PROFESSOR OR POSSESSOR
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
Matthew 7:21 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
There is a major difference between being a professor and being a possessor. Let me unwrap this a moment.
It has always been interesting to see sports figures and entertainment celebrities give thanks to God for helping them achieve some level of success in their lives. In my early years when I would hear someone make comments like that I would immediately think, “They must be a Christian.”
As I matured in my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ, I realized there was often a disconnect between some people’s words and lifestyle. This disconnect was not just in the lives of high-profile people. There were people who went to the same church I did every week who were good at acting one way in church and a totally different way outside of church.
I had the privilege to be raised in a very conservative Christian home. While some people would say we were too rigid in some of our beliefs and practices what stood out to me as I grew older was that parents were the same in church as they were outside of church. They never put on a show at church—they were those same people in our home.
Dad prayed loud at church. Dad prayed loud at home and even in restaurants—much to the embarrassment of me and my brother. He didn’t care where he was or who he was with. My father did not change his behavior. He was a bi-vocational pastor, so he spent most of his week in the business world. People in that world knew of his faith but he did not try to force it on anyone. He did not expect everyone else to live by his personal standards.
More than anything I wanted to be like my dad. I wanted to be the same in the dark as I was in the light. I wanted to act the same alone as I did in public.
In James 2:14 we are told that faith without works is useless. I think that was the point Jesus was making in our passage today. True faith is more than words that flow out of our mouths. True faith in the Lord Jesus is shown by how we live.
Even the world struggles to accept those who say the right words but don’t back up the words with a lifestyle that is in alignment with God’s Word. One Gallup Poll said that in American today approximately fifty million adults identify as Christians. That would mean more than one out of four adults would identify as Christians.
Yet by the lifestyle of many it would appear they are professors but not possessors. They say one thing with their mouth and yet choose to live according to their own desires and lust.
To say that I am a follower of Christ means that I have yielded my life to make Jesus Lord of my life. That means I no longer live just to please myself. I am willfully submitting my desires to His will. That doesn’t mean I am perfect. But it means I am working towards being like Jesus.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please show me any area of my life that is not in alignment with You and Your will for my life. Help me to have the courage to live out this journey of faith.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
I want to have a life that reflects Jesus regardless of where I am or who I’m with
Lord ,
Thank you for speaking to me . I know exactly the areas of my life that need working on.