Integrity- People of God

To demonstrate the love of God we must know the love of God and this is revealed in His word. We must know scripture so that we are able to interpret life through God’s truth and make application based on His word and not our experiences. Without knowing the word of God people will give advice and speak useless rhetoric from what they have been taught through life in this fallen world system. People will spew out the venom of what their society and life has taught them, rather than the truth of God’s word. It is only in God’s word that we can truly have life. God’s word is truth and it is life.

Jesus came and was our example. He showed us how to live a life with family and friends and before God. Jesus showed his disciples the way to live by living with them and by being the person and living the life He wanted them to live. It was not enough for Jesus to speak spiritual things to those around Him He had to live the life of a God centered person in a fallen world, with fallen people. Jesus knows our actions define who we are. We live by what we do daily and what we do every day is who we are and who we will become.

Jesus demonstrated a life of prayer. He often prayed before His disciples allowing them to see Him talk with God, His Father. The disciples were able to see where Jesus received His strength and comfort and that prayer was the secret to Jesus’ success and power. Jesus did not force His disciples to pray He kept praying before them until they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus then gave them in a very elementary way what to say and how to pray. Sometimes it is necessary to give people small and very specific steps to take. We may think because a person has been in church for years or because they are elderly, they have certain knowledge but this is not so. Jesus gave these disciples, these grown men exactly what to say. Jesus wanted the disciples to grasp the importance and the meaning of prayer; because it is only through prayer things are changed.

We have the Holy Spirit living in us to bring to our remembrance the word of God. Therefore, it is necessary to know God’s word in order to remember it. Some people want to just regurgitate what they have heard others say in a sermon or a talk. Reading and knowing God’s word with a personal interaction between us and God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is how we know truth. We read scriptures which, reflects to us the image of God and who we are in Him. When we know the word of God then it can become the authority of what we say and pronounce about life and ourselves. We will know the truth by the word of God and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit in us.

Jesus demonstrated that our ultimate concern should be for the souls of mankind. The ultimate purpose or the original purpose of God has not changed; that mankind would replenish the earth with life that reflects the Glory of God on the earth. Our lives must reveal the spiritual truth of God’s word and show that we can live a life in God’s love. It is only by the love we have for others, even at the cost of self, that we can demonstrate God’s kingdom reigns on earth and in our hearts, in our lives, in our homes and in our communities. If the things of this world, money, riches, or self-preservation, take precedent over the love of God for the lost, then Jesus is not Lord of that life.

Remember, Jesus showed us how to become the message and to do what needed to be done. Jesus recognized the need in every person to know God, because they were created by Him and for Him. It is love that draws people to God and love can only be displayed through faith. It is faith in God that causes us to love others even when it is against our own nature to do so. Love inspires people to be open to salvation. When people see true acts of love and kindness in the face of hate and diversity, people will know there is a difference in the world’s way and God’s people. It is this difference that will cause others to decide that they want their lives to be transformed into people for God’s kingdom of life and love.

Jesus was always before His disciples and the people teaching them about God and His kingdom by the life He lived. The things we say and do daily demonstrate what we believe about Christ. Jesus told the disciples many would say Jesus was Lord but only the true believers will take action to show He is Lord in their daily walk. Those who feed the hungry, visit the sick, those in jail and help the poor, they will demonstrate Jesus as Lord.
Jesus demonstrated with His life just as we must demonstrate with our lives the word of God works. It is relevant to life today.

Remember, we are constantly demonstrating to our children and those around us about our faith, trust and love for God by how we treat others. Jesus lived as an example and may we live as an example for others. We are learning and teaching everyday by the things we do and say. We may not be perfect but when we learn better, we should do better. Our lives are a reflection of who God is in us; follow me as I follow Christ. We are God’s exhibit.