Ephesians 5:2- "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma."
In the Bible a person's lifestyle is frequently referred to as their "walk." Here we are told to "walk in love." Jesus' love for us is given as the example for how we are to love. In John 15:12 Jesus told His disciples: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Notice that we are to love as He has loved us. In this blog I would like to share a few things the word of God says about expressing God's love to those around us.
Matthew 22:37- 40- "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love you neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' "
Jesus had been asked which of God's commandments was the greatest, and this was His answer: love God and love people. While studying to write this blog, I kept thinking of the last sentence in this passage: "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Everything God commands will be fulfilled when we truly love Him and love people. This truth is taught again in Romans 13:8-10, which says, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.' " In John 14:23 Jesus said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word..." These statements all make it clear that our love for God causes us to be obedient to Him.
Now I would like to mention five characteristics of love:
(1)-Love for God cannot be separated from love for people:
1John 4:20-"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?"
This statement couldn't be clearer: it is impossible for a person to love God without also loving people. A person who truly loves people is most likely someone who loves God as well.
(2)-Love is to be demonstrated:
1John 3:18- "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
This statement makes it clear that true love is to be expressed by our actions. Inward qualities (such as love) produce corresponding actions. If you truly love someone that love can be seen.
(3)-Love is sacrificial:
Romans 5:8- "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
1John 3:16- "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
Jesus demonstrated His love by laying down His life as a sacrifice for a human race that had turned it's back on God. the love of God is a sacrificial love that compels us to go to great lengths to see others restored to God and brought close to Him. This sacrificial love does not cause us to ask what we can get, but what we can give.
(4)-Love keeps us from focusing on others' faults:
1Peter 4:8- "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for, 'Love will cover a multitude of sins.' "
Loving someone does not mean saying it's okay for them to sin, but when you love someone your focus is not on their faults. When we do this we will find ourselves loving people as they are, seeing them as valuable because God loves them and they are valuable to Him even with their weaknesses. God loves even the most sinful and rebellious person on the planet, and His heart longs for them to turn fully to Him. When that kind of love is developed in us there will be no sacrifice too great if it leads people to the Lord.
(5)-Love is something Christians already have in them:
In Galatians 6:22-23 love is mentioned as one of the fruits of the Spirit, which is the result of the indwelling Holy Spirit's work in believers. If you have truly been born again, this love is already in you and the Holy Spirit is working to develop it in you. I believe that as you remind yourself of this and ask for His help, the Lord will help you to walk in His love in an even greater way and you will be a revelation of God's love to those around you.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Walk in Freedom
In Isaiah 61:1 we read a prophecy that the Messiah would come to "proclaim liberty to the captives," or bring freedom to people. Jesus came to bring freedom to every person who will receive it. In this blog I am going to share some things that will help you to experience the freedom that Jesus came to give.
Acts 12:5-11- "Peter therefore was kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shown in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals' and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.' So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.' "
In this passage we see that Peter was in prison when an angel showed up and miraculously caused the chains that had him bound to fall off of his hands. At that moment Peter was free, but he still had to walk out of the prison he was in. In the same way a person is set free the moment they are born again, but many Christians still find themselves in prison in certain areas of their lives. Anything in our lives that is not God's will is a prison that we can walk out of today. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ you are free at this moment. The chains have fallen off of your hands, the angel has shown up, and you can simply walk out of prison. The prison may be a certain sin that keeps "tripping you up," it may be stress, sickness, or any other number of things. Do you feel that you or someone you know may be in a "prison" that it's time they walked out of? If so, there are a few things we can do to begin walking out of the prisons that we may find ourselves in:
First we must believe that we are already free:
The moment we believed in Jesus we were set free from sin and from every other work of the devil. To experience the freedom Jesus accomplished that the cross we first must believe that we are already free. In John 8:32 we read these words of Jesus: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." When we know and believe the truth that Jesus crucified the old "sin" nature (the "old man" or "the flesh"-Romans 6:5-6; Galatians 5:24), that He completely defeated the enemy (Colossians 2:13), and that He healed us by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5;1Peter 2:24) we will experience freedom in our lives. In Romans 12:2 it says that we are transformed (changed) by renewing our minds.
We also must recognize our need to experience freedom:
In Mark 2:17 we are told, "When Jesus heard, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' " Jesus answered the religious leaders' criticism that He spent time with sinners by telling them that He had come for those who will admit that they have fallen short of the glory of God and turn to Him for mercy. If you want to experience freedom, denying the need for freedom will do no good, you must honestly admit that there are areas of your life in which you are not experiencing freedom (not in a condemning way, but admitting what you need and turning to the Lord for freedom).
It maybe helpful to have prayer partners:
In Acts 12:5 we are told that the church was praying for Peter. The miracle God did by sending an angel to free Peter was in answer to the prayers of the church, and in our lives it may be helpful to find people we trust and who are mature in the Lord to pray for us and with us. God wants us to work together as a body, and this is one of the ways we can do this.
We must take deliberate steps to walk out of whatever prison we may find ourselves in:
The angel told Peter to get up and follow him. Peter did not have the power to get out of prison on his own, but God set him free, doing what Peter could not. However, God used Peter's obedience to the angel's command to get up, get dressed, and follow him. In 2Corinthians 2:14 the apostle Paul wrote: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ..." The fact that God leads us in triumph (victory) implies that we are following Him. So follow the Lord's leading and let Him lead you into victory and freedom!
I want to remind you that we are to take these steps of obedience knowing that we are already free and that our walking in freedom is the Lord's work. In Philippians 2:12-13 we read, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Here we are told to "work out" our salvation, but then we are told that God works in us. God does the work in us and enables us to walk it out, giving us both the desire and ability to change. It is actually God changing us, "from glory to glory" (2Corinthians 3:18).
Are you a believer who has found yourself still in a prison in some area of your life? If so, you can ask the Lord for freedom today. It's already yours, and the Lord wants you to experience freedom even more than you want to experience it. The freedom Jesus wants you to walk in is a complete freedom, as He said: "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:32)
Acts 12:5-11- "Peter therefore was kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shown in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals' and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.' So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.' "
In this passage we see that Peter was in prison when an angel showed up and miraculously caused the chains that had him bound to fall off of his hands. At that moment Peter was free, but he still had to walk out of the prison he was in. In the same way a person is set free the moment they are born again, but many Christians still find themselves in prison in certain areas of their lives. Anything in our lives that is not God's will is a prison that we can walk out of today. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ you are free at this moment. The chains have fallen off of your hands, the angel has shown up, and you can simply walk out of prison. The prison may be a certain sin that keeps "tripping you up," it may be stress, sickness, or any other number of things. Do you feel that you or someone you know may be in a "prison" that it's time they walked out of? If so, there are a few things we can do to begin walking out of the prisons that we may find ourselves in:
First we must believe that we are already free:
The moment we believed in Jesus we were set free from sin and from every other work of the devil. To experience the freedom Jesus accomplished that the cross we first must believe that we are already free. In John 8:32 we read these words of Jesus: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." When we know and believe the truth that Jesus crucified the old "sin" nature (the "old man" or "the flesh"-Romans 6:5-6; Galatians 5:24), that He completely defeated the enemy (Colossians 2:13), and that He healed us by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5;1Peter 2:24) we will experience freedom in our lives. In Romans 12:2 it says that we are transformed (changed) by renewing our minds.
We also must recognize our need to experience freedom:
In Mark 2:17 we are told, "When Jesus heard, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' " Jesus answered the religious leaders' criticism that He spent time with sinners by telling them that He had come for those who will admit that they have fallen short of the glory of God and turn to Him for mercy. If you want to experience freedom, denying the need for freedom will do no good, you must honestly admit that there are areas of your life in which you are not experiencing freedom (not in a condemning way, but admitting what you need and turning to the Lord for freedom).
It maybe helpful to have prayer partners:
In Acts 12:5 we are told that the church was praying for Peter. The miracle God did by sending an angel to free Peter was in answer to the prayers of the church, and in our lives it may be helpful to find people we trust and who are mature in the Lord to pray for us and with us. God wants us to work together as a body, and this is one of the ways we can do this.
We must take deliberate steps to walk out of whatever prison we may find ourselves in:
The angel told Peter to get up and follow him. Peter did not have the power to get out of prison on his own, but God set him free, doing what Peter could not. However, God used Peter's obedience to the angel's command to get up, get dressed, and follow him. In 2Corinthians 2:14 the apostle Paul wrote: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ..." The fact that God leads us in triumph (victory) implies that we are following Him. So follow the Lord's leading and let Him lead you into victory and freedom!
I want to remind you that we are to take these steps of obedience knowing that we are already free and that our walking in freedom is the Lord's work. In Philippians 2:12-13 we read, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Here we are told to "work out" our salvation, but then we are told that God works in us. God does the work in us and enables us to walk it out, giving us both the desire and ability to change. It is actually God changing us, "from glory to glory" (2Corinthians 3:18).
Are you a believer who has found yourself still in a prison in some area of your life? If so, you can ask the Lord for freedom today. It's already yours, and the Lord wants you to experience freedom even more than you want to experience it. The freedom Jesus wants you to walk in is a complete freedom, as He said: "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:32)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Dreaming the Dreams of God
Don't be afraid to dream, and don't let anyone steal the dreams God has placed in your heart. You can dream the dreams of God and experience an abundant life in which the Lord places His desires in you and brings them to pass. This week I want to encourage you by sharing some things God's word says about desire.
Proverbs 13:12- "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life"
This verse from Proverbs tells us that "when desire comes it is a tree of life." That means having a dream and having it fulfilled can be source of life and healing to us. God wants to place His dreams in our hearts, and He wants to bring those dreams to pass. In light of this verse I want to encourage you to hold onto the dreams God has given you. If God has placed a dream in your heart don't let any person or any situation discourage you or quench the fire God has lit in your heart. I have had people try to "help" me by saying things that brought discouragement to keep me from pursuing the dreams God has given me. In those times if I had listened I would have settled for less than God's perfect will for me. Keep seeking the Lord and let Him fulfill the dreams He has placed in your heart.
Psalm 37:4- "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
There are two ways God gives us the desires of our hearts:
(1) He places those desires in us
(2) He then fulfills the desire.
We are told that God will do this when we delight ourselves in Him. That means we give Him the first place in our hearts, surrender totally to Him, and find our fulfillment and contentment only in Him. When we draw closer to the Lord we will be changed, and as we are changed we will find ourselves wanting what He wants. I find this to be a liberating truth that frees me to dream the dreams of God!
Philippians 2:13- "for it is God who works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure."
I find it interesting that God works in us both TO WILL (which speaks of desire) and to do. Not only does God enable us to do His will, He changes us so that we want the same things He wants. When I received Christ I found myself naturally wanting to live according to God's word (not that I'm perfect, but God changed my desire). God has a plan for every single person, and He often leads us by desire. If you have a dream from God remember that God is the one who put it there, seek His direction, and step out in obedience to follow God as He leads you into His dream for your life.
During the two years I was a student at Bible School a number of people prayed over me and told me that God has placed His desires in me. This happened frequently during the entire two years, and God used the prayers of those people and their words to greatly encourage me. One of the people who encouraged me suggested that I write down my desires as an act of faith. God has taught me and is still teaching me that He is a good Father and has placed dreams in my heart that He wants to fulfill in my life. As He does this for me, and as He fulfills the dreams He has given you, His goodness will be revealed and His name will glorified.
Proverbs 13:12- "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life"
This verse from Proverbs tells us that "when desire comes it is a tree of life." That means having a dream and having it fulfilled can be source of life and healing to us. God wants to place His dreams in our hearts, and He wants to bring those dreams to pass. In light of this verse I want to encourage you to hold onto the dreams God has given you. If God has placed a dream in your heart don't let any person or any situation discourage you or quench the fire God has lit in your heart. I have had people try to "help" me by saying things that brought discouragement to keep me from pursuing the dreams God has given me. In those times if I had listened I would have settled for less than God's perfect will for me. Keep seeking the Lord and let Him fulfill the dreams He has placed in your heart.
Psalm 37:4- "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
There are two ways God gives us the desires of our hearts:
(1) He places those desires in us
(2) He then fulfills the desire.
We are told that God will do this when we delight ourselves in Him. That means we give Him the first place in our hearts, surrender totally to Him, and find our fulfillment and contentment only in Him. When we draw closer to the Lord we will be changed, and as we are changed we will find ourselves wanting what He wants. I find this to be a liberating truth that frees me to dream the dreams of God!
Philippians 2:13- "for it is God who works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure."
I find it interesting that God works in us both TO WILL (which speaks of desire) and to do. Not only does God enable us to do His will, He changes us so that we want the same things He wants. When I received Christ I found myself naturally wanting to live according to God's word (not that I'm perfect, but God changed my desire). God has a plan for every single person, and He often leads us by desire. If you have a dream from God remember that God is the one who put it there, seek His direction, and step out in obedience to follow God as He leads you into His dream for your life.
During the two years I was a student at Bible School a number of people prayed over me and told me that God has placed His desires in me. This happened frequently during the entire two years, and God used the prayers of those people and their words to greatly encourage me. One of the people who encouraged me suggested that I write down my desires as an act of faith. God has taught me and is still teaching me that He is a good Father and has placed dreams in my heart that He wants to fulfill in my life. As He does this for me, and as He fulfills the dreams He has given you, His goodness will be revealed and His name will glorified.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
"Perfect Peace"
Isaiah 26:3-4- "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH the Lord is everlasting strength."
In a time when it seems there are so many problems in the world it is comforting to realize that we have the promise of "perfect peace," from the Lord. God promises this peace to those whose mind is "stayed" on Him. The Hebrew word translated "stayed" is used here to refer to trusting in God (the word literally means "to lean on"). In verse four we are told to trust in the Lord forever because of His everlasting strength. There will be challenges in our lives, but in the midst of these storms we can have perfect peace because God is all powerful.
John 16:33- "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Jesus was about to be crucified, and He took some time to prepare His disciples for what was about to take place. They- and many other Jews- were expecting Jesus to drive out the Romans and rule as the King of a literal kingdom. While Jesus will rule here on earth when He returns, that was not to take place then. He first had to die for the sins of the world and be raised from the dead. Jesus prepared the twelve apostles for those events by speaking words to bring peace to them! Sometimes things don't turn out the way we expect, and in those times we need God's peace. There is one statement in the Bible that I believe God can (and will) use to bring us peace in those times. That verse is Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." When things don't work out the way we expect we can find peace by remembering that God promises to make all things work together for the good those who love Him. When we remember this and trust God we will find "perfect peace." Jesus said that we can "be of good cheer" (rejoice, be happy) in trials because He has overcome the world. Jesus' victory is our victory. In 1John 5:4-5 we read: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" In challenging times remember that Jesus has overcome the world and every born again believer has overcome through Him. Romans 8:37 says, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." In the midst of trials ("in all these things") we are overcomers already. Christians are not working FOR victory, but we are working FROM victory. When we are faced with a challenge it is one that we have already overcome through Jesus' death on the cross. To experience victory we first must believe that we have already overcome through Jesus Christ.
In Acts 27 we read of the apostle Paul as a prisoner on a ship on his way to Rome. A storm arose and soon it grew so powerful that everyone on the ship lost all hope of survival. One day, in the midst of that hopeless situation Paul said, "And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' Therefore take heart men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." (Acts 27:22-25) In the midst of hopelessness and in the midst of a life threatening storm Paul heard from God and found the courage to look past the storm and say with faith: "I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." Whatever your storm may be, you can look past the clouds, fix your eyes on Jesus who has overcome and promised you victory and you will find perfect peace.
In a time when it seems there are so many problems in the world it is comforting to realize that we have the promise of "perfect peace," from the Lord. God promises this peace to those whose mind is "stayed" on Him. The Hebrew word translated "stayed" is used here to refer to trusting in God (the word literally means "to lean on"). In verse four we are told to trust in the Lord forever because of His everlasting strength. There will be challenges in our lives, but in the midst of these storms we can have perfect peace because God is all powerful.
John 16:33- "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Jesus was about to be crucified, and He took some time to prepare His disciples for what was about to take place. They- and many other Jews- were expecting Jesus to drive out the Romans and rule as the King of a literal kingdom. While Jesus will rule here on earth when He returns, that was not to take place then. He first had to die for the sins of the world and be raised from the dead. Jesus prepared the twelve apostles for those events by speaking words to bring peace to them! Sometimes things don't turn out the way we expect, and in those times we need God's peace. There is one statement in the Bible that I believe God can (and will) use to bring us peace in those times. That verse is Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." When things don't work out the way we expect we can find peace by remembering that God promises to make all things work together for the good those who love Him. When we remember this and trust God we will find "perfect peace." Jesus said that we can "be of good cheer" (rejoice, be happy) in trials because He has overcome the world. Jesus' victory is our victory. In 1John 5:4-5 we read: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" In challenging times remember that Jesus has overcome the world and every born again believer has overcome through Him. Romans 8:37 says, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." In the midst of trials ("in all these things") we are overcomers already. Christians are not working FOR victory, but we are working FROM victory. When we are faced with a challenge it is one that we have already overcome through Jesus' death on the cross. To experience victory we first must believe that we have already overcome through Jesus Christ.
In Acts 27 we read of the apostle Paul as a prisoner on a ship on his way to Rome. A storm arose and soon it grew so powerful that everyone on the ship lost all hope of survival. One day, in the midst of that hopeless situation Paul said, "And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' Therefore take heart men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." (Acts 27:22-25) In the midst of hopelessness and in the midst of a life threatening storm Paul heard from God and found the courage to look past the storm and say with faith: "I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." Whatever your storm may be, you can look past the clouds, fix your eyes on Jesus who has overcome and promised you victory and you will find perfect peace.
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