“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
When searching my mind for a title to this article, the only thought was that this was the “greatest event ever.” These verses remind us of an event that is unlike any other event in the history of the world. John referred to Jesus as “the Word of God.” Why is this the greatest event ever? It is the greatest event ever because it tells us of the incarnation (infleshment) of the eternal God. Notice that John wrote that “the word was God.” This means that the Father and the Son are one. The God who created the universe took on human flesh. To the unbeliever this seems impossible to be true. To the believer it is too good not to be true. To the world at large this means very little, but to those of us who believe it is the greatest truth imaginable. Jesus came to earth as a baby and lived the human experience with one difference: He did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 tells us: “For we not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He lived a perfect life so that He could as a sinless sacrifice for our sins. It is the greatest event ever because it tells us the incarnate Savior “dwelt among us.” He actually lived his life in a family with brothers and sisters. It is assumed that since His father, Joseph, was a carpenter that He was also a carpenter. This means that Jesus knows what it means to live in the world and to work in the world. Jesus dwelt among us in great humility. He was the Son of God, God incarnate, yet He did not go around telling people that He was God. In fact, the demons wanted to tell people who He was, but Jesus would not let them. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5-7 that. He “made Himself of no reputation and took upon the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Jesus was welcomed to earth in a manger and lived the life of a simple carpenter, all the while knowing that He would change history forever. Think of the magnificence of the whole event. Don’t miss the magnificence of it. It is the greatest event ever because it tells us that Jesus revealed His glory to us: “we beheld His glory.” While most of Jesus’ life was as a simple carpenter, the last three years of His life, which were years of His ministry, were glorious. John wrote that “we beheld His glory.” John was one of Jesus original disciples. In fact, along with Peter, Andrew and James, John was among the first of Jesus’ disciples. John and the other disciples beheld His miracles of healing, His miracles in nature, His feeding of the 5,000. John really and truly beheld the glory of the incarnate Christ while He was on earth, and wrote about it so we could know it and believe it. It’s all in the Bible in prophecy in the Old Testament, and in prospect in the New Testament. The great thing is that you can take this event personally, and you can personally experience Jesus in your own life. Bro. Joe
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.“For by grace you are saved through faith; and not of yourself 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 has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
You have probably heard the chorus entitled, “He’s still working on me to make me what I ought to be.” That is a children’s chorus, but it has a profound message. According to our text, when we are saved God begins his work on, and in us. God is working on you if you have trusted Christ as your Savior. God works within our hearts and minds. I have never heard the Lord’s voice, but I have certainly felt the Holy Spirit’s tug on my heart and mind. The Holy Spirit is always at work within us to lead us to do the will of God and to do the work that God wants us to do. This is what Paul meant when he wrote 2 Corinthians 2:3: “Forasmuch as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” Because of the Spirit’s work within our hearts and minds, we are witnesses for Christ. We are what of Christ and the Bible the world sees until they know Him. That is a real responsibility, and seemingly impossible, but that is what the Spirit’s work within us is about. He doesn’t make us religious; rather He makes us witnesses. God works within our lives through gifts of service. Not all of us have the same gifts of service. For example, my gifts of service have been teaching, preaching and encouraging. I have discovered over the years that my main gift has been encouragement. As I look back over my ministry I can see that this is what the Spirit has used me to do. Of course, I have witnessed to people and have seen them accept Christ into their lives, but I have mainly been used to encourage people in their Christian walk. Please do not see this as boasting on my part. In fact, I have been tempted to envy some of my friends who have the gift of evangelism, but I know that this is their main gift. The Spirit uses us to do what we are supposed to be, not what we wish we were. I am just glad that He is at work in my life to “make me what I ought to be.” (I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it. Lol) Discover your spiritual gifts and let the Lord use you to do His work. God works within us to lead us to do good works: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” When we follow the leadership of the Spirit, we do the will of God, and do the good works that God called us to do, and intended for us to do. None of us do God’s good work perfectly, since we are imperfect human beings, but in spite of our imperfections we are still led to do God’s good works. You are probably doing more good than you think you are if you are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. YOU ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP! REJOICE! (I just did...) Bro. Joe “To the praise of the glory of His grace, where He has made us accepted in the beloved. 7. In whom we have redemption through (Christ’s) blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Why not follow yesterday’s 3 F’s with 3 G’s today? There are three important G’s that have to do with our salvation and our service. Grace – Everything that has to do with our salvation and our Christian lives depends on God’s grace. The classic definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” This means that we do not deserve anything from God, but He gives salvation to us, and all else, by His grace. It is by grace that we are “accepted in the beloved.” Without God’s grace we could not have redemption from sin, nor could we be accepted into the love of Christ. People are always wondering how they can make themselves fit to be saved, and the fact is that they cannot. We must come to Christ, confessing our sins, and by faith inviting Him into our lives. He comes into our lives by grace. Lean on God’s grace, knowing that He willingly gives you His grace when you commit your life to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. (“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8) Gifts – When we are saved by God’s rich grace, we are given gifts of service through the Holy Spirit. When we endeavor to serve God, we do not just decide what we are going to do, but we are given gifts by Holy Spirit to do His service. There is really no definitive list of spiritual gifts of service. Did you know that being a church usher is a gift of God? It is called the gift of hospitality. These gifts are not just used in church work, but Christ wants us to use His gifts in all of life. For example, my greatest spiritual gift is the gift of encouragement. I can certainly use this gift in preaching and teaching, but I can also use it in daily life. You need to discover your spiritual gifts and put them to work in your church and in your daily life. Guidance - When we are saved by grace and gifted by the Holy Spirit, we are given the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is one of the greatest promises that Jesus has given us in scripture: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter that He might abide with you forever. 17. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:16-17) Then in John 16:13a we are told: “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth…” Jesus doesn’t just save us and turn us loose into the world. He gives us the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Claim God’s grace, God’s gifts and His guidance. You either have these three G’s, or you can have them by confessing your sins and inviting Christ into your life by faith. Bro. Joe “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
This is an unusual title. When you read this article perhaps you will see my reasoning for it. It came to me that there are three words that start with “f” that we all need to deal with in our lives. Here they are: First, we have to deal with fear. There is no one who has ever lived who did not have to deal with fear. I read once of a great general who wrote about how he had to deal with fear. He wrote that before he entered into battle if his soldiers saw his knees shaking, they would know that he was also afraid. There are some things of which we should be afraid. Fear keeps us from doing foolish things that we should not do. Actually, being afraid is not the problem; the problem is when we let fear rule our lives. There are people who will not do anything because they are so ruled by their fears. It is one thing to be afraid, it is another to let fear rule the day. Fear can keep us from doing foolish and dangerous things, but it can also keep us from doing the things that we should do. Second we have to deal with is what the King James Version of the Bible calls “fainting.” This is the old word for giving up. We read about this in Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” I hate to think about the things that I missed in this life because I gave up instead of going on. Conversely, I can think of a number of things that I accomplished because I did not faint. What is it that you are failing to do in your life because you are afraid? Every successful person could tell you of the fears that they had to go beyond in order to succeed. There are also some pitiful stories by people who did let their rules fear their decisions and they stopped short of the goal. The advice in Galatians 6:9 is to keep on keeping on instead of fainting short of the goal. Third, there is one word that we will have to remember if we would not be ruled by fear, that is, faith. I think of the number of hurdles that the apostle Paul cleared because his faith in Christ kept him from fainting. This is true of the great servants of Christ in the Bible and in Christian history. I know that there have been times in my life that I wanted to faint, but by faith in Christ, I was able to keep going. Christ will give us the courage to go on instead of giving up. Peter Forsythe caught the spirit of this when he wrote: “Unless there is within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is about us.” 1 John 5:4 reminds us of this truth: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” Faith in Christ can lift you above your fears and keep you from fainting. Trust Him and move on….. 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 “Wherewithal (how) shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed therein according to your word. 10. With my whole heart have I sought you: O let me not wander from your commandments. 11. Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you."
Living a clean life does not seem to be the goal of many people today, but it is certainly still possible to live that kind of life. Living a clean life makes sense spiritually, of course, but it also makes sense physically. Many ailments today stem from people living unwholesome lives. I don’t have to go into detail here, you know what I mean. These three verses from Psalm 119 tell us how we can live a clean life.. First, we can heed the word of God. To the psalmist the word of God was the Ten Commandments and other laws that were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and written down for the enlightenment of the people of God. To us the word of God is both the Old and New Testaments, and also Jesus, who fulfilled the Old Testament and made possible the New Testament. John refers to Jesus as “the word,” and Hebrews 1:1-2 declare Jesus to be the ultimate word of God. In order for us to live clean lives, we need to heed what is in the Bible, for therein is moral law, and we need to heed our relationship with Jesus, for therein is our moral compass. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us in the study of the Bible and in the way we live our lives. Second, we can obey the word of God. The psalmist declared that he sought the Lord with his whole heart. I think that a lot of our spiritual problems arise because of a half-hearted seeking of God in daily life. How do we seek God? One of the main ways we seek Him is by the reading and studying of God’s word. It is impossible to stay close to God and ignore His word. Furthermore, the psalmist pleaded: “O let me not wander from your commandments.” We are not saved by keeping commandments, but we are saved in order to be able to keep commandments. We can’t take straying from the word of God lightly. Third, we can internalize the word of God. The bottom line was that the psalmist did not just read and study God’s word; he digested it and made it an integral part of his life. This means that we need to read and study the word of God until it becomes part of us. We can memorize scripture, but I prefer to read it until it is stuck in my mind and heart. I do not call this memorizing; I call it internalizing. He hid God’s word in his heart so that he “might not sin against God.” In the scene of Jesus’ temptation in Matthew 4, Jesus defeated Satan by quoting scripture to him. Jesus wasn’t just quoting words he memorized, but words that were part of His life. Read these three verses again and ask God to help you to use them to live a clean life. Bro. Joe “Let your conversation/conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
This text contains the promise that Jesus will never leave us and that He will never forsake us. Jesus is our companion in that He has promised to always be with us. This is good news! Jesus is our companion in our salvation experience. When Jesus comes into our lives, He is there to stay and He has promised to never leave or forsake us. To insure us of this, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us, to lead us, and to give us gifts of service. When Jesus saved you, you received the promise of His divine companionship through life. Jesus is our companion through the good days and the bad days. There are times when we feel that Jesus has forsaken us, but we have His promise that He will not forsake us; however we were never promised that life would always be trouble free. We do have the promise that Jesus will not forsake us in the bad days. Looking back over my life I have discovered that my greatest spiritual growth took place in troubled times. These times made me realize my dependence on His presence, and what a difference His presence made. It reminded me of the old hymn that refers to our need for His companionship: “I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need thee, O bless me now my Savior, I come to thee.” (This is from memory and may not be the exact wording.) The troubled times draw us closer to Him, and the closer we feel to Him we discover that He has been there all of the time. If you are going through difficult days as you read this, flee to Jesus and you will find that He is already there. Jesus is our sure companion. Notice: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Even if we feel at times that Jesus is not present----He is present! If Jesus feels far away at times, it means that we have moved, for He has not moved. Notice the word “never” in this promise. It means what it says. There is never a time that Jesus is not the companion of those who have trusted Him for salvation. Paul gave eloquent testimony of the importance of Christ’s companionship in Philippians 4:11-13: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I’m in, therewith to be content. 12. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound, everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is either true of you, or that it can be true of you. Run to Jesus! Bro. Joe “And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love, dwells in God, and God in him.”
I am returning to my favorite theme for this article. I was thinking about God’s love recently and I want to share with you my thoughts on God's profound love. God’s love is unconditional. This does not say that God approves of everything that we do. It does mean that we do not have to earn God’s love. This is because love is the very nature of God. Our text says that “God is love.” This is an important fact for people to know, because there are many people who do not think that God loves them because of the way they are living. They know that they do not deserve God’s love. Even those of us who know that God loves us, know that we do not deserve His love. We accept that God loves us by faith. Take it on faith that God’s love for you is unconditional. God’s love is sacrificial. You probably know what the text will be for this point: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That is the eternal definition of God’s sacrificial love. 2 Corinthians 5:21 shares this profound truth: “For (God) has made (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." When Jesus was on the cross, God the Father’s wrath was poured out on Him. He received the wrath that should be ours. When we accept Christ by faith as our Savior, Jesus has already received the wrath that should be ours. This is the good news of the gospel. It is important for you to know that God’s love for you is sacrificial, i.e., that Christ died and rose for you. God’s love is disciplining love. By faith in Jesus, we are invited into the love that will never end. God loves us so much that He will discipline us when we stray from His truth. I know that I have received this discipline and have been glad to get it to straighten me out. Hebrews 12:6 tells us: “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourged every son whom He receives.” Hebrews 12:11 gives us the result of that chastening: “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” God’s discipline is proof that God loves us unconditionally and sacrificially. Those of us who have received God’s discipline know that is always for our good. If He didn’t love us, God would not discipline us. These are my thoughts on God’s love today. I hope that you will either receive His love, or rejoice in His love. Amen Bro. Joe “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.”
This text is Paul’s declaration of war for followers of Jesus Christ. We should not forget that we are in a battle, and that Satan wants to ruin our lives and our witness. Here are my thoughts about this battle. It is a personal battle. We cannot choose whether or not to fight this battle; we are in it until we die. The battle begins in our hearts and minds. As Satan tempted Jesus, so he tempts us. There are days that I feel the battle raging in my heart and mind. Satan is always trying to call me away from my commitment to Jesus. He is also trying to call you away from your commitment to Jesus. Satan cannot have us, but he can ruin our witness and the quality of our lives. We need to cover our lives with prayer and with the scriptures, and the process sic Jesus on him. He can handle us, but he cannot handle Jesus. (Pause here and praise Jesus.) It is a spiritual battle. We are fighting an enemy that we cannot see, but we can see the result of his evil work all around us. Satan wants to kill our spirits. He wants to hamper our enthusiasm, and keep us on the sidelines. Paul wrote that “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We do not need to let the battle defeat us; rather, we need to meet the enemy in the power of Jesus. We need to pay attention to the urging of the Holy Spirit instead of the urging of the enemy. Keep in mind that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross and in His resurrection, and He is our hope and our shield. And we always need to keep in mind that He loves us, disciplines us and forgives us. I don’t mean for this reminder of the battle to make you afraid, but to remind you that you are not in this battle by yourself. It is a vital battle. We are the Lord’s soldiers until we die, or until Jesus comes again. We need to live each day with the understanding that Satan wants to trip us up. I think that I might be an expert on this, because he has tricked me and made sin appear to be appealing to me. Satan is good (or bad) at making his demons appear as “angels of light.” This reminds me of the country song: “It don’t feel like sinning to me.” Sin doesn’t feel like sinning, but the aftermath of it feels every bit like sinning. (Come on, you know what I mean.) It is vital that we join the battle each day in faith in Jesus, and in prayer and scripture. Take 1 John 4-5 to heart: “For whosoever is born of God, overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” Rejoice if you believe, and repent if you do not believe! Bro. Joe “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not to thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. 7. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.”
This is the follow up to yesterday’s article on mercy and truth. These verses will help us to live in and practice mercy and truth in our lives. Verse 5 – “Trust in the Lord…” This does not tell us to just give God a nod in our lives, it tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. Heartfelt trust helps us to live the mercy and truth that we should portray to the world. I think that the world sees too much half-heartedness on our part in our churches. I try to look out for it myself, because it is easy to slip into half-heartedness. I think that half-heartedness is contagious, and we need to check it in our churches. Then the verse tells us to “lean not to our own understanding.” If we stay away from prayer and Bible reading, we will “lean to our own understanding.” We need the Lord’s wisdom, not our own. Verse 6 – “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”…” We need to follow the leadership of God in our lives. I have seen the Christian life described as coming to a cross road, and we have to decide which road to take. I think that you will agree with me that it is sometimes easy to take the wrong road. This is where living in mercy and truth helps us to take the right road. I know that when I have gotten off on a wrong road, it made a mess in my life. (Come on, you know what I mean.) We can identify with Simon Peter when he denied the Lord. He went out and” wept bitterly,” and got back on the right road. We need to do the same. Verse 7 – “Be not wise in your own eyes…” We make a big mistake when we depend on our own wisdom, in our lives and in our churches. No matter how smart we think we are, we are not smarter than God. (duh) When we follow the Lord’s thinking, we “depart from evil.” We really need to spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation in seeking the wisdom of the Lord. That is the only way that we can be sure to “depart from evil.” It is just so easy for Satan to trip us up if we don’t seek the Lord’s wisdom. These verses clarified for me what it means to live God’s mercy and truth. It is not a “do it yourself” project. Trust in the Lord, seek His direction and His wisdom and walk in mercy and truth. Selah Bro. Joe |
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