NEW Charmer Pratt, a longtime member of Grace Covenant Church Philadelphia, has served faithfully in the welcoming ministry since 2016.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“A Friendly Debate”
Romans 14:5–9
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whet… and of the living.”
As is common in AMI, GCC participates in a fast leading up to Good Friday, including several days of “juice only.” Usually, as the day to begin the juice-only part of the fast approaches, one question inevitably pops up: Do smoothies count?
The arguments for smoothies counting are pretty convincing: smoothies are indeed liquid, the fruits in smoothies are mostly made of water, and sticking to smoothies greatly decreases your overall calorie intake, so it’s still a fast. The argument against smoothies is also convincing: if it would break my fast to eat a banana, it should also break my fast to drink the same banana that’s been liquefied in a blender. That’s not a fast from food but a fast from chewing.
So how do we settle this? Simple: after realizing that this debate has no bearing on salvation, those who drink smoothies drink smoothies, and those who don’t, don’t. I personally won’t try to convince anyone to abstain from smoothies during a juice-only fast, but I won’t accept a smoothie if offered one.
As followers of Christ, we obviously have foundational beliefs that make us Christian. We only have a relationship with the Father because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who conquered our sin and death, and we draw closer to Him through the Holy Spirit. How that guidance of the Holy Spirit manifests in each of our day-to-day lives will have commonalities with our fellow brothers and sisters, but we all have our own unique personal convictions.
We already see those differences in how we pray, how and where we serve, how we work, and how we worship. Is the brother who serves in the worship ministry more of a Christian than the brother who consistently comes to Sunday service with coffee, notebook, and Bible in hand just before the doors open? Is the sister who worships through dance and prays through tears more of a Christian than the sister who is stoic in both things? Are the Christians who attend every church event better than those who show up more sparsely? We can never know and therefore cannot judge one over the other.
So when the Lord convicts you to join a fast, for instance, follow what He says without the expectation that He told everyone around you to join it and follow it the same way.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for providing so many ways for us to worship You! Teach me the way You want me to praise Your name and protect me from believing that what You show me is the only way to worship You. May everything I do be done to please You. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 44
Lunch Break Study
James 1:19-21 (NIV): “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”.
Questions to Consider
- In regard to speaking and listening, what does James expect the believers to do?
- How does James characterize the moral filth and the evil in our lives?
- How can believers deal with the anger, the moral filth, and the evil that we wrestle with?
Notes
- James says to master the art of listening quickly while speaking slowly. He also writes that believers ought to be slow to become angry.
- Unfortunately, James notes that this moral filth and the evil in us is apparently prevalent.
- Rather than angrily blaming God for our temptation and sin, and thus forfeiting the good he is trying to accomplish in us through the trial, we should instead remove the evil that caused the temptation, and return to the wisdom of His Word which can take us safely through the trial.
Application: Take a silent retreat this weekend if possible.
Evening Reflection
Heavenly Father, I ask that you help me to practice the art of listening quickly while being slow to speak words of complaint, judgment, and criticism. Help me to accept your word that fortifies me in my trials. Amen.