Amen or Ouch!

 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 12:9-21

I hope you read the verses above.

 I would like you to read them again but this time I want to conduct a little exercise.

Here’s what you do – read the verses until you come to a part of the description that you are unable to achieve.

Ready?

Begin!

Well, if you are like me you may have trouble getting past line one.

“Love must be sincere.”

I spoke with a sibling on the phone a little while ago and as we ended our conversation we both said – “I love you” to each other as our habit is.

Did you catch that part at the end – “...as our habit is.”

Habits’ aren’t necessarily bad things but they can often get in the way of sincerity.

We say and do things out of habit and routine and stop thinking about how sincere our words and our love truly is.

Another portion of scripture cautions us that our yes’s should be yes and or no’s no!

In other words, mean what you say and say what you mean.

So we couldn’t even get past line one!

Here’s the truth – you never will – apart from what we have been speaking of these last couple of days.

We must remain in the love of Jesus.

He alone makes the impossible possible in my life and yours.

As we abide in Him, our love is sincere.

If we abide in our flesh our love is too often insincere.

Maybe tomorrow we can get past line one!

Growing Seeds

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…”

Galatians 5:22

Love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

It is distinct from a Gift of the Holy Spirit

Ask any farmer if he has gone out to his fields or orchards and found fruit in a gift box requiring only that he unwrap it and sell it to the market.

After he is done looking long and hard at you for asking dumb questions – he may tell you about all of his labors in growing the fruit you enjoy.

I am not a farmer.

I seem to have a green thumb only when it comes to weeds.

The flowers and shrubs at my home require daily effort and lots of ‘Miracle Grow’.

Sadly, some of them are still on life support.

In my life and yours, love doesn’t just happen.

Just as the farmer tends to the seed if he wants a crop, love must be nurtured, watered, fertilized and pruned.

 The job doesn’t end when the seed is planted.

Are you more in love with God and people today than you were a day, a week, a month or a year ago?

You see if love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and I claim, through salvation, to have the Spirit of God in me then it is a completely legitimate question to ask myself.

Submit to the nurturing, watering, fertilizing and pruning,

but above all else – remain in the vine!

After all; the job doesn’t end when the seed is planted!

Quick Disconnect Christians

 “…If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;

 apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

Some connections are easy and some are more difficult.

To facilitate a rapid change-over there are some air, hydraulic and other liquid transfer devices that use something called a ‘quick disconnect.’

 Instead of going through the laborious process of unscrewing a connection and then screwing it back together the connection is made with a simple and quick pull back and snap motion.

Yesterday, in this blog, we talked about the need to remain in the love of Jesus.

In other words we stay connected to Him.

Through that connection, as the scriptures declare, we live and move and have our being.

But too often we vacillate back and forth between our love for God and love for the world.

When we do this we fail to remain in His love.

We fail to remain connected to the source.

It is as if we were fitted with a quick disconnect.

If its’ Sunday morning, we are connected to God.

Our night out with the boys and we are all hooked up to the world.  

Back and forth

Back and forth

 Back and forth.

"Good thing I installed the quick disconnect, I sure wouldn’t want any of my friends thinking I was radical about God!"

Oops, is it Sunday again already?

I get so confused with this back and forth!

Amen to that.

So do the people watching you who are trying to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

Here’s a novel idea; why don’t you jettison the quick disconnect and

REMAIN in His love!

Remaining in His Love

 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:9

Unleaded gasoline is the fuel for most automobiles.

Refrigerants are what ‘fuel’ the ‘cold’ in your air conditioner.

Your leg muscles are the primary source of power when you pedal a bicycle.

According to the Bible we are to love one another.  

So what is the fuel for that?

The answer is – Jesus’ love for us.

But it is not enough just knowing that.

The gasoline that fuels my car is of no use to me when my tank is empty and the fuel is in an underground tank.

My air conditioner will just blow hot air until it is charged with refrigerant and my bike is stationary, resting uselessly on its kick-stand until I get on and begin to pedal.

The love of Jesus is, in some ways, just a wonderful ‘concept’ unless or until I am abiding in the vine.

In other words, as Jesus said, I must remain in His love.

I must stay connected to the one whose love has the ability to love others through me.

His love can cause me to love the unlovely, the ungrateful, even my enemies.

But if I do not remain in His love, I am in danger of becoming that resounding gong or clanging cymbal spoken of so eloquently by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.

Said another way – I am all talk and no love!

The danger in that is when people expect the love of God from me and only hear empty words, sadly, it reflects not only on me but particularly on the Lord.

Sad to say it becomes a case of guilt by association.

Because I am all talk and no love they begin to think the same of the Lord.

When you name His Name, you represent Him.

So I remain in His love not only to have that love flow through me but also in so doing I will bring glory and honor to His name!

Remain in His love!

Poured Out

 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:38

Here is a bit of an ironic statement to consider…

As you pour into others, you will find yourself being filled up.

Now, on the surface that statement seems untrue. After all if I empty myself in serving others how can I be filled up?

Do you want to know the secret?

It is by not taking a willy-nilly, shotgun approach in serving others.

We are to serve by following the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.

I suppose some history book somewhere can tell me what the population of the earth was when Jesus walked on it; but I am guessing He personally ministered to a small percentage of that population.  

But we certainly cannot argue over the impact He had on those He ministered to.

You and I may not be able to personally minister to the billions on planet Earth today. But I can and should minister to those the Holy Spirit causes to cross my path.

As I do, I find myself almost simultaneously being emptied and being filled.

As you and I obediently and faithfully pour out to others God abundantly and lavishly pours back into us.

The comfort you gave another today is returned to you as joy.

Perhaps the wisdom you shared with a confused individual so desperate to hear from God comes back to you in the form of material blessings.

Maybe you poured yourself into someone else today just by offering a listening ear and discovered patience extended to you from your boss you had never seen before.

You simply cannot out give God.

He overtakes you with blessing beyond your greatest expectations.

Have you been feeling a bit empty lately?

Maybe it’s time to begin pouring into others!

What are You Waiting For?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

II Peter 1:3

If God and His kingdom are to be your number one priority,

who do you suppose is number two?

Quite simply, it’s other people.

There was a common acrostic for the word “joy” I used to see often, many years ago, that conveyed a similar thought:

Jesus

Others

You

Basically, it was teaching that the greatest joy was derived by serving in the order of the word; i.e. serving Jesus first, others second and yourself last.

The same can be said of us as we desire to develop that life of love.

We should make God and people the top two priorities of our life.

Suppose we all actually did that.

What do you think would happen to the divorce rate?

What of child abuse and crime in general?

Making God and others our top priority would impact society in remarkable ways.

When I live in such a way that pleasing God is my most important endeavor (and others do likewise) the change to our world would be profound, wouldn’t you agree?

So what are you waiting for?

Someone else to start because you say you can’t do it alone?

You are not alone.

He never leaves you or forsakes you and has already given you all that you need!

Today’s verse says: “…everything we need…” to live a godly life has been given to us.

So, I’ll ask you again:

What are you waiting for?

The Point of Power

“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.”

Acts 4:33

Do you believe the following statement?

“Living for God’s priorities will produce power in your life!”

If that statement is true, and I would hold that it is, then power would be evident in the lives of those who have made God’s priorities their own.

On a personal level this can certainly be a challenging

proposition to consider, wouldn’t you say?

If I were to question why God’s power is not as evident in my life as it ought to be, then certainly a good place to begin is by re-examining what is important to me.

After all, the values we hold will drive the priorities of our life.

So valuing God and His kingdom, making that my top priority,

equips me – it powers and propels me – into the work He has called me to do.

If I tell others that His kingdom is more important than anything else in my life –

His power should be evident to back up that statement.   

And if I am speaking the truth, it will be!

In other words power has a point in the life of an obedient Christian.

Its’ point is not personal prestige or proud posturing.

The point of the power of God working in my life, or yours, is simply this

– advancing His Kingdom in the earth.

The Priority of Fellowship

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

This past Sunday you were faced with a choice.

You could gather with fellow believers to worship the Lord or you could spend the day at the amusement park.

You chose the merry-go-round over the anointed message!

What’s that – I am being unfair and judgmental?

Not really, I just missed you this past week while you rode the roller-coaster and then the week before when you had to get your boat in the water and the week before that when your kids had a baseball tournament and the week before that because the neighbors were revolting about your uncut lawn and the week before that…

You get the point.

As we establish our priorities in life it is easy to crowd out the important things with a host of other less important things.

Patterns reveal priorities.

I really am not judging you because that is not my place and the truth is, an occasional “miss” happens for all of us. But the repeated absence, or the constant late arrival or the “let-me-out-of-here-before-I-am-forced-to-talk–to-someone” quick escape artist points to a failure to understand what the writer of Hebrews warned about in the verses above. It becomes much more difficult to “…spur one another on toward love and good deeds…” when the priorities you have chosen cause a pattern to develop where you are habitually absent from God’s house and from the fellowship it offers.   

Patterns reveal priorities and priorities point to our values.

If you value God and His people you will make it a priority to be with them!

“Finding” God

 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

Reading the verse above it is implied that it is possible to seek God with a half-hearted approach.

Perhaps it can be illustrated or comparable (in some small way) to you having a very serious conversation with someone who is not totally engaged in what you are saying.

Suppose you spoke a deep secret of your heart to another person only to note their attention is divided.

Imagine if they were listening to you with one ear and the other ear is tuned to a favorite song on the radio.

How would that make you feel?

A divided love is a diluted love.

God does not love you and me with a divided heart.

His love for us is beyond our comprehension and yet we sometimes seek Him only when we find ourselves in trouble and then just as the proverbial “Get-out-of-Jail-Free Card”.

Someone somewhere coined the phrase “In it to win it” and I think of that expression when it comes to seeking God.

I am not speaking of that initial moment when God saves us as we recognize our sin condition and our need for Him. I am instead speaking of that life-long pursuit of God.

He is the ultimate “prize” (please understand I use that term with great respect).

There simply is no higher calling any of us can aspire to than to seek and know God. 

You may ask, “But, isn’t the greatest command to love God?”

Yes, it is; and I would suggest to you, that those who love Him seek Him.

They seek Him with all they have to offer.

Everything in them MUST find Him.

It is not a half-hearted pursuit of God.

The Psalmist described it well in Psalm 42:1 when he declared:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”

Water is more than just a refreshing drink.

Water is essential for life.

So too is God – essential for their life.

He is essential for those who seek Him with all their heart.

 To that man or woman there is no other pursuit that matters. 

Are you seeking after God with all your heart?

If you are, read that verse above again and remember that there is no greater joy available than finding Him!

Don’t Try Harder, Rely Harder!

 “…When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him...”

Isaiah 59:19b (KJV)

What do you do when “…all hell breaks loose…” as the proverbial saying goes?

How do you respond when anything and everything that could go wrong, does?

I once heard a little poem offering this advice:

“When in danger, when in doubt,

run in circles, scream and shout!”

Not exactly a biblical admonition, is it?

So what would you do?

How about prayer?

How about calling out to the Name of The Lord?

How about when the storm tries to blow you over, you lean harder on the LORD.

Too often, we try harder to stand on our own.

“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.”

This is sound advice offered in Proverbs 3:5-6.

Don’t try harder, don’t lean on your own wisdom, education,

purse strings, family ties, reputation or skill.

None of these things can deliver you in the day of trouble.

When all hell comes against you, hide in the secret place of the

Most High and lean harder on Him!

You will find that He is that very present help in time of trouble!

P.S. Please don’t forget there is a comment option available to facilitate feedback from you, the readers of this blog. We very much appreciate you and hope that this blog has been a blessing to you in your daily walk with God. Let us know how we can make it more so! Thank you so much. Pastor Stephen  

I am Weak, but You are Strong

 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”

Luke 22: 42-43

“Who do you think you are?”

Have you ever been asked that question right after you boasted or made a bold claim to be able to do something?

The other person was, in essence, questioning your ability to achieve whatever you were claiming to be able to do.  I wonder how many times God has, by His Holy Spirit,

asked that question of you and me?

Probably more times than we would be willing to admit.

You see, our pride often gets the best of us and keeps us from humbly asking for the help we need.

In the scriptures quoted above we find that even Jesus found Himself in a place of weakness. The Father is not in the business of sending His angels on (if you’ll excuse the expression) wild goose chases so I must conclude that if Jesus was strengthened by the angel God sent to Him then He must have been in need of that strength.

In other words, He was weak.   

That may offend some who are accustomed to weakness being the equivalent of sin.

Weakness is not sin.

Weakness can easily lead to sin when, in our pride, we fail to admit our weaknesses and our need for strength.

Jesus was without sin and Jesus was weak.

He knew that in His weakness, His Father would give strength and so He did not succumb to that weakness but was ministered to by the angel sent from His Father. 

God wants to strengthen you when you are weak.

Are you prepared to confess that weakness and call out to Him who is our strength?

In The Hands of God…

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

II Corinthians 12:10

Yep, that’s me alright – delighting in weakness.

Not exactly!

How about you, does it describe your attitude toward weakness?

Before you answer that, let me explain that the Greek word Paul uses for weak is interpreted as: feeble, diseased, impotent and sick.

When was the last time you delighted in sickness or disease?

How often are you thrilled with the prospect of being impotent or marked by feebleness?

None of us jump at those opportunities, do we?

So why would Paul delight in them?

Could it be that Paul knew that his own weakness was an opportunity for God to be strong on his behalf?

Do you suppose he may have embraced insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties because there was little doubt in him that out of these circumstances God would be glorified and not Paul’s’ flesh?

I think it may have been the reason.

Remember this is the same disciple who penned these words from Romans chapter 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

You see, Paul wasn’t looking to exalt Paul.

He recognized that his weakness, placed in the hands of God, became an asset and not a liability.

Do you hold on tight, in your own power, when difficulties and hardships come your way or do you place them in the hands of God? 

Where is ‘Home Sweet Home’ for you?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“Boy, if I just put my shoulder to the grindstone and stick with it I know I can make it through this struggle in my life. I absolutely refuse to let it gain the upper hand!”

Have you ever invested blood, sweat and tears in an effort to do,

for yourself, what only grace was able to do for you? 

I’m not able to ask for a show of hands but I am guessing that is most of us.

We go after, in our own strength, a victory that can only be won by the grace of God.

Why is it that we read the Word of God, claiming to believe it and understand it, and yet persist in trying to accomplish on our own, work best left to the Spirit of God?

Paul addresses this question and speaks of the boasting we might engage in if we are able to get the credit. It is deeper, though, than just awarding bragging rights – it goes to the heart of how we view God and our need for Him.

You see, if I get the credit it is a very short trip to the land of self-reliance where I no longer recognize what God alone can do.

As a believer I should always be looking for opportunities where God gets all the credit – not you or me.

Do you see where that leads us?

It takes us beyond our comfort zone.

It takes us beyond the place where it is within our capacity, our ability and our talent. 

It takes us to a place of dependence on God.

Are you in that place of dependence or do you live in the land of self-reliance?

Which one do you call home?

Well, We’ve Had a Good Run

“There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Have you been ministered to through this blog?

I do hope you have.

This is just the 207^th entry of the “Choose the River” blog.

That means there are many, many blog writers who have been at it a lot longer than me.

Does it sound like I am quitting?

I am not.

But I think it is important for you to know that, while I enjoy writing this each day Monday through Friday, it is more important that I am be obedient to what God requires of me.  If there comes a point where God asks me to set this writing aside, whether for a season or for good, I want to be able to do that. Not because I want to disappoint anyone but because I want you to understand (and I need to understand it as well) that obedience to God and being able to set aside something when God asks it of you is what matters most.

We can easily let those things God has asked of us become so routine

and legalistic that sooner or later the blessing becomes an idol.

God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son.

God then asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac on an altar.

How easy it would have been to argue with God.

It might have gone something like this:

“But God, you’re the one who blessed us with our son and now

you want to take him back.

Why are you requiring this of me?

I thought my descendants would be as numerous as the sands of the sea?”        

As you know, this was not what Abraham did.

Through His obedience Abraham previewed the ultimate sacrifice our heavenly Father would make generations later through the Patriarchs’ descendents by offering His own Son as the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Perhaps your future holds a blessing from God that He will later

ask you to put on the altar.

Are you ready to do that?

When that day comes, allow the blessing of God in your life

to become a living sacrifice  and not an idol!

You’ll find out – you cannot out give God!

You Can’t Live Without Me!

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”   

 Acts 2:42-47

Different versions of the Bible and even different publishers will often insert heading titles to certain sections of scripture.

The passage above is titled “The Fellowship of the Believers” in the version I am using. When you read this passage and study other supporting scripture I think it will be evident that it is an appropriate title.

Yet we all know some who will claim Jesus as Lord and yet live, not in fellowship, but in isolation from fellow believers.

Their claim is that they have been hurt in the past (me too and probably you as well), that other believers are all hypocrites (guilty there too sometimes – how about you?), or some other reason which is justifiable to them but contrary to the sound teaching of scripture.

I need you and you need me.

As a matter of fact, we need each other in our (how shall I put this delicately?) less than perfect state.

God uses you to help me grow.

                          And sometimes, saint that I am, He uses me to help you grow.             

I know this is not theologically deep truth but it is truth we need to remind ourselves of every time we ask God to help us in living a disciplined life.  Part of the discipline you and I need in our lives is how to relate to one another as the Body of Christ.

Remember this scripture:

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”    

    John 13:35

Do you do that in fellowship or in isolation?

 You discipline your life by living with God’s people – not isolating yourself from them.

Taking Life One Day at a Time

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work

 assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the

Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”  

Acts 20:24 (NLT)

We have been looking at the disciplined life as it reveals a life of love.

Today we are reminded that you discipline your life

by living for Gods’ purposes and not your own.

Do you know you have an assigned work to do?

God knew you long before you were born.

He did not bring you into the world so you could go through life aimlessly.

 Your life has purpose and meaning.

Your highest purpose is found in living out His plans for you.

Paul said it best when he declared: “…my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus…”

Have you disciplined yourself to seek God for His assignment for you life?

Do you greet each new day determined to fulfill His purposes throughout the day or is your own agenda all that matters to you?

My life, and yours, isn’t lived all at once; instead it is lived one moment at a time. 

I think we sometimes look at the rest of our lives and become concerned that we cannot complete the assignments of God.

If that is you – here is a bit of a reprieve – don’t live the rest of your life today!

Ask God for the grace, the strength and the wisdom to fulfill His purposes today.

Tomorrow will be waiting when you get up the next morning.

His grace and mercy will not have been exhausted on you today.

He will meet you today and He will meet you tomorrow.

Walk in obedience with Him today.

Do the same thing tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the…

Living From Gods’ Priorities

 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”  

Matthew 6:33

Repeating our point from Tuesday: If you want to develop a life of love then what you

need to do is continually develop a life of self-discipline.

There are some specific ways that you can do this.

 We will look at some of these over the next three days.

The first, while obvious, is still something we must continually remind ourselves-

You live your life by living from God’s priorities, not life’s pressures.

Obvious yes, but, easier said than done, isn’t it?

Some might argue: “Well, it is easy!”

But the truth is that life has a way of applying pressure every day in each of our lives.

The unexpected emergency, the sick child that keeps you home from work, the flat tire on the way to an appointment you were already late for, the totally unreasonable deadline you are given by your boss and the list goes on and on and on…

Each of these pressures can quickly crowd out the best of intentions in making God and His kingdom our first and most important priority. 

You know that’s true because you’ve experienced one of those days recently.

So what did you do?

Without a doubt, your sick child needed you at home that day, but once there were you angry at him and blaming him for missing that deadline at work or did you take the time to pray and ask God to heal your child and help you to be His love and witness despite the change in your plans?

We can be sure of this – when we make God our priority and not the guaranteed pressures of life – He will come and strengthen you, equip you for all of the surprises and best of all, He will not leave you or forsake you in the midst of the pressures of life. 

Disciplined, Not Disqualified!

 “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

I Corinthians 9:27 (NLT)

Yesterday we said that if you want to develop a life of love then what you

need to know

is that it is your obedience to Christ that is proof of your love for Christ and not your proclamation.  

Today we will look at this statement:

If you want to develop a life of love then what you

need to do

 is continually develop a life of self-discipline.

Certainly, one of the most successful U.S. Olympic athletes is the swimmer Michael Phelps.

He has won 14 gold medals, more than any other Olympic athlete.

Today he announced that after this summer’s Olympics in London, he is retiring.

It is worth noting that his daily training regimen includes at least six hours per day in the pool, the equivalent of swimming eight miles each day. He trains six days a week bringing a weekly tally of some 50 miles swam each and every week.

As we have noted, his reward is more gold than any other athlete in modern Olympic history.

He has learned well the lesson of disciplining his body and training it to do what it should.  

Maybe there is a lesson for each of us.

Our reward, as we are told, is an incorruptible crown that will not fade away.

Considering that the value to us is an eternal one, how much more so should we develop that life of self-discipline?

And that eternal value benefits others as well – whomever the Lord should choose to minister to through us. 

I discipline my life and in so doing, Christ’s love is made real to me and to others. 

Disciplined and not disqualified!

Prove It!

 “Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

John 14:23-24

We were taught this morning that if you want to develop a life of love then what you need to know is that it is your obedience to Christ that is proof of your love for Christ and not your proclamation.  

I certainly can’t speak for you but I do suspect that, like me, you have a much easier time professing loves than demonstrating it.

Some have said: “Words are cheap!” 

More often than not it is much, much easier to say: “I love you” than it is too consistently and faithfully demonstrate and prove that love by our actions. Jesus recognized that our words may not always be the true barometer of our love and so emphasized in the passage above (and in many other places in scripture) that the definitive proof is in our obedience.  

Proof is defined as: anything tending to establish the truth of something.

We can say then that the truth of our love is established by our obedience.

Love is more than mere lip service.

Love is made clearer by what we do and not by what we say.

Does that mean I should never express my love to God?

Not at all, but it does mean that my expression is validated by my actions.

A love which is in ‘words only’ is a love that is superficial at best.

Francis of Assisi is credited with the quote:

 “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

The same could be said of love –

Live, by your deeds, the love you have and then your words will express what your actions reveal.

God Spotlights a Nation and Blind Man!

 “Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Joshua 2:8-11

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

John 9:1-3

Do you see what theme might connect these two passages above together?

In both we find that out of very difficult situations God received the glory.

One is the story of the spies in Jericho. Rahab speaks to them of the fear those in her city have because of the Israelites:

She declares: “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

The power, the might and the fear of the God of Israel had spread among the pagan nations but it was not without a cost. The young nation had spent forty years in the wilderness after their disobedience and they also saw the hand of God deliver them from the Kings, Sihon and Og, along with so many other times recorded that God delivered them.

They found themselves in a place of needing deliverance before they were delivered.

God, in His strength and might, delivered them and in the process was glorified.

So too, the man born blind suffered for all of his life, not just with his blindness but also with the stigma that his sin, or the sin of his parents was the reason for his blindness. Jesus set the record straight for the disciples and told them he was born blind, not because of his or his parents’ sin “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him”.

Do you find yourself in the place of needing Gods’ deliverance?

Have you lived with a stigma all of your life?

Maybe you have tried to ‘deliver’ yourself and find it is impossible.

Maybe there is a stigma you have lived with and it is far too great to erase simply with the passage of time.

It is, in situations like this, that God can receive the glory due to Him as you surrender and stop trying to do what only He can do.

Give Him the credit and give Him the glory by giving up on your own efforts and surrendering to Him!