BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES

What are the consequences of our disobedience to the promises of Christ? We get separated from the presence of God; we no longer get the guidance of the Holy Spirit and we lose the privilege to walk in the gospel and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eve’s desire to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil resulted from turning her back onto God the creator and His reminders. Adam’s desire to give into his partner’s decision was the outcome of his complacency in communion with God. It is their ungodly desire led them to forsake God’s instructions for the pursuit of sin against Christ. Therefore, our purusit is the evidence of the desire either for the gospel of Christ or unrighteous living that nurtures lawlessness leading up to sin.

Leaders and nations across the globe strive hard for growth and development in a positive way. The term “sustainability” has become a mantra for prosperity in the world. It is inevitable that we will continue to work on our sustainable development in life. People want to feel certain about everything they do and feel. Nothing is wrong with this attitude. But how come it is possible to seek sustainable growth in the wrong-gone world? Where do you seek gradual and steady progress in the world that is totally gripped some kind of political crisis? We cannot get cheated by the immediate and now-promising society, or can we overlook the creator and sustainer of the entire universe, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing in this world can save us from the impending reality of our eternal damnation. It is Jesus who upholds us all through the journey.

The Psalmist instructs us to commit our way to the LORD and trust in him, so that he will act (Psalm 37:5). It is all about giving our adequate plans and projects to the Lord Jesus. It is about submitting our future hopes and desires to the Lord alone without any second thoughts (Psalm 22:8; 55:22, Proverbs 16:3 & 1 Peter 5:7). It is about just trusting the Lord Jesus all the time with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, and with all our soul. It is indeed about not relying on our own genius and the toil and spoil of our efforts, but about trusting Him eternally for our salvation (Psalm 37:3; 6:8; 115:9, Proverbs 3:5 & Isaiah 26:4)

What has become the toughest task of this day? It is seeking God and His grace. It is going very close to God. What is so difficult to accept in our personal life? It is acknowledging our inadequacies and surrendering our core being to the Lord Jesus. What is a huge stumbling block for our spiritual journey to Christ? It is our sense of complacency. What is most burning issue in our personal and church life? It is maintaining our status on the Christian way and overlooking the real need of our salvation and obedience to the gospel of Christ.

The spring rains literally water the earth resulting in bloom. The season is adorned with new shoots, herbs, and flowers in the field. The earth is filled with new hope and life. Here Hosea tells that the Lord God comes to us as the showers do. The showers cover the entire earth and cool the human hearts. And the same Lord God is compared to the dawn that gives the humanity a great sense of absolute strength and hope. Hosea uses these natural elements to reveal the grandeur of Christ who is known for his eternal righteousness and faithfulness. Therefore, it is fitting to know Jesus Christ.

It seems that the Psalmist earnestly prays to God through his honest confession about the condition of his soul clinging into the ethereal nature. He also prays to the Lord God for a life that agrees with the Scripture. He wants to live out his life that is completely intended by the word of God. The Psalmist is an honest man in his confession about two essential aspects of spiritual maturity. On the one side, he acknowledges the true condition of his heart and on the other side, he asks the Lord God for the life that will be governed by the gospel of Christ. The Psalmist wants to walk in the footprints of Christ who is the only source of life and eternal life. Thus walking in the footsteps of the world and its behavioural, affective and cognitive patterns will disappoint a godly person who walks or ardently wants to walk biblically.

St. Paul in Hebrews states that “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.St. Paul in Hebrews states that.”(4:12 ESV) It is all about our faith, obedience, and belief. They should stem from the promises of God. When these three aspects of our spiritual life have any other bearing, our actions will focus on someth Nan in the world other than word driven culture. Furthermore, our thoughts and intentions should be of the word of God alone. This discipline shapes our spiritual life and maturity in Christ.

It is all about selfless love that we have for the body of church in the present world. There are two essential aspects of life registered for teaching of the gospel of the truth. And both of them are juxtaposed in the above verse. One area of our godly and church led community life tells about what I possess and have and the other describes about how I become nothing in the church community life when I live and do something without love.

St. Paul states that he is nothing without selfless love for the church. Strong biblical expositions, wisdom and knowledge to unravel the gospel of Christ, sense of endurance and perseverance to overcome the suffering for the sake of Christ and His gospel without godly love for the church and its community are insignificant.

It is neither our genius redirected to join with the Lord Jesus to participate in His kingdom business nor our ardent and unshakable faith in Him amidst our personal losses matter to God. It is our godly love without selfish desires which keep the church in front of the self and runs the race of the eternal marathon that pleases our Lord Jesus.

Everything including preaching and teaching of the gospel, sharing biblical knowledge and wisdom with others, unraveling the truth of Christ, and enduring the sufferings for the glory of God is done in pure love with in the church community. We do not engage with the above greater tasks in an island. They all take place and the outcomes are witnessed in Bible believing church communities.

We live in this carnel world with others but we view the world and it’s concerns and issues through the lens of the Scripture. This perspective encourages us to not to listen to our body or desire to make any decision on the world and its affairs. We listen to God’s promises to move in the direction God wants us to. The Holy Spirit who indwells in us guides us into all righteousness through God’s Word to handle the upcoming situations.

A genuine Christian will not listen to his heart but to God and His promises. For God’s divine power enables him to suffer for the sake of the gospel of truth. It is God’s Word that empowers us to spot on Satan’s areas operating in our lives and determines our obedience to Christ so that we will destroy those areas for the glory of God. It is not our strategy that helps us to fight Satan but God’s divine power that enables us to resist the devil.

It is evident that we obey God’s commands and take heed of His Word to subdue our personal hopes and dreams, desires and experiences and thoughts and beliefs. We cannot defeat the worldy arguments, proofs and wild opinions unless we walk in the light of the truth and get captivated by Christ alone.

Let’s question ourselves:

1. What binds us in this world?
2. Who captivates our heart and mind?
3. What strongholds do hold us down?