Daily Devotional For Friday, July 4, 2025
Happy 4th of July. We celebrate our declared independence today even though it wasn’t until September 3, 1783 in Paris when John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay signed on behalf of the colonies and David Hartley signed on behalf of England. That treaty not only ended the war, but granted the 13 British colonies independence from England to be their own country called The United States of America. No longer were they colonies, but independent states. What a transformation!
We are looking at what it means to follow Jesus. One of the proofs we follow Him is our transformation from our old sinful nature to become that new person, that new creation in Him. As we grow in the Lord, we want more of Him. That is the point of Psalm 34:8a, “O taste and see that the Lord is good . . .” (NASB). God’s will is for every single believer to make disciples. Why? One it is commanded in Matthew 28:19-20 and second, it brings about that person’s spiritual freedom and liberation (See Galatians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 3:17, and John 8:32 just to list a few.)
As we turn to Jesus, He transforms us to be more like Him and to internalize and live out His mission in this world. Jesus gives us new desires, new longings, new passions and new opportunities to do this. This is why you do not have to wait for that still small voice as in 1 Kings 19:12. You do not need some miraculous sign or a coincidence to prove this. You have been commanded by Christ to make disciples so that He can free them spiritually and transform them relationally to resemble His character.
One of the things that troubles me today in some of these modern altar calls, especially at student conferences, is that the speaker will often say, “I am calling you to come to Christ. I am not asking you to join a church, but to come to Christ to be His disciple.” The problem I have with this is that this is lying and deceptive. Why? It is spiritually impossible to be in Christ and not be in His church. The people who say, “Well, I’m a Christian but I don’t go to church because of all the hypocrites in it,” may in fact not be a genuine Christian.
I realize that there are all kinds of churches. There are all kinds of denominations with all kinds of churches. Less I am misunderstood, I am NOT saying that joining a church makes anyone a Christian. Just like visiting a car dealership does not make you a car, the same is true here. Jesus died and rose to create disciples who would be part of His church. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we also surrender our lives to the commands of Christ. It is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus, let alone make disciples, apart from being in a local body of faith called the church.
Scripture refers to the church as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Scripture refers to the church as the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9). If you are married, what if your spouse said to you, “I love you but I can’t stand your body!” You would be offended and rightly so. It is impossible to follow Jesus fully and not love His Bride the church. It is self-centered to think you can enjoy Christ without HIs body the church. Let me give you an example from the Book of Acts. Acts begins with a young zealot and pharisaical Jew going around and killing Christians. His name was Saul. While on the Road to Damascus, Jesus Christ appeared to Saul.
Pay close attention to what Jesus said to Saul in Acts 9:4, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (NASB). Saul had not persecuted and killed Jesus, but he had done this to Christians. Jesus’ point to Saul was what he was doing to Christians, he was personally doing it to the Lord. You cannot love the Lord and hate His church. You cannot love the Lord and hate people in your church. Love the Lord means you love His people, even the ones that get on your nerves and hurt you or hurt those you love. Your hatred of them is not really against them, but against the Lord Himself. Look at the words Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!” (NLT).
When we do what Jesus says in Luke 9:23, our self begins to die as we crucify our flesh. And as our flesh dies, this not only impacts our life but the lives Christ has put around us – both saved and lost, both church member and not church member. Jesus put it this way in John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples” (NLT). What is the proof we are His disciples? – our love for one another.
This is the point of 1 John 4:20-21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? (21) And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers” (NLT). To say you love God and hate someone in your church, God says, “You are a liar. You don’t love Me. You love your hatred more.” If I were you, I would not mock God by calling the Way, the Truth and the Life a liar. Part of the reason we can justify our hatred against another believer is because we have a distorted or skewed understanding of what the church is. We will look at that tomorrow.
Assignment: Think for a moment. Who in the church you attend do you hate? Read Matthew 25:40 and 1 John 4:19-21 again. What is Christ, our Groom, saying to you, His bride about this? If you claim to be a Christian but do not attend a local church, read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 again. You are part of a body. So let me ask you this question: if you literally cut off your right arm, will it continue to live? NO! If you had your left leg amputated, would it continue to live? NO! You cannot live in Christ apart from His body, the church. So, what is God telling you your next step should be?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 John 3:10, “So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, this 4th of July please free me from my hatred of those in Your Body the church. Help me love them as You do. Lord, I know that my feelings towards those who I “hate” I am venting those same feelings against You. Please liberate me from this so You can I follow You and You use me to make disciples as You desire and have commanded. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly