What is your Badge of Honor?

Born Into a Fallen World

Each of us were born into a fallen world.  We’ve all heard saying that we didn’t come with instructions and as parents just have to "wing" it.  And, if you were the first child, like I was, you were the "guinea pig: child. But, don't be deceived.... Jesus said in Matthew 24:4 "And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you.” It’s easy to believe the statement that none of us came with instructions on how to raise us or how we should live our life.  We, as parents, you may have actually used that very statement referring to your own children.  I know I have used it.  And I’ll be the first to admit, a set of “Von Allen Dailey” instructions did not arrive with me when I was born nor did a set of instruction arrive with my own children.  However, I’d also say, we all were born into a world that there are absolutely instructions on how to live our lives from the day we were born. Those instructions are the Word of God, also known as the Holy Bible.  Unfortunately many people don't refer to the Bible for their life or directions for their child(ren) lives. As culture we have bought into the lie that there are not any instructions or we turn to man made instructions while ignoring God's instructions. Back to Matthew 24:4, "...don’t be deceived..." we must realize that just because the whole world says something it doesn’t make it true. We must have faith and trust in God and His purpose for our life. We must have a fruitful relationship with Him and as a country as a whole, we need to put Him back in His rightful place; One Nation Under God, Matthew 28:18-20.

God Made You for a Purpose on Purpose

If you’re a Christian, I’m sure you realize the God made you for a purpose, you were not a mistake and you were not a coincidence. You 1000% were on purpose for a purpose.  As Psalms 139:13-14 says that God knit us together in our mother's womb and that He knows our in inner most being and that we were fearfully and wonderfully made…”.  Think about that for a moment. Think about how important that is to you today and where you stand in life today.  Let the realization sink in that the creator of the heavens and the Earth, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords purposely knit you together in your mother’s womb for a purpose on purpose.  He intwined within you gifts to be used by you to glorify Him.  God made YOU for a purpose and equipped specifically “YOU” to accomplish that purpose.  Does that bit of knowledge change your perspective of your life or maybe confirm what you already “know” deep within the essence of your being?  It should!

One of Many...

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  That means if you are walking according to God’s purpose then every situation is a win-win situation for you.  No matter how hard or painful that experience is, God promised that all things work together for good for those that Love Him and walk according to His purpose.  Give pause for a moment to let that sink in. Everything in a true Christian's life, one that has given their life to Jesus, has totally submitted their will to Him, and wholeheartedly gives their life to glorify God will never lose. Don't get me wrong here, it doesn't mean that you won't have challenges or trials but what ever it is will work together for good. We just need to have faith and trust God's got this. Know, remember and believe: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. n every situation we are told to give thanks.  Every situation!  It doesn’t matter if it’s a bad or a good situation in our own mind, we are told to give thanks.

My Perspective...

Before I get delve into this section, I'd like to remind you of Hosea 4:6 were God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." It’s been my experience as a life long Christian of 50+ years that the vast majority of Christians I’ve met don’t know the strength, power, and authority that is made available to them through Jesus.  They may know the right words to say but they have waning faith that keeps them from experiencing and knowing Jesus on a higher level.  In a word, they lack commitment because the “status quo” seems easy and change is hard. A few words come to mind  that also play a role in a noncommittal attitude.  Words like fear, pride, greed, selfishness, doubt or unbelief, and there are many more but I think you get the idea.  These sins separate us from God and keep us from our God given potential.  Yet, we are quick to say, “If God is with me who can be against me?” Of course those are the correct words but are you with God? Do you believe to the core of who you are that you are His? Are those words buried deep into your heart and not only words you know and can repeat but are also words you would give your life for?  If you can’t say, “Yes, I’d put my life on the line because I know with our a doubt I belong to God” you have some soul searching, praying and talking to God to do. There is no wiggle room in that verse.  Let’s dissect it.  “Give thanks in all circumstances;”. All means ALL.  There is no quantifiers we are simply to give thanks in all circumstances.  Take the second part, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.  We are being told, that it’s God’s will and as a Christian we have submitted to God’s will over every aspect of our life.  Again, there are no quantifiers. There are no ifs or buts. As a true Christian, God’s will is our will and we should rejoice that He loves us so much so that He gave His one and only Son so that we may live.  John 3:16 paraphrased.

Jesus is Your Badge of Honor

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We know through Roman 6:23, “ for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  We also know because Jesus said in John 10:10, “the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Do you see the connection of these two verse?  Let me brake it down into real simple terms; follow Satan and die, or follow Jesus and have eternal life. If you truly belong to God, there is nothing to fear, but adversely, if you are not following God, if you haven’t repented of your sins, or submitted to His will then you have every reason to fear.  Think about the following verses found in Romans 8:31-33, “31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth".  Have you connected the dots yet?  Have you come to the conclusion there is God's way and everything else is a deception? As a Christian, do you see the strength, power and authority available to you through Jesus.  Do you have an appreciation of Philippians 4:13 that says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength?” The bottom line is that there is only one Badge of Honor and that is Jesus Christ  No matter what your circumstances are, always wear your Badge of Honor with humbleness, meekness and courage so others can see Christ’s love in and through you. 

Questions?

You might ask, how can I tell if I truly have the “Badge of Honor”if I’m really a chosen one? How can I be certain I belong to God.  After all, we are told that the path to life is narrow and hard and few find as stated in Matthew 7:13-14 that says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Being a true Christian by word and deed is not for the faint of heart, it’s not an easy path and it’s definitely not lined with roses.  The kicker, you can’t get there on your own power. You 1000% need Jesus and your old ways must die so you can be become a new man/woman as discussed in Ephesians 4 :17-29.  It’s a journey and takes repenting of your sins, asking for forgiveness, submitting to Jesus and asking Him into your heart (life).  Most importantly, you must establish a relationship with Jesus, so you can hear His voice and He know you.  A relationship comes by spending time reading and meditating on the Bible, talking to Jesus like a friend through prayer. Make it a life habit to talk to Him frequently throughout the day.  As stated earlier, “ Pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.

Acknowledge You Need Jesus

To wear the “Badge of Honor” is to acknowledge that we were born into a fallen world, a world that is run by the father of lies, were deception, corruption and manipulation run rampant and the only way out of this worldly trap is through Jesus.  However, people that wear the “Badge of Honor” know the truth and fight the good fight every day of their lives so others too may also see the truth and choose to wear the Badge of Honor and we call Him, Jesus.

Warning and Fruits

According to Matthew 7:15-23 you’ll know they wear the Badge of Honor by their fruits and we are also warned, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" We have been warned about false prophets and what to watch for to verify if the badge of honor a person claims to wear is of Jesus or not.  Some sign that are all telling that their badge of honor is strait from Jesus are below:

1. A cluster of fruit (Galatians 5:22 and 23). These are the marks of the Lord Jesus, for He personified them all, and as we are united with Him by faith, these marks will characterise our life also.

2. A spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). This is one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned above, but it is such an important characteristic of the real Christian that we give it special and separate emphasis. The opposite of this spirit of meekness is mentioned in Galatians 5:26 – “Let us not become conceited”. The apostle says, “Don’t be proud!” and Jesus says, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:28-30). Remember, meek is not week, but rather bridled strength, power and authority.

3. A willingness to share the burdens of others (Galatians 6:2). What a true mark of the Lord Jesus this is! If we truly follow in His steps we shall do likewise.

4. A willingness to help support those who minister (Galatians 6:6). Compare 1 Corinthians 9:7-15 and 1 Timothy 5:18.

5. A life made up of doing good(Galatians 6:9-10). Look up and compare Acts 10:38. Do we go about with the same object in view?

6. A complete separation from the world (Galatians 6:14, second part). If the marks of the Lord Jesus are upon us we shall recognize that while we are in the world we are not of it, and we shall see to it that His prayer for us is fulfilled – John 17:15-16.

7. A glorying in the Cross (Galatians 6:14). What does this mean? We shall glory in the preaching of the cross, the story of the cross, and above all, in the victory and the virtue of the cross, for it is through the cross of Jesus that we are saved and sanctified. Think what the cross meant to Him. In what sense did He glory in it? The cross to Him was the token of God’s will for Him, and He gloried in doing the will of His Father. Do we? That, supremely, is the mark of the Lord Jesus which should be upon all His followers. The will of God was the consuming passion of His life (Luke 22:42), and it should be the consuming passion of your life and mine.

I'm Putting all the Cards on the Table

Let’s get to the crux of why I’m writing this.  We are attacked from so many directions that it’s almost unbelievable and in some cases we have, as a culture, accepted lies and deceptions as truth.  Our enemy is cunning and we are told in 1 Peter 5:8-9 to, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”.  The devil and his minions never take a break, they are always on the prowl looking for away to derail you.  Don’t be fooled, if you don’t know Jesus as your personal savior you are a sitting duck just waiting to be devoured or actually deceived to do the work of your father, the father of lies, Satan himself.   I’m here to tell you, and call me crazy or off my rocker, but Jesus showed me Himself how He feels when His children deny Him because they believe the lies of the world.  His grief, heart ache and longing for you is more real than anything this world has to offer.  He sheds tears for you longing for you to open your eyes and ears so you can see through the deception and see and accept the truth, Him.  John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life…”. Jesus is the truth and He is the only way to eternal life with our Father, God.  I can’t put enough emphasis on the fact that Jesus loves you beyond measure and He wants you to accept His free gift of Salvation.  He wants you denounce the ways of this fallen world and repent of your sins. And know, He knows it’s impossible to do it on your own and He has already promised to never leave you or forsake you.  Are you in? You just need to accept His free gift and acknowledge that He was crucified for your sins and rose again 3 days later.  You’ll begin a life of true freedom on that very day.  John 8:36 Jesus says, “therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.  Jesus wants you, Jesus wants to be your “Badge of Honor". The question is, are you willing and ready to accept Jesus as your Badge of Honor?  Let me remind you, With Jesus you can't lose, without Jesus, there is no way to win. It's an easy decision.