The Priesthood of Believers
Revelation 5:9-10 

According to Scripture, the believer’s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). In other words, we’re not going to be citizens of an eternal kingdom; we already are.

What’s more, every person who professes Jesus Christ as Lord is part of God’s priesthood. In the ancient Israelite culture, priests were the privileged servants of Almighty God. They carried out all the tasks related to keeping the Law and preserving the spiritual well-being of the people. They cared for the temple, offered sacrifices, and interceded on behalf of the community.

When John says in Revelation 1 that you and I are priests, he is placing us among the ranks of a people set apart as God’s servants. It is a blessing and calling to worship the Lord, to adore and honor Him, and to ensure that all glory is given to His name. Our duties also include interceding on behalf of others.

The one priestly task we do not have to do is perform sacrifices. God Himself offered the final sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, when His Son died in our place. Our part is to bear witness to the breadth and depth of His love for all people. Once you grasp the fact that God looks on His children–every one a former slave to sin–with unconditional devotion, you can’t keep quiet about it.

Believers are special in the eyes of their God and King. We are a sacred people and a holy order. What are you doing with your life? As a believer, you are not your own anymore (1 Cor. 6:19). You are a priest and a privileged servant of the Most High God

Obey Your Heavenly Father  –  Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Romans 3:31

When the believer is adopted into the Lord’s family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule and a new covenant. Believer, you are God’s child; it is your first duty to obey your heavenly Father.

A servile spirit you have nothing to do with: You are not a slave but a child. And now, inasmuch as you are a beloved child, you are bound to obey your Father’s faintest wish, the least intimation of His will. Does He bid you fulfill a sacred ordinance? It is at your peril that you neglect it, for you will be disobeying your Father.

Does He command you to seek the image of Jesus? Is it not your joy to do so? Does Jesus tell you, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”? 1 Then not because the law commands, but because your Savior enjoins, you will labor to be perfect in holiness. Does He bid his saints to love one another? Do it, not because the law says, “Love your neighbor,” but because Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 3

And this is the commandment that He has given unto you, “that you love one another.” Are you told to distribute to the poor? Do it, not because charity is a burden that you dare not shirk, but because Jesus teaches, “Give to him that asks of you.” Does the Word say, “Love God with all your heart”? Look at the commandment and reply, “Ah, commandment, Christ has fulfilled you already. I have no need, therefore, to fulfill you for my salvation, but I rejoice to yield obedience to you because God is my Father now, and He has a claim upon me, which I would not dispute.”

May the Holy Ghost make your heart obedient to the constraining power of Christ’s love, that your prayer may be, “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” 3 Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin.

1 Matthew 5:48

2 John 14:15

3 Psalm 119:32

The family reading plan for January 25, 2012

Esther 2 | Acts 25

Stop Robbing the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:14-21 

Every day, you get out of bed, put on clothes, and walk to the table to eat breakfast. You greet the rest of the household and maybe read the paper. A few minutes later, you drive to work at 60 m.p.h. on a strip of asphalt where other vehicles can pass by within four feet. In the first hour or so that you’re awake, your body completes thousands of complex tasks that are so routine they go unnoticed.

Our physical frame is a creation of remarkable beauty and intricacy. And while certain parts seem more attractive than others, all are useful. The body’s interdependent nature–that is, the way every part relies on other parts to perform properly–is an apt metaphor for a Christ-centered church. When believers use their gifts and talents to operate together lovingly, the whole body functions properly to the glory of God.

However, churches today are filled with people who feel insignificant. Upon seeing the successful work of others, they decide they’re not really needed or assume they haven’t got the “right” talents to make a worthwhile contribution. Those are lies from the Devil. When his misguidance succeeds–which is all too often–he manages to get one more Christian to back away in hopes that someone else will do the Lord’s work.

Hanging back instead of seeking a place to serve is a form of thievery: you’re robbing the Lord’s church–His people–of your unique contribution. Your role might be small or go unnoticed, but it is vital to Jesus Christ and to the smooth functioning of His body on earth

The Place of Service  –  But Martha was distracted with much serving.

Luke 10:40

Her fault was not that she served: The condition of a servant is commendable in the Christian. “I serve” should be the motto of all the princes of the royal family of heaven. Nor was it her fault that she had “much serving.” We cannot do too much. Let us do all that we possibly can; let head and heart and hands be engaged in the Master’s service. It was no fault of hers that she was busy preparing a feast for the Master. Happy Martha, to have an opportunity of entertaining so blessed a guest; and happy, too, to have the spirit to throw her whole soul so heartily into the engagement. Her fault was that she grew “distracted with much serving,” so that she forgot Him and only remembered the service. She allowed service to override communion, and so presented one duty stained with the blood of another.

We ought to be Martha and Mary in one: We should do much service and have much communion at the same time. For this we need great grace. It is easier to serve than to commune. Joshua never grew weary in fighting with the Amalekites; but Moses, on the top of the mountain in prayer, needed two helpers to sustain his hands.

The more spiritual the exercise, the sooner we tire in it. The choicest fruits are the hardest to rear; the most heavenly graces are the most difficult to cultivate. Beloved, while we do not neglect external things, which are good enough in themselves, we ought also to see to it that we enjoy living, personal fellowship with Jesus.

See to it that sitting at the Savior’s feet is not neglected, even though it be under the specious pretext of doing Him service. The first thing for our soul’s health, the first thing for His glory, and the first thing for our own usefulness is to keep ourselves in perpetual communion with the Lord Jesus and to see that the vital spirituality of our faith is maintained over and above everything else in the world.

The family reading plan for January 24, 2012

Esther 1 | Acts 24