Bible League: Living His Word Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. — Philippians 1:27 NLT I am originally from India and once held an Indian passport as proof of my identity. As a citizen of India, I lived my life abiding by the laws of India. I could travel freely anywhere within India and live in absolute freedom in any city in India. Additionally, I understand certain behaviors that are specific to the Indian culture and certain ways of doing things in India which may be unique just to India. But then, I emigrated to New Zealand, and I willfully applied for a new citizenship in this new country. I was granted one, and I obtained a New Zealand passport and am now a citizen of New Zealand. India does not allow for dual citizenship; therefore, I had to make a choice to surrender my Indian citizenship in favor of my new citizenship in New Zealand. I now live abiding by the laws of New Zealand, and I am not subject to the laws of India. I can no longer live or travel freely anywhere in India without a valid visa. Additionally, there are certain ways of doing things in New Zealand which are unique to New Zealand and quite foreign to me. But I have adopted the new values with time. My dear brothers and sisters, no matter which country we live in, we "were" once citizens of this world—we lived by this world's standards and tried our best to keep up with the societal values to gain acceptance and recognition in this world. But then, we turned our lives over to Jesus Christ when we came to know the truth. We were born again, and God in His grace transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into His Kingdom of light. We were given a new identity in Christ, and we are now called the citizens of heaven. God's kingdom has a different set of rules. If we claim to be citizens of heaven, we ought to abide by the laws of heaven. God's kingdom does not allow for dual citizenship. We cannot be a citizen of this world and a citizen of heaven at the same time. We must make a choice to give up one identity in favor of the other. We must make a deliberate choice to resist the values of this world and adopt the values of heaven if we are to identify as citizens of heaven. As citizens of this world, we learned to be selfish and greedy to get rich. We were taught to hoard, save up, and refrain from giving away or wasting what we worked for. As a citizen of heaven, we are called to be generous and compassionate towards the less fortunate. We are instructed to give generously, and that God would provide for all our needs according to His riches in glory. As citizens of this world, we learned to be revengeful. We were taught to not let anyone take advantage of us and to avenge every injustice done to us. As a citizen of heaven, we are called to forgive. We are instructed to turn the other cheek when someone slaps us on one. As citizens of this world, we are taught that seeing is believing. As a citizen of heaven, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight. Have you made your choice yet? Have you surrendered one citizenship in favor of the other? I encourage you to surrender this world's citizenship in favor of heaven's. Being a citizen of heaven is far more blessed than any perks this world can offer. Let us put in every effort to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. By Santosh Chandran, Bible League International staff, New Zealand Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading2 Samuel 1, 2, 3 2 Samuel 1 -- David Informed, Mourns for Saul and Jonathan NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 2 -- David Made King over Judah; Ish-Bosheth Rules over Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 3 -- House of David Strengthened; Joab murders Abner NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 18:1-17 Luke 18 -- Parables of the Persistent Widow, Pharisee and Tax Collector; The Rich Young Ruler; The Healing of a Blind Beggar NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Direct your children onto the right path,and when they are older, they will not leave it. Insight Many parents want to make all the choices for their child, but this hurts him or her in the long run. When parents teach a child how to make decisions, they don't have to watch every step he or she takes. They know their children will remain on the right path because they have made the choice themselves. Challenge Train your children to choose the right way. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Romans 8:34 Who is even at the right hand of God.He who was once despised and rejected of men, now occupies the honorable position of a beloved and honored Son. The right hand of God is the place of majesty and favor. Our Lord Jesus is his people's representative. When he died for them, they had rest; he rose again for them, they had liberty; when he sat down at his Father's right hand, they had favor, and honor, and dignity. The raising and elevation of Christ is the elevation, the acceptance, and enshrinement, the glorifying of all his people, for he is their head and representative. This sitting at the right hand of God, then, is to be viewed as the acceptance of the person of the Surety, the reception of the Representative, and therefore, the acceptance of our souls. O saint, see in this thy sure freedom from condemnation. "Who is he that condemneth?" Who shall condemn the men who are in Jesus at the right hand of God? The right hand is the place of power. Christ at the right hand of God hath all power in heaven and in earth. Who shall fight against the people who have such power vested in their Captain? O my soul, what can destroy thee if Omnipotence be thy helper? If the aegis of the Almighty cover thee, what sword can smite thee? Rest thou secure. If Jesus is thine all-prevailing King, and hath trodden thine enemies beneath his feet; if sin, death, and hell are all vanquished by him, and thou art represented in him, by no possibility canst thou be destroyed. "Jesu's tremendous name Puts all our foes to flight: Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb, A Lion is in fight. "By all hell's host withstood; We all hell's host o'erthrow; And conquering them, through Jesu's blood We still to conquer go." Daily Light on the Daily Path Genesis 5:22 Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.Amos 3:3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? Colossians 1:20-22 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. • And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, • yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Romans 5:10,11 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. • And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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