And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (CSB)
Lord Jesus, what does being a true Christian look like? I never thought that this would be a question that would be debated amongst believers, at least not anymore. Yes, our nation has had a history of having an appearance of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5). I only have to look at the days of slavery and Jim Crow to realize that. I thought we got beyond that. I thought that at least the church embraced and understood that following You and being filled by You resulted in a selfless mindset, one in which there is no gender, race, ethnicity, or politic (Galatians 3:28).
Yet today, there is rising amongst us those who confess that You are Lord, a nationalistic faction who feel threatened by what they do not understand or agree with, who believe that You are to be engaged a certain way, worshipped a certain way, and that those who are not like them are not truly Christians. Lord, my heart is incredibly sensitive to the damage that they are doing to the witness of Your church and the perpetuation of the gospel. And I know, so well, that we need You now more than ever!
So, it is my prayer today that You would make the words of Philippians 1:9-11 true and real in all of Your family’s hearts. Give us a Holy Spirit guided heart of discernment, enabling us to see the error in our beliefs, guiding us into following after You in purity. I pray for hearts compelled to towards righteousness, not just the feel good notion of the moment – I’m thinking now about those who are on my side of this quandary – that Your Word my be the final arbiter on all things and manner of behavior and thought. I pray that true Christian conviction would compel us to follow after You, walking in Your likeness.
Lord, help us to reflect what it means to be a true believer, loving as You love, giving as You gave, and dying to self as You died. Help us, as Your Church, to be Your Church, that the world may see You in us and not a disjointed, antagonistic, pharisaical collection of religious fanatics. I want them to see Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Do this first in me, and then in all who call upon Your Name. I pray this in Your Name. Amen.