November 25 I Monday

Ezekiel 24-26

1 Peter 2

“God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”   —Philippians 1:8

How do we discern what is the right thing to do? Some of us, who do not know how to hear the voice of God, may discern the heart of God by rationalizing with our flesh but that is not doing it in the Spirit. We do not discern what is best by just being intelligent because discernment grows out of love. Love enables us to discern what is best. It is not a gift of being discerning, as it is a consequence being driven by love. Therefore, we must look beyond the superficial and the surface and go into the heart.

As Christians, we can be the biggest bluffers when it comes to love with the lingo we use to speak about loving people and the world. There are far too many of us who will use this lingo but then make excuses such as, “God, didn’t ask me to go overseas somewhere, don’t ask me to be sacrificial in the life that I live. Send somebody else please. Please don’t send my children. Don’t put my kids into a place of risk. I want my kids to be comfortable, have a proper job and a nice family.”

That is not love at all but total selfishness. Until we are driven by love that has no limits on it, we are just being religious. If what we do is not borne out of love, it is like what Paul said to the church in Corinth,
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal”  (1 Corinthians 13:1). The heart must be filled with love and driven by love.

As Paul prays for the church in Philippi, he says,
“…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…” (Philippians 1:9-10).  Paul prayed that their love may abound in knowledge, depth and insight. This is not a superficial love but an intelligent love.

We are concerned about the heart because we deal with the heart. When Jesus was transfigured before His disciples, Peter, James and John, He did not try to be transfigured; instead, His transfiguration was a natural consequence of His relationship with His Father. We do not need to try to be spiritual, godly or good but just trust and live out of fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Our transfiguration means people who meet us will meet Jesus. As we discern the heart of God, is it driven by love or our flesh?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your love towards me. Teach me to be sincere in my affections towards others and cause me to be driven by love because of who You are in my life. Praise You!