Thinking today about 'motive descriptors'... words that describe what something is doing (ex. 'a wave' = water moving a certain way, a hand moving to signal someone. A wave isn't a thing. It is a motive descriptor).
If we make motive descriptors 'things' we will have strange nonsensical ideas and expectations and it is very easy to do just that.
Light is also a motive descriptor. It doesn't move. There is no speed of light. That is like saying the speed of green. There is a speed of illumination. It takes about 8 minutes for the sun to illuminate the Earth. The sun we see is the sun as it was 8 minutes ago. A proton is the 'crashing of a light wave.' It isn't a tiny pebble. Understanding that changes everything.
Then we can apply that concept to 'a certain sound'. The source is God's mouth and we can tell by the content (living word order). Doctrine can be dry and murderous. The certain sound gives life to the hearer. The power comes from the source.
Love isn't a thing. Without a loving person it doesn't exist. The lover loves. God is 'love' is such a profound statement. Love can not and does not exist without Him. He is the lover that illuminates. His love is shed abroad in our hearts. Wow!
--
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Was Jesus Racist?
Was Jesus racist? Is God?
"And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly." Matthew 15:21-28 ESV
'Dog' was a racist slur but Jesus was putting this woman's faith on display. He was saying to his disciples and to the world, 'Do you think I have a 'us' and 'them' mentality like every other fallen man does? I don't!'
Yes. All the men following Him were Jewish but that was the first stage of God's plan. Jesus came to save the world.
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:27-29 ESV
"Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Jesus noticed what race this woman was. He didn't ignore the difference like it didn't exist. He used the obvious difference to prove a point. God loves people.
He loves you. He loves me. He loves the person struggling with their gender identity. He loves those who don't know who they are and those that think they do.
In Him we find newness, healing and belonging. In Him we find salvation and life. He will dissolve our prejudices. He invites us to sit at the table with Abraham as a family member.
--
"And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly." Matthew 15:21-28 ESV
'Dog' was a racist slur but Jesus was putting this woman's faith on display. He was saying to his disciples and to the world, 'Do you think I have a 'us' and 'them' mentality like every other fallen man does? I don't!'
Yes. All the men following Him were Jewish but that was the first stage of God's plan. Jesus came to save the world.
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:27-29 ESV
"Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Jesus noticed what race this woman was. He didn't ignore the difference like it didn't exist. He used the obvious difference to prove a point. God loves people.
He loves you. He loves me. He loves the person struggling with their gender identity. He loves those who don't know who they are and those that think they do.
In Him we find newness, healing and belonging. In Him we find salvation and life. He will dissolve our prejudices. He invites us to sit at the table with Abraham as a family member.
--
Thursday, July 12, 2018
He Wrote Twice
I think this next passage is so unique and meaningful...
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.' " - John 8:3-11 ESV
You can just picture the religious taunts of the people seeking to bait Jesus as He serenely writes in the dust. Jesus wrote twice and it always makes me think of Moses and the two sets of tablets given to Israel.
"And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." - Exodus 31:18 ESV
"But he said, 'It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.' And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." - Exodus 32:18-19 ESV
"So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.' And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped." - Exodus 34:4-8 ESV
"For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." - Romans 10:3-4 ESV
Moses had a sense of outrage when he smashed the first set of tablets but we don't see that same outrage in Jesus. He has compassion and awareness.
Christ is the 'end of the law'. Wow. That road should bring us to a place where we see Jesus and want Him.
I like that Jesus didn't pound them with words. He just quietly wrote in the dust. He never directly addressed their accusations. He didn't react.
God, Please give us this heart and mind. Let this be what we express. Compassion without compromise. Love. Thank you for sending Your Son. He Is just what we need in every way.
--
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.' " - John 8:3-11 ESV
You can just picture the religious taunts of the people seeking to bait Jesus as He serenely writes in the dust. Jesus wrote twice and it always makes me think of Moses and the two sets of tablets given to Israel.
"And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." - Exodus 31:18 ESV
"But he said, 'It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.' And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." - Exodus 32:18-19 ESV
"So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.' And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped." - Exodus 34:4-8 ESV
"For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." - Romans 10:3-4 ESV
Moses had a sense of outrage when he smashed the first set of tablets but we don't see that same outrage in Jesus. He has compassion and awareness.
Christ is the 'end of the law'. Wow. That road should bring us to a place where we see Jesus and want Him.
I like that Jesus didn't pound them with words. He just quietly wrote in the dust. He never directly addressed their accusations. He didn't react.
God, Please give us this heart and mind. Let this be what we express. Compassion without compromise. Love. Thank you for sending Your Son. He Is just what we need in every way.
--
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Persuading Others
"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience." - 2 Corinthians 5:11 ESV
That word 'persuade' is the Greek word peitho (Strong's G3982) and it simply means 'to win one's favour', pacify or produce trust in someone.
I love that this is linked to God-consciousness in this passage. This reciprocal relationship a person has with God and that God has with a person is somehow on display and seen.
We say, 'That person knows God and somehow I sense God knows them.' when we are persuaded in the way that this passage is describing persuasion.
Sometimes I run across a religious person and think, 'Does that person even know what or who they are talking about?' because what they are saying is alienating in some way.
"For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." - 2 Corinthians 5:13-16 ESV
I often don't know what to say or how to help. I want to help. God has inserted care into my heart. That care is linked to a 'fear' (or an awe) of God's way of knowing people.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
Thank you God. Give us places to shine. We want people to be persuaded absent from striving, effort and arguing. We want your light to shine in through some small gap into every hardened heart. We want truth to penetrate every lie. We want every drowning soul to be rescued from pain and isolation and brought into fellowship.
It can't be by words alone. It must be by love and by lifting up Jesus and his cross that has impacted every life in some way.
God, Make us people who display the love and impact of the cross.
--
That word 'persuade' is the Greek word peitho (Strong's G3982) and it simply means 'to win one's favour', pacify or produce trust in someone.
I love that this is linked to God-consciousness in this passage. This reciprocal relationship a person has with God and that God has with a person is somehow on display and seen.
We say, 'That person knows God and somehow I sense God knows them.' when we are persuaded in the way that this passage is describing persuasion.
Sometimes I run across a religious person and think, 'Does that person even know what or who they are talking about?' because what they are saying is alienating in some way.
"For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." - 2 Corinthians 5:13-16 ESV
I often don't know what to say or how to help. I want to help. God has inserted care into my heart. That care is linked to a 'fear' (or an awe) of God's way of knowing people.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
Thank you God. Give us places to shine. We want people to be persuaded absent from striving, effort and arguing. We want your light to shine in through some small gap into every hardened heart. We want truth to penetrate every lie. We want every drowning soul to be rescued from pain and isolation and brought into fellowship.
It can't be by words alone. It must be by love and by lifting up Jesus and his cross that has impacted every life in some way.
God, Make us people who display the love and impact of the cross.
--
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Obligations
What obligations do we have to the person or people who have invested in us? They may tell us what we need to do or we might invent something but what is the real obligation?
No one needs a false burden. Life is hard enough.
"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." - Romans 13:7-8 ESV
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." - Romans 12:9-10 ESV
The best gift we can give any person is liberty. Our love becomes an investment in helping a person become a loving individual.
We honor those who have loved us. We do that by letting love shape us. The Holy Spirit must lead us in anything 'beyond' that. The highest, and only, true obligation is obedience to God. That doesn't mean we pull passages out of the old testament given to Israel and say they apply to us. Jesus has already fulfilled that law and we are given the righteousness of that fulfilment as a free gift.
If someone loved us but taught us something that was wrong we honor the investment but not the incorrect principle. If someone loved us and taught us something eternal and right and good we are wise if we teach that to others as we love them because it is eternal, right and profitable.
Wrong principles usually have bondage attached to them.
"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." - John 13:33-34 ESV
When Jesus knew His time was short He cut His disciples loose. He didn't make them declare oaths of allegiance. The freedom He gave them wasn't aimless. It was liberty.
"He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.' " - Acts 1:7-11 ESV
I love this. It is like the angels are saying, 'He set you free. Go. Be free.' yet at the same time, Jesus gave them a place where power could be received without bondage. If we are at God's house at the right time we will receive power in our liberty. We could be at 'the end of the Earth' and still have a place to get power from God. Small rooms become 'upper rooms' when people are gathered and the book is opened. Jesus is revealed.
Those disciples that He set free became Apostles.
Hey, The people we invest in may forget about us. It isn't ideal. It isn't honorable but did they become loving people? If so, It was all worth it.
I want to honor those who have loved me. I see it as an obligation because it honors God. Even more than that I want to love people because I have been reconnected to love again and again far beyond what I could ever deserve. God loved me when I was his enemy. Now, I can love the unlovely also because His Spirit is in me moving me to love beyond my present capacity. He constrains me in this love.
I'm praying God breaks all of our false bondages and sets us free to love as He intended. I'm also praying we all find a place of power to gather and be renewed in objective truth. That place will preserve our freedom and send us out with seed that will grow up and become a vehicle to break every bondage a man or woman can find themselves in.
--
No one needs a false burden. Life is hard enough.
"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." - Romans 13:7-8 ESV
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." - Romans 12:9-10 ESV
The best gift we can give any person is liberty. Our love becomes an investment in helping a person become a loving individual.
We honor those who have loved us. We do that by letting love shape us. The Holy Spirit must lead us in anything 'beyond' that. The highest, and only, true obligation is obedience to God. That doesn't mean we pull passages out of the old testament given to Israel and say they apply to us. Jesus has already fulfilled that law and we are given the righteousness of that fulfilment as a free gift.
If someone loved us but taught us something that was wrong we honor the investment but not the incorrect principle. If someone loved us and taught us something eternal and right and good we are wise if we teach that to others as we love them because it is eternal, right and profitable.
Wrong principles usually have bondage attached to them.
"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." - John 13:33-34 ESV
When Jesus knew His time was short He cut His disciples loose. He didn't make them declare oaths of allegiance. The freedom He gave them wasn't aimless. It was liberty.
"He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.' " - Acts 1:7-11 ESV
I love this. It is like the angels are saying, 'He set you free. Go. Be free.' yet at the same time, Jesus gave them a place where power could be received without bondage. If we are at God's house at the right time we will receive power in our liberty. We could be at 'the end of the Earth' and still have a place to get power from God. Small rooms become 'upper rooms' when people are gathered and the book is opened. Jesus is revealed.
Those disciples that He set free became Apostles.
Hey, The people we invest in may forget about us. It isn't ideal. It isn't honorable but did they become loving people? If so, It was all worth it.
I want to honor those who have loved me. I see it as an obligation because it honors God. Even more than that I want to love people because I have been reconnected to love again and again far beyond what I could ever deserve. God loved me when I was his enemy. Now, I can love the unlovely also because His Spirit is in me moving me to love beyond my present capacity. He constrains me in this love.
I'm praying God breaks all of our false bondages and sets us free to love as He intended. I'm also praying we all find a place of power to gather and be renewed in objective truth. That place will preserve our freedom and send us out with seed that will grow up and become a vehicle to break every bondage a man or woman can find themselves in.
--
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Hospitality In Outreach
Lately, I have been coming back to the theme of hospitality more and more. It is love that is tangible.
"For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works." - 1 Timothy 2:7-10 ESV
If you look at this passage in context Paul is urging Timothy to know the people he is ministering to and promoting hospitality in this particular congregation. Paul isn't setting 'rules' for Christians everywhere to obey. He is urging the Timothy and the Church there (who would have had that letter read to them many times) to be loving to people.
Modesty dress wasn't non-revealing dress. It was beyond that. It was dress that wasn't going to intimidate visitors and make them feel like they could never measure up.
Paul encouraged men not to argue loudly over doctrine (which was and is very Jewish) not because it was 'bad' but because it doesn't edify the visitor. It can be very self-oriented and alienating.
One thing I love about outreach is that the groups I go with are hospitable. They love truth and they love people and there is no compromise about either of those things.
I find the Holy Spirit convicting me about this often.
God loves people. He sent His Son to love us. Love and objective truth is what is going to draw people out of whatever they are in. Love.
God, please help us. We can get lost in the forest of ideas sometimes and forget why we do what we do. We also can get so focused on people that we compromise what is true. We need you to give us the balance. We need You. We need to see Jesus. He Is the One who does this perfectly. Thank you God for sending Your Son. He Is our salvation. He can fill each place with hospitable love. Fill us and our homes with love. We want to bring that everywhere we go.
--
"For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works." - 1 Timothy 2:7-10 ESV
If you look at this passage in context Paul is urging Timothy to know the people he is ministering to and promoting hospitality in this particular congregation. Paul isn't setting 'rules' for Christians everywhere to obey. He is urging the Timothy and the Church there (who would have had that letter read to them many times) to be loving to people.
Modesty dress wasn't non-revealing dress. It was beyond that. It was dress that wasn't going to intimidate visitors and make them feel like they could never measure up.
Paul encouraged men not to argue loudly over doctrine (which was and is very Jewish) not because it was 'bad' but because it doesn't edify the visitor. It can be very self-oriented and alienating.
One thing I love about outreach is that the groups I go with are hospitable. They love truth and they love people and there is no compromise about either of those things.
I find the Holy Spirit convicting me about this often.
God loves people. He sent His Son to love us. Love and objective truth is what is going to draw people out of whatever they are in. Love.
God, please help us. We can get lost in the forest of ideas sometimes and forget why we do what we do. We also can get so focused on people that we compromise what is true. We need you to give us the balance. We need You. We need to see Jesus. He Is the One who does this perfectly. Thank you God for sending Your Son. He Is our salvation. He can fill each place with hospitable love. Fill us and our homes with love. We want to bring that everywhere we go.
--
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Respectful Love
A friend and i were speaking to a young man this weekend about salvation and he said (i am paraphrasing), 'I have been saved my whole life. I was baptized as a baby.' and what popped out of my mouth was, 'Don't you think God has more respect for you than that? He wants you to choose Him.'
As I sit here this morning I am realizing how much that concept means to me. My God values each person and He has given us free will. He isn't a micromanager. He respects us.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." - 1 John 4:7-11 ESV
God Is Love and His love is respectful. God sent His Son at a point in human history but i believe this has a personal application also. He sends Him to us at times in our lives to let us know that Jesus was a propitiation (that word is a legal term for satisfying the anger or grievance of another person). Jesus' work on the cross satisfied the anger of God.
People might not value your choices. What you do or don't do might make them angry but God isn't like that towards us. His anger is satisfied in Christ. He wants us free to choose and because He loves us He wants us to choose Him.
--
As I sit here this morning I am realizing how much that concept means to me. My God values each person and He has given us free will. He isn't a micromanager. He respects us.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." - 1 John 4:7-11 ESV
God Is Love and His love is respectful. God sent His Son at a point in human history but i believe this has a personal application also. He sends Him to us at times in our lives to let us know that Jesus was a propitiation (that word is a legal term for satisfying the anger or grievance of another person). Jesus' work on the cross satisfied the anger of God.
People might not value your choices. What you do or don't do might make them angry but God isn't like that towards us. His anger is satisfied in Christ. He wants us free to choose and because He loves us He wants us to choose Him.
--
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Love That Is Manifested As Honor
I happen to love this chunk of scripture but I always remind myself that there are eleven chapters in Romans before Paul lays this out...
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:9-21 ESV
There is so much in there but this morning I am seeing 'love that is manifested as honor.' This honor that flows from genuine love sees something special in everyone. Each person is made in God's image and we can honor them in that. We can honor service through recognition. We can even show honor to those who have aligned themselves against us by not 'repaying evil for evil.'
Jesus really honors this next group and models honor in front of them...
"While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him... But He answered and said to the one who told Him, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! 'For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.' " - Matthew 12:46, 48-50 NKJV
God is revealed when we operate in premeditated honor.
Young men need to see honor manifested in older men. Men learn how to be leaders in an atmosphere of honor. A man who feels powerless has forgotten about honor.
--
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:9-21 ESV
There is so much in there but this morning I am seeing 'love that is manifested as honor.' This honor that flows from genuine love sees something special in everyone. Each person is made in God's image and we can honor them in that. We can honor service through recognition. We can even show honor to those who have aligned themselves against us by not 'repaying evil for evil.'
Jesus really honors this next group and models honor in front of them...
"While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him... But He answered and said to the one who told Him, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! 'For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.' " - Matthew 12:46, 48-50 NKJV
God is revealed when we operate in premeditated honor.
Young men need to see honor manifested in older men. Men learn how to be leaders in an atmosphere of honor. A man who feels powerless has forgotten about honor.
--
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
A Passage Loaded With Benefits
Here is a good passage loaded with promises for us today...
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." - Psalm 103:2-5 ESV
I tell my soul to 'bless the Lord' and ask the questions. Then the answers come in an attitude of worship.
Who forgives all your iniquity? - When my emotions get off track and maybe I play right into the hand of the enemy of my soul...
Who heals all your diseases? - When my body isn't healthy or co-operative or I have a lingering cycle of some kind...
Who redeems your life from the pit? - When I am isolated and trapped in it...
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy? - When I just plain need kindness...
Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's? - this one breaks me today... they all do in combination... when an old dog needs to learn some new tricks it can happen...
Are we going to muster these things up?
"The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!" - Psalm 103:6-22 ESV
Yes. We worship You God.
I am still alive because of You... I shouldn't be but I am.
All who trust in You will live forever not just with everlasting existence... You give eternal life and that life has benefits... You are God almighty... You are the One who loves the unlovely and loads us with benefits. Thank You. Thank You.
--
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." - Psalm 103:2-5 ESV
I tell my soul to 'bless the Lord' and ask the questions. Then the answers come in an attitude of worship.
Who forgives all your iniquity? - When my emotions get off track and maybe I play right into the hand of the enemy of my soul...
Who heals all your diseases? - When my body isn't healthy or co-operative or I have a lingering cycle of some kind...
Who redeems your life from the pit? - When I am isolated and trapped in it...
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy? - When I just plain need kindness...
Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's? - this one breaks me today... they all do in combination... when an old dog needs to learn some new tricks it can happen...
Are we going to muster these things up?
"The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!" - Psalm 103:6-22 ESV
Yes. We worship You God.
I am still alive because of You... I shouldn't be but I am.
All who trust in You will live forever not just with everlasting existence... You give eternal life and that life has benefits... You are God almighty... You are the One who loves the unlovely and loads us with benefits. Thank You. Thank You.
--
Monday, March 26, 2018
A Sanctified Memory
Perhaps we see forgetfulness as some kind of flaw in our ability to remember But I think it has it's uses and God built in this ability at creation. It has just gone a bit haywire because of the fall.
"The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. 'I have loved you,' says the LORD. But you say, 'How have you loved us?' 'Is not Esau Jacob's brother?' declares the LORD. 'Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.' " - Malachi 1:1-3 ESV
"Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" - Psalm 88:10-12 ESV
Esau dwells in the 'land of forgetfulness' but God thinks about Jacob all the time.
"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:48 ESV
I often ask God to quicken and heal my memory. I want to love (remember) and hate (forget) perfectly.
We are limited beings and we aren't going to remember everyone. Forgetting can be a defense mechanism triggered as a reaction to pain. In a way forgetting is a form of 'hatred' but there is a perfect hatred... a perfect love and a perfect hatred.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - John 14:26 ESV
There is no condemnation for our limitations. If we rely on God we will remember who and what we really need to remember.
--
"The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. 'I have loved you,' says the LORD. But you say, 'How have you loved us?' 'Is not Esau Jacob's brother?' declares the LORD. 'Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.' " - Malachi 1:1-3 ESV
"Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" - Psalm 88:10-12 ESV
Esau dwells in the 'land of forgetfulness' but God thinks about Jacob all the time.
"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:48 ESV
I often ask God to quicken and heal my memory. I want to love (remember) and hate (forget) perfectly.
We are limited beings and we aren't going to remember everyone. Forgetting can be a defense mechanism triggered as a reaction to pain. In a way forgetting is a form of 'hatred' but there is a perfect hatred... a perfect love and a perfect hatred.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - John 14:26 ESV
There is no condemnation for our limitations. If we rely on God we will remember who and what we really need to remember.
--
Monday, March 5, 2018
Prayers Of Mercy For Those Who Are Outside
Here is a prayer we can pray for people...
'God. Please don't give that person what they deserve. Then use it to open their eyes to Your mercy and grace.'
The mob never cries out, 'Give mercy! Don't hurt them!' but we are not ones to join the mob. If a person is 'a user' and they don't repent people will eventually be lining up for their pound of flesh. Isolation is inevitable. We can be the ones who represent a divine mindset. We can have the great privilege of being 'mercy people' because God has had mercy on us.
Jesus asked his Father to forgive the people who were crucifying Him while it was happening. What the mob was shouting at Him was dark but the words Jesus uttered were a ray of light in the darkness. His mercy words will be remembered forever.
I don't think we are called to be doormats. We set boundaries and enforce them but it all can be done living in an attitude of love, mercy and grace.
In the mission in Florida where I received Christ the policy about drugs and alcohol were very straightforward. If you show up drunk you won't be spending the night. You are going to have to sleep it off somewhere else. God loves you and we care about you but that isn't happening here. We need to protect the people who are staying under this roof and hanging on by a thread. We can't let you drag them down. If you still need a place to stay tomorrow you are welcome here and the past will be gone forever. If you fail again we won't chide you about last week... but you won't be sleeping here if drugs or alcohol are in your system.
I didn't understand it at first. It seemed cruel but it wasn't. It was Love.
Sometimes it was me who had to send them off into the night and I learned to pray, 'Father, Have mercy on them. Protect them. Help them. Save them from what is out there and from themselves.'
These are good prayers to pray, aren't they? I think they are.
God is the One who can change hearts. We are the ones who can ask Him to do it.
--
'God. Please don't give that person what they deserve. Then use it to open their eyes to Your mercy and grace.'
The mob never cries out, 'Give mercy! Don't hurt them!' but we are not ones to join the mob. If a person is 'a user' and they don't repent people will eventually be lining up for their pound of flesh. Isolation is inevitable. We can be the ones who represent a divine mindset. We can have the great privilege of being 'mercy people' because God has had mercy on us.
Jesus asked his Father to forgive the people who were crucifying Him while it was happening. What the mob was shouting at Him was dark but the words Jesus uttered were a ray of light in the darkness. His mercy words will be remembered forever.
I don't think we are called to be doormats. We set boundaries and enforce them but it all can be done living in an attitude of love, mercy and grace.
In the mission in Florida where I received Christ the policy about drugs and alcohol were very straightforward. If you show up drunk you won't be spending the night. You are going to have to sleep it off somewhere else. God loves you and we care about you but that isn't happening here. We need to protect the people who are staying under this roof and hanging on by a thread. We can't let you drag them down. If you still need a place to stay tomorrow you are welcome here and the past will be gone forever. If you fail again we won't chide you about last week... but you won't be sleeping here if drugs or alcohol are in your system.
I didn't understand it at first. It seemed cruel but it wasn't. It was Love.
Sometimes it was me who had to send them off into the night and I learned to pray, 'Father, Have mercy on them. Protect them. Help them. Save them from what is out there and from themselves.'
These are good prayers to pray, aren't they? I think they are.
God is the One who can change hearts. We are the ones who can ask Him to do it.
--
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
As I get older I miss people more. Not just 'people'. I miss individuals in an individual way. Younger me wouldn't understand if I explained it to him.
I love the contrast in this next passage. Joy, but also a sorrow in Jesus that only someone with foreknowledge can have.
"As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.' And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.' " - Luke 19:37-44 ESV
I want Christ's emotional state to instruct my sometimes cold heart. Jesus has always had a hot love. He longs for people. He misses individuals and nations. He knows that how they respond to him determines their fate.
I'm praying for the living this morning. It is vital that we don't miss 'the visitation' of God. He misses us when we are 'gone' in an absent-minded way.
Later we will understand what we can not know now. He loves us seeing what was and what will be. That is beyond us.
'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'
--
I love the contrast in this next passage. Joy, but also a sorrow in Jesus that only someone with foreknowledge can have.
"As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.' And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.' " - Luke 19:37-44 ESV
I want Christ's emotional state to instruct my sometimes cold heart. Jesus has always had a hot love. He longs for people. He misses individuals and nations. He knows that how they respond to him determines their fate.
I'm praying for the living this morning. It is vital that we don't miss 'the visitation' of God. He misses us when we are 'gone' in an absent-minded way.
Later we will understand what we can not know now. He loves us seeing what was and what will be. That is beyond us.
'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'
--
Monday, December 4, 2017
Love And Mercy Make Greatness
Love and mercy make greatness.
"He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip." - Psalm 18:34-36 ESV
" 'You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' 'But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 'For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 'If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 'Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48 NASB
Simple.
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"He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip." - Psalm 18:34-36 ESV
" 'You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' 'But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 'For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 'If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 'Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48 NASB
Simple.
--
Monday, November 20, 2017
First Fruits
God doesn't want our best. He wants our 'first fruits.'
"You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me." - Exodus 22:29-30 NKJV
If you made 100 sales as a salesman last month and this month you sold 101 and set a new record He doesn't want that extra sale. He wants the first 10.
Something to think about isn't it?
God isn't interested in taking credit for your excellence. He is the foundation of all good things. Recognition is right and in order and it sets our minds and priorities right and in order.
What demands the first fruits of our time? The thing we give the first 10% is the thing we worship and love the most.
I want my first thoughts of the day to be, 'It is finished because of Jesus' Things that crowd in before that are idols to me and they must be put in their place. God is going to get my first 10% or I have determined that I need to repent (change my mind) because I have lost my sense of priority. Thanksgiving needs to be first, not last. If it is first it will linger until the end also.
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"You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me." - Exodus 22:29-30 NKJV
If you made 100 sales as a salesman last month and this month you sold 101 and set a new record He doesn't want that extra sale. He wants the first 10.
Something to think about isn't it?
God isn't interested in taking credit for your excellence. He is the foundation of all good things. Recognition is right and in order and it sets our minds and priorities right and in order.
What demands the first fruits of our time? The thing we give the first 10% is the thing we worship and love the most.
I want my first thoughts of the day to be, 'It is finished because of Jesus' Things that crowd in before that are idols to me and they must be put in their place. God is going to get my first 10% or I have determined that I need to repent (change my mind) because I have lost my sense of priority. Thanksgiving needs to be first, not last. If it is first it will linger until the end also.
--
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Strange Mixtures
God doesn't approve of certain mixtures. The last part of this passage is often used by angry atheists or other folks who want to disprove or invalidate the scriptures one way or another but I find it to be very edifying in context. That is why I have included the verses directly before the often quoted passage.
"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material." - Leviticus 19:17-19 ESV
God doesn't want us to mix love and hate. He gave Israel, not us, statutes so that they would be a visual witness. The nations and cultures who passed through Israel to get to the Orient or to Europe would say, 'These people are different. They eat differently. They dress differently. They are funny people. What makes them different?'
If you have a garment made of more than one material don't sweat it. This 'statute' isn't for you. Chuqqah (Strong's H2708), the word translated statute, means custom or way of life. It was never meant to be global. It is an illustration of God's distaste for mixtures given to a nation that was to represent His mind to the world.
The world is very fond of making hybrids these days. Foods get mixed. DNA gets tossed together like a salad in laboratories. We as believers are not called to be an example of that. We are called to purity. Wear what you want. Join in marriage to the person you want to marry no matter what their ethnicity is. A joining of a man and a woman is a blessed event. God isn't asking us to have an outward conformity. His mind is pure and He loves to see us with an undivided heart and mind. He wants love that never seeks revenge. He wants pure relationships and we can only have those if we look at how He Is and what His Son has done on the cross so transformation and renewal can take place.
--
"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material." - Leviticus 19:17-19 ESV
God doesn't want us to mix love and hate. He gave Israel, not us, statutes so that they would be a visual witness. The nations and cultures who passed through Israel to get to the Orient or to Europe would say, 'These people are different. They eat differently. They dress differently. They are funny people. What makes them different?'
If you have a garment made of more than one material don't sweat it. This 'statute' isn't for you. Chuqqah (Strong's H2708), the word translated statute, means custom or way of life. It was never meant to be global. It is an illustration of God's distaste for mixtures given to a nation that was to represent His mind to the world.
The world is very fond of making hybrids these days. Foods get mixed. DNA gets tossed together like a salad in laboratories. We as believers are not called to be an example of that. We are called to purity. Wear what you want. Join in marriage to the person you want to marry no matter what their ethnicity is. A joining of a man and a woman is a blessed event. God isn't asking us to have an outward conformity. His mind is pure and He loves to see us with an undivided heart and mind. He wants love that never seeks revenge. He wants pure relationships and we can only have those if we look at how He Is and what His Son has done on the cross so transformation and renewal can take place.
--
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Hospitality In Heaven And On Earth
This morning I'm thinking of the concept of 'sheltering people' in a crisis.
Every home has a different culture, doesn't it? Some people live very private lives. I picture the quiet couple that doesn't ever really entertain. They have a home that they live in but not many people ever see it. Then there is the family that has a home like grand central station... children... other peoples children... company that stays over... there is a closet filled with extra bedding.
Then the crisis comes. The flood, fire, war, repression or migration.
Which family opens their doors? Perhaps the decision is different for these different households.
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:1-3 ESV
As far as I know there were not many, if any, people in Heaven when Jesus said this. Heaven's doors were not open to people yet. Jesus is the One who would open those doors.
When people died they went to a place we call Abraham's bosom. Jesus speaks of it below and we think of it as an actual place because Jesus uses proper names. He didn't use names in parables.
"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'" - Luke 16:19-26 ESV
Jesus opens Heaven. He says that to Mary in the Garden after He is raised from the dead.
"Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' ' " - John 20:16-17 ESV
Jesus is preparing a place for us.
Does that excite you? It excites me.
I'm praying this morning for all the folks out there in the world who are preparing 'a place' for people because they have compassion in their hearts. The private ones and the ones who are used to feeding many mouths. Their hospitality is not unknown in Heaven. God does that also.
--
Every home has a different culture, doesn't it? Some people live very private lives. I picture the quiet couple that doesn't ever really entertain. They have a home that they live in but not many people ever see it. Then there is the family that has a home like grand central station... children... other peoples children... company that stays over... there is a closet filled with extra bedding.
Then the crisis comes. The flood, fire, war, repression or migration.
Which family opens their doors? Perhaps the decision is different for these different households.
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:1-3 ESV
As far as I know there were not many, if any, people in Heaven when Jesus said this. Heaven's doors were not open to people yet. Jesus is the One who would open those doors.
When people died they went to a place we call Abraham's bosom. Jesus speaks of it below and we think of it as an actual place because Jesus uses proper names. He didn't use names in parables.
"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'" - Luke 16:19-26 ESV
Jesus opens Heaven. He says that to Mary in the Garden after He is raised from the dead.
"Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' ' " - John 20:16-17 ESV
Jesus is preparing a place for us.
Does that excite you? It excites me.
I'm praying this morning for all the folks out there in the world who are preparing 'a place' for people because they have compassion in their hearts. The private ones and the ones who are used to feeding many mouths. Their hospitality is not unknown in Heaven. God does that also.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Distances
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:11-12 ESV
Great promises.
'Those who fear Him' and 'us'.
We know the path of the moon and its distance but how far is the east from the west?
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Great promises.
'Those who fear Him' and 'us'.
We know the path of the moon and its distance but how far is the east from the west?
--
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Some We Just Avoid
"...avoid such people." - 2 Timothy 3:5b ESV
Yes. The scriptures say this in the new testament. It is a 'seek and save' age. We love and in one sense we are sent in as sheep to the slaughter but it also says that we avoid some folks. We love them and pray for them from afar.
Here is the context.
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." - 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV
Why avoid them? They will steal your time and resources. They will add roadblocks and confusion.
The scriptures go further.
"For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ESV
I notice that is says, '...among them...' as if these are a subset of the previous group with attributes of that group. Not all abusive people are users but all users are abusers in some way.
God died on a cross for their sins. He loves the whole world with an intensity we can't understand but at the same time, He gives warnings.
Seducers don't show all their cards until they creep into your house but the warning signs are often there.
"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other..." - Romans 13:7-8a ESV
Often a sense of duty will seem to be present to help or continue but don't be fooled. Jesus is the Savior not us and we listen to His voice to see what role we have, if any, in someone's life.
Some folks you have to love from far away. Perhaps even through prison bars. Mercy, love and forgiveness... God has given us those things. He also has given us wisdom.
Let's be wise.
The Apostle Paul didn't start out that way. He used to be Saul. Saul was a man to avoid. God had to blind him and knock him down a few pegs before conversion happened in his life. We don't want to meddle in that process. Paul is a man I'm looking forward to meeting... not Saul. That guy can just keep on walking.
--
Yes. The scriptures say this in the new testament. It is a 'seek and save' age. We love and in one sense we are sent in as sheep to the slaughter but it also says that we avoid some folks. We love them and pray for them from afar.
Here is the context.
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." - 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV
Why avoid them? They will steal your time and resources. They will add roadblocks and confusion.
The scriptures go further.
"For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ESV
I notice that is says, '...among them...' as if these are a subset of the previous group with attributes of that group. Not all abusive people are users but all users are abusers in some way.
God died on a cross for their sins. He loves the whole world with an intensity we can't understand but at the same time, He gives warnings.
Seducers don't show all their cards until they creep into your house but the warning signs are often there.
"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other..." - Romans 13:7-8a ESV
Often a sense of duty will seem to be present to help or continue but don't be fooled. Jesus is the Savior not us and we listen to His voice to see what role we have, if any, in someone's life.
Some folks you have to love from far away. Perhaps even through prison bars. Mercy, love and forgiveness... God has given us those things. He also has given us wisdom.
Let's be wise.
The Apostle Paul didn't start out that way. He used to be Saul. Saul was a man to avoid. God had to blind him and knock him down a few pegs before conversion happened in his life. We don't want to meddle in that process. Paul is a man I'm looking forward to meeting... not Saul. That guy can just keep on walking.
--
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Three Things
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
"...remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." - 1 Thessalonians 5:8 ESV
Faith, Hope and Love
Hope in Jesus... Hope becomes a covering for our thinking.
The work of faith is combined with the labor of love to make up a protection on our heart.
These three abide (have a home) now on Earth in God's plan.
Jesus must be at the center of this and every other meditation. Grace. Mercy. What He has done and how He thinks must be central.
No striving. No outcome driven focus. Just Faith, Hope and Love abiding now.
God show us how that applies today in our interactions and planning. Not just a pie in the sky future. Our thinking dwells in Heavenly places so that we can have a place to abide here and now on the Earth in our actual provisions.
A covering for our heart and for our head. That is what we need and that is what we have.
--
"...remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." - 1 Thessalonians 5:8 ESV
Faith, Hope and Love
Hope in Jesus... Hope becomes a covering for our thinking.
The work of faith is combined with the labor of love to make up a protection on our heart.
These three abide (have a home) now on Earth in God's plan.
Jesus must be at the center of this and every other meditation. Grace. Mercy. What He has done and how He thinks must be central.
No striving. No outcome driven focus. Just Faith, Hope and Love abiding now.
God show us how that applies today in our interactions and planning. Not just a pie in the sky future. Our thinking dwells in Heavenly places so that we can have a place to abide here and now on the Earth in our actual provisions.
A covering for our heart and for our head. That is what we need and that is what we have.
--
Friday, August 4, 2017
Two Things That The Gospel Of Grace Gives
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again... And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified... You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship." - Acts 20:24-25, 32, 34-38 ESV
Paul is sure that God's grace is able to give us two things. It is able to build us up and it is able to give us a joint inheritance. Now and Later are covered.
Paul knew He wasn't coming back but He also knew that the words He had spoken to these people had been about Christ. The Gospel of Grace had been given. He had explained thoroughly about Jesus in the Hebrew scriptures and about the cross. He had explained the free gift of salvation dozens of ways. He wasn't like other teachers that demanded tribute. He wasn't securing a following for himself for security or financial gain so that if he came back this way as he traveled some scholarly teaching circuit he would have connections in this city. He wasn't networking. He was loving God and working with his hands as he labored in the word.
There may be people who are only in your life for a short season. I feel that way on Saturdays when we talk to people about life, death, Heaven and Hell. I may never see them again but in a moment I (we) can give them something eternal. We don't offer a momentary smile like an entertainer does... smiles are great but they are like flowers that fade. We offer a Savior who saves and sticks closer than a brother long after we leave the scene.
Are people just in our lives so we can get something from them or is it an opportunity to give something eternal away?
Grace is able to build up. Grace is able to give an 'inheritance among all those who are sanctified' and that is precious beyond imagining.
--
Paul is sure that God's grace is able to give us two things. It is able to build us up and it is able to give us a joint inheritance. Now and Later are covered.
Paul knew He wasn't coming back but He also knew that the words He had spoken to these people had been about Christ. The Gospel of Grace had been given. He had explained thoroughly about Jesus in the Hebrew scriptures and about the cross. He had explained the free gift of salvation dozens of ways. He wasn't like other teachers that demanded tribute. He wasn't securing a following for himself for security or financial gain so that if he came back this way as he traveled some scholarly teaching circuit he would have connections in this city. He wasn't networking. He was loving God and working with his hands as he labored in the word.
There may be people who are only in your life for a short season. I feel that way on Saturdays when we talk to people about life, death, Heaven and Hell. I may never see them again but in a moment I (we) can give them something eternal. We don't offer a momentary smile like an entertainer does... smiles are great but they are like flowers that fade. We offer a Savior who saves and sticks closer than a brother long after we leave the scene.
Are people just in our lives so we can get something from them or is it an opportunity to give something eternal away?
Grace is able to build up. Grace is able to give an 'inheritance among all those who are sanctified' and that is precious beyond imagining.
--
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