brotherly love (Philos).  No, the opposite of Agape love, is “selfishness.”

If I am self-focused it’s hard for me to break MY routine, to give of MY time, to step out of MY comfort zone, or share MY stuff.  Selfishness asks not, what’s best for the other guy, but what’s best for me?

Clearly my word needs to be “Selflessness”  – of course a really good Buddhist is selfless so perhaps that’s not even descriptive enough.  I don’t want to just be empty of “self” I want to be full of Christ……  That’s it!

CHRISTFULLNESS is my word for 2018.   I want to be Christful throughout 2018 and beyond!  How about you, my friend?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)