EXPRESSIONS

Custom Search

“Lord Imitate Valiantly Everday! (L.I.V.E)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

SCRIPTURE:
“For to me, to LIVE is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

Approach Question:
What is the benefit of your living?

Observations: 
I asked myself what two things do I learn about Paul from here?
1. To LIVE is Christ
2. To die is gain

I asked myself the significance of Paul's response to the Philippians?
I found Paul’s response to be very positive because whatever way he looked at it, he was optimistic that it would turn out for good. It is that much more meaningful when I recalled that Paul wrote these words while chained in prison. Yet, his outlook looked positive.

Today I decided to focus on Point 1:

Interpretation:
I asked myself what could 'To LIVE is Christ' mean?
What came to my mind was that living for Paul meant being an imitation of Christ where he was. He saw himself as a slave to Christ and Christ as his Master. He felt that living here on earth, he could be a model of Christ for those that did not know Christ to draw them to Christ. He does not end with living but also talks about dying as is evidenced by the next phrase.

Implications:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
For me to 'LIVE is Christ' mathematically means 'LIVE = CHRIST'. For me that meant that I should live my life in such a way, that whoever interacts with me sees Christ through me by my words and actions as I live life. I need to be an Ambassador for Christ in my living. I need to be a model representing my risen Savior and Lord. For me that also means life without Christ is no life at all. Paul understood this too so though in prison, he sees his living being for Christ. No matter who humiliates me, shames me, denigrades me, puts me down, etc, I need to be an imitation of Christ by my living in His grace.

In a Sunday sermon, Pastor Josh of Oakland International Fellowship shared about a woman who was full of joy who was interviewed by an author of a book because the author wanted to know what made her so joyful in her living. He came to find out from her 5 things that spell the acronym G.R.A.C.E:

Gratitude: She started out her day with gratitude first and foremost.

Reading God's Word: It was the quality of time that mattered whether it was short or long.

Appropriate: After Reading God's Word, she would always see how she could apply what she learned from God's Word in her life.

Charity: She wanted to love others by her words and actions always seeing how she can bless someone else.

Expectation: She always had expectation that the Lord would meet her.

The woman lived by  grace in her living. I need to do that too where my ultimate focus is Jesus Christ.

The purpose of today's devotional in my life was to show me that living for Christ by His grace should be my aim instead of living for self.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING L.I.V.E:

It is so awesome that the Lord Jesus gave me “For to me, to LIVE is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) to meditate upon this morning. I praise the Lord for this Scripture which is so applicable. It is amazing  how God can use one verse to make such an impact too.

I am reminded that to LIVE is not to get appreciation from others for what I do or say but for the sake of Christ and to let Him be known and be known by Him, making my living, with Christ and for Christ. Help me Lord Jesus! This means everything I do or say, will not be to expect any rewards from anyone but to show the love of Christ to all Jesus sends my pathway. I can only do that as the Holy Spirit helps me so I am not inclined to want something in return. When I want something back in return my motive for investing in someone or something loses its value because it is not Christ-focused but self-focused in life. Pastor Ed  would always emphasize how important motives are when we do things. That is so true.

Before I even think about wanting others to appreciate me, I need to think about how I have appreciated Christ daily for how much He invests in my life. When I want Christ to be appreciated, I won't have time to be thinking about ways others can appreciate me but on ways to LIVE FOR CHRIST.

If I am living, I may as well LIVE for Christ for He is worthy of my service to Him. Paul who was chained and imprisoned believed in living for Christ.

If Paul could do that, what is stopping me from making my lifestyle reflect Christ?

It is so awesome to know that I can LIVE my life in such a way with the help of the Holy Spirit that people can notice Christ in me. I can be an imitation of Christ here on earth by the way I LIVE if I let the Spirit of the Living God to control me and lead me! Help me Lord Jesus! And I know He will through the POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD, He has given me as a manual to instruct me in life.

MeeLi reminded me and my precious Chandraleela in Sunday School when we live for Christ, the Holy Spirit will work in us and through us giving the Fruit of the Spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, TLB)

I had to ask myself, when others see me, even those that I have such a hard time getting along with or even hated, if I say that I am living for Christ, can they see love in me or hatred in me, joy in me or pouting in me, peace in me or boiling distress in me, patience in me or impatience in me, kindness in me or cruelty in me, goodness in me or badness in me, faithfulness in me or betrayal in me, gentleness in me or harshness in me, and self-control in me or out-of control in me?

I want them to see Christ living in me by His grace. No one should ever say to us, 'if that is what a Christian is supposed to look like, I don't want any part of that' as long as we are living by God's Word.

I know if I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me and lead me, people will notice a difference in my life and they won’t attribute it to me but to the One that has given me the ability to LIVE this lifestyle. I will be pointing others to Christ by my lifestyle whether I am appreciated or not. That is what I aim for to point others to Christ.

I am reminded of the signature verse, He gave for my life, "But life is worth nothing to me unless I use it to do the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others about God's mighty goodness and love" (Acts 20:24, TLB)

I need to apply this verse in my life especially when my flesh wants to be appreciated.

On our own strength, ‘to LIVE is Christ’ is not possible apart from the Holy Spirit’s presence and filling. But with the Holy Spirit’s presence in us ‘to LIVE is Christ’ can become a reality for those around us.

I ask you now dear friends, why LIVE your life?
Dear friend, LIVE your life that you maybe a blessing to others pointing them to the Risen Lord so others can see Christ in you and through you as you become a model of Christ being sanctified each day.

Without our desire to LIVE for Christ, our desire will become self-centered to live for self. Jesus wants you to LIVE your life as Paul LIVEd, in the joy of the Lord. Jesus offers that to you and me. Jesus wants us to LIVE for Him and others not for ourselves. As the saying goes J.O.Y means Jesus first, others second, and yourself last!

 Whatever life sends our way, we can have the Savior who will help us LIVE for Him and not for ourselves so we can also boldly say, "To LIVE is Christ", Praise the Lord! Come as you are to Jesus and find your life in Him.

LIFE
By Ramesh C. Reddy

Where is this generation headed,
can we say we know ?
Are we doing what is right,
doing what God wants us to do ?

What happened to the beaver ?
Shame to seem him gone,
gone with the wind,
having all his morals and values
dried up like sun-baked clay.

Now are we battered, bruised, and burned
seeing shows depicting immorality causing restlessness
like pain in the back ?

Are we going to a shrink ?
What good will that do ?
It will only shrink our pockets
as our minds get shrunk
like delicate fabric
in improper washing.

What happens to our sanity
as our anxiety rages
like thundering sea waves ?
We want to know answers,
answers to the questions of life.

Do we end up in our self-world
dreading in despair,
despair that brings us to the edge
like an uncontrolled automobile
about to fall off the edge of a cliff.

We have our own hopeless life to LIVE,
life that seems to end in misery.
Where does our hope come from,
hope that can lead us to a blessed life,
life that brings us perfect peace ?

We can only have true contentment,
contentment in our hearts,
only if we find peace,
peace that will end strife
when we come to know the

PRINCE OF PEACE

Who is this Prince of Peace ??

J esus, the Savior of the world.

E verlasting peace comes from knowing him.

S urely goodness and mercy will follow

U nconditionally all the days of our LIVEs

S trengthening us to do what God wants us to do.

Amen!

May you experience the meaning of life through Christ and understand gain of dying in Christ!

"Lord Imitate Valiantly Everyday! (L.I.V.E)"/"Why L.I.V.E your life?"

Savior!
By Ramesh C. Reddy

Savior saves sinners
Allowing atonement always
Valiantly visiting victimized
Immanuel imparts inspiration
Openly offering ownership
Receiving redeemed readily!

PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to thank you for being our Savior and saving us sinners. You Oh Lord became the atonement for us sinners now and forever. We thank you for valiantly visiting humanity that has been victimized by the infection of sin. We thank you for being our Immanuel who has imparted your inspiration in our LIVEs through your Word and openly offering us ownership into your Kingdom receiving the redeemed readily. We thank you that we are redeemed because of the price you paid for us on the cross and our submission to you as we lay all our sins at the cross and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for your forgiveness of our sins and coming back to life to save us as we acknowledge what you have done for us and believe in our heart that you were raised from the dead and as we confess that you are Lord. Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me about not focusing on the appreciation of others but doing everything for you Jesus. Thank you for reminding me to LIVE for You is where I find my true joy for the Joy of the Lord is my strength. Help me Lord to remember always to 'LIVE is Christ' that I can be an example in word and deed. In life and death, I pray that you will be the center of our LIVEs so both outcomes can be a gain than a loss as your servant and apostle Paul saw it. Help us to be the fisherman you want us to be by imitating your healthy lifestyle and expecting your mission to be answered through your servants now as we preach and proclaim the Gospel in word and deed through you our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. We pray this in the mighty Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen!

Philippians 1:20: "Where do you need to have C.O.U.R.A.G.E in life?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 22, 20, 10:20 a.m)

Philippians 1:19: "Who do you C.A.L.L often in life to intercede for others?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 21, 20, 10:36 a.m)

Philippians 1:19: "What reason do you have to R.E.J.O.I.C.E in life?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 20, 20, 07:11 a.m)

Philippians 1:16-18: "How are your M.O.T.I.V.E.S in life?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 18, 20, 08:01 a.m)

Philippians 1:12-15: "What have your C.H.A.I.N.S done to others in your life?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 16, 20, 11:50 p.m)

Philippians 1:12: "How can you feel S.P.E.C.I.A.L when things are going so wrong in your life?"   By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 15, 20, 2:14 p.m)

Philippians 1:9-11: "What is your L.O.V.I.N.G response based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 14, 20, 6:51 a.m)

Philippians 1:7-8: "How can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N grow towards others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 13, 20, 11:00 a.m)

Philippians 1:7-8: "Why can you only be saved by G.R.A.C.E alone?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 13, 20, 10:51 a.m)

Philippians 1:3-6: "Why be C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T in the Lord?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 08, 20, 09:44 a.m)

Philippians 1:3-5: "How can you attain a P.A.R.T.N.E.R.S.H.I.P in the Gospel?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 08, 20, 09:44 a.m)

Philippians 1:3: "How will others R.E.A.C.T towards God when they remember you?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 07, 20, 10:07 a.m)

Philippians 1:2: "When do you B.L.E.S.S others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 06, 20, 11:10 a.m)

Philippians 1:1: "Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 04, 20, 11:55 a.m)

Philippians 1:1: "Why should you believe you are H.O.L.Y instead of a sinner?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 03, 20, 9:53 a.m)

Philippians 1:1: "Who will you be a S.E.R.V.AN.T to in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 02, 20, 6:55 pm)

"What will your P.R.E.S.E.N.T look like in 2020?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Jan 01, 20, 1:13 pm)