"There is a God in heaven..."
This article is a result of some of my Saturday morning musings. I was thinking about the great things that God has done in my life and the difference that He has made in my life. I want to share these musings with you, because God has either been the same in your life, or can be the same. God knows me. I do not mean that God just knows that there is a Joe Beauchamp and that He knows where I live, but that He really and truly knows me. He knows my every thought. He knows my every action. This is a wonderful thought, but it is also a sobering thought. It means that there is nothing that I cannot think, or do, that escapes the attention of God. He does not always applaud my thoughts and deeds. The wonderful thing about this musing is that it means God is interested in every aspect of my life. God loves me. This is also a sobering thought. The God Who is greater than the universe loves me. Let that sink in for a minute. I have never done anything that made Him love me. It is just God's nature to love people. His love for me is based upon His amazing grace. There are two things that I think of that assures me of His love, i.e., that He blesses me and that He disciplines me. When I go to Him in prayer I know that He is listening to me and that He will answer in a way that will bless my life. I have discovered that God's "no" brings as good as a blessing as His "yes." The fact that I have access to the God of the universe is blessing enough. God enables me. I depend on Him to help me do whatever His will is for me. Jesus promised His disciples that He would send His Holy Spirit to enable them in their service for Him. This promise is extended to me in my service for Him. This promise is extended to all who love and serve Him. I know that I am never alone in my service for Him. What a comforting thought that is to me. The three thoughts about Good that I have shared are true, or can be true, to you. God knows you. God loves you. God will enable you. Take it personally! Bro. Joe
0 Comments
14. "I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and they know me." 27. "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they know me."
Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, healed people, and made life better for many people. He died on the cross for us, and He has a claim on our lives that no one else could have. John 10:14 and 27 tell two important things that He wants of us. This, of course, is not all Jesus wants of us, but the two that we discuss in this article are most important to know. Jesus wants us to know Him. In verse 14, Jesus said that He knows His sheep and that know Him. Jesus wants us to know Him personally. When we are saved, we have a personal experience with Jesus and He is part of our lives. In other religions, their God is remote from them. This is certainly not true of our God - our Savior. Some might say that they know Him, but they do not know Him in a personal way, and He is not part of their daily lives. Jesus wants us to know the dynamic love that He has for us. Jesus wants us to know His truth. In John 8:32, Jesus said: "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." He wants us to know and experience His joy. In John 15:11, Jesus said: "I have spoken these things unto you so that my joy may be in your and that your joy may be complete." Of course, there are other aspects of our knowledge of Jesus, those given above are fundamental to our faith. Jesus wants us to follow Him. In John 10:27b Jesus said: "I know them and they follow me." This example was set for us by Peter, Andrew, James and John, who gave up their lucrative fishing business to surrender their lives to Jesus. Jesus asked them to follow Him and they followed Him for the rest of their lives. This was true of many other people in the New Testament. They have set a good example for us. Jesus wants us to follow His leadership. We know His leadership, because it is given to us by the Holy Spirt. We are to follow His example. Following Jesus' example does not make Christians of us, but it should be a fact of our lives. Nobody can follow Jesus' example perfectly, but He is good model of how we should live. Jesus does not expect us to turn water into wine, but He does expect us to obey Him and to follow the leadership of the Spirit in our lives. As alluded to above, this is not all that Jesus wants of us, but they are tantamount to doing what Jesus wants of us, and should define our lives. Bro. Joe “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…”
“Love” is the only word in the Bible that defines the very essence of God. The Greek word used for God’s love is “agape” (ah-gah-pay). This is love that continues to love, even when we are unlovable. It is the love that transcends feelings. It is the love that cares in spite of our sins and foibles. We are going to look at what the love of God means to us. God’s love is not discriminating. Through Jesus we know that God loves everyone. He is not pleased with everyone, but He loves everyone. When we are told that “God so loved the world,” there are no exceptions given. It does not say that God loved the world with the exception of some that He does not love. He loves the whole world. We should be glad to know this because this means that God loves us at all times. Again, we do not always please Him, but nothing can make Him stop loving us. It would follow that through Jesus, the love of God dwells in us; therefore, we should attempt to love all people as well. God’s love is immeasurable. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” These verses describe a love that has no bounds. God’s love is so deep and wide that nothing can separate us from it. Can’t we see this love shining from the cross? Doesn’t Jesus’ death on the cross tell us that God loves us? You cannot measure a love that will hold true even when the objects of that love are definitely not worthy of it. You cannot measure a love that will forgive, even when forgiveness is not deserved. After all, Jesus said:“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” We can put our names by“they.” Third, God’s love is active. Romans 5:8 reveals this wonderful word to us: “But God commendeth (demonstrates) His love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God’s love is not a mere feeling; rather, it is an action. Again, John 3:16 states that “God so loved the world that He gave.” This means that He acted on our behalf to save us. God demonstrated His love for us by having Christ die for us. He did this though we are all, every last one of us, sinners. We can go back into the Old Testament and see God’s love at work for His people. We see that active love in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. We see that active love in the protection of Israel during the years of their wilderness wandering. Throughout the Bible we see the active love of God, working on behalf of His people. What was true in the Old and New Testaments is still true today. God loves us, and He demonstrates it through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is my prayer that this article will encourage you to concentrate on the fact that God loves you, and that He loves you in spite of yourself. There is nothing more reassuring than the fact that we have a God who loves us. We can depend on the fact that God loves us through Jesus. This fact of God’s love should give us greater incentive to tell others about this God, whose very essence is love and who loves us. Bro. Joe "Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion." Psalm 51 is one of my favorite psalms, because it lets us into David's need for God's forgiveness after his adultery with Bathsheba and the death of her husband at his hand. All sin is serious, but we have to admit that David's sins here were very serious and surely ate at his conscience. Verse one includes some of the greatest aspects of our relationship with God. It reveals our greatest need. David appealed to God's grace: "Be gracious to me, God..." If our God was not a God of grace we would all be in serious trouble. David was thinking of God's wrath, but was appealing to His mercy. We know that David received God's gracious mercy. That gracious mercy is still available to us today. Whatever sin problem you are dealing with, remember that God's grace applies to you. God takes our sins seriously, but, praise Him, He also takes our heartfelt repentance seriously. This is true for you; therefore appeal to God's grace in a serious spirit of repentance. It reveals the greatest gift that God offers us: "according to your faithful love." It is difficult for me sometimes to believe that God truly loves me. (You probably have the same problem.) But the Bible constantly reminds us of God's love for us. We need to remember that God's love for us is "tough love." He loves us enough to discipline us in order to straighten out our lives. David had to face that discipline in the rest of his reign, but he was forgiven and God loved him through iall. God's discipline does not mean that God no longer loves us, but that He truly loves us. Hebrews 12:6: "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves." It reveals the greatest transaction: "According to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion." The Hebrew word for "blot out" means to "wash off, wipe out, blot out, to be exterminated." (Key Word Study Bible) This means that God will forgive us when we repent. If we seem out of fellowship with God, it is not because He moved. It is because we moved and got outside of His will. The good news is that because of His "abundant compassion," He will erase our "rebellion." Our loving Lord wants to do that for you if you will turn to Him in true repentance and seek His compassion. I think that you will admit that verse contains the greatest of what we can receive from the Lord. Take advantage of the opportunity. Bro. Joe “The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal…”
There are people who say that they will not believe in anything that they cannot see. This means, according to our text, that they are putting their belief in that which is temporary. This is illustrated for us by the things that we see going on around us. A building, for example, can be a landmark in a city, but it can be torn down and, voila, it is gone. In fact, things are not meant to exist forever. “Here today and gone tomorrow” is true of people and things. According to Paul we need to put our faith in that which is unseen, but not just anything that is unseen. Let me point out what I mean: Let’s begin at the top – God cannot be seen, yet He really exists, and has existed for eternity. The psalmists often referred to God as being “from everlasting to everlasting.” This is another way of saying that God has always existed, though He is unseen. Simon Peter understood the importance of this, when writing about people who were undergoing trials because of their faith in Christ in 1 Peter 1:8: “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Paul addresses this in 1 Timothy 6:15-16: “Which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only potentate (king), the King of kings and Lord of lords: 16. Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.” In fact, the Bible teaches that no human being can see God in all of His glory and live. I think that we can say with great accuracy that God is not temporary, but eternal. We can rejoice in the fact that God revealed Himself through Jesus, but we still have to believe to see what He can do in our lives. Another important aspect of the Christian faith that is unseen is faith itself. In Hebrews 11:6 the writer reminds us that: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This is another way of saying “believing is seeing.” There are a lot of things that we cannot see, yet we believe. Take the wind for example. We cannot see the wind, but we can certainly see the effects of the wind. Ask anyone who has ever lived through a hurricane. I’ve never heard anybody say that they didn’t believe in the wind because they could not see it. All they have ever seen is the effects of the wind. An unbeliever might argue that he or she has not seen the effects of God. This is only because he or she does not want to see the effects of God. The Bible points out in more than one place that nature reveals the effects of God. The orderliness of the universe speaks of His existence. But the greatest effect of God that we can see is what He has done in the lives of individuals. When I was involved in prison ministry, I met men who had been hardened criminals, but they had accepted Christ in a prison Bible study and were changed from hardened criminals to saved individuals. Some of them knew that they would never be released from prison, but they continued to serve the Lord in the prison setting. Besides that I can see the effects of God in my own life. I certainly wouldn’t blame everything that I do, say, or think, on God, but I know that I am different because of my faith in Him. There is one more unseen thing that I want to share with you that reveals God to us, that is, that no one has ever seen love. We have seen love in action, but we have never actually seen an entity called “love.” We have certainly seen the effects of love in God’s supreme act of love as revealed in John 3:16, which you probably know by heart– if not look it up. John pointed out the same thing in 1 John 4:9: “In this was manifested (revealed) the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." We who believe and see can take comfort in what Jesus said to “doubting Thomas” when Thomas saw Him: Jesus said to Thomas...“Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” This includes all of us – rejoice. Bro. Joe John1:4: “In (Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men."
John 8:12: “Then spoke Jesus again unto them saying, “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus is the light of the world. Anyone who has ever even hinted at reading the New Testament knows that. The important thing, though, is what does it mean?Everything Jesus said had a purpose and that purpose had to do with our lives. What does it mean, then, for our lives that Jesus is the light of the world? It means that we have His guidance in life. We know that when we walk in the darkness, it is difficult to find our way. When we step into a dark room, the first thing that we do is turn on the light so that we can see where we step. In the same way, we are to walk in the light of Jesus so that we can see our way through life. John 1:5 reveals that though the light had come into the world the world “did not comprehend it.” This is as true today as it was when Jesus said it. We need to get this down good and stay with it: We do not have to stumble in the darkness, because, in Jesus, God has given us the light that we need to see our way. In turn, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us in that light. We just need to live in that light and stop stumbling in the darkness. It means that we not only have light to show us the way, but that we can reflect that light to the world. In Matthew 5:14 and 16, Jesus informed us of this: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Just as the moon’s light is a reflection of sunlight, so our light is a reflection of the light of Christ.” Notice that Jesus said we are to let our lights shine so that “they may see your works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” By the good things that we do, we reflect the light of Jesus Christ. When people see the light they are to see beyond us to the real source of the light. The fact that we are the light of the world is not something for us to brag about, it is a responsibility to share the source of the light – Jesus Christ. It means that if we are to really function as lights in the world, we need to reflect the love and compassion of Jesus. Jesus said this in John 13:35: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples by the love that you have for each other.” If there is anything that is needed in this hostile world, it is the love of Jesus. The world is, and always has been, torn by bitterness and strife. We see it in our own politics; we see it in the relationships between nations; we see it too often in our own lives. As Christ’s church we are supposed to be shining His light of love to the entire world, yet all too often we show the same strife that the world sees. This is not a self-righteous judgment on my part, because I have to watch my own responses to people in and out of the church. I don’t think that any of us can reflect that love perfectly, but we sure do need to do a better job than we are doing. I realize that this starts with me and as you read this you need to realize that it starts with you as well. I hope and pray that this declaration of Jesus that He is “the light of the world,” and His declaration that “(we) are the light of the world,” helps us realize that sharing this light is our responsibility as believers. We need to seek His guidance in order for us to be able to see where we are going in the darkness of the world. We need to consciously act in love so that the light of Christ can be seen by the world. I think that you will agree that we can do a better job of it than we are doing. So, let’s do it! Bro. Joe “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Paul wrote His epistle to the Galatians because “Judaizers” were teaching them that they had to become Jews before they could become Christians. This meant that they had to keep the Mosaic law and be circumcised in order to receive Christ as Savior. It didn’t make sense that if one had to become a Jew to become a Christian, that Christ had to come and offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. Paul’s teaching about the law was that the law taught us what sin is, i.e., it defined sin as idolatry, adultery, lying, etc. The law also gave names to sin in order for us to recognize it. But the law does not have the power to save us from sin. Paul also wrote on this theme in Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-10 is the standard definition of what it means to be saved: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The main catalyst for salvation is not based on who we are or what we do; rather, it is based on God’s grace. Grace has been defined as “unmerited favor.” This means that we can never merit, or earn, salvation: “not of works, lest any man should boast.” We cannot earn salvation, but through our faith in Christ, by God’s grace, we can be saved. Our part is to put our faith in Christ, but without grace even faith could not save us. Paul gave God’s grace credit, not only for his salvation, but also for everything that was accomplished through his ministry. For example, here is what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by grace I am what I am: and His grace which was given to me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Paul could not have been saved and could not have served were it not for the grace, the unmerited favor, of God. It makes sense then that we are saved, not by our own righteousness, nor by our own works, but because of the grace of God. Paul admitted that because of his past actions in persecuting the church, that he should not have been able to be saved, nor should he have been able to serve the Lord. It was the grace of God that made all of it possible. I can say the same thing about my own salvation and my own ministry. There was nothing that I did that enabled me to be a servant of the Lord. By grace He has let me serve Him. It is the same for all of God’s servants, from Peter, to Paul, to Martin Luther, to Billy Graham, to you. The essential element in all of our dealings with God, whether it be our salvation or our service, is God’s grace – His unmerited favor. God’s grace has made it all possible. Praise God! GRACE...... God's Riches At Christ's Expense Bro. Joe "36. Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken me in thy way. 38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear."
The three verses written above spoke to my heart. What they said to me was that the Psalmist deeply desired a life of substance. He did not want his life to be shallow and vain. This is a good goal for us to consider. In our affluent society it is easy to live a covetous life. First, he wanted his life to be built on the decrees, testimonies, or word of God. He did not want his life to be based on material gain, which comes from a covetous heart. We can really use this advice today. He wanted the testimonies of God to drive his life's decisions. This is one reason why we should spend some time each day in the Bible where we can find many examples of the reward of serving the Lord and many examples of the futility of failing to serve God. Second, he did not want to go through life looking at vain things, things that have no eternal meaning. Most of the things that people really care about today do not amount to a hill of beans in comparison to eternity. The HCSB translates it this way: "Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways." Think of how many worthless things we look at today. We can't live lives of substance if we spend our time observing what is worthless. What we need is to live the way God wills us to live. Third, he wanted what he concentrated on to lead him to greater reverence for God. HCSB: "Confirm what you said to your servant, for it produces reverence for you." He wanted to really hear in his heart what God was saying to him so that he would have greater reverence for God. We will reverence what we concentrate most on. Pay attention to these verses for they can lead you to a life of substance. Bro. Joe “Servants, obey in all things your master according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. 24. Knowing that of the Lord you
shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve Christ.” This passage is addressed to servants, or slaves, to tell them how to conduct themselves in the work they are given to do. This advice, however, does not just include slaves, but all Christians, for we are all servants, or slaves, of the Lord. Paul wrote: “And whatsoever you do….” This presupposes that we are going to be “doers.” This is reminiscent of James’s advice in James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Paul informed us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are “saved by grace through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast." I know that “work” is a four-letter word, but it is not an ugly word in the Christian vocabulary. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul concluded the passage with a reminder that we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works....” So we are called to not only serve the Lord, but to serve Him heartily – or with our whole heart. He wrote “do it heartily as to the Lord…” We are to serve the Lord with our whole hearts, because He is the Lord – period. If one is called to serve on the staff of the president of the United States, he or she had better determine that they are going to do a good job or be sent home in disgrace. How much more careful should we be about our service to the Lord. Whether we are teaching Sunday School, taking up the offering, ushering, serving as a deacon, tending the nursery, or whatever, we should take the job seriously and give the Lord the best that we can give Him. The service that we render is to be done to please the Lord and not to please people. Specifically, he wrote in verses 22-23: “…not as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be glad when people appreciate what we do, but pleasing people should not be the reason that we serve. There are times in the Lord’s service when we will have to choose between pleasing God or pleasing people. Which one we should please is really a no-brainer if we are serious about serving the Lord. Verse 24 gives us a promise: “Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.” Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees because they rendered religious service “to be seen of men.” He told them that when they did things to please people that they already had their reward, meaning that God would not reward that service. If all we want to do is to please people, we will not really be effective in helping them live the Christian life. It is a fact that we will be rewarded for the service that we do for the Lord. Our rewards in heaven will depend on the service that we did “heartily” for the Lord. We are not to serve just to get rewards, but to know that we get the rewards because we have pleased God. Bro. Joe "As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. 10. If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commands and remain in His love. 11. I have spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete."
This is another of my attempts to share the message of encouragement through an acrostic. When these ideas occur to me, I see that as the Lord directing me in what I should share with you. So, here we go with another acrostic on joy. J - Jesus -- Jesus is the cause of our joy. Jesus made this claim in verse 11 of the text: "I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." It is the joy that we have in spite of our circumstances. It is the joy that Jesus implanted in our hearts when He entered our lives. Frankly, there are periods in our lives when this joy is severely tested, but it is there when we need it. This is one of Christ's gifts to our lives that we need to show the world. They think that we Christians are a droll bunch, and that we are "killjoys." We need to dispel this opinion at home, at work, etc., and especially in our worship at church. O- Others -- It is difficult to put others ahead of ourselves, but there is no greater witness of the love of Christ in our lives than when we love, and minister, to other people. Of course, there are people who make this difficult. We need to remember that Jesus loves those people as much as He loves us. Jesus loves them, and died for them on the cross. I have discovered in almost sixty years of ministry, that a lot of my joy comes from fellowship with the people of God. Sometimes they tried my patience, and I am certain that I tried their patience, but we found joy in fellowship with each other. Y- Yourself - "Looking out for number one," meaning looking out for ourselves first is a declaration that I have heard, and have thought of myself, is not a Christian declaration. This is not what Jesus showed us in His earthly ministry, nor is it seen in the lives of great servants of God in the Bible. Serving Christ always goes back to serving people. That is what Christian ministry is about in all of its aspects in the Bible. if you want to maintain the joy that Christ has given you, do something for someone else, and find the satisfaction of Christian service. This article does not cover all aspects of Christian joy, but it covers the basics of it. Go out and share the joy that Christ has given you to the world. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|