Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we’ll close out the week with an exhortation to live out our conviction that Jesus is Lord.

Today’s scripture, Philippians 2:12‭-‬15 (NLT) exhorts…
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Consider…
This week we have examined how the Holy Spirit convicts us of…

• Sin, which is not believing Jesus is the Son of God.
• Righteousness, which is not believing and accepting we’re made right with God by His grace through Jesus Christ.
• Judgement, choosing to accept the physical punishment of death for our sins, because we don’t choose to accept Jesus Christ’s physical death for all sin. (John 16:8)

We also, meditated on how God provided His Biblical Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE) manual to convict and correct us about the wrong what we do wrong, and teach us to do right. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Today we pivot from being convicted, being proved guilty, to living our conviction, which is our held belief.

In Matthew 7:21 (ERV), Jesus admonished…
“Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter God’s kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.

It’s not enough to call Jesus Lord, we have to live like He is.

And Hebrews 11:6 (ERV) declares…
Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.

We please God by believing He’s real and earnestly seeking Him. We seek God, by following His Gospel Provisioned Son (GPS), who is the way, truth and life. (John 3:16) & (John 14:6)

Is Jesus Christ your navigation system today? If so, you should declare with the Apostle Paul…
I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. – Galatians 2:20 AMP

If Jesus is truly Lord of our lives, we should sing with Micah Tyler…

I don’t wanna hear anymore, teach me to listen
I don’t wanna see anymore, give me a vision
That you could move this heart, to be set apart
I don’t need to recognize, the man in the mirror
And I don’t wanna trade Your plan, for something familiar
I can’t waste a day, I can’t stay the same
I wanna be different
I wanna be changed
‘Til all of me is gone
And all that remains
Is a fire so bright
The whole world can see
That there’s something different
So come and be different
In me

Being different in Christ is manifested by the good deeds we do. These good deeds were planned long ago, by God for. (Ephesians 2:10)

If we say we’re a Christian then doing our predestined good deeds should show it. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

That means the passions and desires of our sinful nature are dead to us, because we allow the Holy Spirit to lead every aspect of our lives. (Galatians 5:24-25)

That means we don’t live by what we see, but according to what we believe. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Living out our conviction that we’ve been saved by God’s grace and are set apart for glory, is action oriented. That’s because our faith is evidenced by our good deeds. James 2:17‭-‬20 (NLT) explains…
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing that it’s not enough to talk about believing in God, we have to be about what we believe. He’s saying, your good deeds show the world that you truly believe, because your life is committed to doing good like Jesus.

That reminds me, Jesus said…
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. – Matthew 5:16 NLT

In addition to walking right, the Holy Spirit is telling me to close this week’s discussion by encouraging us to talk right too. He said, words matter, make sure they’re His. The same way Jesus encouraged His disciples that the Holy Spirit would guide their speech when they would experience adversity, the Holy Spirit is telling us He will give us what to say when we follow God’s way. (Luke 12:11-12)

The Holy Spirit also pointed out that how we speak also expresses whose we are. Thus, if we profess to be saved by grace, our speech should reflect it. Colossians 4:6 (NASB1995) exhorts…
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

So today, walk and talk like one who belongs to Christ.

Live out your claim that Jesus is your Lord and Savior with conviction!

Others will know that you’re a Christian, not just by what you say but also by what you show! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

The Holy Spirit’s last mic drop is for us to “show out” the Spirit of Christ that lives in you!”

Today’s Song…
I Going To Live The Life I Sing About

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)