Love Poured Out

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 [NASB]

For so many people, like you, whether Christian or not, who attended Sunday School at some time, this verse was the first one that struck home for you. It was the first one you memorized, and it may be the only one you memorized. For people who continued attending church and who gave their lives to Jesus Christ, a deeper understanding of the message of this verse occurred. This understanding goes like this, “God loves me so much that He sent His Son to die because of my sin, my badness, in my place so I would not have to endure eternal judgment.” God loves you so much He does not want you to be separated from Him forever but made a way to bring you back to rightness with Him by cleaning your sins and the guilt of sins from your life.

This understanding is correct. It really is about you…about me. But how often have we stopped there saying, “Yes, I believe. Thank you, Lord, for saving me”? How often have we not taken our blinders off to see beyond ourselves to what this verse could mean for other people. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 [NASB]) Was He only speaking about His loving people and so dying for them? Or, was He teaching others what they should also do?

Jesus’ life on earth was more than just coming to die for us and then going back to the Father. If that was all He came to do, He could have come down fully grown, and been crucified immediately. Instead, Jesus spent 33 years on earth. Why? So, He could be about His Father’s business. (Luke 2:49) He said this as a twelve-year-old child to his mother and father when they looked for him and found him teaching in the temple. Jesus came to earth to teach us about the Father, His love for us, His care, His heart, and His gift of salvation. A teacher never teaches just so the listener can have knowledge. A teacher teaches so the listener can have and use knowledge by which to live in this world. That was a big part of Jesus’ life. He began teaching at 12 and didn’t stop until his death 21 years later.

When Jesus said in John 3:16, “God so loved the world,” He taught about true love, which only comes from the Father because God is love. (1 John 4:7-21) He taught about God’s love so we would desire it for ourselves and come to know Him as our Savior. But Jesus also taught about true love, the love that comes only from God, to educate people so they would embody this love of God in their daily interactions. He wanted His followers to be intentional in loving other people, just as the Father was intentional and made a plan from the beginning of time to love people by sending His Son.

You see, John 3:16 is not all or only about You. It is about God. Since it is not all about you and since you have received His wonderful gift of love and salvation, you are compelled by His love within you to share it. The love God puts in each of us when we accept His gift of salvation is not for hoarding. It cannot be hoarded because it is too high, wide, and deep to fathom or contain. True love, God’s love, when it enters your heart, overflows abundantly. It rushes over the top and floods out of your life in words, actions, and thoughts. Yes, “God so loved you,” but hear Jesus’ words again. “God so loved the world.” True love, God’s love, is alive, active, overflowing, unending, uncontainable, and for all people. This love is about God and from God for all people.

Jesus came to bring us salvation and eternal life. He did it because of His love for us even when we were filthy with sin. With our dirty faces, darkened evil hearts, and blindness to anyone but ourselves, He saw our spirits and knew who we really are and He cared. Jesus loved us too much to let us stay that way, captive to the dark. Jesus’ love poured out to us, as He explained in John 3:16, allows us to see other people as Jesus sees people and allows us to love other people as He loves them. When this happens, we say, “God so loves them (the world) that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever of them believes in Him will not perish but having everlasting life, and I so love them that I must tell and show them God’s love poured out in and through me.”

Jesus came to bring salvation and life. He also came teaching us to do as He did on earth. Jesus taught and commanded His disciples and followers to go and tell the world about Him and make disciples. Through Peter, He said, “If you love Me, feed my sheep.” “God so loved the world” is not just for you to hoard. With God’s love in you, you are to be like Jesus; go to all the nations and telling them about the love of God, His great plan from the beginning of time. See people through God’s eyes of love and go tell and show them His love. “God so loved the world” is for all people, not just you or me.

“Do you love Me?” Jesus asked.

You must answer that for yourself with your heart, your words, and your life.

How will you answer? In word only or in deed?

“So, when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right for so I am. IF I then, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (John 13:12-15 [NASB])

Rocks, Wrecks, and Relationship

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith, in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 [NASB]

This last week in our Bible readings, we learned Jesus taught His disciples and followers in Matthew 6:33 not to worry about what they would eat, drink, or wear. Trust God. He is in control. If God provides food, drink, and beauty for his birds and flowers, how much more will He care for His greatest creation-humankind? God takes care of His people. We can trust Him so don’t be anxious.

After the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 8:20 Jesus told a scribe who wanted to be His follower that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. In this chapter, Jesus did not revoke what He’d said in 6:33. He expanded on it. Jesus made a bold statement with implication. He meant even the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head; do not expect you will have more than Me. The cost of being a disciple requires giving your whole life. Did Jesus mean God would not or could not give Him and His followers a place to lay under shelter? No, He meant, trust God’s heart even when He doesn’t give you a place to lay your head. He has a plan and for now it doesn’t include a bed under shelter. Have hope. Keep God’s peace which He gives through Jesus. Do you have peace and contentment even when God doesn’t provide what you need right now knowing His plan is best? This provides peace and contentment; anxiety does not.

With Galatians 2:20, Paul explained to the church in Galatia how he could continue to be a disciple of Jesus even when he had little or no food to eat. He said in this verse, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith, in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” [NASB] What does this have to do with trusting God, believing He will provide all my needs, keeping hope and peace, and being content knowing His plan is greater than what I can see? Paul said, he does not live in his own strength or for his own purposes. As a believer in Jesus Christ, he had been saved from his sins and was being sanctified daily by the Spirit. Because of this, Paul did not live out his will or life from his old natural self, but with the new life Christ gave him. He identified with and was crucified with Christ. Jesus lived in Paul’s body. Paul had given his whole being to God-heart, soul, mind, and strength. When he did this, he was crucified from his old sinful, self-willed person and was made into a new man by Christ through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Paul lived by the faith he had in Jesus to accept when he had enough and when he didn’t, and when he didn’t have anything. He was at peace because he trusted God to give Him what he needed in His timing for His purposes. This trust because of our hope and faith in God gives us peace and contentment. This shows a life in whom Christ lives because of His love for the person. It shows because of a person’s love for God through a close relationship with Him and evidence in obeying Him.

When Paul was saved from his sins, by faith (the faith God gives a person and the faith that person activates/uses to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God), he was saved from his sins, his shame, and the power of death. This means he was also saved from himself. Jesus in us as the Holy Spirit gives us the power to withstand temptation and sin. In our old nature, we do not have that power. By faith, Paul was saved from his sins and Christ came to live in him. Each day after his conversion, Paul, by his decision, chose to be more like Christ so he acted, spoke, and thought more like Christ and people saw Jesus living in him. That is faith in action, a daily giving our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to Him in love. It requires trust and faith in God and His plan for our lives and the world. It requires recognizing we can do nothing to make this world a better place of our own will and design. God’s plan from the foundation of the world is to bring all people to a saving knowledge of Him. Paul’s faith grew. His trust in God grew. Paul trusted God to take care of all his needs. He had hope for his salvation in the future when Jesus returns. Paul had hope in Jesus each day to carry him through pitfalls and to give him what he needed. Even on days when Paul’s physical needs went unmet, Paul still had faith in God. He trusted in Him and God’s plans because he knew Him and loved Him with his whole being. This absolute trust came from peace and brought peace. It brought contentment with it as Paul trusted God.

Consider when Paul was on the ship going toward Rome and the winter storms tossed the ship and crashed upon the rocks. Remember when a viper bit him while they started a fire trying to get warm after swimming to shore. Next remember, Paul did not die from the snake bite, but ended up healing many people on that small island. We do not read that Paul was upset about not having food, dry clothes, a bed, or fresh water to drink. He trusted God’s plan to get him to Rome. Paul knew God had a purpose for their ship crashing on the rocks at that island. He had faith in God. Paul trusted Him. His hope in God sustained him because he knew God’s plan was greater than what he himself could discern. Paul was at peace and was content with where God put him for that time. He was daily and moment-by-moment being sanctified. This growing in Christ, the being sanctified, caused Christ to live in Paul’s body so Paul wasn’t seen, but Jesus was. By this, Jesus received the glory and praise. John said something similar when asked by his disciples what he would do now that the Messiah had come. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 [NASB])

When we allow God to have our whole being, when we love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then our relationship with Him becomes closer. We begin to become Christlike. When people look at us, watch us, and hear us, they no longer see who we were before we became Christians, but instead they see Jesus and are amazed and glorify God. All this takes faith in action and leads us to become Christians, seeking a deeper relationship with Him, growing in faith, hope, and love, gaining more peace, and having contentment. None of these is a once-off occurrence. As you daily walk with the Lord and seek His will, you grow, and your life becomes less about you and more about Jesus. You will decrease, and He will increase so that people see Jesus more and more in you.

Do you live by faith in your flesh or faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself up for you? This is what Paul asked Peter in Galatians 2:20.

What keeps you from giving God everything and letting Him become your everything?

Is your faith growing? Are you activating it by seeking God, seeking His truth, and seeking to live in obedience to Him?

Are you living with the hope Jesus gives you and the peace and contentment that come from knowing God will provide all your needs?

Remember what Paul said to the Romans,

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 [NASB])

God has a plan. He has a purpose. You are part of the plan. He will take care of you.

Trust Him. Have Hope in Him.

Receive Peace from Him. Be Content.

Lord, I am weak. There is nothing in me that can save me from my sins. I realize I need you to save me from my sins, shame, and death. Lord, I need you to save me from my plans so that I seek You and Your best plans. Help me remember when I fear You don’t care that Your plan is okay, and I can trust You because of Your great love for me. Forgive me for when I run off and do my own thing. Forgive me for not seeking and obeying You. Forgive me for not activating my faith in You and then doubting Your love and care for me. Help me to trust you and to have all my hope in You. Give me Your perfect peace and contentment. Lord, live in me so that I decrease and You increase. Let the world see You in me as I walk in this body. You are God and I am not.

Foxes, Birds, and Peace

“Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’” Matthew 8:20 [NASB]

Most of us have heard of and/or read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. In Matthew 6, Jesus taught about the cure for anxiety concerning what a person will wear, and what he will eat and drink. He taught the Father knows what each person needs and just like He clothes, feeds, and provides drink for birds and flowers, you, who are His greatest creation, will have all your needs met. Instead of having anxiety about these things, Jesus said, “Seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His (God’s) righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Once we get our minds to understand, believe, and rely on this statement so we do not worry about our daily needs and instead grow in our relationship with God through Christ, we come to the point where we realize Jesus taught a furtherance of this lesson. In Matthew 8, a Jewish scribe approached Him after Jesus healed a leper and Peter’s mother-in-law. This scribe told Jesus he would follow Him wherever He went. Jesus’ remark takes us back to what He said in Matthew 6:33, but it tells us more. It teaches us more. Jesus told the scribe, though foxes and birds have places to lay their heads and call home, the Son of Man does not. (Matthew 8:20)

We may think after reading this statement by Jesus to the scribe, “Okay, yeah, sure, I understand. Jesus just told us God would provide all our needs so here Jesus is telling him not to worry about it.” His statement is more than that. Before, Jesus said not to worry because God will provide, so instead of worrying, seek God, His kingdom, and His righteousness. With this statement from Matthew 8:20, Jesus meant He Himself does Matthew 6:33 already, but there is more. He trusted God to provide all His needs and He was in a close and personal relationship with the Father, having His righteousness and His kingdom. What Matthew 8:20 then meant for Jesus is He was okay that He did not have a place to lay His head. He trusted the Father enough that even if He didn’t have a place to lay His head, it was okay. Jesus’ emotions at not having a place to lay His head was not panic and worry, but instead contentment and peace. He did not have a place to call home or even know where He would sleep that night.

Jesus did not ask the Father for a place to lay His head. His relationship with the Father went beyond material things and needs. Jesus’ relationship with the Father went beyond His emotions to His spiritual relationship and reliance and trust in the Father and His will. His focus was on the Father and the purpose for His life on earth.  Did you catch that? Jesus knew the Father would take care of all His needs and those of His followers. He also trusted that even if He didn’t have a place to lay His head, it was okay. It was all part of God’s will and plan. Jesus trusted the Father with His whole being. He taught His followers they could trust God completely, too. That explains why we can love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength…because we trust Him to take care of all these areas of our lives. We can have peace and contentment knowing God will take care of us whether we have a place to lay our head tonight, a chicken or only rice on the table, or know if we will wake to see the sun tomorrow. God’s plan is the best plan. His will and His kingdom bring peace and well-being.

What are the questions for us today?

•  Have we come to the point where we do not fret about our corporeal needs like food, drink, clothes, and a roof over our heads? 
• Are our needs for God’s contentment and peace more important to us than our need to know His plans for our days and nights?
•  Are we in such a close relationship with God that our physical earthly needs are secondary to the priority of seeking and being with God, seeking His kingdom (His will) and doing His will? Everything else pales in comparison to our relationship with God and His will on earth.

What gets in your way of seeking God and His kingdom?

Lord, I get so busy trying to make sure I have enough money to pay for food, rent, car loan, kids school fees, and other things that I let those cares take priority in my mind and heart over You. Please forgive me for placing things over You. Lord, help me always to seek You and Your will. In the rush of my day, remind me to look up to You. In the quiet of my night, call my spirit to return to You. In the fear of uncertainty, whisper, “Come to Me.” Lord, I am a willful person who is trying to do what’s best, but sometimes I forget You and your will are the absolute best. Help me to remember and to desire You with my whole being. Give me Your perfect peace that comes from an active trusting reliance in You. I love You, Lord. Thank you for calling to me every day. Amen.

Take Courage

"But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:28 [NASB]

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples and followers. He had just told them about what would happen before His return to earth. It began with telling them the stones of the temple would be torn down. The things they called beautiful would be no more.

What Jesus told His disciples and followers distressed them and they questioned Him about the signs of when these things would happen. Jesus listed several things that would occur before His return in Luke 21. He said people would come proclaiming they are the Christ. Nations and kingdoms would battle. Great earthquakes, plagues, and famines would rock the people of the earth. Terrors and signs from heaven would happen. People they knew and people they loved would persecute them. Some believers would die because of people who hate Jesus’ name. Armies would surround Jerusalem. The Gentiles would trample Jerusalem under their feet until their “time is fulfilled.”

Each of these horrible things are enough to scare most people. To hear them all put together as a string of things that would happen before Christ returns is horrifying and would have been even more so for the believers of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the city of God, Zion. To fathom the city of God as being laid ruin was hard for them to imagine.

Today, we experience or hear of things hard to fathom. Why would a friend say slanderous things about you at work? Why would a family member betray you and say you mean nothing to them? How can our nation be so much under the influence of Satan? What is happening with the world? So many places are in ruins because of wars and terrorists. Why must I live in fear wondering if a bomb will explode near me or my family while at work, school, worship, or play?

“What is happening to our world?” you may wonder. Jesus explained it in Luke 21. He said,

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke 21:25-27 [NASB]

Because these things occur, does that mean we should be afraid, run, and hide? That is the natural instinct of at least a third of the people, according to psychologists. They say people either fight, flee, or freeze when confronted with something horrible/scary. Jesus did not tell people to do that. What He said gives us courage and hope. Jesus said, “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28) The reaction Jesus told His disciples and followers to have completely contradicts what psychologists consider normal. Straightening up requires having courage in the face of difficulties. Jesus’ followers could have courage because Jesus is the overwhelming conqueror of the world-over Satan, sin, and death. These things Jesus said would happen before His return to earth are what He conquered. Satan causes them and, thus, Jesus is the Conqueror. Believer’s in Jesus Christ can have hope because our redemption is near. As believers, Jesus redeemed us from slavery to sin and death when we confessed Him as our Lord and Savior. He will redeem us when He returns to earth to take us to His heavenly kingdom.

Today we face horrible things. Bombings occur often around the world. Countries antagonize each other and prepare for war. Children rise against parents and parents against children. Friends betray friends to religious activists to save themselves from torture and death. Famines, plagues, floods, and earthquakes happen more than in history. These things make people wonder if the end of the world will happen soon. They cause fear to rise in the hearts and minds of millions of people. As Christians, we can remember Jesus’ words. We can gain courage and hope in Him, and “straighten up and lift up our heads” because He told us these things would happen and that He would come to redeem us. The day of His coming is nearer with each day. Hold on to hope. Keep the faith. Find joy in knowing Jesus knew these things, is Conqueror, and is coming to take you with Him.

Consider what Jesus said as recorded in John 16:33.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulations but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Take courage. Have Hope. Lift up your heads. Jesus is coming.

Lord, forgive me. I get lost in my personal storms and forget to look to You. I allow the trials, setbacks, and disappointments, in my days to distract me and I take my eyes off You. That is when the storms become too violent in my mind and I cannot see where to go or what to do, then I give up. Please help me keep my eyes on You, my Savior, and not on my storms. Help me straighten up and hold my head up because You are my Hope, my Redeemer, and the overwhelming Conqueror of the world. Give me the strength, perseverance, and faith to keep walking with You when I feel blinded by the day’s trials. Guide me through those days, Lord. Help me not to faint and stand back, but to keep holding Your hand and looking at You. Nothing can overwhelm me when I keep my eyes on You. Thank you for being God and being greater than anything that comes against me. Thank you for loving me.

Earthen Vessels...But

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Christ, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So, death works in us, but life in you.  2 Corinthians 4:7-12 [NASB]

Each of us, when we encounter a speed bump or cliff in life, wonder why we must go through it. “Why is this happening to me?” we may ask. “How can I ever get through this trouble?” is another question that often arises. If we are believers, the answer is most obvious when we are sailing on calm seas. We get through it with God’s strength and direction. As we battle through the difficulty, we often forget God is with us and makes His wisdom, knowledge, power, and strength available to us. Yet, when we get through the trial, we realize God was there all the time. Still, we may wonder, “Why did that horrible time happen?”

Have you considered God will orchestrate difficult times? He will do it to help us grow and to bring Himself glory. How we get through the trials determine if we grow and if God gets the glory. Paul spoke in 2 Corinthians 4 about trials. He said, “We are afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” This attitude did not just happen. It came from going through trials and finding God to be faithful when Paul called upon Him. Paul spent this part of his letter to the Corinthians teaching them from his own experiences. He spoke as one who had been through the fires.

When we encounter our own fires, we wonder why we must go through that trial. “What did I do to deserve this?” we may ask. Paul explained two reasons for trials in 2 Corinthians 4:7 & 11. He said we go through difficulties “so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:7b) People go through trials to show God’s great power as they go through them. In verse 11b, Paul added, we go through these things “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal (believer) flesh.” Our lives can be a testimony of Jesus’ life in us enabled by His Holy Spirit. This latter cannot happen without growth and growth cannot happen without the believer calling on God for help during difficult times. Difficult times grow a person’s faith in God and make the person more identified with the sufferings of Jesus.

Let me give an example. We have a prodigal child in our family. Many people have prodigals in their families. Our family prays daily for this adult child, for God to keep speaking to the heart of the person, to break down the walls Satan has erected in the person’s heart, to bring the person to the point of repentance, and bring the person back to living in communion with God and His children, our family included. The last five years have been painful as we watched this child live without God and walk in ways contrary to God’s moral laws. On Mother’s Day Sunday, without my foreknowledge, the pastor called me up to the front of the church. I had no idea what was about to happen. As the pastor talked about the people in our church who may have prodigals in their family, whether child, sibling, or parent, I got nervous. I had been at the point of tears in my pew and knew I could not talk or pray without crying. I called out to God silently in my heart and mind asking Him to make me strong enough to speak without crying. Eventually, the pastor asked me to pray for each person standing who has a prodigal in their family. I prayed without crying as God has led me to pray these last 5 years for my adult child.

Why did I tell you this story? I told you this story because if I had not called upon God for His strength to get through that time of prayer, I would have cried. My prayer would have been babbling. People would not have had prayers lifted for their prodigals and learned how to pray for them. And God would not have been glorified. My prayer that morning was a testimony to God’s greatness, goodness, love, and faithfulness. Nothing in me could have done it without God’s intervention. Other people would not have gained strength and grown in their walk with God about their prodigal.

Paul added two other benefits of going through trials at the end of chapter four. He said,

Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. (1 Corinthians 4:16-17 [NASB])

As we go through trials, God receives glory, Jesus’ life in us manifests itself and receives testimony, God renews our inner person daily, and, our affliction produces an eternal weight of glory.

For today and the next tomorrows, when you go through trials, I encourage you to consider not asking, “Why must I go through this?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” Instead, ask God to give you His strength, wisdom, and power to go through the difficulty so He will receive glory, and your life and voice will bring testimony to the life of Jesus in you. For this, you will grow in your Christlikeness and in relationship with God, and you will get a greater reward in heaven.

Lord, God, I admit, I hate to go through hard times. I hate to struggle and slog through the stormy seas that batter me. Forgive me for attempting to stand on my own and not looking to You, My Lord, for wisdom, strength, and power. Forgive me for walking away from You during those difficult times. Lord, help me remember You are always with me and I only need to call to You for help. Lord be my strength, wisdom, and Protector. Be my guide. Help me grow closer to You even if it means I must go through trials. Help me stand strong with You so You receive glory and my life testifies to the life of Your Son in me. Amen.

Perspective

“Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 [NLT]

As believers in Jesus Christ living in a sinful world, we will go through troubling times of persecution, ostracism, torture, and even death. As we go through these difficult times and other times of trial, that upon which we focus determines what we are to become and for what use we are or will be.

If we go through these difficult times kicking and screaming, then our trials and troubles change who we are negatively. We experience no growth because we do not go through them with grace. These trials and troubles make us bitter and angry. We then produce bitter fruit. If we go through troubles and trials with a sweet temperament, we learn and grow from the situation. What is the difference between these two attitudes towards difficulties? The first is self-focused. We might think, “We do not deserve this. We have rights and what you are doing to me is wrong.” These two sentences come from the person who faces difficult times while kicking and screaming. Bitterness, resentment, and anger take root in our hearts, minds, and spirits and we do not reflect the peaceful Spirit of God. If, however, we face difficult times keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who faced many trials, persecutions, and crucifixion without shouting His rights, we will go through the times with grace, God’s grace, and will seek what God wants us to learn from the situations. The fruit of our lives will be sweet and fragrant, so people will be drawn to us to learn what is different about us as compared to other people. They will seek to understand how we could go through difficult situations without being angry, depressed, and vengeful.

What is the difference between these two ways of going through trials and troubles? The difference is the perspective of the person. For the growing believer, a strong relationship with God, occurring because of daily Bible reading and meditation on it, Bible verse memorization, and prayers of confession, adoration, thanksgiving, and supplication (C.A.T.S.), creates the strength to persevere through difficult times. Recalling Jesus’ life and how He endured His temptations, persecution, and crucifixion because of His grace and love for all people gives us the strength to go through these hard times. Paul pointed out in Philippians 2,  

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself to obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 Philippians 2:5-8 [NLT]

Jesus faced life in human form enduring persecutions, trials, and a crucifixion with a humble attitude. He showed us how to live this kind of life. His example was humility and obedience. These two things emanate from us when we live in God’s grace. What is God’s grace? It is God forgiving us when we don’t deserve it. Grace is God loving us when we are utterly horrible because of our sin. It is His washing us when we are terribly dirty from the world and our interactions in it. Grace is God holding us when we are torn, battered, and bruised and feel unnecessary, unloved, and without a reason to live.

So how do we live in troubling times with grace? We live during those times with perspective. We keep our eyes focused on God knowing He loves us enough to carry us through these times. We understand He will be with us as we persevere in our faith of Him. We realize nothing we have done or will ever do will earn us God’s forgiveness, love, kindness, and peace, but He gives these to us because He is love and His character defines love. Because of this, we can stand firm in our faith in Him. Notice each of these requires keeping our eyes focused on God. When we take our eyes off Him and look at what is happening to us and around us, our human frailties are all we have by which to get us through the bad times. Then Satan stirs up fear, anger, bitterness, and chaos in our hearts, minds, and spirits. As a by-product, when we live by grace through each day, how we live becomes fruit for other people. In other words, we become broken bread from which others can learn, from which they can eat. Our testimony and our teaching about God are wonderful, but when people see the fruit of our lives, they eat of it and learn more about God and His grace because we lived by His grace.

Let’s consider Jesus’ example and keep our eyes focused on God. Let’s keep walking the path He sets before us by following His example, living by grace. Let’s press on, as Paul said.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:10-14 [NLT]

Lord, I don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow, but I know who You are. I know You love me, and nothing will ever cause Your love to be taken from me. Many times, I have taken my eyes off You and I have walked in my own ways and not Yours. At those times, I faltered in my steps and I led people astray. Please forgive me my self-centeredness. Lead me to persevere by faith with Your grace. Use me for whatever is for Your glory. Let my life be a testimony of Your love and grace so someone else will know You and grow in their relationship with You. Thank You, Father. Amen.

Psalms Like David's

When I think of God, I wonder how I can even consider His vastness, His greatness?

How can I begin to put into feeble words who He is?

How can I say anything that is new that David and the other psalmists have never written?

Then I realize God did not ask me to write something new about Him; He asked me to write about Him.

Each person knows just a part of God. No one can ever say everything about Him,

But we each can speak about His attributes and character He revealed to us.

To do this out loud, publicly, requires courage and transparency.

To do this requires the Spirit of God to lead us into and through this psalm.

I can hear through history David singing, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth,”

And my heart sings and soars.

I recall his singing “The rivers clap their hands and the earth sings for joy,”

And my soul spirals with joy.

Then I sit and I recall who God has been for me and who His Word says He is,

And I fall to my knees crying, “Holy is the Lord God almighty!”

I cannot bear to be in His presence while standing

But must lay prostrate before Him, my great God almighty.

His breath blows my way;

I feel its heat and know I am unworthy to even feel it pass.

God’s eyes look upon me and I am undone to my soul;

His righteousness is purer than even the cleanest white I can imagine.

At this point, I hear Isaiah cry out his psalm, “I am a man of unclean lips.”

Yet here I lay in His presence proclaiming my King, the Lord Almighty!

His voice calls out, thunder tears the skies, and torrents rain down from His heavens,

Yet still I live to behold His greatness and tell of His mercies.

His commands boom forth and nature instantly obeys; He is Creator and Master.

With this, how can I still try to deny Him and go my own way?

His hands stretched out and stars, planets, and moon became fixed in place.

And I deigned to think I could choose my place in this world?

The gentleness of His nail-scarred hands surprises me by His touch of my tear-stained face.

How could I ever have doubted His love?

His heart beats louder than any cacophonous drum calling each person to come.

My heart beats as reverb; it can do nothing else.

Though fear breaks out in my heart and mind upon hearing its beat,

His “Peace, be still” calms my soul and beckons to me.

Then in my fear and the courage I can muster,

I raise my eyes to dare look at this great King.

What I see and recognize in an instant

Are the tears flowing down His face.

The sorrow and pain, I study, reveals

God sees what I’ve done and knows how I feel.

He recognizes the pain I brought on myself

Also seeing what others did when I couldn’t seek help.

His understanding is fathomless, nothing hidden from Him;

Yet love, mercy, forgiveness flows o’er me and then,

My breath catches, heart skips, I feel

Fresh breezes, washed cleaned, and redeemed.

Renamed as God’s child; Remade like new.

History is wiped away and I must tell you.

Lord God Almighty is more than we’ve heard;

He’s greater than what pen spoke and louder than said words.

He’s boundless, magnificent, more powerful than we think.

God is Creator, Protector, Redeemer, and King.

He’s always present, always loving, transcendent above all things.

He is love defined, descended, then raised upon a tree.

God’s unstoppable, undefeatable, risen ever to reign.

He’s the King of the beginning, middle, end through eternity

King of kings? He’s more than that.

He transcends thought, space, and time.

God’s undefinable, victorious, my Savior divine.

I may not sing like angels or write psalms like David,

But I know always forever, My Lord, My King, My Jesus is mine!

-Gail Suratt Davis

Give it up to Get it All

“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” Luke 14:28 [NASB]

Christ calls us to give up everything-family, friends, and possessions-and be built upon Him, our Foundation. We are to make Him our foundation and the spring from which we get everything we need to live and work as we answer His call, "Come follow Me."

Following Christ means giving up our right to ourselves. He gives us new life through the salvation He gives. When we have new life through Christ, we have all things we need because He is our fount of life. Jesus said I am the Living Water in John 4:10. His water never dries up. We can know we will always have enough of whatever we need.

Jesus is all we need. We can trust Him and build our lives upon Him as our foundation. We can give up everything including our right to ourselves because He is our All-in-All. We lack nothing when we answer Jesus' call to follow Him. Jesus gives us enough to finish every task to which He calls us when we give Him our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We have nothing, yet possess all things because Jesus is our River of Living Water.

Jesus commanded Simeon and Andrew “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 [NASB]

Paul told the Corinthians, “Commending ourselves as servants of God…as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” 2 Corinthians 6:4 & 10 [NASB]

Will you give up your life to get everything you will ever need?

Will you accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and let Him be your All-in-All?

Lord, I give my life to You, then when I run into a problem, I want to take it back. Lord, I often forget You are my foundation and my Living Water. You are enough and will provide for my needs. Forgive me my small faith and wanting to take control. Make me faithful. Remind me You are the Source of everything I need for life and ministry. You are my All-in-All. Thank You for Your patience and forgiveness.

Would You?

“But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” Acts 16:25-26 [NASB]

Would you be arrested because you tell people about Jesus the Messiah? Would you suffer beatings because you refuse to stop telling people about Him? Would you sing praises to God while bleeding, sore, and shackled at the ankles after people beat you because you are His child?

This happens today. It happened to Paul and Silas, too. After Paul commanded a spirit of divination to leave the body of a girl, her masters grabbed them. They took them to the magistrates proclaiming they were throwing their city into confusion and teaching customs unlawful for them to accept or observe since they were Romans. Understand, these “masters” made money from their servant foretelling people’s future. They did not want what Paul preached to turn their world upside down or cause them to lose money. The magistrates ordered the guards to whip Paul and Silas then chain them in the prison. After the jailor chained Paul and Silas, they sang praises to God, and the doors of the prison opened and the chains on all the prisoners unlocked.

People are beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and killed for proclaiming their faith in Christ today. With the world becoming smaller because of faster transportation and international media, we have heard of or seen these things happen for ourselves. Some of us have experienced these things. Others of us have faced less harsh persecution and trouble, but still it affected us. We stopped and thought about being silent,  and of not standing for our belief in God and His Word. We considered the world is a different place now and so we need to be different, too. Possibly you have even considered and wondered, because you hear it so often, if God is irrelevant. Deep within yourself, you know He is relevant. You realize He is Almighty God. You know Jesus is the Savior and Your Savior. Still, wouldn’t it be easier not to speak about it so people would not ostracize you, call you names, persecute you, or kill you?

Paul and Silas, being human just like us, possibly thought this, too. Yet, consider what happened in Acts 17:16-34 after their beating and imprisonment in Acts 16. Paul walked through Athens. He realized Athenians’ desire to make sure they worshipped every god. They feared they wouldn’t worship all the gods that existed and erected a statue to “The Unknown God.”. Paul’s heart, being like Christ’s, ached with love for these people. He cared for them and wanted to help meet their need. With his heart beating in time with Christ’s, Paul talked with Jews, God-fearing Gentiles, Epicureans, and Stoic philosophers. People took Paul to the Areopagus where philosophers and teachers spoke, argued, and dissected ideas determining if they would incorporate them into their lives. These leading thinkers of Athens asked Paul to explain what he meant in his teachings and reasonings.

When Paul spoke with the Athenian leaders, he did several things. He met them at their acknowledged need. He spoke eloquently and respectfully to them. Paul recognized their need. Jesus Christ meets people at their need. Paul brought his speech to a moment of decision. He told them he recognized they are a people who realize their own human finiteness. Paul saw they were religious. (Acts 17:16) He humbly showed them respect and acknowledged the Athenians understanding of their own limitations and the obvious existence of a power greater than humanity. (Acts 17:22) Paul did not teach them by ostracizing their gods. He approached them wanting to give them more information because he respected them. (Acts 17:23). In this verse, Paul met the people at their spoken need – to recognize all gods. He then explained about their “Unknown God” being God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ. He spoke to them in a way in which they would realize their needs are met in Christ. Paul explained this God is the Creator of all things and means to righteousness. (Acts 17:24-29) Finally, Paul spoke not only his mind and explained about God Almighty and Jesus Christ, he brought the Athenian leaders to a point of decision. Would these Athenians believe in this God forsaking their handmade gods? Would they believe in and accept the gift of God’s righteousness through His Son, Jesus Christ, the One He raised from the dead? (Acts 17:30)

Paul didn’t back down from speaking because of his earlier arrest, beating, and imprisonment. He, having a heart like Jesus Christ’s, cared for the Athenians. Paul respected them and their desire for knowledge. He saw their need as they recognized it. Paul boldly stepped forward and spoke respectfully with authority and conviction about Jesus. He brought his hearers to a point of decision. Paul didn’t back down from fear of arrest, imprisonment, and beating. He didn’t think himself a coward and so unable to do what Jesus calls all his disciples to do. People continued taking Paul before the authorities. He often experienced persecution and torture. Yes, Paul kept telling people about Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God made available to humanity.

Yesterday we each felt ostracism by someone because of our belief in Jesus. Today and tomorrow you might experience it, as well as persecution and torture because of your faith. Each believer in Jesus throughout time since His life, death, and resurrection will have faced it at least once. Is that supposed to stop us proclaiming God’s love and the salvation He offers to all people? Does that mean we should lambast people as being “stupid” in their beliefs? Does that mean we should grudgingly tell people about Jesus, but disrespect them or not lead them to a point of decision? NO to all these.

We are to be like Christ, whom Paul emulated well. Though faced with imminent death, Jesus continued to proclaim God’s salvation had come. He continued on the path set before Him to His purpose, to be the sacrifice for the sins of every person. Jesus said He suffered at the hands of man and His followers would suffer the same and more. BUT, Jesus never stopped loving the people for whom He came to give up His life. He never belittled them. Jesus kept telling the people the day of their salvation had come. He met them at their need – illness, poverty, imprisonment, and status in life – and made them whole because of His power and their belief in Him.

We each will face troubles, persecution, maybe torture, and possibly death because of our faith. These will come at the hands of other people. We must decide in advance we will love the people no matter what they may do to us. We must resolve to stand strong in our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We must determine to treat the people with respect and tell them about Christ leading them to His throne. Above all, each of us must decide for ourselves to follow Jesus no matter what the cost. Jesus told His followers, when they asked Him what they must do to have eternal life, “Come follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21)

Will you love, proclaim, teach, and lead like Jesus?

Will you be willing to suffer the darts and arrows of Satan because you follow Jesus?

Lord, so often I stop obeying You because I am tired or scared. Please forgive me. Make me bold and courageous willing to follow You no matter what may happen. Give me a love for people who don’t know You so I will tell them about You no matter the consequences. Lord, You are Creator, Provider, and Redeemer. You hold time and our lives in Your hands. You could kill us without a thought, but Your love for us is so great You do not want us to die without knowing You and being made righteous. Lord, I am not good enough, nor can I ever make myself good enough to be in Your presence, but You have provided the way for me to be with You. Thank you, God, for loving me even though I am sinful. Thank you for providing a way for me to be with You forever. Thank you for calling me to tell others about You and making me brave enough to do it. Help me tell others with Your love in my heart. Make me whom You need me to be. Amen.

God Causes Good

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 [NASB]

Let me begin with a studied paraphrasing of this famous passage. We know because we see and hear God, acknowledge what He says, and act upon what He says that God causes good to come from things He causes to work together. God is the Originator of this good and thus the Definer of good. Good comes from God’s being. He is the one Who causes good to be and to happen in thought, action, and word to each person who loves God, a love of God that becomes part of the heart of the person and leads to active obedience of God’s commands, His will, not just simply admitting God exists, for evil Satan admits God’s existence. These people who love God with their whole being so they live out their love to Him in obedience to His commands are those whom He called to receive salvation, just like He calls all people to come to Him, and these are the ones He calls to His service. These are the people who love God with their whole being; they hear God from His throne, recognize His voice, acknowledge it, accept His purpose for their lives, and live out their lives in obedience to His call, His purpose. These called people – called for salvation and for service to Him – are the ones for whom all things work together because of God causing them for the good of His children, the ones who love Him with their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

We each must decide for ourselves if we are the people about whom Paul wrote in this passage. Are we each a person who loves God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? Are we actively loving God in thought, word, and action? Do we truly know God so we see and perceive Him, acknowledge and admit to His love, call, and purpose, and then act upon His calling?

Now we get to the hard stuff. Do we forget God is great and causes good to occur for us who love Him with our whole being or do we become beaten down by our struggles? As Christians active in this world, we will have struggles. We will fall down with beatings. We will have temptations. But God…God causes all things to work together for good…for us who love Him with our whole being and are living according to His purpose for our lives.

God is good! God causes good. He is the source of good and nothing can stop it from happening. When God calls you, He also causes good for you. You are not alone with no good thing and only struggles. Look up. Look around. Look inside your spirit, heart, and mind. Perceive God and His good for you. He called you to salvation. God calls you to eternal life. He calls you to this time and for this purpose. God has not left you. The Lord went before you and provided salvation for you. He is with you and provides hope and strength for you because of His love for you. God goes ahead of you to prepare a place for you in His kingdom.

Don’t forget! God causes all things to work for good for you, the one who loves Him totally, the one called according to His purposes. God’s good is all around you. Look. God is there now. Call out. Reach out. Grasp Him and hold on tight. If God is for you – and HE IS – then nothing can go against you. Nothing can defeat you because God has been before you, is with you now, and has gone ahead of you. Paul said in Romans 8:38b, “If God is for us, who is against us.” In all our struggles, trials, troubles, and temptations, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us!! (vs. 37) That is God’s good to us. He works all things for our good. To paraphrase Paul, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord!” (Romans 8:39)

God is almighty, and He works all things together for our good, we who have accepted His call of salvation, who love Him with our whole being, and who serve Him according to His purpose. God’s good is all around you. His good triumphs over evil. Since God is for you, nothing can defeat you.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. See His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT]

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1 John 5:3-4 [NASB]

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 [ESV]

Lord, God, so often I take my eyes off you, then I stumble, or my faith grows weak as I live in the middle of the battle. Forgive me for not seeing You and for not seeing Your good for me. Forgive me for forgetting you are the conqueror and so we, too, conquer. Help me keep my eyes on You and to tell others about You no matter what I face. Help me to always remember Your promises and love for me so I can stand strong not matter what comes against me. Nothing I will face is greater than You, Lord. Lord, You are almighty and You have all understanding and wisdom needed to face today, and tomorrow, and a thousand tomorrows more. Help me to always remember to abide in You, to stay deeply devoted to You, and not lean on my own understanding. True wisdom is reverence of You, God. You alone are God. Amen.