“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Ephesians 5:15-21 NLT
The crux of Christian application is intent, given in thanks and lived in community with God and others. So many believers don’t understand this point. They believe that it is personal freedom, gained by works, lived out in sovereignty. Christians are to understand how connected we are to each other. The fabric of discipleship is so interwoven into the nature of our salvation and Christian ethic that it is completely unavoidable in the definition of being considered Christian. There is no Christianity where there is no intent. There is no Christianity where there is no thanks. There is no Christianity where there is no personal discipline and sacrifice. The very nature of our faith is submission to these things. It is not simple submission, but a dynamic and willful acquiescence to their need in our lives. For many, the lack of this, is the source of bitterness in their lives. But for the true disciple of Jesus Christ, it is the very attitude that creates the joy it uses. It is self sustaining. We plant the seeds of it, harvest the fruit of it and then use the harvest to plant more seeds. Those who don’t do this, reap the harvest once and then let the orchard die.
JOSH McGARY. COM 