REAL LOVE

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”  1 John 4:10 NLT

            Real love is sacrificial and unconditional, not self-serving and conditional.  It’s not based on physical or sexual attraction.  It’s down and dirty, gritty, in your face, ‘don’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve done’ love.  That’s the kind of love the Lord has for us all.  Some respond by giving their lives over to His guiding hand.  Others receive God’s love like they receive love from anywhere else and since they cannot see Him; it comes without any special meaning.  It’s only when we stop from our crazy schedule and really, truly meditate on what we think love is that we begin to crack the surface on one of the greatest miracles known to mortal man.  True love can only be found in God.

            The fact of the matter is that God created us, saw us rebel and go our own way, living whatever way we chose.  It hurts the heart of God to see so many turn away from the truth only to find out, at times far too late, that they missed their chance at true contentment and fulfillment.  But is it ever too late.  His word is clear.  “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ¹ 

            Christ’s sacrifice was and is once for all time. We don’t need to continue to offer sacrifices to God annually to cleanse ourselves of sin.  We are forgiven as a means of giving us a ‘do over’, as it were, a second chance to do things correctly in the eyes of God.  We either believe, receive and allow the necessary alterations to be made by the Holy Spirit or we don’t.  This is a one shot deal.  Christ didn’t die for nothing.  It was for a very specific reason, to save those who were lost.  Don’t let His sacrifice come to nothing in your own life.  Surrender to what you know to be true in your heart.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

¹ 2 Peter 3:9 New Living Translation

BELIEF IN GOD

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NLT

            In looking at this all too familiar verse of scripture, let us dissect one of the most important words in all Christendom.  The word is belief or to believe.  Many verses of scripture say that if we simply believe in God we will be saved.  As we delve a little deeper into the word we find out that may not necessarily be true. 

            In the Hebrew the word for belief or believe is emunah.  This means to securely trust or rely upon.  It is not a casual belief, as some would assert.  To simply believe makes it easy for anyone to declare that they are a Christian.  They minimize the importance of the word so much so that accepting God’s existence seems enough for them.  The belief the Bible is referring to is the type of belief that tightly embraces not only the person of God, but also all that He stands for and proposes throughout scripture.  This type of belief means a total selling out of ones self to a higher standard than is exhibited by the world.  This belief seeks to receive blessing only to turn it around and bestow it upon someone else that is in need.  This belief is in no way cavalier in the face of life.  It doesn’t do as it wishes, but rather seeks to do that which is pleasing and acceptable to the One in whom their belief has been placed.

            In the end, it is far more than simply believing.  Scripture tells us in no uncertain terms that even demons believe in God¹, so surely it must be much more than just believing.  Search your heart and see if you are believing in or trusting in and relying upon God. There is a significant difference.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

¹ “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”  James 2:19

Source:  http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Emunah/emunah.html

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

          Paul writes this letter to a spiritually arrogant Corinthian church.  This is in fact his 3^rd contact with this body of believers. The first contact was his visit to establish the church.  His second was a letter not found in scripture in which scholars say Paul dealt with serious moral issues within the Christian community in Corinth. Here Paul is reestablishing the fundamental truth that Christ died and rose from the dead.  The apostle mentions very specifically why Christ had to die.  It was for our sins. 

          What is sin?  It is the “deliberate disobedience to the will of God” that “encompasses the condition of resulting separation from Him”.  Disobey God and reap the consequence of your disobedience.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  The Corinthians had the mistaken belief that they could be saved and still do whatever they wanted to do in this life.  Paul concurs that they most certainly can, but not everything will benefit them or be either instructive or constructive.  (1 Corinthians 6:12, 10:23)

            We must take the lessons taught to the Corinthians to heart.  Christ didn’t just exist, but rather came for a specific purpose.  That purpose was to fulfill God’s plan to pay for the sins of all men with His own blood.  Under the Mosaic Law a blood sacrifice was necessary to pay for sin.  The blood of goats, calves and bulls covered over sin, the blood shed by Christ removed it.  This is the good news!  This is the gospel message!  This is what we need to share to a dying world with no hope.  Put your personal agendas aside and reacquaint yourself with God’s miraculous message so that you might be used of God to shake the world you live in.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

NOTE:  The definitions found in today’s devotional were taken from the American Heritage Dictionary.  The translation used is the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION, published by Tyndale House.

WITHOUT LOVE WE ARE NOTHING

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

            The word ‘nothing’ can mean “Something (or someone) that has no quantitative value.” Something (or someone) that is  “insignificant or worthless”.  That is quite an indicting statement.  We know from scripture that each of us is of great value to the Lord, so Paul’s statement really jumps out at the reader. 

            Love is defined in the verses following (vv.4-7) those shown above.  True love is paramount as the motivating factor in the life of a Christian.  Without it we are nothing at all.  Our words are insignificant and meaningless and our actions have no value.  Oh, they may be hailed as great accomplishments by this world, but we are not from this world.  We are just passing thru here.  Our ticket has already been punched and we are heaven bound.  If that be the case then why do we hesitate to do that which we know in our heart we need to do? Why do we chase empty endeavors for temporal rewards?  Has God’s mercy and grace not revealed to us the true nature of love? 

            It’s not too late to change our ways.  It’s not too late until God stops the clock of time and life as we know it shall end.  We must make a re-assessment of our walk with Christ, especially during this Lenten season, when we are meant to take a hard, introspective look into our heart’s motivation. We must lay ourselves down on the altar and allow the Holy Spirit to dissect us as only He can.  We can become more of what God intends us to be if we will simply submit to His will.  Now is as good a time as any.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

NOTE: The dictionary used is the American Heritage Dictionary of the English language.  The translation used is the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION published by Tyndale House.

SOLOMON’S FINAL CONCLUSION

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”  Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

            These are the final words of “the Teacher” as he is called.  The Teacher is King David’s son Solomon.  He became King over Israel and God saw fit to make him wiser than all men.¹ Ecclesiastes takes a rather pessimistic view of life. Solomon lived life to the fullest yet found that nothing was new, neither was there meaning in anything.  The above two verses sum up his findings. 

            When we are told to fear God, it is not fear in the normal sense of the word, but rather a sense of awe and reverence.  We are to be in awe of God’s mighty and matchless power and majesty.  We see this thru eyes of faith and not with the natural eye.  Solomon tells us that it is our duty as believers in God to obey His every command.  This may seem like shackles to the free spirited individual, but just the opposite is true.  To live according to the standards of God is to find true freedom.  For there is freedom in knowing you are in right standing with God and pleasing to Him. The one who lives as he chooses always has the noose of sin hanging over his head.  This even applies to those who proclaim to know and love God yet show nothing of that belief in their lifestyle. 

            Being told that everything we do or say shall have a light shone on it isn’t a threat that demands right living.  It is rather a warning that we can have nothing to fear on the day of reckoning if we submit to the will of the Lord in our lives and follow the teachings of Christ.  There is an old secular phrase that seems appropriate at this time.  It goes like this:  “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”  In other words, don’t criticize godly living until you’ve lived it yourself.  Those who live for God with all their might shall live with Him in heaven for all eternity.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

NOTE: The NEW LIVING TRANSLATION has been used for this devotional and has been published by Tyndale House.

¹ 1 Kings 4:29-34

PRAY FOR ALL

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”  1 Timothy 2:1-4

            We don’t get to choose who goes to heaven and who does not.  There are no doubt some folks that we have known that we’re sure are headed for hell and are beyond hope, but no one is beyond the reach of God.  A sinner is a sinner.  What makes you think you were any better in God’s eyes then the one you show distain for now?  We must pray for all people; even those we dislike, even those who kill others in the name of God, even hateful, vile people who have wreaked havoc on our lives.  You see, God doesn’t see people the way we do.  We see them thru eyes of prejudice, pain and perceived notions.  God sees them thru eyes of love and mercy.  We are to pray for our government leaders.  We may not care for their policies or the stance they take on various issues, but God can change the heart of any man.  So we pray. 

            Those who refuse to bow to the leadership and guidance of the Lord will be dealt with in His good time.  That is not our concern.  Our concern is to live a life that imitates Christ as best we can thru the power of the Holy Spirit that is within us.  Our concern is to lead folks to God.  Our concern is to pray for those who know the Lord and don’t know Him as well.

            It has never been God’s will that any would perish without knowing the truth He reveals in His word.  No one is forced to live for God, but that opportunity does certainly exist for any and all who would seek it.  Remember, we are Christ’s ambassadors; therefore, we must consciously act out our faith each day as a means of revealing the hope of God to all we encounter each day.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

NOTE: The NEW LIVING TRANSLATION was used in today’s posting.  It has been published by Tyndale House.