Daily Devotional from Pastor Mary 8-20-20

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (Voice)
9-10 Do you need reminding that the unjust have no share in the blessings of the kingdom of God? Do not be misled. A lot of people stand to inherit nothing of God’s coming kingdom, including those whose lives are defined by sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual deviancy, theft, greed, drunkenness, slander, and swindling. 11 Some of you used to live in these ways, but you are different now; you have been washed clean, set apart, restored, and set on the right path in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed, by the Spirit of our living God.

Jesus makes a tremendous difference in our lives, because he is the LIFE we were always created to live and his righteous path is the way to the Kingdom. In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds us as believers we are to live differently in Christ than how the world lives. We are in the world and surrounded by diverse cultural ideologies that demand our allegiance, but we are commanded to actually live obedient to God’s righteous standards for his Kingdom people. Once we lived being dominated by our “feelings” or based upon our personal “perspectives” or “desires.” But, that is no longer how we navigate life as disciples of Christ. Jesus reveals we are to live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). The things we enjoyed when we were living in rebellion against God’s Word now grieve our spirits. We see life as the breath of Creator God and each day as a way to live for his glory; we are different now, because Jesus has set us on the right path.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for changing how I live my life; for helping me hunger for the blessed life found only in your Kingdom. Even though the powers of this world press a cultural agenda that accepts the very things your Word identifies as the work of evil, may I remain faithful to live for you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.