31/12/2010 - Set the example!

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“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9)

How powerful are those words spoken by Paul! He was able to stand before the Lord, men and the enemy and declare that he served the Almighty One in such a way that he became a model servant to the Philippians. In fact, the apostle Paul taught our brethren in Philippi to love God and to respect men; they received the Holy Word from him and also the good example of how the children of the Most High must lead their lives. Besides, they heard the Almighty speak through Paul and they never witnessed him being used by the devil because the apostle was constantly seeking the holiness of the Lord. He really set the example to be followed because nobody has ever been able to find anything that could tarnish his reputation or condemn him.

On other occasions, Paul said Christians should imitate him since he belonged to Christ (I Corinthians 11:1) and that’s what our Lord expects from each one of us. So, if anyone professes to be a servant of the Most High, but hasn’t reached that position yet, they’d better turn to Him in prayer and ask Him for forgiveness and for a fresh start. We must always give good testimony; after all, we can’t afford to have anyone against us – either the worldly people or our brethren in faith; otherwise our offerings will never be accepted on God’s altar. Would that be the reason why so many people ask but they never receive anything? The reason why they knock but the door won’t open? Yes, that’s because it is our behaviour that determines whether the divine power will operate in our favor or not!

The salvation we hold on to have made us holy but those who keep burning inside with passion for somebody else rather than their spouse are surely under temptation and they might end up getting caught in their web unless they leave that person – if they don’t do that, they can say good bye to the eternal life with our Father! Only those who have converted to Christ have the potential to be truly delivered from all evil passions and if they endure to the end they will enter our Lord’s world (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).

We can’t make excuses to live in error though we aren’t perfect yet. On the contrary, we must keep improving till we all come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Those who keep avoiding any contact with their neighbor for having some grudge against them and those who covet other people’s things are not in the presence of the Most High. What they have to do is to get rid of all the traits that tarnish their personality.

My brethren, if you are hiding something up your sleeve, that is, a transgression, you’re not really in the hands of our Lord. Wake up! You’ll be giving a very bad testimony to those of your household, to your brethren in Christ and to the worldly men if you keep on harboring any sinful feelings in your heart.

The trust we have in our Father makes us different from the others. So, we have the obligation to be loyal, holy and dedicated to the divine service. By the way, the Word of God says: woe to him who causes one of the little ones who believe in Him to stumble (Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2). Whoever is not living in accordance with the Word is in a bad situation because they aren’t truly perfected in the Lord yet.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares