TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
THE MANNER OF YOUR SPIRIT
15th June 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: Colossians 1:4(ERV)
We thank him because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all of God’s people.
One of the reasons why our love ought to be a public fruit is because it’s a reflection of our identity. It’s our trademark. Just the way you’d see the logo of a lion and know that it’s a pack of sugar manufactured by St. Louis or you’d see the face of a white haired man with a hat and know that it is the Quaker Oats brand of oatmeal, regardless of the colour of the package or what store you find it, once you see those distinct logos, you know what organization those products belong to. You can identify the product.
In the same way, the dominant means of ID for the believer is love. Jesus said to His disciples and to us by extension in John 13:35, that the world would know we are His when we love one another. It’s not the name of the church we attend or when we tick “Christianity” in forms. No. It’s by our expression of love. Think about it, God didn’t carry on a secret affair with the world. He publicly expressed His love for the world in the sending of Jesus to die sacrificially on a cross.
How then can we as believers say we are born of the seed of Christ which is the love of God in expression and not bear the fruit of love? Something is wrong. It ought to be a public show.
The priority of Paul’s writing to the Colossian church wasn’t his pain or the fact that he was in chains. Rather, the first thing he wanted to talk about was their faith in Christ and love for all the saints.
See, this matter is deep.
If you don’t love, there’s doubt that you are saved. God can know because only God knows those who are His, but men won’t be able to tell because the fruit, the ID they should see at first interaction is absent.
TSP, let’s teach the world, what love is.
Dear believer, let’s show the world what it means to love.
And no, it’s not a show-off. Did Jesus die secretly for you? Was He hiding the fact that He was the messiah? Did He make a special request to be crucified in the garage? Was it a greenhouse affair? No.
He was displayed publicly, shamed publicly and you want to be secret about your love?
Come on, release this love! Let it come out.
And the e reason why it’s love for all the saints is because that’s the manner of Spirit you’ve received and you ought to express your true nature.
Paul was in Rome at this time when he was writing this letter and he was quick to acknowledge and say, “Guys, I hear that you love each other.”
Do you know Paul wasn’t saying, “I hear there are workings of miracles amongst you.”?
That’s powerful.
Hear me, the church, the body of Christ is not identified by signs and wonders but by faith in Christ and love for our brothers.
This is the gospel.
REFLECTION
The manner of Spirit I have received is love for all the saints.
DECLARATION
-I believe in the gospel, therefore the seed of the gospel produces fruit in my life.
-I don’t just know the gospel, I live the gospel. I am transformed by the gospel. The gospel is working through me.
-This gospel produces the genuine markers of authentic believers; of Faith, Love and Hope in me.
-The love I express is a public fruit and not a secret affair because that’s the manner of Spirit I have received.
-My primary ID as a believer is a public show of love not signs and wonders or working miracles but a show of love that teaches the world how to love. Just as God did through Christ.
-My love walk is an authentic marker that I am saved. Both in my experience and expression.
-The connection I share with members of the body of Christ is deeper than familial, educational, political, financial, racial affiliations.
-I have love for all the saints. Always.
-My life bears the testimony of the kind of love that the gospel produces.
Hallelujah!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to Fruits of the Gospel 2 >> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
