HOW TO DEVELOP & MAINTAIN
THAT LOVABLE, UNBREAKABLE BOND WITH JESUS
There is no better friend to bond with than Christ Jesus. The Father sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins. Christ is the word and the doorway to our salvation. The scriptures plainly state that without Christ we cannot be saved, (John 3: 16-18). Without Christ, it would be impossible for us to go to heaven. Without Christ, we cannot meet God the Father. In John 14: 6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” When the Holy Spirit comes to us, He brings us into repentance and brings to light and remembrance the
words of Jesus, teaching us all about Him. John 14: 26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” In other words, our lives depend on the type of relationship and bond we have with the Savior. As members of this church, we know that Christ is the head of our organization. But we have also learned that the church begins first in us and we ourselves are temples. I Corinthians 3: 16, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Christ, therefore, must serve as the head and central authority for each of us. Outside the walls of this church, we all must establish a personal bond with Christ that is exemplified through our daily actions. These actions, simply put, are put into play when we obey His commandments. Recall Christ’s words, “If ye love me keep my commandments,” (John 14: 15).
BY: ELISABETH C. TUNSTALLNow the word bond is of importance in this lesson. This word has multiple definitions but in the context of this class can be defined in 3 key ways: 1) an agreement or binding covenant; 2) a strong feeling of love with shared beliefs that unite 2 or more people together; and, 3) to connect or join 2 or more items together to become one. Look over those definitions carefully. Pertaining to the first definition of bond, we learn that forming a relationship with Christ is like entering a covenant with Him now and in the life to come, (Hebrews 8: 7-10). Now the churches of this world will tell you that all you have to do is confess that Christ is your Savior and grace will do the rest. This is not at all the case. The covenant we enter in individually with Christ is a two-part agreement, that is, we vow to keep His commandments and testimonies and He will give us eternal salvation as a result. I say this in simple terms of course. This is not a bond or promise to take lightly and God will hold us accountable to our end of the bargain every single day for obedience is the duty of man, (Ecclesiastes 12: 13).
The second definition of bond can further be expounded upon in the scripture Mark 3: 32-35, “And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” You see Christ made an important point here. It is not the people that you are related to by blood that you should be closest to per se, but those that are like minded with you in the truth. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. More importantly, we want to be like minded with Christ. He is our best example of how to live. Christ was and is always obedient to God the Father, submitting to His will no matter what. We talk often of Christ, as we should, but everything originates from the Father, including the law. So when we are obedient to the truth we share the same belief and conviction that Christ has, which is to submit always to the will of God the Father. And it is this shared conviction that binds or unites us with Christ.
The third definition of bond depicts when two become one. Consider a marriage between a bride and a groom. A man and woman being twain or two individuals, become one when they enter into holy matrimony. This relationship is also used to describe the relationship between Christ (bridegroom) and the church (bride), (Ephesians 5: 25-32). Now remember the church begins in
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you. We must become one with Christ. We do this by conforming to His ways so that the law is engrained in our hearts and minds. Our words and our actions have to mirror the ways of Christ so that the truth defines who we are. We are no longer twain but become one with Christ, as in a marriage.
Ok great. So now that we understand what a bond with Christ means, how do we achieve it? It’s simple. I call it the S. P. R. R method, which is to sing, pray, recite the law and read the Bible. How often do you do it? Every day and as often as you need to help nurture and solidify the body you have with the Savior.
SINGING
You don’t have to be a professional singer. In the eyes of God, if you have a voice you can sing and it is a commandment that we do so. See a few scriptures below…..
• Psalms 96: 1 “O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.”
• Psalms 59: 14 “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
• Psalms 146: 2 “While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
• I Chronicles 16: 9 “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works
Singing to God is not only a commandment but it makes you feel good. It helps release endorphins including serotonin and dopamine. These are happy chemicals released in your body that improve your mood. Other benefits of singing include decreasing stress, alleviating pain, improving lung function and enhancing memory. Now memory is important to elaborate more on. Songs of God can be like mini sermons and lessons that help us better remember a scripture, a feast day or any aspect about the word of God. For example, whenever I think of the word ‘dedication’ the first thing that pops in mind is the song that my father wrote, “Dedication.” The lyrics help define the word, “It’s a strong conviction that Lord is near, and you’ll seek His will time after time after time.” This song helps remind me that I must be dedicated to seeking God no
BY: ELISABETH C. TUNSTALLmatter what because one day He will return. Songs do that for us. They teach us the truth, evoke emotions and touch our hearts in a way that only music can. So don’t be afraid to work those vocal cords and sing without shame or hesitation to God.
PRAYING
This is our personal line of communication and we are speaking to God the Father. The Spirit of God brings our prayers up to the Father as a sweet savor. Romans 8: 26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” We should begin our day with prayer and end our day with prayer. Prayer covers us and is our protection when we do so in sincerity. We start with Lord’s prayer as Christ instructed in Matthew 6: 9-13. This prayer may be followed by our own personal prayer. We all pray for different things at different times in our lives, whether it is to overcome a spiritual or physical infirmity, for our basic needs or for the needs of loved ones. We know that we do not pray for frivolous or foolish matters, such as an expensive car or home. This shows dishonor and disrespect towards God. Think of prayer as your personal time to connect to God. I personally like to listen to soft instrumental hymns when I pray to help me maintain focus and not get distracted. Unfortunately, Satan has access to our minds and he often likes to put thoughts in our minds to distract us. Practice however, makes perfect. The more frequently you pray, the better you become at it.
RECITING THE LAW
Let us first define the word recite, which means to read aloud or repeat words aloud, sometimes from memory and in a formal manner. Now each Sabbath, we recite the 10 commandments and testimonies of Jesus Christ. The members of the church take turns leading the reading of God’s laws at the altar, while other members stand with hands held up to show reverence as we repeat the words. By doing so, we reaffirm in our minds and before the throne of God that we believe in obeying His law. This helps keep the truth at the forefront of our minds. Daily, though, we must remember the law, not just at church. Due to all our common obligations, one may not be able to recite all 10 commandments and testimonies during their daily worship. But you can still recite the
BY: ELISABETH C. TUNSTALL
law everyday with this scripture in Mark 12: 29-31, “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” These verses actually summarize the 10 commandments. The first part of the scriptures talks about divine love, that is, to love God with all your heart, mind and soul. If you look at commandments 1 to 4 it pertains specifically to how you treat God, (Exodus 20: 1-11). If you look at commandments 5 to 10 it pertains specifically to how you treat your neighbor, (Exodus 20: 12-17). I actually have this verse memorized. When I was a child, my mother would have us repeat this verse during our daily worship and it became a routine. Recitation is a key way of training your brain to committing important information to memory. If we remember the laws, we can put it into practice. Without recitation we are more likely to forget and subsequently more likely to disobey the Lord.
READING THE BIBLE
Perhaps one of the most important components of this acronym is reading your bible. To read is to look at and comprehend the meaning of (written or printed matter) by mentally interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed. Like singing, reading yields many benefits to our minds and bodies. It helps decrease depression, reduce anxiety and alleviate stress, can help you sleep better, it strengthens the connections in your brain, improve memory and concentration and can help you live longer. Hey, I’ll take it. So what better book to crack open than the Bible? We know that our primary way to access the truth is in the good book as they say. Now what did God say, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,” (Psalms 40:7). In 2 Timothy 2: 15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
The bible is the word, which is Christ. It is our spiritual food and drink. This comparison is intended to help us better understand just how vital reading the bible is. We know we cannot sustain our bodies very long without food and drink. At most, one can live 1 to 2 months without food and a
BY: ELISABETH C. TUNSTALL
mere 3 days without water. Many of us gripe and moan after missing 1 meal in a day. Nutritional experts typically recommend 3 balanced meals and 8 cups of water per day. This information is widely known but this is for our physical bodies. Let’s bring it back to the spiritual side.
In John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is depicting Christ. Now let’s delve further and review John 6: 51 & 53-55, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” This was hard and difficult for many of the Jews to receive and some of the disciples that followed Christ left after hearing these words. To eat of Christ’s body and to drink of His blood is done in spirit when we read the bible. And not only that, when the word of God is able to change who we are, meaning we rid ourselves of that old man or woman and become a new person. That is how you become a part of Christ and He becomes a part of you, hence creating that bond we so need and desire. And let us not forget the testimony, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled,” Matthew 5: 6.
So there you have it. If you want a bond with Christ that last for all eternity and cannot be broken by Satan the then use then integrate S.P.R.R into your everyday life. It is a tried and true method that won’t let you down and will help you solidify your bond with Jesus Christ. Amen.
BY: ELISABETH C. TUNSTALL