Christ is all, and in all !
1 Timothy 1:3 “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,
4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
There are many out there who do not know how to pray! I know a woman who took a vow to move on her knees for a certain distance and reach the church, where they worship Mother Mary; she did this penance, praying for her husband’s change of behavior, who had strayed away from her for another woman. Nothing happened, though. Finally, a close walk with Jesus, meticulous reading of the Bible, fasting and praying helped the family reunite. Glory to Jesus!
I know I would be blitzed for this devotion; nevertheless, I would like to speak the Truth and point out the True and Right way for the lost! Stark, glaring, unadulterated Truth does come under attack! I would like to draw your attention to the above scripture where Apostle Paul urges Timothy to stay back in Ephesus while he was travelling to Macedonia, to guard the believers from ‘different doctrines’ and charge the ones who do that as well. Mathew Henry said: “Ministers must not only be charged to preach the true doctrine of the gospel, but charged to preach no other doctrine.” Besides preaching the Gospel, extra duty was given to Timothy to prevent anyone who might preach ‘different doctrines’ than the ones that edify the soul. Apostle Paul goes on to talk about myths and endless genealogies that cause rift and contention rather than spiritual growth. We then come to the ace scripture that actually tells us what we should do:
Verse 5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Let me split it so that it percolates down our heart, soul and body:
• Love
• Pure heart
• Good conscience
• Sincere faith
Man! The above scripture comes on us like thunder bolt to shatter the shackles of satan in the form of wrong doctrines, wrong ways of worship, idol worship and numerous other things.
Listen please! We got to have the above four points which is the true form of worship!
a) LOVE: The Bible very clearly says in 1 John 5:3”For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” In order to obey is commandments, we need to know the Bible to start with; hence meticulous reading of the Bible is important. There are Christians who pick and choose to read Bible books like Psalms and Proverbs rather than relish a wholesome food of the entire Bible. Are you there? Make a sincere effort to start from the beginning and get some wisdom. New Testament books that talks about Jesus and His life is very important for transformation in our life. Blind, parrot like reciting of written prayers will not take us anywhere; let us come out of darkness please and enter into the rich light offered to us by the ‘True Light” Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul wrote: Ephesians 1: 17 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..”
b) PURE HEART AND PURE CONSCIENCE:
Friend, what is important is not a big cross around our neck and a whole lot of empty words in our mouth, but truth and integrity in our life that reflects the cross in our life. Let me quote the words of David here:
Psalm 119: 10” With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” This is the key to true Christ-like living! Let these words ring in your heart….pure heart……………pure conscience…..!
There are many out there who have not and do not read the Bible; yet, they charge to battle with me when I say, ‘worship ONLY Jesus!’ People say: how can we ignore the mother, or should we not honor her too and many such things that has no Biblical backing. Jesus is the SON OF GOD and we got to worship none but HIM. Let me quote the Bible:
Romans 5:1 “….we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.(not Mary)2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This does not mean to literally to see God! This happens when we understand His Word with our spiritual eyes and we get a greater revelation of who He is! Chapter five from the book of Mathew revolutionized my life! If the Words of Jesus has not created a volcanic explosion and disturbed you then it has not worked in your life at all! From the very start, I started aggressively changing my life in accordance with the Word of God. I quit watching secular movies (it might sound weird but the fact that it is toxic poison to the mind is an undebatable truth) broke movie VCDs into pieces, destroyed every book that contradicted the Bible, refused to attend any social gathering polluted with worldly stuff and much more. You can summarize my behavior in one word - ‘ spiritual fanatic’, I have still not changed, though!
D) SINCERE FAITH: When you have sincere love, sincere faith is bound to happen!
Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:16 “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
You cannot build castles in the air
You need brick and cement to build
You cannot build friendship in the air
You need to share and care
You cannot build faith in the air
You need a lot of Word and prayer.
When the roof caves in, suddenly you cannot flex your muscles to muster up some faith to believe for a miracle. Faith is something that you build over a period of time. You’ve got to read the Word, spend quiet time with the Lord, enhance your knowledge of who He is, trust Him and start building your faith in Him.
“ Norman Vincent Peale says, “Fill your mind with faith and in due course the accumulation of faith will crowd out fear. “ Friend, I am able to boldly write on faith because today I survive on faith in God. I have also put in a lot of hard work, read several chapters from the Bible and spent several hours with my Lord, besides my other activities in my ministry. I have not borrowed, I have not pledged my jewels neither have I stretched out my hand to others when in need. By faith I have received my needs. There are many out there who go to church, read the Bible and still live hopeless and faithless life. Wake up! He is able to meet your needs!
Conclusion: “Christ is all, and in all!”
I stay awake and read the Bible for several hours in the night! Fasting and prayer has got me closer to my Heavenly Father, in fact, I write this devotion after a whole day of fasting. I write this not to offend followers of Mother Mary but to point out that Jesus Christ is our Lord and we should make every effort to find the Truth. Finally, I would like to quote the words of Apostle Paul:
Colossians 3: 11 “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Friend, do you have grudge in your heart? Have you forgiven all those who have wronged you? Do you wish to know the Truth? Here is an opportunity for you to come to the Light! Read the Bible!
