Living from a Positive Perspective

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory” (NIV Ephesians 1:13-14. Read Ephesians 1:1-14).

For many weeks now we have considered passages in the Psalms. We have explored the “Wisdom” Psalms (1, 14, 36, 37, 49, 53, 73, 78, 112, 119, 127, 128 and 133) and the “Confidence” Psalms (4, 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 125, 131). I could easily spend the remainder of the year (and more) pursuing the other nine categories of the Psalms (lamentation, thanksgiving, hymns, kingship, entrance ceremonies, enthronement, Songs of Zion, prophecy, and liturgy). However, for the next several weeks, we will turn our thoughts to some epistles of Paul the Apostle and see how his advice to the churches he helped to establish on his missionary journeys applies to us in this perilous, troubled twenty-first century.

How does the Christian live victoriously? First, he/she recognizes the Lordship of Christ. Commitment is the key. Jesus is Lord. The allure of the world is always present with us: the pursuit of wealth, the lack of wealth, wanting it, desiring it.

How can we live and work in a secular world and still put Christ first? There is no magic formula that I know of, nor is there a way except for the sincere believer’s daily dependence on the Holy Spirit to guide and guard against the wiles of Satan. Living from a positive perspective is making Christ Lord of our thoughts and actions, our time and work, and especially of our will. In the back flyleaf of my much-used Bible, I have written an outline to which I refer frequently. It is headed “Jesus Is Lord!” It has this over-riding scripture: “Luke 9:23: “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Contained within my self-made outline of making Jesus Lord are these points with Scriptures to back them up: Jesus is Lord: 1) Of my mind; 2) Of my emotions; 3) Of my will; 4) Of my body; 5) Of my time; 6) Of my money; 7) Of my responsible Christian citizenship; 8) Of my family; 9) Of my future. When Jesus is Lord, then “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 13:17).

Making Jesus Lord of our life has one supreme aim: “For the praise of His glory!” (note: not my glory, but His glory). Paul repeats this phrase four times in Ephesians 1:1-14. That means it is a very important concept for the Christian to understand and adopt as a life practice. Living from a positive perspective, everything we do should be “for the praise of His glory.” This is not an easy goal for the Christian. But it is one to which we should aim, every day, yes every day! Today should find us closer to Christ than did yesterday.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, June 13, 2010