Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: "Security" Our Bible verse for today: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 Our thought for today: "Security within boundaries” When it comes to making important decisions my desire is always to discover and obey the will of God. I know that the safest place for me and my family is to be right in the center of God’s will. Therefore I don’t ever want to take any action that will take me outside of His will. Although the fulfillment of God’s will takes many forms and is expressed in many ways, one of the most basic and sure ways to stay in His will is to understand the boundaries He has established, and then take no action that will take you outside of those boundaries. In John 14:15 Jesus reminds us that in the New Testament there are commandments to know and obey. In fact, in the words of Jesus we find quite a few commandments, instructions, standards and expectations that apply to how His followers are to conduct themselves. Beyond that, the rest of the New Testament provides many additional requirements for the people of God. All of it combines to create a structure within which the Christian life is to be lived. That structure provides us a tremendous amount of security because it serves to keep us firmly in the center of God’s will. Many of the boundaries found in the New Testament have to do with God-ordained institutions and authority figures. In the Bible we discover that it was God Himself who instituted human government. He also gave us hierarchies of authoritative relationships to govern the home, the workplace, and the church. He created those structures so that His people would no longer live in the "anything goes" kind of anarchy which prevailed in the nation of Israel during the time of the Judges. "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Judges 17:6 Living in this New Testament age of grace and exercising our freedom in Christ is a wonderful thing. However that does not mean there are no rules, structures, and authority figures. God intentionally created and ordained those boundaries to establish a Biblical structure to life that His people are to live within. When we make decisions and take actions which take us outside of those boundaries, it also takes us outside of God’s will. There is security found within the boundaries established by God. God Bless, Pastor Jim
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 10:32:40 +0000