Disaster in Boston
“See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Matthew 24:5-8
It’s obvious that the terror in Boston this past Tuesday was not quiescence, but rather a chain of sequences leading up to something, do you think? Terror and horrific things happen all across the world every day, whether it’s news worthy or not. So just because you are not aware or affected by it don’t think bad things don’t happen to people for a reason. If I could elude back to the bible verses above, Jesus here is talking about the end times, so it seems like it He’s talking about today, it matches up a lot, Right? He says two things that are very striking 1.for this must take place, are you startled by that statement? There is reason that terrible things happen in this world it’s all leading up to the time of His return. 2. See that no one leads you astray, here it seems right that he would say that. But do we heed that word when bombs go off or terrorist or some crazy mental case just starts shooting up everybody in sight for no morally good reason, does our focus and attention change and we start getting panicked and watch and read everything out there about the terrible thing that just happened. Although it’s almost unavoidable because it’s everywhere on T.V. in the newspapers , everywhere online. Are you sucked into it like some people do?
Those are my thoughts on that, but I would like to hear what you think
Eyes Opened
Everybody has their own perspective on life based on how they see things, and I respect. We all see things differently whether that’s on political and moral subjects and that’s what shapes us the environments and the situations that come our way. So we see things one way and other s see them another but how does God see them? What is His perspective on the world and life, the Bible has many verses on how God will always be with you and will always be on your side but what does that mean when you are in the thick of life.
There are three passages in the bible where men of God get stuck in the thick of life but God used the situation in order for their eyes to be opened. The First in 2 Kings where Elisha and the nation of Israel are surrounded by a great army of horses and chariots. Elisha is not worried or freighted because he sees the things that are not visible to the naked eye, but his servant was obviously afraid because He did not see the things that God was doing. So here’s the punch line and how Elisha responded to his servant
“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:16-17
So when life get scary and uncertain we need to pray for eyes opened and not look at the present physical situation around us because God is with us and we have nothing to fear.
The second is the Profit Balaam who was going his own way and thought he was doing the right thing by his thinking. He was sent by King Balak to curse the people of Israel but when he was on the way God had to use supernatural powers to open his eyes, God His angel and the donkey that he was riding to speak to him.
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. Numbers 22:31-32
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we are doing nobody can tell us otherwise, but only God can turn us back to our senses and His way.
The third is Saul aka Paul who was very much like Balaam doing what he saw was right in his own eyes which was persecution and killing Christians. But like the latter two his eyes were opened also, and here is his account of what happed:
“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Acts 22:6-8
I think we can all relate to the experience of the three men one way or another because we have all come to a situation where we were either scared because the opposition was too much for us to bear or we were convinced that our way was right whether that was because we heard something someone said and was completely sure that that made sense and decided that it was right. But the fact of the matter is that unless it was from God it is just a lie from Satan the King of lies himself. We need to have our eyes opened to what is true and real not all this rubbish that we hear all day long. The things you see belong to you and you alone but are you seeing a lie or the truth?
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:18
Here are a few thoughts to ponder, think and discuss to others about
- Why do the things you see cause you to live the way you do?
- What is the biggest thing that can suck you in based on what you see?
- Do you think that knowing the Truth of God will change your view?
WORD & DEED
Have you ever thought about or seen somebody say something and turned around and did the complete opposite, So what’s the big deal? Right well people say practice what you preach or you will be a hypocrite, and then your words won’t have any weight to them and nobody will ever believe a word you say ever again. Now that’s a big deal right? In the book of James he talks about your faith is dead without works.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
So The Lord God has put it on my heart to do the things you say, the words you say need to have deeds to correspond to them or acts. I’m not saying that I’m perfect and always do the things that my words say but I’m learning and growing. Just like how there are many great men in the Bible but only the ones who had God’s moving and operation could carry out their deeds. Do you have God’s moving and operation in you? One of these men was Noah who built the ark to save his family and every animal that God had created.Genesis says When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying,
Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”
That’s pretty cool for his father to give him that kind of praise and that Noah would bring relief. But let’s think about what and how Noah backed up His words with deed. First He was in a time when everyone had turned away from God and there was great evil in the land and every intention and thought was constantly evil, that’s hard to live in when only you and your family are following God and the whole world is against you. Second God told Noah to build an ark in the middle of a desert where nobody knew what the word rain meant yet alone for in to rain 40 days and 40 nights and don’t forget about all the people around Him at that time. You’ve got to think what was going thought his head. I know I would be thinking God you have got to be crazy and everybody is going to think that I’m crazy. Noah must have been ridiculed for his deeds. But everything that God told Noah to do he did act after act deed after deed. Here’s what the Bible has to say about how Noah acted; he did all that God commanded him.
In the end there is no big secret to how your words can match your deeds it’s just simply obey and do all God tells you to do. Think about how when you tell a child to not do something they do it anyways. We should not be children in this sense because we are full grown and we are able to make choices. So how will you choose? Are we going to follow God and do what God and I say or not.
Here are a few verses that bring the point home
Romans 15:18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
So now that I’ve inspired you (hopefully) now I would like you feed back about what has gotten your attention.
- What has your experience been about saying but not doing?
- What has your experience been about doing the things you say?
Power of Example
The basis of what I’m writing to you is based on the fact that forgiveness is powerful. So you need to first watch this
What an awesome story of forgiveness right? Renee did the unthinkable the imposable she forgave a man who took away something that could never be replaced, her daughter. Now when I first came upon this story it floored and inspired me at the same time. On the one hand it is not our human instinct to forgive someone who has committed an unforgivable act, but on the other this is an example of how the act of forgiveness can be so powerful to turn someone else’s life around but more importantly your own life around it to something meaningful. So I asked myself could I do this, well how about you could you?
Now the best example that I can think of is the man Jesus Christ, who lived a prefect life in constant submission to the Father God. At every turn when He bumped in to a sinner He forgave often saying your sins are forgiven or that your faith has healed you. To forgive is not any easy thing especially when someone has wronged you, because now you have to tell that person that you forgive them. In our natural human living we are inclined to not forgive people because they got what they deserved. But there is no power in that and if we live in that way then what’s the difference between us and a sinner? God’s way always has purpose and power behind every action. The Lord Jesus ultimate act of forgiveness was His death on the cross. Have you ever thought why He had to endure that horrible death from the surging all the way to the death on the cross? He deserved none of it but in order that man would be forgiven a price had to be paid. When you forgive someone you need to pay a price not as severe as the Savior Jesus did but we have to give something up weather that’s our feeling that we have been wronged in some way or our feeling that we have the right to get our due for what has happen to us. We need to release our evil and Satan inspired feelings toward others and be free from the grip off the Devil and his demonic way.
In Matthew when the Lord and His disciples were at the last supper and the Lord was telling them what was about to happen to Him He took a cup and giving thanks He said: “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord took that cup but we also need to partake of that same cup and be the same and forgive others because Jesus Christ forgave us even when we were dirty and sinful and wanted to kill Him.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When the act of forgiveness is done there is no waiting around for the right time or when that person comes and says sorry to you, No. To forgive you need to act right away your pride needs to be put aside and you need to just do it and be kind and compassionate to all men because you where forgiven by Him.
-Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
So now I hope that you can see yourself in Renee’s shoes and you would act the same way as she did and also as Christ did. Live as Christ Jesus did and the power of example by forgiveness will empower you and all those you touch.
Now that I’ve said what I need to say and hopefully you have been inspired think it over discuss with close Christian companions and share with others.
- Have you ever experienced anything like Renee did, If so how did you respond?
- Does that fact that Christ acts of forgiveness change the way you respond to the way people act toward you? How?
John 20:22-24 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Life Affects
Think about this the billions upon billions of lives that come and go thought this orbital plant that we call earth will have affected someone in their lifetime whether they know it or not, whether for good or bad. The life that you live will have a direct effect on someone but the question is do you know who that is and more importantly how are you living your life?
There have been many great men and women in history with the likes of: Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world. Dr. Martin Luther King was an leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. King has become a national icon in the history of American progressivism. Paul Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston silversmith, who helped organize an intelligence and alarm system to keep watch on the British military. Most notably know for alerting the New Englanders that the red coats were here. Adolf Hitler was a German politician, the leader of the Nazi Party and dictator of Nazi Germany known for his role in World War II in Europe, and the Holocaust. Rosa Parks who is known for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white. So many in the history of the world have left their mark in society regardless of race gender or positional standing and have changed and effected the world order to day, but none influence more and was as controversial as the Lord Jesus Christ. His life not only left a mark on the world but whoever touches this life will be changed forever. Now can you say that you have begun to make your mark in the world have to change the lives of those around you? What have you left behind what’s your legacy been?
Let’s look at what Jesus Christ’s gift to man was, He lived a perfect life only to please the Father. Now I can say that I live my life in total dedication to God the Father (I don’t know about you) but I strive for it. The Lord Jesus’s life was a testimony to the Father always with the Father’s heart and mind in view so when sinners saw Him they saw all that encompasses the Father. God is our faith, our hope, and our love. The world system is all against what we believe and we get taken under by all the lies our faith can be low but He is our faith. When our world is upside down and there is no hope in site He is our hope. When we can’t love the unlovable He is our love. The point is He is and we are not that’s why everything and anything that we can give will never be as good as what the Lord Jesus can give so the mark your legacy that you leave the world should not be of yourself but should be of God. All the other people in the world although they will be remembered for as long as this world stands only Jesus Christ life will leave a lasting impact for eternity. Jesus said in the Gospels Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Not only will His acts be eternal but also His words, who else can claim that?
I love, love these two verses here in Deuteronomy 30:19-20 it captures what God has given to us relating to how we live life, here Moses is talking. Although this happened thousands of years ago it is so relevant for us today.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Basically what he is saying is in life you have a choice on how you what to live your life, and this alludes back to Genesis when God put Adam and Eve in front of the two trees. You know what your choices are but how and what you choose will determine the course of your life and affect all the people you come in contact with. How you live your life is up to you God gave you a will to freely choose whatever you want but does that match God’s will. Despite your choices people that you meet will get an impression of you by the way you go about your life and that will change them whether that’s for a moment or for a life time it’s up two you to decide.
I will end with this verse in 1 Thessalonians 2:12
we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
I writing this to you (whoever is reading this) to encourage to tell you that you have been called, charged by God to walk out your life in a manner that is worthy of God’s calling. We need to give other’s what God has given us. That’s different for everybody, so how will your life effect others?
Now it’s your turn to respond to how the Lord has affected your life and how you are passing it on.
- What can you say that you have done or are doing to affect other’s lives?
- Has your life been affected by another’s actions? How?
Story Song Steady My Heart Kari Jobe
The reasons that I write these story songs are that, songs can be an inspiration that can change your outlook on life and turn your mood around. Song lyrics can play to your moments in life. I love how quickly a story can change your whole perspective on life. When you sing songs do you sing because you like the tune? Well now we can focus in on what the lyrics are saying. Songs especially worship type songs are meant to go beyond just one day; you should carry the thought of the song for your whole life. When you come to sing these songs it should be a shadow of your life now and what you expect to come.
Kari Jobe’s song Steady My Heart has really been an inspiration and an encouragement to me ever since I’ve been listening to it. The song speaks to the fact that life will get hard but you can always run to the Lord Jesus Christ. I also like the title of the song Steady My Heart, although I seem like this phase is not possible at least it seems that way to me when life throws a wrench in to my plans and my whole world is out of whack, now I’m very unsteady and unsure of everything. I’m pretty sure we have all felt that way at least once in our life. But the word steady means direct or sure in movement also firm in position, so do you know your position do you know where God is moving? Well the following will answer these and hopefully so questions you might have. The first verse says:
Wish it could be easy Why is life so messy Why is pain a part of us There are days I feel like Nothing ever goes right Sometimes it just hurts so much
I can attest to this as my experience, have you ever wished that life’s hard times could go away and ever thing could just be easy? No pain no mistakes everything just perfect. Of course we all have but nowhere in the Bible does it say that life would be easy but the complete opposite life will be hard and oppression and hardships will come upon our life especially to those who choose to follow the Lord Jesus, but we need to be thankful that there is a palace and a person we can come and run to.
But You’re here You’re real I know I can trust You
I love this part so simple but so true, you can trust in Him you can know that He will be there when nobody else is, He is real, and He knows what you are going through. In Psalm 55:22 it talks about how we can lean and depend on Him and He will comfort you and give you the strength to go on.
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken -Psalm 55:22
This need to be our core foundation something that is ingrained into our being that no matter what we go thought in life big or small (at work, with friends, with family, with strangers, in the mists of enemies) the situation does not matter because this apply to all people and all times. He cares for you so be confident and know that you can come to Him and bring your cares to Him and He will sustain you, because He is righteous and he cares about you. He will never let any harm come upon you if you give it to Him.
Even when it hurts Even when it’s hard Even when it all just falls apart I will run to You Cause I know that You are Lover of my soul Healer of my scars You steady my heart
The next verse just continues to say the same thing, and I think it’s important to repeat and stress this point that despite the situation whether it hurts or it’s hard or when everything in your world that you worked so hard to build up (pride, reputation, family, money)just comes tumbling down know that it’s ok because He will sustain and bring you up from the ashes. He loves you so much that He, Jesus gave it all up just for you, so that He could be the healer of your scars. It paramount that we know that because when life becomes a mess and nothing goes right your heart can be steadied. I love this verse in Proverbs.
My sons, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. - Proverbs 3:18
I’m not gonna worry I know that You got me Right inside the palm of your hand Each and every moment What’s good and what gets broken Happens just the way that You plan
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! - Psalm 34:1-8
We the people of God need to have a continual trust and an unshakeable faith that knows that God’s is in control and everything will be ok. In fact He planned it to be that way, think about it. If everything was always good and going according to your plan how much would you need to turn to the Lord? So all of the tough and painful times only make us stronger in our faith that God has us right in the palm of your hand and we will learn how to run and depend on the Lord.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” – John 10:28-30
And I will run to You And find refuge in Your arms And I will sing to You Cause of everything You are You steady my heart
Not only can we run to him and find a refuge in His arms but we need to be singing of how great and excellent He is to us. We can keep it a secret that the Lord is a hiding place and a safe haven to us we need to share to all we see that are in pain and how life is hard and not going the way they planned. We need to be the messengers of God’s peace. If we have such a great and awesome God who cares and love us so much that our heart can be steadied again and again because He has done it from the time we were born to today then shouldn’t we share that with the world? Yes! Yes! Yes! We should be the comforters to others in this age.
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge. – Psalm 71:1-7
Now it’s your turn to respond and share your experience
- What hard time have you gone through in life?
- How have you dealt with them?
- Why do you run to the lover of your soul and the healer of your scares – Jesus?
Love Can Change the World
You can change the world by your love. But not by your love cause your love is fleeting and but last a moment, man’s love is just a feeling but God love is an action. To make a change to anything you need to do something about it, not just have warm-fuzzy feelings about it. Just to have feeling about something is not bad but it won’t accomplish anything you need to get up and be a doer, do something about it show that you mean business.
When Jesus was on the earth He lived a life of loving others. Even thought he was mocked and ridiculed by most that he came in contact with, His love toward them did not change. Our love for the members of the Church and likewise for all mankind should never change regardless of the outward situation. In one instants Jesus had silenced the Sadducees so when the Pharisees heard this they wanted to test Him so they asked Him:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36-39.
So the Greatest Commandment that was given by God is that we should simply love the Lord God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That sounds good and all right, but what does that look like? How do we love with all our heart, soul and mind? In
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This is how our love toward the saints and all off mankind should be, just think about how you have been loved by God. He is patient and kind, without kindness there can’t be patients. If you don’t have kindness then you will never be able to tolerate anybody’s needs. To be patient is to be able to wait on, and our love needs to be one that can if we are to be changers of the world. It goes on to say what love is not love does not envy or boast when we love one another and the ones in the world we cannot have envy or be jealousy of what another might have. There is this term when someone is envious of another’s ability or possessions called “The Green Eyed Monster”. It’s about that look in the eye and the green is the color you think about when someone is sick. So to have envy is to be sick to your stomach that you can’t have what you see someone else has. The love of God toward you is in no way like this so we should never even have a though of envy. Also we should never boast or brag about what we have for this is not love. Love is not arrogant or rude, we should never insists that we are better in some way or be rude to others that they are below us. We have no right to say anything that would degrade another for this is not love. So it goes on to say that love does not insist on its own way nor is it irritable or resentful love never rejoices to see wrongdoing but instead we should rejoice when the truth of God’s word is being displayed.
In the past two weeks the NFL playoffs were going on and a player of the winning Baltimore Ravens’ Ray Lewis when interviewed after the game gave praise to God. The interviewer was asking about the game but the first thing to come out of his mouth was love to God and to his teammates. In second game after the game he knelt to the ground ( I believe that he was praying) when he got up he quoted a verse out of the bible. This was so awesome to see that he exhibited the qualities of love mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13.
In finishes with Love bares all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Are we able to bear up each other’s burdens, believe and hope well of others, are able to endure the troubles of others? If we have Christ love then yes but if not then there is no way our love will be able to do all those things. If we can come to Him and receive His love then slowly the way we love be changed and we will love like Jesus Christ does.
Now that I’ve inspire you (hopefully) now I would like to hear what you have to say
- How has the Love of God changed you?
- How has God’s love inspired you to change the world (others)?
All Things New
The New Year is just days away and it’s time to make that dreaded resolution for the New Year (if you do that thing for the record I do not). It seems to me that whatever you resolve to change about your self never turns out the way you planned, so the problem seems to be ourselves and our resolve to stay the same. But the answer is in Christ, He is always new everything and He does is always new.
In Ephesians 4:23-24Paul says; be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
We need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. This is so true that we need start with our minds, for that is where all our thoughts about the good and the bad things start. We always have fears and doubts about things that are new and unknown. Also put on the new self our body will always follow our mind, whatever our mind thinks our body does. So everything that we are is old and needs to be made new again. All of these are created by God after the likeness of God who is righteous and holy. So even though we live in a world that although seems to always be making everything new the fact is it is all old because the very real fact is that only Jesus Christ is new only He can make the old things new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Again Paul says in one of his earlier epistles, basically the same thing we need to tap into Christ, here is the source of all things new. When we do this we are a new creation. The fact is really simple just come to Christ. So whatever you resolve to do keep in mind that only Jesus can truly change you and make the old new again. Have a happy new year!
Now that I have (hopefully) inspired you, I want to hear what you have to say.
- How has Christ changed you and made your life new in the past year?
- What do you expect for the coming year?
Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Have the Heart of God
In might seem cliché because you’ve heard it so many times (it seems like I’ve heard it said “Have a Heart” more than once), but the fact is God’s desire is for you and me to love and to have His heart. That is why we were created so He could love on us, just as a father loves his son. The love of this world has so many conditions, for us to love it’s like it has to be perfect, but the heart of God loves all with no reservations. That’s just who He is, perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16
God is love and He loves the world so He gave, love is always the motivating factor for your expression of love. If you love someone you will want to show it through your action weather that’s a gift or helping in some way, in God’s case it’s both He saw that man was in a condition that man could not help himself so out of love God gave His only Son as a gift as well as to help man to get out of his hopeless situation. But now we need to respond to God’s love by believing in Him and again God responds by giving us His eternal life.
The way we respond is how we can show our love for our Father God, so how will you respond? When you are love is given by someone there no other way to show your appreciation than to return that same love back to the lover, and the ultimate lover is Jesus. But it is not an easy thing to love like Jesus and to have the heart of God. For Jesus loves all mankind even when He was on the cross He loved those who were persecuting, mocking, and beating Him, can you love like that? Imposable might be your first response, but if we are like Him and in Him who is love it self then we also can love all people even those who hate us. In 1 Corinthians 13 it speaks of what true love is
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
You can have it all spiritually, be able to speak to all peoples, have understanding and knowledge to interpret all things of the spirit, have faith to do anything and nothing will get in your way, you can be a spiritual “superman” but if you don’t have love then it will be all for not. You will be so self-absorbed in what you can do, but love is not about you love is always about somebody else. We need to use our abilities to show love toward others. For example if you have the ability to speak in front people then also have the view that you should love all those you speak to not having pity or distain for them and thinking that you are in some way better then they, but speak in love for them to help them with the gift that you have.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is more about who Jesus is –Love. If you compare how you love to what love is described here you will find that there is most likely not one that would fit the way you love others (maybe one but very slim chance). We need to understand who God is and who we are, God is the only one in the whole universe that can love with patients and kindness but man’s love is full of envy and boasting, arrogant and rude, always insisting on our own way, very irritable and resentful, rejoicing when we see other get what is coming to them. We just fall miserably short of how we should love, like God. But we can have the heart and love like God, if we allow God to come in to our lives and start spending time with what is the definition of “Pure Love” God. If you want to change and become more like the Lord God then you need to “hang out” with Him, then He will begin to speak to you and the constitution in your heart will begin to be different from how you used to love. And when you love you will be able to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things in love. When you are with someone you just can’t stand you will be able to love them like Jesus.
“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. – 1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Nothing will last forever, all of your spiritual gifts are one day going to pass away, but love will last forever. You can claim to have it all but if you don’t have love you don’t have a thing, because just like this world will one day cease to exist so will all of your possessions and gifts.
“Our best knowledge and our greatest abilities are at present like our condition, narrow and temporary. Even the knowledge the Corinthians had by inspiration was but in part. How little a portion of God, and the unseen world, was heard even by apostles and inspired men! How much short do others come of them! But these gifts were fitted to the present imperfect state of the church, valuable in themselves, but not to be compared with love, because they were to vanish with the imperfections of the church, nay, and long before, whereas love was to last forever.” – Matthew Henry
God never intended for this present age or anything that we have now to last, but only His love in us. So He is changing us from the inside out from our body to our spirit, so we will have a love that will never end, a love that can stand the test of time, and never be change by anyone or anything that can come and affect us. So in the end of time we will still have that love that is greater than anything else.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13
Love is the greatest thing we can ever have not only is it everlasting but it is God’s greatest gift to us. Love is the best thing you could ever give someone, because they will never forget it. So now it is up to us to give back the love that God gave us thought His son Jesus, to God and to everyone else around us.
Now that I have (hopefully) inspired you, it’s your turn to tell me what you think.
- Who has loved you? And how did you respond?
- How has the love of God changed you?
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5
Story Song Break Our Hearts Vicky Beeching
“I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harp Instead; I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. -Amos 5:21-27(NLT)
What’s the point of all your religious actions and ceremonies, why do you go to church every Sunday and do the same thing when you get there? If there is no action behind the duty then why are you wasting your time and God’s. In the passage above God is saying to His people that He hates all the things that they do, even though it seems good on the outside but there is something missing on the inside. Words are useless unless there is action behind them. If we are to bring true worship to our God then it’s time we start to do, and live our lives in justice and righteousness. Otherwise it will just be like a tremendous cacophony of noise and God will put His fingers in His ears.
It’s time for us to live the songs we sing
And turn our good intentions into action
To bring the kind of worship You desire
And move beyond our self-absorbed distractions
We all sing songs in church but how much effect does that have on us after we leave church and live our lives in our world? I’ll be the first to say when I’m in church the songs have a hold on me but after that it loses its effect on me and everything that happened there. We can have all the religious ceremonies and meetings that we want but unless there is the realty of God then God is it as just people going thought the motions and just hears noise nothing satisfying to Him. So what will it take to turn our good intentions into action and start living the songs we sing? God desires and is seeking to find a people that will worship in spirit and truth so are you willing to make a stand for God, and move on from your daily mundane living? If yes then we need to engage and dive into God’s truth, for it is the truth and only the truth found in God’s word that can change us. There is no use of trying to muster up the strength or the ability to change yourself because it simply will not work. You cannot do anything to change but only God can.
The mountains are shaking
Could this be a great awakening
Only God can raise the dead to life, only can God change the atmosphere from hopelessness to hopefulness, and only God can change you and you way of living. The mountains are shaking, but what are the mountains, usually when the word mountain is used in the Bible it’s referring to an obstacle or a roadblock something that’s suppressing us from doing our God given mission here on earth. So what are your mountains? It could be laziness, no desire, fear, no will, just to comfortable where you are or it could be a whole host of things but whatever that is for you God is shaking you out of your roadblock, but whether we are awaken by it is up to us. Will you respond to God’s shaking? It time to wake up and do for God.
Break our hearts
With the things that break Yours
Wake us up to see through Your eyes
Break our hearts
With the things that break Yours
And send us out to shine in the darkness
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. -Matthew 5:14-15
Jesus in the gospels tells us that we are the light of the world, and we should not hide that light that we have in our possession. We are in a world full of darkness, it’s pretty obvious just look around at the world situation today, so it is our God given mission to go out into our world and shine the light. But how is that possible? God is that light that is within us, who have received Him so there, needs to be some kind of change within our hearts. If your heart is not full of God then we are full of darkness but if it is then it’s full of light. So there needs to be an opening to God to let Him in and break our hearts and our hold on anything that is not in line with God’s heart. As soon as that happens then everything will slowly change, your heart will be full of God’s love, your eyes will be full of God’s sight. You need to establish a connection with God by simply spending time with God in His Holy Word and whatever God feels and sees you will be affected by it. So when you see someone in need you will feel in your heart the need to provide that need whatever that is.
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” - John 8:12b
It’s time to move outside our comfort zone
To see beyond our churches and our homes
To change the way we think and how we spend
Until we look like Jesus again
Where are you most comfortable, with the people that you know right? But we need to break out of our comfort zone. Much like God did with Abraham when He called him out of his country and his family. If we are not willing to move then God does not have much of a way thought us. For change to take place it needs to be with our deeds and actions. So it’s time to take action and move away from what we know and feel comfortable in. Jesus was always on the move, He never spent much time in one place. He always had mindset of satisfying the Father. Much like today He is moving thought the Spirit and it is constantly moving like and river. So we need to change the way we think and how we spend our time, never be content with what’s happening in your current situation because there is always something more to be discovered and better to see. If people in that day were so willing to give up everything to follow Jesus how much more should we today?
Here I am send me
To be Your hands and feet
Here I am send me I will go
We all have hands and feet that goes and holds whatever we want them to, but how much better would it be to go and do what God desires and wants to the point that we would look like Jesus. Jesus when He was on the earth went and did what the Father wanted, even obedient to the death of a cross. Are we willing to go where God wants but not where we what to? We are the ones sent by God to go and disciple the nations. If our heart and soul and our entire being is one with God then where ever He would have us go then there should be no problem on our part, even if it’s to our end –death. God views our obedience to Him as a beautiful thing. When we bring justice, righteousness and the good news of Jesus to the people around us in our everyday life, then the Father will be pleased and receive the glory. But that can only be done when we become and match Jesus the Son of God in every way. In 1 Peter it says “Be Holy for I am holy. If we are to be His hands and feet then we need to be like Jesus otherwise it will just be an outward thing and there will be no life on the inside.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” - Isaiah 52:7
Now over to you
Can you see what is God’s desire?
How has your living out Jesus affected those around you at work or in your family?
