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Romans 12 Let’s be Marked as Jesus’ Disciples Because of our Love not our Protests

5/17/2016

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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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
​Romans 12
What does a Christian life lived by faith under God’s grace look like? How does the Christian follow Jesus and not the Law? Walking in the Spirit with Jesus is characterized by love. It is a life that chooses to exude the character of God, who is Love (1 John 4:8). Love is a tangible choice which affects every action, interaction, and reaction.  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. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).
The world tells us to look out for ourselves, to stand up against those who do us wrong with anger, fists, and shouting. It tells us to be offended by everything that disagrees with us and to whine as loudly as possible about the offense. But that isn’t love. Love is more effective than bellyaching over affronts. Love leads people to The Lord, teaches them who He is, and shows them His grace and mercy. Love involves our entire being, heart, soul, strength and mind. Verse 1-3 read,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Whether among the church or not, believers are not supposed to consider themselves as better than other people. That’s how the world does it. Each person fights and claws their way up and exalts himself. We know we’re not better than anyone. We were all born the same, in need of Christ.
The church is made up of many diverse people. Each has her own personality, experience, set of gifts and talents, and level of maturity. There is no one among us who is better than any other. Can you look down on a brother or sister because their gift is generosity and yours is service? Is the brother who prophesies more needed than the sister who administers? The church needs each one! Verses 4-8 read,
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
We are marked by our love. Love is how we are recognized as belonging to Jesus. Jesus said it this way in John 13:34-35,
“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.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We are supposed to be so united, so bonded to one another that we are like one body with one purpose, one Spirit, and one Lord. We each have functions connected to our gifts. If God has given you the gift of intercessory prayer, He means for you to pray for people. The church needs you to be a prayer warrior. The world needs you to be a prayer warrior. If He gave you the gift of prophecy, what good will you do the church or the world if you keep your mouth closed? It takes faith to exercise your gifts. It requires love to use your gifts for the building up of the church. Let’s love one another so deeply that the world takes notice. Let’s stop crying about being offended by words, laws, and attitudes and love people like Jesus loves people. Verses 9-13 read,
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
What if we outdid each other in respect, love, and service instead of looking for glory for ourselves? What if we loved each other so deeply that we responded with empathy, mercy, and grace instead of hurt feelings? The world would see Jesus alive in us. They would want to know more about how we are who they see. Currently, I don’t think the world looks at Christians and sees love. They see believers as self-righteous, judgmental, hateful, moaners who would rather fight over public bathrooms and the definition of marriage than choose mercy.
We are not better than anyone else. We know we didn’t save ourselves it was God’s graciousness that saved us and brought us where we are. I know if I’m living my entire life as worship that it extends beyond the few hours each week I am in church. If I am loving God with my entire life then I am loving others as He loves me. Why should I let a person who doesn’t know the Lord offend me? How could his opinions, which are based on all he knows hurt me? He doesn’t need my tongue clicking, judgement, or droning on about how offended I am; he needs Jesus. That means he needs me to love him as Jesus loves him, as Jesus loves me. Verses 14-21 read,
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 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.” 20 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.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Is your life marked by love or by law? Do you check off every sin you see your brother or a stranger committing? The lost sin, they live in sin; we cannot judge them for that. Your brothers and sisters are not under the law and so they cannot sin (Romans 5:13, 1 Corinthians 6:12). If they are walking outside the will of God in the flesh, then gently restore them (Galatians 6:1-2) but remember you are not to think more highly of yourself than you ought. You were brought to life from death, just like them. You may be further along in your transformation than they are and you may not be. It is the Lord who saves you and who saves them.
Let your life be marked by love. Let the Holy Spirit be who you are. What if we stopped being offended and started loving instead? What if we met the needs of the people in the world instead of shaking our heads in disgust? It is my active and concrete love that should tell people I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, not my T-shirt, bumper sticker, or protest sign.
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Romans 3 What Good is the Law if I Can Never be Good Enough?

5/8/2016

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What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:3-4 on photo of Bee on Bush Sunflower
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:3-4
Romans 3
There is a lot of sin in the world but there are many people trying to be the best person they can be. There are countless people all trying to be good people. When we look around and compare ourselves to one another we can say, “I’m pretty good. I’m way better than Hitler. I’m not as good as Mother Teresa. But then who is?” We use the law, either the Law given to Moses or the instinctive law God put on our hearts to help us understand the difference between right and wrong. The problem is being good, regardless of how good we are, cannot justify us. Good deeds do not eradicate bad ones. God is not keeping score. There is no balance to be tipped one way or the other. We cannot be good enough to earn Heaven.
So why did God give Israel His Law? What good was it? What good is there in knowing and understanding God’s law? Verses 1-8 read,
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
“That you may be justified in your words,
    and prevail when you are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
What does all that mean? What is Paul saying? Basically this says that being entrusted with understanding the law is a big deal. Yes we are unfaithful, just as many of the Jews who received the law before us were. Our faithlessness did not make God faithless. He remains Faithful and Righteous regardless of our sin and inconstancy. Our inability to keep the law only shows how truly loving, faithful, and true The Lord is. But that does not excuse sin. In fact, it gives us all the more reason to be obedient to God because of His grace. Romans 6:12-18 in The Message reads,
That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.
15-18 So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
There is no one capable of being good enough on their own. No person can claim that. We are born with a nature, a disposition toward self-satisfaction and sin. We can’t do anything about it. Even if the only wrong thing someone ever did was have a bad thought when she was seven years old, she still had to understand that it was wrong because she came to understand that there is right and wrong in the world. She might be as good as a person can be, but she can’t be good enough, she cannot earn her way to Heaven. Verses 9-20 say it like this,
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
So is it hopeless? I mean seriously, if we can’t be good enough to ever deserve salvation, what is the point? We can’t earn it. We cannot be righteous on our own. But God loves us desperately. He made a way to eradicate all the bad stuff, to change our nature, justify us, and make us righteous. Verses 21-26 explain it.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
 
The law shows us the unattainable righteousness of God. Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God manifested or demonstrated apart from the law and puts it within our reach. All we have to do is believe. That belief is not a shallow belief that says, “Jesus sure is cool and I know He was a great teacher.” No it is a belief that Jesus is God our Savior, The Lord of the universe. It is a submission in faith that He is the Christ and we can trust Him to take charge of our lives, souls, and spirits. He is the propitiation for our sin. What does that mean? Propitiation is the atonement, the compensation, appeasement and penance for our sin. Sin has a price and that price is blood and death. God said it in Genesis 2:16-17 when he told Adam that an understanding of good and evil would mean death. He said it when He gave Israel the laws in Leviticus that sacrifices and blood were required to atone for their sins. And He said it though Paul in Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Only Jesus Christ can save us, only He can justify us and make us righteous. Believer, you and I have no right to think we’re any better than the people we accuse and judge as sinners. They are lost, they don’t know the truth and love of Christ. We don’t have anything to do with our own goodness because we are not and cannot be good on our own. Verses 27-31 read,
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Trusting God for our salvation and transformation doesn’t mean the law means nothing, it has meaning and purpose. The only way to keep God’s law is through Jesus Christ. So allowing Him to be our Savior doesn’t mean tossing the law to the side, it means we keep it now, because through Christ we can. Don’t be confused, we don’t sacrifice bulls, ostracize lepers, or concern ourselves with the myriad of 613 commandments. Those laws were fulfilled, they were met in Jesus Christ. We keep the law by obeying Christ. He said it this way,
 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.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Later He said it this way,
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.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).
He explained a little about the way He loved us and what that looks like in John 15:12-17.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
Reader, you cannot be good enough, no matter how good you may be. You need Jesus who loves you so much He laid His life down for you so you could be His friend. Believer, you have nothing to boast about except Jesus. You are no better than anyone else on this earth. If God compared you to the worst of the worst on your own merit, you would look the same. Are you loving people enough to tell them about Jesus? Are you loving them enough to show them how good Jesus is? Are you loving them enough to love them as Jesus loves you?
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Deuteronomy 19:14-21 The Law of Christ is Stricter than the Law of Moses

3/20/2016

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This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12
​Deuteronomy 19:14-21
The law is a good thing for those who don’t break it and detestable to those who do. It isn’t meant to make your life difficult or unenjoyable, it is meant to make your life peaceable and enjoyable. It is meant to deter evil and show each of us how to live side by side.
Verse 14 reads,
“You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
Why does everyone want just a little more or what Joe Green has that he does not? The grass on Joe’s side of the fence is the same grass that is on your side of the fence. If it is greener, maybe it is because he works harder to make it that way. If the fruit on his trees looks better, juicier, and bigger, maybe it is because he has toiled and suffered and the results have shone through.
We have our inheritance, we do not need anyone else’s. Heaven is more than we can begin to grasp. Sure there are times when we might fall for the enemy’s lies that Joe has it better than us but that isn’t the case. There is the life in Jesus, where we walk in the Spirit and mature to become the image of Christ which ends with an instant transformation to perfection and eternal life. And there is life without Christ where some walk in what looks like freedom but is really blind slavery. It ends in the winepress of the wrath of the Lamb and in eternal suffering. Don’t be envious of the supposed freedom and inheritance of the lost. Live fully in Christ and make them want the inheritance you have received.
We, Christians live by grace and that is not an excuse to live like sinners but a reason to live righteously. It is a reason to show we are not slaves to sin, money, drugs, sexual immorality, or any of the other devices of the devil. The law we live by is stricter than the Law of Moses, it is perfect love. We are not perfect yet and following the law of perfect love requires faith in The Lord. Verses 15-17 read,
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.”
A single accuser could well be lying. If there is no one to corroborate her story then she is not to be believed until sufficient evidence is found. I have been the victim of a lying witness. She was believed and I paid for her crime. I was able to forgive her, because I understand that she is my Sister in Christ and I let the Lord deal with her sin. It isn’t my place to hold it against her. I would be able to forgive her easier if she were not in Christ because God would exact punishment on her and my forgiveness would reflect my Lord’s forgiveness toward me and perhaps lead her to know Jesus.
People try to hide their own guilt by pointing to someone else. How quickly we tend to believe the accuser. “He pulled the trigger.” “She stole it.” “He hurt me.” There is no love in believing unsubstantiated accusations.
This law can teach us about life in Christ. The devil stands accusing us day and night, he is a liar whose job it is to deceive the world. He accuses the faithful in order to destroy our efficacy for Christ. A friend recently told me to show some mercy to myself. I have not done that. I believed the accuser and fell for his despicable lies about me. I nearly died under the weight of his charges. But this morning listening to my Lord, I can in faith forgive myself because Jesus already did. Satan will receive the punishment he longs for us to receive. He will be thrown into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:10). We live by faith and have victory over that serpent because rather than lie or believe the lies, we are covered by Jesus and have the testimony of Christ. Revelation 12:9-12 reads,
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
We are not like the world who believe every stray accusation and want people to suffer for unproven crimes. God is Just. We must care about justice as much as He does and that means not believing the accuser of the brethren in any form he takes. We have the Spirit of Truth within us. We wear Jesus’ righteousness. We have the shield of faith and the fiery darts of the accuser sends our way are extinguished. (Ephesians 6:16). His witness with ours is enough.
We also have to be careful not to accuse with only ourselves as a witness. If a brother or sister is living sinfully, we go to him, not to punish but to lift him up out of sin. If he refuses to listen, we go back to him with two or three witnesses so that everything that happens will honor Christ. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 18:15-16,
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
Furthermore, two or three witnesses filled with the Holy Spirit who agree in prayer can make powerful things happen. In Matthew 18:18-20 Jesus told us,
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Do you understand the implications of that? Two of us agreeing can bind evil and loose good. Two or three of with the Holy Spirit among us can ask the Father for anything and it will be done. Let’s believe this! Let’s get together and loose God’s healing and restoration! Let’s loose the power of Heaven over this earth! Let’s bind the accuser and make him ineffectual over the body of Christ and the lost slaves he rules.
A false witness among us will not agree with the truth, she will agree with the accuser and try and keep him in power through division, wounds, lies, and finger pointing. There is vengeance waiting for her, just as it waits for the devil. We are not to allow that malevolence to be among us. Verses 18-21 warn us to expel it from us.
The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
Evil was purged from ancient Israel through punishment, often quite severe in order to deter it before it began and let people see the wages of their sin. Jesus paid for our sins, but that doesn’t give us a license to live licentiously. It instead charges us to live up to a higher law. Jesus said it this way,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:38-48).
We do not allow brothers and sisters to destroy the church with lies. But we do forgive sins and show mercy and love to such the degree Jesus did. It is that love, the offering of the other cheek instead of hitting back, the heartfelt blessing toward the curser, and the free giving to the one who takes that shows who Jesus is and gets people wondering how we are able, why we are so different, and where that kind of goodness comes from.
Jesus gave His life for us and for them. He let them beat Him and offered himself completely. He was cursed and spat on, yet He said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). We only have one law, but it is a law much higher than all the laws before it. It is a law difficult to live up to but easy to carry. Jesus said it in John 15:12-17.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
One commandment which covers the entire law; love one another as Jesus loves us. But remember how it is Jesus loves, not with words like honey and sweetie, but with action, perfection, submission, and power.
 
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Deuteronomy 14:1-21 You are God’s Own, Meant to Stand Out

3/7/2016

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And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common
And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common
​Deuteronomy 14:1-21
Believers, you are a chosen people, holy and set aside from every other people on earth. You are God’s own, you are His treasured possession. And because of that you do not live like the world, you live like a citizen of Heaven.
Today we are set apart because the Father chose us, Jesus Christ bought us for a steep price and His Holy Spirit indwells us (Ephesians 1:4,1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are made new and changed from the inside and it affects our behavior. Under the Old Covenant, God chose Israel and His Spirit rested on a few people, not in them. They showed their distinction as God’s own people by their behavior. Following God’s Law changed them from the outside in. They learned faith through obedience to the law. We are given faith and exercise it through obedience to righteousness. But our law is not exactly the same as theirs, since Jesus fulfilled it and we do not earn justification through sacrifices any longer. In the first 21 verses of Deuteronomy chapter 14, Moses reminded Israel about the laws of clean and unclean food. They were not just any people, they were God’s and so He gave them express rules for what foods were permitted and forbidden. Verses 1-21 read,
“You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3 “You shall not eat any abomination. 4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 7 Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. 8 And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.
9 “Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “You may eat all clean birds. 12 But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 13 the kite, the falcon of any kind; 14 every raven of any kind; 15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; 16 the little owl and the short-eared owl, the barn owl 17 and the tawny owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, 18 the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. 20 All clean winged things you may eat.
21 “You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
Why should you stand out from the crowd? Why should you care about how you behave when you are free from sin? Read verse 2 again and know that The Lord is talking to you.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
Jesus fulfilled the laws about clean and unclean foods, sacrifices, and offerings when He laid His life down on the cross for you. And even while He walked on the earth before His death and resurrection He declared all foods clean. The Pharisees were deeply devoted to keeping God’s Law, though not deeply devoted to God. They were so devoted to the Law that they made all sorts of traditions and rules and added them to it, which in and of itself broke the law. (Deuteronomy 4:2). They confronted Jesus because He and His followers did not obey the traditions meant to keep people lawful. They questioned Jesus about eating without washing their hands and so making clean food unclean. Jesus responded in Mark 7:14-23.
“And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gave Peter the message again in a vision when He told him that gentiles could become Christians and that He should welcome them (Acts 10:9-16). God said to Peter, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” (Acts 10:15). Believer, you have been made clean by God! Don’t call yourself common! Don’t be common! You are extraordinary, rare, cherished, noble, refined, and distinctive. You have been made holy! Don’t live as a commoner, live like a king or a queen, the bride of Christ, a child of God, and a royal priesthood.
People should see you are not like them. They should look at you and see Jesus. Maybe they won’t recognize Him but they should know you are not like the collective, you are distinctive. When Jesus justified you, you were born again, given a new identity and a new name. Don’t live as a prisoner whose name no longer identities him. He is known as a number among many, 24601. You are known by a name just for you (Revelation 2:17). You are special! Be who you are meant to be.
We do not behave righteously because we are trying to earn Salvation, we behave righteously because God made us able to, because He indwells us and compels us to respond to Him with joy and love which overflows, and because the faith He gave us is proven by good works (James 2:17-18). 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 in The Message reads,
“Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.
5-6 You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.
7-10 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.”
The Law has been fulfilled in Jesus’ work. We no longer have to concern ourselves with what food is clean or unclean because we were made clean. We no longer have to sacrifice and make burnt offerings because Jesus sacrificed Himself once and for all. He bought us for a price and because of that we obey Jesus’ command in John 15:12 to love one another as He has loved us. That doesn’t mean having warm fuzzy feelings for everyone, it means tangibly doing good, submitting to one another, taking care of one another, and living holy lives.
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#Love God, Your Neighbor, Your Brother, and Your Enemy.

11/29/2015

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And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
How are we supposed to love? We have different commands regarding love depending on the receiver of that love. Our first command regarding love, our priority, and the love that makes all the other loves align is recorded several places in the Bible,  Luke 10:27 says,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,”
This is to love God with our entire being, our passion, our will, our spirits, our actions, and our intelligence. It encompasses every part of who we are and what we do. There is nothing passive about this love. Everything we do, desire, seek to understand, and how we respond to situations is done in love and because of love for God. It involves fellowship with Him through prayer, getting to know Him through studying and prayer, and wanting His will the way we used to want our own because our will is His will. The first four of the Ten Commandments tell us how to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Exodus 20:1-11 list them.
“And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Another way that we love God with our entire being is to make Him, Who He is, His will, and His Kingdom our priority. In Matthew 6:30-34 Jesus said,
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
In other words, don’t act like the lost who have to run around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to meet their needs, and love themselves with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. Have faith, love God, pursue more and more of Him in every aspect of life and let Him be God for you and to you.
The next kind of love goes hand in hand with loving God. Let’s return to what Jesus said, were the two commandments that contain all the law and the prophets. The rest of Luke 10:27 reads,
“You shall love…your neighbor as yourself”
This is not about self-esteem, it is about our worth as people. It is not about “loving” ourselves. We are to care about and be as concerned with our neighbors’ well-being just as much as we are concerned with our own. We do not want to go hungry or naked, we don’t want to be injured, so we don’t want that for other people either. But who is our neighbor? The Greek word πλησίον or plésion means any other person that we come across in life or have the chance to come across in life. When the lawyer in Luke 10 asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor” as a way to justify himself because he believed that a neighbor was a fellow Jew and did not include gentiles or anyone else, Jesus told him the parable of The Good Samaritan recorded in Luke 10:30-37.
“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Samaritans did not have a good reputation, they were hated by the Jewish people and considered “less than.” Even that person you want to hate for whatever reason, because of their sin, their race, their beliefs, or religion, is your neighbor. We are to do good for our neighbors and we are not to harm them. Exodus 20:12-17 are the portion of the Ten Commandments which tell us how to love our neighbors as ourselves.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
I have seen this love exhibited time and again. Yesterday, two of my fellow Christ followers and I were out on the streets and we prayed with several people. One person we prayed for appreciated the pray as “nice.” But then my brother, who does not have extra money to throw away, obeyed The Holy Spirit and gave this man a gift card with $45.00 on it. This tangible and active blessing moved this man. He immediately had us meet his wife, he shared their tragic story, and gave us testimony of miracles God has done for him, even though neither he nor his wife have yet given their hearts to Christ. But I know that God’s love manifested by my brother’s obedience will lead to that commitment because The Holy Spirit told me.
We are also supposed to love one another on a deeper level than we love the world. We love the people of the world by giving them as much concern as we do ourselves. But we love our fellow Believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ the way Jesus loves us. In John 13:34-35, on the night before His arrest, after Jesus did the job of the lowest of slaves and washed the disciples’ filthy feet, He said,
“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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Just like our love for God, this exceptional sacrificial and serving love for one another makes us stand out from the world. How did Jesus love us? What is this greatest love of all? Jesus explained it like this in John 15:12-17 as He prepared the disciples for His impending death,
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
Our love for another is so deep it makes our love for our neighbors pale in comparison. Our love for our neighbors is so deep it is indistinguishable from our love for ourselves. The Lord described the difference in Malachi 1:2-5.
“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 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”
God didn’t actually hate Esau, the way we think of hate. He didn’t have a special relationship with Esau, He didn’t choose Esau. He chose Jacob. Edom didn’t receive the blessings and provision that a relationsip with God gave Israel. Love is active, it is tangible. When it does not yield the blessings, it is passive and passive love is tantamount to hate. No one is exempt from the command to love. Even our enemies are included. In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Our love of God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind compels us to love the way He loves. He doesn’t leave anyone out of it. He loves the person who hates you. He loves the person who persecutes you. He loves the leaders of Planned Parenthood, Isis, and Westboro Baptist Church. The terrorists who hate, he loves. And because He loves them, so do we. We do not condone the evil they perpetrate. We do not fight hate with hate or terrorism with terrorism like Robert Lewis Dear who shot up the Planned Parenthood building in Colorado Springs. All he did was make people think Christians are extremist haters rather than revolutionary and radical lovers.
So Believer, love. Love God, love the people you encounter, love each other, and love your enemies. Be different from the world. Be like Jesus, the utmost of revolutionary and radical lovers.
 
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You Can Do What Jesus Did, He Promises!

10/25/2015

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​John 14:12-14 is popular for a few reasons. It reads,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do,because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
It is very powerful. It isn’t about prosperity. It isn’t about winning football games or climbing mountains. It is about evangelism. It is about obeying Jesus' command to love people and leading them to God. When Jesus said this, He was answering Phillip’s request to see The Father, during a conversation about following Jesus.
Verses 4-11 precede these verses and gives us the context,
“And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”
Jesus wants us to follow Him. Following Him means walking as He walked, doing as He did in His name and by His authority. He is our God, our King, Our Lord and Master. So when we go where He goes we act in His authority, we act in His name.
In order to really read the passage in its full context we also need to see what Jesus said after this amazing promise. Verses 15-17 read,
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
What great things are you asking in Jesus’ name? Are you loving Him and keeping His commandments? Are you revealing The Father to world by living for Jesus through The Spirit? That is at the heart of this passage. It is not about asking for stuff, or asking to be successful. It is about loving people by doing what Jesus did.
What did He do? He loved people. He was moved by that love to action. If they were hungry He fed them. If they were sick, He healed them. If they were broken, He restored them. If they were alone, He befriended them. If they wanted to know God, He taught them. He tells you and me to do these things as well. He equips us to do them and He even promises we’ll do more than He did.
Does your mind lie to you and tell you that you aren’t good enough to do the works Jesus did? Are you filled with doubt about who you are? Maybe you think that only some people are able to love others the way Jesus did. Perhaps you imagine only the very best Followers can heal or prophesy or do that most miraculous work of all, lead someone to the saving grace and truth of Jesus. But that is a lie.
1 John 3:19-22 reads,
“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him”
God is greater than the lies and doubts of your heart. He promises again that whatever we ask we receive. Let’s look at the context of this promise too. Is it about wealth? Is it about achievements? It is about love.
Verses 16-18 pave the way for this beautiful promise,
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
It is about living out that love the way Jesus did. It is about obeying Jesus. The passage continues with verses 23-24.
“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us,by the Spirit whom he has given us.”
You are called for a great purpose. It is a purpose much greater than sitting in a church pew. It is a call bigger than inviting a person to church. It is a job more wonderful than giving the waitress a tract. You are commanded to love others as Jesus loves you. He didn’t love in a small way, He loved in a big way. He spent time, He healed, He spoke truth, and He laid down His life. You are commanded to love the same way. You are commanded to reveal God to the lost by loving the way Jesus did.
John 15:12-17 reads,
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
So go, love, bear abiding fruit. Go, lay down your life for the lost. Ask Jesus to let you heal people. Ask Jesus to speak the truth to people through you. Ask Jesus to allow you to feed the hungry and warm the cold and comfort the hurting. Ask Jesus to save people. He will. Love them the way Jesus loves and see what Jesus will do.
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James 2:1-13 Partiality is not Christ-like

8/20/2015

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The Royal Laws Matthew 22:37-40 on photo of Pansies by Donna Campell
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. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
James 2:1-13

I was going to do all of James 2 but, my passion got me on a soapbox and I stayed there for a while.

It is natural to have biases. We are born into families and cultures and as we grow up we learn from our families, our cultures, and our society to be biased in some way or another. But we do not have to keep those biases. We have to become aware of them, we have to repent of them along with our other sins and take on the Spirit of God who has no partialities. (Deuteronomy 10:17). Prejudice is not Christ-like. It opposes the Love of Jesus Christ to hate a person or to judge a person on appearances. There is nothing loving about prejudice. Do you want someone to make demeaning comments about you, your race, your religion, or your culture? Of course not! Love your neighbor as yourself means not hurting someone because you wouldn’t want to be hurt.

Before you declare you have no prejudices, carefully consider that everyone has biases. It’s natural. But it is supernatural not to have biases. We are not perfect, Jesus is. We strive to be like Him. In that pursuit we follow His great commandment, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12). He loves everyone, perfectly and without partiality. We have to make an effort to be that loving. James described it this way in verses 1-7,

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

When we entertain any sort of partiality, racism, preference, or even those little jokes or comments you think everyone appreciates, you are blaspheming Jesus Christ. He said, love and there is no love in hurting someone. I can tell you, those little jokes made, those kidding words that slur my culture, hurt me. Those gests made to insult another culture hurt me. Aren’t we brothers and sisters? Aren’t we created by God in His image? (Genesis 1:27). When you insult any person, you insult his Creator, my Savior.

The entire law is covered by two commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(Matthew:34-40). People who choose not to follow Christ still say they follow the second commandment, but they do it selfishly, half-heartedly, and they decide who their neighbor is.  They leave the first commandment out of their scope entirely. Go ahead and ask a person who is not a Christian about the golden rule, they will probably tell you love your neighbor but they won’t know anything about love the Lord. They’re trying to be good without Jesus. That is not possible. We can’t be perfect but we can try. We should try to be like Jesus. Verses 8-12 read,

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

We call Jesus, Lord and He calls us by His name. We do not try to keep the law, we try to be like Jesus. Jesus is merciful and so we should be too. It isn’t merciful to hate someone based on the color of their skin, the place they were born, or the amount of money in their bank account.

Nobody thinks they’re racist. Nobody believes they are prejudiced. Nobody thinks they’re the ones with the problem. Right? You know why that group of people is bad. Right? Everyone knows Jewish people are cheap and greedy! Everyone knows Muslims are terrorists! Everyone knows Asians are anal. You’re not alone in thinking that. So, that doesn’t make you racist does it? You have a reason to be so hateful. Ad really telling that joke isn’t hateful. If someone was hurt, well they’re just too sensitive.

Ask yourself some questions, it is okay to answer them honestly. God knows your heart and He is merciful and loving. You need to be honest so you will find out where you lack mercy and love so that you can repent and be more like Jesus.

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Psalm 41 Jesus said, Love Your Neighbor, One Another, and Your Enemies

7/1/2015

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Psalm 41

The love of Christ is not like the love of the world. It is different. It isn’t concerned with self. It trusts itself to God and sees the needs of others first. Jesus commanded us to love in two different ways. First He quoted an Old Covenant command that along with “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” sums up the entire law, “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31). This command was given to everyone, followers or not. How do we love ourselves? Our needs are our priority. Our concerns are known to us and those are the ones we meet. So to love someone else that way is to give their needs the same urgency as our own. But later when Jesus spoke to His disciples He gave them a new command, something that would only be possible because of faith, because of what Jesus would do for us. He laid down His life to forgive sin, He gave us the Holy Spirit to transform us to His image. In John 13:34-35 He said,

“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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

How did Jesus love us? He put our needs above His own. He was willing to sacrifice Himself for us. He listened to the disciples, cared about them, taught them, and led them. He was empathetic. The only people He spoke ‘judgmental’ words to were the religious people who thought they were perfect. He saw us as the destitute people we were, gave us His righteousness and His name and made us royalty.

Because we have the Holy Spirit, we can love like that. And when we do, the world takes notice. They see the difference in us. They recognize their sin within them, so they are either drawn to Christ or they hate us passionately for Him. And so it was with David. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was righteous, not because he was perfect, but because he loved the Lord with all his heart and because he viewed the world through God’s heart. Verses 1-3 read,

“Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.”

David was very sick when he wrote this psalm. He trusted the Lord to sustain him and carry him through it. He was the the powerful and wealthy King. But even in his suffering he was concerned for the poor. He knew they depended on him as he depended on God. But David had many enemies who wished to usurp his throne and abuse his power. They would be thrilled if he stayed sick and even died. Verses 4-10 read,

“As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
    heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!”

Just like our love for others distinguishes us, so does the world’s hate for us. Jesus told us the world would hate us. John 15:18-19 says,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Does that mean we have license to hate them back? No, that is a flesh response. Later in the same chapter John 15:26-27 Jesus told the disciples about The Holy Spirit.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Far from responding in kind, Jesus commanded that we are to love our enemies and pray for them. Matthew 5:43-45 reads,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Love is not a feeling, it is an action. It is borne by our kindness, gentleness, compassion, patience, and self-control. It is possible because we know God. We keep in mind what He has done for us. We remember who we were before Jesus was our Lord. We have God’s Holy Spirit within us. And we trust God to keep us and we know vengeance is His, not ours. David ended this psalm with verses 11-13.

“By this I know that you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
    and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.”

Do you trust God enough to tangibly love your enemies? Jesus loves them. He commanded that we love them too. When you trust in God completely, when you love Him with your entire being, the difficult task of loving those who hate you becomes easier. God will not ever let you go. Your hope is Jesus Christ and the eternal life He gave you. God is within you, just as you are within Him. You can love with His heart because He gave you His Holy Spirit.

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Psalm 4 The World May Hate but God Loves.

5/25/2015

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Psalm 4

Believer, do you ever feel alone? Do you ever wonder if you have anyone that cares and listens? You do! Although it can sometimes feel as if god isn’t listening, He is. It might seem as if He doesn’t care. He does. You can always count on The Lord to be there with you, He hears your words, and He knows your heart. You are special to Him. You are His child, His priest, His chosen, and His own.  Verses 1-3 read,

“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
    You have given me relief when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.”

God does so much more than hear you. He helps and delivers. Whatever it is that is causing you anguish or grief, He relieves your distress. Sometimes by taking care of the problem, often by carrying you through the problem, or helping you see it in a new light. By letting you lean on Him and trust Him to be I Am.

The world sees we are different, they see we are set apart and they come up with lies to make us into the bad guys. We didn’t exalt ourselves. We are not on some false pedestal. God exalted us. God distinguished us. He made s holy. The world can try and sling mud but they cannot sully us. Jesus made us holy. They call us out on every sin we are caught in, ignoring their own wrongs. They try to turn our honor to shame. But they can’t. They cannot take our righteousness away from us. Jesus gave it to us. It is His, we are His. The world can say and do what they like to us, but in the end, there will be justice. Sin must be paid for. People choose whether to accept Jesus’ payment for sin or they will pay themselves. The Kingdom of God is our eternal hope, now and forever.

The world suffers difficulties as well but they haven’t turned to Abba our Almighty Holy God. They make up lies, deceiving even themselves. They believe the enemy. They play the victim or the avenger. We are not victims. We are overcomers. We are victors. We do not have to avenge, retaliate, or punish those who hurt us. Our Father the King holds us. Jesus will sit on The Judgement Seat and He will dole out justice to those who choose it. He sits on The Mercy Seat and gives mercy to those who choose Him. Verses 4-5 read,

“Be angry, and do not sin;
    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.”

We may want to put the haters in their place now, but that isn’t what God wants. He wants us to love them as He loves them. He wants us to trust Him to do what is best for us and for them. We didn’t deserve His mercy. We need to be merciful to the people who hate us. Remember they are prisoners of war and most do not know it. They believed the lies the enemy told them. They won’t see the Truth unless we demonstrate it to them with God’s perfect love. Don’t retaliate. Instead continue trusting in God. The lost are hopeless or have put their hope in worthless and false idols. We have the power and ability to shine a light into their darkness. To show them kindness even though they don’t deserve it. To be compassionate even if they are not. Verses 6-7 read,

“There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

We have joy no matter what. The world may persecute us, the world will persecute us if we walk in Christ filled with His Awesome Holy Spirit. And we still have joy, we have everything we need and more in The Lord. He gives us joy even in the darkest hour. The world may think they have joy, and they party it up. They get rich and they celebrate it. They celebrate the things of this world which will be burned up in an instant. They applaud their wealth and food. They praise themselves for their accomplishments. They revel in their work. All those idols will be gone and they will finally see that none of it mattered.

Our joy is forever. God is our peace and we are secure in Him. We have peace with God. He is our Joy, our Comfort, our Strong Tower, and our Refuge. In the midst of the hate from the world, the attacks by the enemy, and the chaos they try to inflict, we have our Abba our Daddy The Lord All-powerful God of the Universe. Their turmoil can’t touch us. God is our Shield. Verse 8 reads,

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Believer, remember God is not far off. He is with you. He is not uncaring, He loves you deeply. 

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Leviticus 25:35-46 How Do We Treat Poor Brothers?

5/19/2015

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Leviticus Chapter 25 Verses 35-46

There are many things that changed from The Old Covenant to The New Covenant. The way we see the laws, the meaning of the rules, and often whether those laws apply to us. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the purpose of those laws and how we express our love for the Lord and treat our brothers and others. Remember that the entire law hinges on and is covered by two laws. Jesus said it in Matthew 22:37-40

“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. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Leviticus 25 talks about how we are to treat one another in the love of brotherhood. We are to take care of each other. Verses 35-38 read,

“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”

We are responsible for one another. We can’t just let a brother suffer. Note also that we are to treat the stranger, the outsider with kindness and hospitality as well. Jesus said to love another as He loves us. Paul wrote to the church at Galatians in chapter 6 verses 8-10,

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

We have a special responsibility toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are one body, united, so if one of our brothers has a problem it affects us all. It is our problem. We are to bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)

We don’t care for our brother for our own profit. We care for them without profit. We can lend him money, but we are not to charge interest. We lend not to become richer on earth, but to edify and build one another up. We know our treasure is in Heaven. We know we have all the riches of God. we don’t look for monetary repayment, or any other kind of repayment. The good we do for others does bless us but that isn’t why we do it.

We have the same Lord. We have the same Father. We have the Same Spirit. Enslaving a brother is enslaving ourselves. God gave him freedom just as He gave us freedom. Slavery comes in many forms. Lording over another the “gifts” you’ve given and the “good” you’ve done for them puts them in your servitude. We serve one another out of love and freedom, not to oppress and not to gain. Verses 39-43 says,

“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.”

It is our healthy fear of The Lord, our deep respect for Him that allows us to submit to one another. We don’t expect others to submit to us. We submit to others as a manifestation of love. That is humility. The ability to think of others more highly than ourselves. Philippians 2:1-5 says,

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”

Remember loving one another as Jesus loves us is epitomized in our unity. The early church carried that out by making sure there were no needy among them. When someone had a need, it was met. One person didn’t eat filet mignon while his brother begged for a crust a bread. We are one body, a community, and a family. We are of one household.  God never told us to stop our unity or stop caring for each other. Acts 2:42-47 describes the early church. It should describe us as well.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

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    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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