“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.” The writer of Hebrews gave the same thought in Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2. Has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, by whom He also made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” 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 as well. John wrote about this in 1 John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and hands have handled, of the Word of life.” We have eyewitnesses to the truth of the greatest event ever.
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“Stand Fast in the Lord” Philippians 4:1
“Therefore my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” The words “stand fast” are frequently seen in Paul’s writings. It was important that Christians not let the world around them keep them from living a life that would be pleasing to the Lord. The people to whom Paul wrote lived in a predominantly pagan society, which meant that there were many temptations to sin. Today’s society is not unlike the society in which the Philippians, etc. lived; therefore, it is important for us to “stand fast.” Today we might say “stand firm,” or “stand pat.” However we say it, it means to not be swayed by the sins of the world around and to remember who it is that we serve. So, how are we to “stand fast”? We are to “stand fast in the Lord.” This means that we are not to stand fast in our own opinions or prejudices. In our human flesh we do not have the power to stand on our own, we need to stand fast in the Lord, and to obey His will for us. We need to remember that we do not just represent ourselves, but we represent the Lord. The world needs to see the Lord’s people living like His people. Standing fast in the Lord means that we stand fast in His power. When Peter and John encountered the beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the temple in Jerusalem, the beggar wanted them to give him some money. Peter told the man that he did not have silver or gold, but that what he had he would give him. In the name of Jesus Christ, the man got up from his beggar's spot and began to run and leap and praise God. When the people marveled, Peter wanted to make sure that the people realized that it was not his own power that healed the man, but that it was the power of Jesus. Here is what Peter told the people: “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness, we had made this man to walk.” He went on to tell them that the man was healed by the power of Jesus, whom they had denied. Peter stood fast in the Lord and not in his own power. We have the power of God on which we can stand, and we need to make sure that people know that it is the Lord’s power and not our own. Standing fast in the Lord means that we stand fast in His love. As we confront a pagan society, we need to remember that the kingdom of God is built on love and not on hatred. It is one thing to be angry about the direction of the society in which we live, it is quite another to confront it. When Jesus looked at the waywardness of the people of His day, He was moved with compassion toward them. He saw them as “sheep without a shepherd.” Compassion is love in action. Jesus stood firm in His commitment to die for the people, and He did that out of love. It is important for us to remember that Jesus told us: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love for one another.” (John 13:35) People see Jesus through the love that we have for them. This does not mean that we have to compromise Christian principles when we confront society, but it means that we oppose our sinful society in the love and compassion of Jesus. It is at this point that we need to remember to “hate the sin and love the sinner.” At lot people scoff at this, but it is possible and is how we should confront the world. Standing fast in the Lord means that we stand fast in His presence. We need to remember that Jesus promised that He would never forsake us. To seal this promise, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. When we stand fast, we are not standing alone. We have the constant presence of the Holy Spirit to comfort, strengthen and assure us. It does seem sometimes that we are standing alone when we stand in the righteousness of God, but we are not alone. So, “stand fast in the Lord.” Bro. Joe “The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”
The message of Nahum is mostly negative, but this verse from Nahum gives us a positive and apt description of God. The tendency today is for people to see God as all love and no wrath, or all wrath and little love. When I read this verse I thought that this is one of the best descriptions of God in the Bible. Nahum wrote that the “the Lord is slow to anger.” This describes the patience of God. We had better be glad that God is patient, or we would really be in trouble. His patience does not last for just a few days, but for hundreds, or maybe, thousands of years. God could end all of history right now if He wanted to, but in His patience, He gives people time to repent and get right with Him. I think that we all try the patience of God at some time or other, and in the process He helps us to grow in our faith. I know that I can see this in my life. If God had not been patient with me, I would not have the ministry that I have enjoyed for over fifty years. God is patient with you too. It is possible that God is dealing with you over some issue in your life. He has been patiently waiting for you to see His will for you. It would do you good to meditate for a moment and reflect on what it is that God is patiently waiting for you to do. Nahum wrote that God is “great in power.” There is no doubt that God is powerful. Throughout the Bible, we read of the power of God. The wonderful thing is that God will never misuse His great power. It occasionally occurs to me that God could wipe out the whole universe in less than a second if He wanted to. After all, He created it all and will one day end it all. The fact is that God is all-powerful. There is nothing that God cannot do, but there is plenty that He will not do. We need to rejoice that God is patient, because if He wasn’t, we might see more demonstrations of power in a negative way. Jesus illustrated the power of God in His earthly sojourn. He had power over demons. Demons always cringed in the presence of Jesus. Jesus has power over the weather. You probably remember the passage(s) in the New Testament where Jesus and His disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up. With just a word, Jesus stilled the storm. He said “peace be still,” and the water became still. Jesus turned water into wine. This cannot be done, because there is no way that water and grape juice have the same composition. But that was no problem for Jesus, for He had the power of God. Ultimately, Jesus demonstrated the power of God by His resurrection from the grave. Nahum illustrated the power of God in the last part of this verse, “The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.” The wonderful thing is that the Bible reminds us that this powerful God loves us with an everlasting love. Considering God’s great power, we should rejoice in that love. Nahum wrote that God “will not at all acquit the wicked.” In the KJV, the word “wicked” is in italics, which means that it is not translated but added to clarify the meaning of the sentence. Another rendering is that “God will not leave the guilty unpunished.” However it is rendered, it means that God will be sure to bring judgment on those who do not repent and turn to Him. This is what the Bible is all about – there is a God and He wants people to believe in and serve Him. Those who refuse will face Him in judgment. We do not have to apologize to an overbearingly intolerantly “tolerant” society about the nature of God’s judgment. The only information we have about God is the Bible, and the Bible is clear that God is a just God. We are even reminded that He will discipline believers who stray from His way. I think that you will agree that this verse is an apt description of God. He is patient, powerful and just. This is seen in both the Old and New Testaments. Rejoice in our God. Bro. Joe “Where Are Your Affections?” Colossians 3:1
“If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. 2. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” The word “affection” comes from the Greek word “pathos.” It is the basis for our word “passion.” Paul is calling on the Colossians to be passionate about the things of God, not just the things of the world. I don’t think Paul is hinting that we cannot be passionate about anything on this earth. (Ask any fan of UGA, Auburn, Alabama or Florida, to name a few.) The question is what are we ultimately passionate about? Paul tells us to be passionate about “things which are above.” In other words, our ultimate passion should not be for worldly things, but for the things of God. I want to ask you to think about where your affections are as you read this article. Have you set your affections on the person of Christ? I ask the question that way, because there is a difference between being passionate about Christ and being passionate about the idea of Christ. A lot of people prayed the sinner’s prayer because it sounded like a good idea to them. They fell in love with an idea about Christ, but they did not fall in love with Christ Himself. Christ is described in the Bible as He that was, is, and forevermore will be. Christ was a real person in heaven. He was a real person in His earthly sojourn, and He is a real person at the right hand of the throne of the Father interceding for us. We need to love Jesus above all else. Our love for Jesus is to supersede our love for our families. The best thing that we can do for families is to put Jesus first in our lives. Have you set your affections on the Bible – the word of God? What we call the “Holy Bible” is not just another book among the many books in the world. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to the world. When we read the Bible, we are not to read it for information alone, although there is a lot of good information in its pages. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Bible, wants us to read the Bible for inspiration. What we get from the Bible is not just head knowledge; we also get heart knowledge from its sacred pages. It is important to know the Bible, i.e., the facts of the Bible. But it is most important that we know the author of the Bible in a personal way. We need to read the Bible passionately and ask ourselves as we read it, what it is saying to us about our lives and our plans for our lives. One thing is certain, you will get neither inspiration nor information from the Bible if you do not read it. Have you set your affections on people? If we have set on affections on things above, we will love people as well. In the Bible, Jesus does not give us any alternative to loving people. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to love our enemies. This would mean that if someone is your enemy, it is from their end not yours. We need to be passionate about our fellow human beings. We should want them to be saved. We should want them to be happy. We should want to be successful. Think about how you think about other people. Do you love them, tolerate them, or just use them for your own purposes. There is a saying that “we are to love people and like things.” Do you love your car more than other people? That seems like a silly question, but if you will think about it, you might learn something about yourself. If we have set our affections on people, this means, in a sense, that we have set our affections on Christ’s church. The church is comprised of people. It is not a building, nor is it merely an institution. The church belongs to Christ and comprised of His people. Do you really love the people in your church? This is a short of list “things above,” on which we should set our affections. But it is a good start. Meditate on this subject and see where your real affections, your real passions, are. Bro. Joe “When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth – his eyes not seeing sleep day or night – 17. Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discern its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. 9:1: So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him…”
We have a general idea of what a riddle is, but I want to give the definition to give clear direction to what I think our text means. It means a puzzling fact, thing or person. A riddle is something that we have to figure out the meaning of, and quite often we cannot decipher its meaning. I think that the Book of Job shows us the nature of a riddle. The fact is that Job was puzzled as to why all of the bad things that happened to him happened at all, because he lived a good life. Do you realize that Job’s riddle was never solved? He never knew what had occurred between God and Satan that caused all of his problems. In our text, Solomon was dealing with the riddles of life that keep us awake at night: “his eyes not seeing sleep day or night.” We can’t solve all of the riddles of life because we are not smart enough to figure them out. There is too much that we would have to know, for example, why bad things happen to good people. God gave us brains so that we can think, but He did not give us infallible minds. Whenever things occur like the devastating tornadoes and hurricanes that continually destroy life and property there is no “why” answer. All of this being true, what can do with the riddles of life? We can accept that they happen, and when they happen we can pray for those whose lives have been devastated, and many people volunteer to help the people rebuild. In other words, we can pray and minister to people when the unthinkable happens in their lives. The worst thing that we can do is to shake our fists at God for allowing such things. We forget that we live in a fallen world. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, our perfectly safe world was no more. I have found in my prayers over the riddles of my life that there is no need for me to ask God “Why?” He doesn’t have to explain things to me. We can trust that God knows what has happened and is active in dealing with the lives of those who have been devastated. Many times people come out of devastating things that happen in their lives with a stronger belief in God, because they sought His presence in the crisis. It is understandable that people would be upset over devastating things that happen to them, but they need to understand that bitterness will not make the situation better. We just need to trust that God will take us through the hard times as He does through the easy times. Trusting God is the answer. It does not answer the riddle, but it allows us to sleep at night and know that things will get better. In 9:1 Solomon wrote: “So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him…” I interpret this to mean that those who are righteous and wise turn things over to God and accept the outcome – whatever it is. It is very comforting to know that all things – good and bad – that happen in our lives are not riddles to God, and that we can put ourselves in His hands and He will see us through. I would be remiss if I did not remind you of Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." I do not mean that God causes all of the puzzling things, merely that He is aware of them and is ministering to us in the process – calling us to Himself. Bro. Joe “Teach me your way, O Lord, I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear your name. 12. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name for evermore. 13. For great is your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
One of the exciting things about writing these daily blogs, is that I never know when I am going to have an idea jump out of the Bible at me and tell me to write. When I read these three verses this morning, this is exactly what happened. This is a psalm of David, which is in the midst of a series of psalms by the “sons of Asaph.” In the whole psalm, David poured out his heart to God. In this particular passage, he asked God for something and made a promise about what he would do when the promise was fulfilled. This is the theme of today’s offering. First, David prayed, “Teach me your way O Lord…” It was important to David to know God’s way, not the way of the world. The thinking in our day is that there is no one way better than the other. We live in a time of moral relativism. The thinking is that if you want to do something, whether good or bad, it is up to you. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 gives the same advice. I think that it is repeated for emphasis. Here is the message, “There is a way that seems right unto a man/woman, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (I added “woman” here because “man” is used in the generic sense, meaning “person.”)We cannot plot our own course. We need to be taught the way of the Lord. Thank God, we have the Bible to lead us in this direction. David promised that when he knew God’s way, in would “walk in (God’s) truth.” If we do not apply what we learn from the Lord, we will go in the wrong direction. Second, David prayed, “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name forevermore.” David promised that when God had taught him His way, not only would he walk in the truth that God gave him, but he would praise and glorify God. Surely, when we learn the way of the Lord, we will rejoice in that way and praise and glorify His name. We normally think of praising and glorifying God in a setting of public worship. I want to suggest that public praise of God is useless if it is not backed up by a life that praises and glorifies the Lord. People should not just hear our praises, they should see them in the way we live our lives. When we have learned God’s way, we are expected to live our lives based on God’s way. I know that none of us do that perfectly. We know enough about David to know that he did not walk perfectly in God’s way. But we need to set our course in God’s way, and determine to do it. The Bible speaks often of forgiveness, for the Lord knows that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” That is no excuse, but it is a fact. Walk in God’s way, and when you veer off course, seek His forgiveness, and walk on. Third, David gave his reason for wanting to be taught God’s way, and to live in that way: “For great is your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” The preposition “for” speaks loudly to us here. We should learn God’s way, live in His way, praise and glorify Him with our lips and our lives, “for, great is (His) mercy toward (us), and (He) has delivered (our) souls from the lowest hell.” (I added the parentheses to personalize the text.) It should be the desire of our hearts to live a God-pleasing life, and when that life is over to live with Him eternally. David knew, as we do, that this life will end and that when it ends, we want to be right with God. We begin this journey by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, and by following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Take this text personally! Bro. Joe “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.”
The short book written by the prophet Haggai was written when the temple in Jerusalem was being rebuilt after the Babylonian, Persian exile. The work on the temple had stalled and God sent Haggai to encourage the people to get on with the work of rebuilding the temple. It was a message to Israel long ago to recognize that their strength did not lie in themselves but in the Lord. It is written in the word of God, not just as a historical record, but as a reminder to us of our real source of strength as well. The message was primarily to the leaders of the endeavor to rebuild the temple - Zerubbabel and Joshua, but they were to pass the word to the “people of the land.” They needed this word of encouragement because there was stiff opposition to the rebuilding of the temple by those who had no interest in it, and were opposed to God’s people and God’s work. We need this message today as a reminder to us that we can continue to serve the Lord and do what He wants us to do because of His strength. Our Lord is stronger than the foes of the cross. We are reminded of this in 1 John 4:4, “You are of God little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Those “who are in the world,” are Satan and the people that he would use to combat and confuse us. Just as the Jews needed a reminder of God’s strength to enable them to finish rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, we need to be reminded of the Holy Spirit's strength in us to help us overcome our foes. The message was a reminder that God had given them a work to do and they were to stop being lazy, indifferent and afraid and get on with what God had given them to do. The message is for us too. I cannot define the particular work that God wants you to do in your church and community, but I can remind you of the main work that He has given us to do. Just before He ascended, Jesus told His disciples, “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” There is opposition to the work of witnessing to the world about Jesus today. The opposition is not just from Muslims, but from people who obviously hate Jesus and us, and who want to stop all mention of Jesus to the world. Haggai, speaking for God, reminded those people that the rebuilding of the temple was a work of God and that the opposition need not win the day. We need to get on about the work of sharing Jesus with the whole world, because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” It is also true that there is a particular work for you to do, as I mentioned above, and you need to get about that too, whatever it might be. The message was a reminder that the Israelites were not alone in rebuilding the temple, for Haggai gave them this message, “for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.” This is reminiscent of what Jesus told His disciples and us in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” We are not alone in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us to. We need to remember this and get on with the work. Bro. Joe “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.”
Jeremiah prophesied and wrote during the last days of the Kingdom of Judah – 586-587 BC. Israelite people were already being carried into captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah had a simple message for his people, which is illustrated here in our text. Here is what Jeremiah was calling the people to do: Jeremiah called them to obey God. God has always called His people to obedience. When Abraham was called of God to leave Ur and go to Canaan, he took up all of his possessions and his family and obeyed God. Moses was called to obey God by leading the Jews out of Egyptian captivity. That wasn’t an easy command to obey. In fact, Moses tried to wriggle his way out of it by making lame excuses. But in the final analysis, Moses obeyed God and led the Jews to the brink of the Promised Land. There are other illustrations throughout the Bible that tell us about the value of obeying God, suffice it to say that obedience in important and it is valuable. The people of Judah needed this call to obedience, because they were worshiping other gods, and living lives counter to God’s commandments. They had been warned again and again to repent and obey. Oh, they kept up their festivals and animal sacrifices, but they were only empty religious ritual, not in obedience to the holy God. We need to obey the call of the Lord Jesus Christ on our lives as well, not through empty ritual, but by daily obedience to His word and His Spirit. Jeremiah gave them a great promise, which would show the true value of obedience. He promised that if they would obey, God would claim them as His people, which would mean that they would not have to go into captivity. Understand that they God was/is their God, but they were not taking advantage of that fact by obeying Him instead of their human desires. This call still goes out to the whole world. God is calling people to Himself, and wants to be their God through faith in Jesus Christ. One of the greatest promises of the Bible is that God wants to be our God. Nothing can keep God from being God, for that is who and what He is. But we need to heed his call to a personal claim on us. Missionaries are sent all over the world calling people to obey the desire of God and let Him claim them. It is a wonderful promise that people need to take advantage of, but many will just not obey and receive the promise. Do you want God to be your God? Jesus came to the earth to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that we can belong to God. Jeremiah promised a great fulfillment of the promise: “And you shall be my people.” God not only called the Jews, and us to Himself, but the invitation is to be His people. They were God’s people, but they were not living like God’s people. It is one thing to claim to belong to God, is it quite another to actually live the life. The Jews in Jeremiah’s day would have told you that they were God’s children. But being God’s children didn’t make any difference to them. If being God’s people makes any difference to us, we will feel compelled to the live the life that He wants us to live. It is no sacrifice to live what we now call the Christian life. There are great advantages to it, because it means that we are close to God and that we are endeavoring to really live for Him. The great need today is for us to heed the command to obey God and to claim the life that obeying Him entails. Are you living in obedience to Him, or to the culture around you? Think about it! Bro. Joe “For the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
I want to share with you today what I view as the depths of the Bible. You know that I will not be able to do this subject justice in this short blog, but I think that I can give you some insight into those depths. First, Hebrews 4:12 reveals the word of God as a sword that goes deeply into people’s hearts and minds and affects the “thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s word is not just a good read; it is a life-changing experience. This might not have been your experience, but it has certainly been mine. Reading the Bible makes a difference in my life, and in the lives of all who view it as the word of God. It is the word of God to all who read it, but not all who read it view it that way. Second, the depth of the Bible is seen in the revelation of the nature of God. The Bible reveals the sovereignty of God. This means that He is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. There is nowhere that His power is not available. There is nothing that He does not know, and there is nowhere that He isn’t present. When Moses asked the Lord what name he could use when he told the Hebrew people who He is, the answer was “I Am.” That is His eternal name. There was never a time when He didn’t exist, and never a time when He will fail to exist. The Bible reveals the sovereign God who is eternal. Third, the depth of the Bible is seen in the dynamic love of God. Of course, John 3:16 comes to mind: “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.” God’s love. as revealed through Jesus. is deep and wide. The Greek word that is translated “love” in John 3:16 is the word “agape” (a-gah-pay). It translates the most dynamic love. It is the same word that is used in the “love chapter” in 1 Corinthians 13. It is the word used in 1 John where God’s love is mentioned. Agape is a sacrificial love that will cause one to die for the beloved. It is a love that cannot be earned and that can only be accepted. Fourth, the depth of the Bible is seen in God’s grace. The usual definition of grace is “God’s unmerited favor.” My favorite definition is that “you don't deserve it, but you get it anyway.” The Bible reveals that all human beings are sinners. I guess we could say that some are worse sinners than others, but it makes no difference. Sin is sin and we need God’s intervention to save us from it. Ephesians 2:8-9 gives the dynamic message of salvation by grace: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man (or woman) should boast.” Grace paved the way and faith opened the gate. God’s grace is the most profound teaching of the Bible. It means that we have never deserved forgiveness for our sins, but that God took the initiative by sending His Son to earth. What a profound and wonderful message. The God of the Old and New Testaments is involved in history and He wants to be involved in our lives. The gods of other religions are not personally involved in people’s lives. There are other aspects of the depths of the Bible, but these are enough to let us know that we are loved by God, that He is interested in our lives, and that He takes the initiative to be involved in our lives. How deep and wide is the word of God! Bro. Joe |
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