"Here in is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent His Son to be propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
The text printed above teaches us a lot about love. The Greek word translated love here is "agape" (A gah pay). This is the word that is used in John 3:16 and 1Corinthians 13, which is called "the love chapter." Here is what John wanted us to know about the highest kind of love: He reminds us that love originated with God. We might say that love is a "God Thing." John reminds us that "He loved us." I don't know about you, but these words are thrilling to me. We should never take God's love lightly. I read this to also mean that God loves me. I do not know why He loves me, but the Bible constantly reminds us of God's love. This also means that God loves you. It also means that God loves those that we find difficult to love, as well as those we find easy to love. He reminds us of the extent of God's love: "He sent His Son to be the propitiation ("atoning sacrifice") for our sins." We are the reason that Jesus came into the world and gave His life on the cross. He did this in order that we might be saved from sin. Without Jesus, we would have no hope for today, tomorrow, or for eternity. We need to pause and thank God for this self-giving love. We need to praise Jesus for loving us enough to give His life for us. Jesus is the reason that we can go to heaven and live with Him eternally instead of spending eternity in hell. That is a blunt statement, but it is a true statement. Jesus died and rose from the grave to be the "atoning sacrifice" for our sins. Praise Him! John also reminds us that because of God's agape, self giving love: "We ought also to love one another." It seems to me that we Christians often forget about this. I hear of Christ's churches fussing and fighting. Wait, I have personally seen Christ's people feuding, fussing and fighting with each other. There are some names that pass through my mind that remind me that this also refers to me. Look into your heart and see if Satan has planted a seed of hatred (dislike if you prefer) in your heart. Remember that God also loves that person, or those people, as He loves you. Jesus gave His life for them. Jesus loves them. He knows about their faults but He has not stopped loving them. He also knows about your faults and mine, but He still loves and forgives us. Having this kind of love in our hearts and minds, "we ought also to love one another." Believe me, I know the struggle about loving people with God's love. Perhaps we need to think deeply about the love that saved us, and try to practice it on other people. Selah (Frankly, writing this article drove me to prayer, and to ask God for forgiveness. I pray that it will cause you to pray, and to seek to love people.) Bro. Joe
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“May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.”
(NKJV) The desires of our hearts tell us a lot about ourselves. Our heart’s desires are what we dream about, think about, and that control the purpose of our lives. That’s what the text printed above reveals to us. If God grants us the desires of our hearts, our purpose will be fulfilled. The important thing is that our heart’s desires are worthy of great purpose. By “great purpose” I do not mean a purpose that will shake the world, but purposes that will help us realize God’s will for our lives, and enable us to make a difference in the world. Those things that we think about and plan on should have something to do with what God wants for us. If you realized your heart’s desire today, what would it have to do with the kingdom of God? I do not mean that you can’t have heart’s desires that have to do with secular things, but if you are a Christian, your main desire and purpose should have to do with Christ. When I was a little boy, my heart’s desire was to be a cowboy just like Roy Rogers. I could just see myself riding on a horse, chasing the crook down, pulling him off of his horse and beating the living daylights out of him. But as I began to mature a little, a new desire formed in my heart. I felt that God was calling me to be a preacher. After a roller-coaster ride from age 12 to age 20, that desire was realized. It was a life-changing experience. I can’t tell you that I have always fulfilled God’s purpose in my life, for, like you, I still have “Adam’s blood” in me. I can’t say that I have never wanted to quit the purpose to which He called me, for from time to time I did. Obviously, I did not quit, since I have been In the ministry for 60 years. It has been an interesting, fulfilling, humbling life, filled with challenges. That is enough about me. I want to ask you what your heart’s desire is at this very moment in your life? If that desire should be fulfilled, what would be the result for you, your family and the world around you? Would your desire’s fulfillment make a difference in the world? Is your heart’s desire something that you talk to God about regularly? If you aren’t praying about it, you are not interested in what God wants for you. If this desire was fulfilled and you realized your purpose, would it make you a better person? Would you be easier to get along with? Would you be a more loving person? Would you be a better husband or wife? Would you be a better father or mother to your children? Would you do better on your job? Would you be a better member of your church? Would people see a difference in your life? These are a lot of questions for you to answer, but they are very important questions. We are supposed to grow as Christians. It is our heart’s desires and our purposes that help us to grow. Some people are satisfied being nominal Christians. Their real heart’s desires have more to do with secular matters than with God’s will for their lives. If that is the way your life is now, you need to ask God to examine your heart and give you the desire to be a better servant of His. Jesus is waiting for you to align your heart, and consequently, your purpose with what He wants with your life. Perhaps, you need to do some serious praying when you finish reading this. What is your heart’s desire? What is your purpose? Give it some thought. Bro. Joe “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the care of this world, and deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
I imagine that most of you reading this are familiar with the parable of the sower. It is a parable that Jesus gave to the crowd of people who came to the seaside to hear Him speak. The parable was about a farmer who went out to sow his seed. Some of the seed fell by the wayside, or the hard-packed dirt around the field, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where the seed could not take root in the shallow soil. Some fell in the thorns, where they were able to take root but were choked by the thorn bushes. Other seed fell of good ground, took root and brought forth a crop. Jesus referred to the seed as the word of God and the soils were like people who received the word. My focus for our purposes is on what happened to the seed in the thorny ground. In this case the word of God takes hold and takes root, but the thorns hinder its growth and keep it from bearing fruit. This happens all too often and we need to be careful that we do not get caught in the thorns. In this case, the person hears the word and becomes overly concerned about “the care of the world.” This is a common problem because we live in the world and the world is fraught with cares that can call our attention away from the Lord. This is illustrated in Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus visited with His good friend Lazarus and Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha was busy, no doubt preparing a great meal for Jesus – at least that’s my guess. Meanwhile, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning from Him and worshiping Him. Martha told Mary that she should come and help her, but Jesus reprimanded Martha. He told her: “Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things, but Mary has chosen that good part which cannot be taken away from her.” In a sense, Martha couldn’t enjoy the visit of the Savior, because she was caught up in the cares of that moment. I think that this is what happens in people’s lives sometimes. They get so caught up with the temporal that they do not give adequate attention to the eternal. Don’t let the cares of this world rob of you of the joy that Jesus can bring into your life. Like Mary, sit as His feet, worship Him and learn from Him. Jesus also said that in the case of the people in thorny ground, they were choked by “the deceitfulness of riches.” Understand that you don’t have to try to get rich to be choked by the deceitfulness of riches. All you have to do is to live your life with the drive and determination to get money, to buy things, to dress well, to drive big cars, etc. There is nothing wrong with these things if they are not robbing us of our joy in Jesus and our worship of Him. “Riches” are deceitful because they promise fulfillment that they cannot deliver. I think that we can replace “riches” with “things.” What thing have you ever bought that brought real fulfillment to your life? When we base our lives on the abundance of things that we possess, we are choking out the word of God. I am not saying that possessions and bank accounts are unimportant. What I am saying is that they are not all-important. When we are possessed by our possessions, we are getting choked and robbing ourselves of a better relationship with God. For that matter, we are also robbing ourselves of a better relationship with our Christian friends. If you feel that you are not as close to God as you once were, you need to take stock of your life and see if you have landed among the thorns. There is always tension between living and making it in this world, and maintaining a viable Christian witness, but it is not impossible. Do not let yourself get caught up by the cares of life and the things that you possess. Take a lesson from Mary and sit at the feet of Jesus. Bro. Joe 0 Comments"You Can Take Go ,Love “…does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil.”
As the title states, we need to think before we speak: T - Is it True? H - Is it Helpful? I - Is it Inspiring? N - Is it Necessary? K - Is it Kind? It is important that what we say to or about others is unequivocally true.This is important to our Christian witness. Jesus never spoke anything but the truth, and when He said harsh words to people like the Pharisees, what He told them was truth that they needed to hear. Doesn’t Christian love demand that we be truthful, and tactful, in what we say to and about people? Before you speak think whether what you are about to say is true or not. It is important that what we say to others is helpful. For example, if you criticize someone, make sure that the criticism will be helpful to them. Sometimes we can say hurting things to people that are intended to put them down. I don’t think that it is ever helpful to intentionally say hurtful things to people. Christian love demands that when we speak to or about other people that what we say is meant to be helpful and not hurtful. It is important that what we say to others is inspiring. I do not mean that we are to say inspiring things to manipulate people to do what we want them to do. We should intend to inspire people to be better people and do better things. Jesus certainly inspired people by what He said to them. Even if Jesus had to say negative things, what He said was inspiring and helped the people to whom He spoke. It is important that what we say is necessary. This might really be in reference to negative things that we might have to say to people. Sometimes when we get started, we say more than is necessary. If we aren’t careful we can keep on until we say something that will sting and alienate the person. There have been times when I have spoken out in groups that I asked myself later if what I said was necessary. Jesus never said unnecessary things to people. It is important that what we say is kind. It is just as easy to say kind things as it is to say unkind things. A good policy might be to not say what we want to say if it is going to be unkind. A lot of families, churches, classes, etc. would be better off if people said kind things to each other. I know that I like for people to speak kindly to me, which means, of course, that I should speak kindly to them. Jesus was kind in what He said to people. Let’s try to be kind in what we say. THINK about it! Bro. Joe "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlastng life."
The Christian faith is based on love. It is based on the love that God has for us, and the love that we should have for Him and for each other. I want to share about this love that God has for us and that we should have for each other. ,God loves us. John 3:16 reveals to us that God loves us. I believe that God loves me and that He loves you based on that text, and others throughout the Bible. 1John 4:10 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ("Propitiation" means that Christ was the atoning sacrifice that was made for us in order for us to b be saved.) You need to come to the point in your life, if you haven't already, that God loves you. He loved you enough to send His Son to die on the cross in order for you to be saved. Just say it, and believe it: "God loves me." We should love God. 1 John 4:19 "We love Him (God) because He first loved us..." We need to ask ourselves if we really love God? Does our life reveal that we love God? Do we talk to Him? We call this prayer. One of the signs that people have fallen out with each other is that they do not speak to each other. Well, do you speak to God, or have you fallen out with Him? Please understand that whether you speak to Him or not, God loves you, but He would certainly like to hear from you. Years ago (many years ago) when I was in Boot Camp in San Diego, Mama wrote me that if she did not hear from me soon, she was going to call the Commanding Officer and check on me. Needless to say I got a letter in the mail to her immediately. (My Mama would have done it.) Perhaps God wants to hear from you. Just go to Him in prayer. Talk to Him! Share your heart with Him! Love Him! He loves you! We should love each other. 1John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." We are not all easy to love. (duh) Some folks are downright easy to love, and some folks are downright difficult to love. But the Bible does not take these facts into account. It just says that we are to love each other. I am certainly not going to be self righteous at this point. I can think of some people at this point and have positive thoughts and feelings about them. I can think of some other people and have to pray to have positive thoughts and feelings about them. But the Bible commands that I love all of them. It is easy to say that we love everybody, but it is actually difficult to do. But we should make the effort to love people, because God loves all of us'. Bro. Joe "But you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit become upon you, and you shall be my witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
"Power" is a good Christian word. We do not normally think of ourselves as powerful people, but the Bible says that we are powerful. But we need to be careful how we use that word in reference to ourselves and to our commitment to Christ. Let's see what it means in reference to our Christian witness. First, it is God-given power. We do not have this power within ourselves. Jesus told the assembled apostles that they would "receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you." They had to be given God's power to do His work. If you are a Christian, you also have His power in your life. You might not feel powerful but you are powerful, because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The Lord does not send us out to witness and minister to the world without His Holy Spirit power. Second, it is useful power. The Lord does not empower us without giving us a work to do for Him. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His followers, "You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." I do not know what He has called upon you to do, but He has empowered you by the Holy Spirit to do whatever it is He wants you to do. You can go about the task, knowing that you are doing it in God's power. You are not alone! Third, it is authoritative power. When the Lord gives you the Holy Spirit, you can serve Him with authority. I remember being a 21 year old ex sailor preaching in my first church. It used to literally blow my mind when I thought about it, but I was called of God to do it - and they listened. (This literally blew my mind.) Believe me, it was difficult for me to do, but the Holy Spirit empowered me to do it. If you are a Christian, you have the power of the Holy Spirit to do whatever it is that God has called you to do. By His Spirit, you have the authority to do His work. You just have to commit to do it. There is much more that could be written about Christian power, but what I have written should help you to know that by the power of the Holy Spirit you can effectively serve the Lord. Bro. Joe "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4. always in every prayer of mine for you making request with joy; 5. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now."
This is the beginning of a joyful letter from Paul to the church at Philippi. In this passage Paul expresses the joy that he wants to share with the Philippian Church. What was the cause of this joy? Paul expresses that his joy was caused by the fellowship that he had with the Philippian Church. The Greek word used for fellowship is from the root word for fellowship, koinonia. It means that people are in partnership with each other. Paul saw the Philippians as being in partnership with him. They were serving Christ together. This is not people just attending worship services together and after the final "amen" they all leave and go home. It is people who are serving God together. The church has been described as the "Church gathered" and the "church scattered." People in church a do not cease to be "church" when they are scattered. People in Christian fellowship do not say "amen" and go their own way. Christian fellowship is not just getting together, but spiritually being a part of each other's lives. Christians are joined together by prayer, worship, ministry to each other, and ministry to the world. We are partners in the most important enterprise in the world -Christian ministry to each other and to the world. People in a church are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are really a family. Furthermore we are joined together by the blood of Christ and by the love of Christ. We are a fellowship of people who have the Risen Christ as our reason for being together. We are to gather in worship with each other, by prayer for each other and by our Christian love for each other. That does not mean that we always agree with each other, but ideally in our love for each other we find ways to minister to each other and to the world. We are joined together by the joy that we have in Christ, by the joy of Christian fellowship. Amen! Bro. Joe "He must increase and I must decrease."
Our text is what John the Baptist said about himself and Jesus. John had developed a following, but he wanted to call the attention of his followers to Jesus. Since I have been a preacher for sixty years, I know what John meant by this statement. It is a temptation of a preacher to gain a following for himself instead of for Jesus. We would do well to take John's advice in this text. A preacher friend of mine once said that if people were following him, they were headed in the wrong direction. He did not mean that what he was preaching was wrong; rather, he meant that if what he was preaching was leading people to himself, he needed to aim a lot higher in his preaching. It is always a temptation for a preacher to develop a following for himself. If the preacher means that he wants the love and appreciation of his congregation. Of course, he should want that, but he should draw the line at the point of worship. "Preacher worship" is aimed too low. I certainly never wanted my congregations to hate me, or dismiss me, but I never wanted their worship. I have always been happy that people loved me as their preacher, and that they appreciated my attempts at preaching and ministering. This is not what we call "preacher worship." What human being doesn't want to be loved and admired instead of being taken lightly, or being dismissed? My reaction to people who express appreciation for me and my ministry is always "thank you." Like all humans, I am happy when people love and appreciate me. (duh) Years ago, I learned a lesson along this line. My girlfriend, who later became my wife, once expressed that she enjoyed a preacher's sermon. He said something like, "Give God the praise." Being the person that she was, she reminded him that she was not praising him, but expressing appreciation for his sermon. Also, being the person that she was, she reminded him of that fact. (I think she was probably thinking "Exuuuuse meee.") Whenever anyone says to me that they "enjoyed my sermon," I always say "thank you." (What mentally and spiritually healthy human being does not want to be appreciated for the work that they do?) I really don't have a problem when people love and appreciate me and my ministerial efforts. I have worked hard, and prayerfully, on my preaching and pastoral skills. When I was at Valdosta State, I probably would have been on the dean's list, if I had spent as much time in my studies as I did in the part of the library where they had the volumes from a former Methodist college, which had become the "North Campus." There is a difference between appreciation and worship. (My attitude has always been "Keep those cards and letters coming in," so to speak.) Loving and appreciating me does not mean that I have replaced God in someone's life. (I am not egotistical enough to think that I could replace God in someone's life.) It has always been my aim to lead people to the Lord, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be loved and appreciated. In the final analysis, I must "decrease and He must increase" But if He is to increase, I should take the time and effort to do the best job that I can humanly do. It is certainly possible for one to appreciate our labor and also give God the credit. Selah Bro. Joe “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
This verse was written by Paul in reference to the battle that we have with the forces of Satan. In verse 12 he wrote them: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In other words as believers in Jesus Christ we are war with an implacable foe, and we need help in this war that is waged daily. Paul told them to “be strong in the Lord.” He did not advise them to just “be strong.” I’m afraid that a mistake that make too often in our daily bouts with temptation is that we try to be strong but the strength that we depend on is our own. There is something about us that makes us want to believe that we are sufficient within ourselves to fight the spiritual battles of life, but it is just not true. We want to think that we can stand against anything in our own strength. It is like a person who sees a tornado coming and says, “I think that I can stop that thing if I will just use my strength.” You know that this is impossible. It is certainly true, then, that we cannot stand up against Satan and his demons on our own strength. Paul admonished the Ephesians to “be strong in the Lord.” Being “strong in the Lord” refers to being strong in Him in daily life through faith, prayer and daily doses of the word of God. Being “strong in the Lord” is a reference to a lifestyle, not just a weapon to be used in emergencies. Since the battle that we are in with Satan is a daily battle, we need to depend on the Lord’s strength daily. It should be our practice to depend on the Lord’s strength in everything that we do. When we do this, we resolve that we will live each day for the Lord and in His strength. For example, when David engaged in battle with Goliath, he did not come to the battle without prior preparation. As young as David was at the time, he had spent time with God, and had been close to him on a daily basis. The faith that fight’s Goliath, is not faith that is roused up in the heat of battle. It is faith that is lived daily in relationship with the Almighty God. Our foe is even stronger than Goliath; therefore, we should make sure we are “strong in the Lord” on a daily basis. Too often we fight against disconcerting temptations and habits with the idea that we can overcome from the strength that is within ourselves.. It is quite possible that we can overcome some things, but the victory will be complete only when we use the strength of the Lord. How do we get that strength? To begin with, we ask for it, and we dedicate our lives to the Lord to obey Him and serve Him daily. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit to live within us, and He has given us the armor that we need to stand against the foe. (Read verses 13-18 of Ephesians 6 to see what this armor is comprised of.) We are to be “Strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.” The Lord wants us to depend upon His might in our fight with Satan. He expects us to lean on His might in order for us to see what only He can do. The Israelites had to depend upon God’s might when they came to the Red Sea. With the sea in front of them and Pharaoh behind them, there was not a whole lot they could do in their own might, so they had to trust God to do something about it. Only God could divide the Red Sea and let them through. I think that we do not see the power of God at work in our churches sometimes because we try to do the Lord’s work on our own power. We work to see what we can do, not what God can do. We forget that we have a resource that the world does not have. We have the power and might of God. This is true in our churches and it is true in our personal lives. We encounter an implacable foe each day, and we need to just throw all caution to the wind, trust God and see what He can do. Try it! Bro. Joe “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”
Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, and we are informed in 4:4: “And He must needs go through Samaria.” In other words, Jesus had to go through Samaria. In His infinite mind, Jesus knew that He had an appointment with a sinful woman there, and that a whole town needed Him. Jesus met the woman at Jacob's Well, where she had come to draw water and talked with her. She was a sinful woman who had been married five times and was living with a man out of wedlock at that time. Jesus told this sinful woman that He was/is the Messiah. That’s when she went into the town and told the town’s people about Jesus, and they went out to meet Him and accepted His message as well. (You can read the whole story in John 4.) This is an incident in the New Testament where Jesus changed a desperate woman’s life, and the lives of the people in the town in which she lived. How was she changed? First, before Jesus came into her life the woman was friendless. Women usually went to the well to get water together, but she was there by herself. Since she was a sinful woman, the other women in town wouldn’t have anything to do with her. I like to think that after she told the people about Jesus, she found a new acceptance in that town. The Bible doesn’t follow up on her life, but I believe that she was a changed woman after that encounter with Jesus, and because of Jesus she found a new acceptance among her neighbors. At least they listened to her when she told them about Jesus, and they went out to meet Him and also accepted Him as Messiah. Most importantly, the woman was, no doubt, able to accept herself because of her changed life. Jesus knew this woman’s predicament, and He acted to change her life. After Jesus came to town, the woman had a new fellowship with her neighbors. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ acceptance of sinners. Jesus promised that He would accept all who came to Him in faith. This woman was not too sinful to be saved, nor is anyone else if they will just come to Jesus in faith. Second, before Jesus came into her life, the woman was hopeless. Not only was she an outcast in her own community, she was lost in sin, which was reflected in her lifestyle. I imagine to the people who knew her, this woman was hopeless. I think that she probably thought she was hopeless too, and she was until she encountered Jesus at the well. She was given a new lease on life that was filled with the hope of Jesus. We need to understand that no one is really hopeless where Jesus is concerned, and if they have an encounter with Jesus they will be filled with hope. Jesus came to bring hope into a seemingly hopeless world. All over the world, people are accepting Jesus as Savior. Many of them are accepting His hope in spite of the threats on their lives. There is nothing greater than the hope that we have in Jesus. This woman shows us that people can be saved and enter into the hope of Jesus, regardless of what they have done in the past. To get a clearer picture of what I have written, I would like for you to read the fourth chapter of John’s gospel. It might be that there is something in your life that an encounter with Jesus can help you with and give you a renewed hope. It can also help us see that the people we know who seem hopelessly lost can encounter Jesus as well. Like the woman in the text, it might be that we could lead someone to an encounter with Jesus. Read this chapter and think about your own life. Bro. Joe |
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