Heartful, Not Hurtful

The value of a gift should not be determined by the preferences of the heart that receives it, but through the love of the heart that gives it.

When self image and preservation prevents us from experiencing things that differ from our own tastes, then we have become selfish with our love while burdening others with the insult of avoidance.

Love's power, beyond the superficial, can't be known by us until we are willing to loosen our necktie, let down our hair, and embrace the variety of other hearts around us.

Love that knows how to give is first love that has learned how to receive.

PJR 

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16)

Reconciliation Is The Fruit of Grace

 

Of what value is a saint that has carnally ascended into a form of godliness that prevents them from presenting the 'good news' of grace to the lost world around them?

 

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." (Romans 12:3)

Grace is received but once, and the Holy Spirit has sealed it within us. Its manifestation is seen in the form of faith, and both grace and faith are a gift from God. We could no more believe in Jesus than we could create ourselves. And grace is not found by asking for it, but by living in it, for He lives within us. It is indeed sought after, but only in the person and power of Jesus. We know this because He ascended from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of our Heavenly Father.

Instinctive Love

I see the creatures of the earth to be given as an example for the children of God to observe. There are so many different aspects of our Christian walk we can glean from them. (Here is an excellent example: http://intimatekingdom.com/ants-intimate-kingdom/ ) But like the angels, these creatures were created in the realm of instinct, and that is for the purpose of unwavering service to the world at hand. Humans are nothing but instinctive creatures, albeit the most intelligent, and all creatures, apart from the Spirit of God, are programmed for survival. Yet survival comes at the expense of the lives of others. Some die to provide food for another. Others, because they threaten the instinctive desires of another to dominate as they see fit. All of creation, plant and animal, survives by the sacrificial lives of others. This is one of the most overwhelming shadows of Christ that this world presents to us.

The Cross

 

 

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,

 

even death on a cross.

 

Rather than sorrow, an execution of hope,

 

it is a symbol of life, drawing all men unto God.

 

We redraw death's grip,

 

we redraw God's love,

 

we redraw the cross.

 

 

PJR -inspired by Christine Alexander



Reconciling The Gospel

As the believer's mind becomes renewed, they tend to turn this enlightenment back towards the unbelievers of the world in the form of intelligent argument. It doesn't take long to find that the lost aren't interested in our side of the argument, except that it gives them more fuel by which to mock us. The harder we try, the more they resent us.

We can expect this to play out our entire lives if our approach to proclaiming the gospel is through the strength of our mind apart from an intimacy with our own cross.

A Baptism Of Love

John the Baptist told Herod it was not right that he married his brother's wife and Herod put John in prison for it. I suppose John may have felt Jesus would've come to his rescue. After all, he was the very present prophet who, in the Spirit of Elijah, had prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. And Jesus did claim to be the Messiah, the Savior of Israel.

To Obey Is To Love

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." (2 John 1:6)

Basically, all Jesus' commands are all summed up in these two: "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)

We all can agree how difficult this can be for us, yet there is no doubt that the only way we can obey His commands is by love. So here is the question we need answered: how can we love when in the depths of our soul, we constantly want to look out for ourselves?

Bread Of Life

Some time ago one morning, on my way to work and feeling weary after yet another sleepless night, I asked God to present an opportunity for me to shine His light at the job-site...to offer hope and encouragement to someone. I was trying to focus on His kingdom, rather than my dire circumstances which preoccupied my thoughts. Obviously, I was the one in need of His presence.

I had been struggling a lot lately. Despite trying not to worry and submitting my requests to God in order to receive the peace that surpasses all understanding; trying to focus on today because tomorrow has enough troubles of its own; casting my cares on Him because He cares for me; being still and knowing he is in control, etc., my frustration increased.

This particular month, my wall calendar contained a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread." Initially, this sounds very profound. But I have to realize this is the same man who, at best, heralded Jesus as merely another prophet. When people are hungry, and Jesus shows up, He is indeed the bread.

I wondered at the continued presence of frustration as I recited God's promises through my mind. I believe there are times when God actually sends a spirit of frustration to ensure we reach our rope's end. After all, real belief occurs when we begin to trust God regardless of our circumstances; beyond simply claiming His promises while striving to work out the situation ourselves.

When we're so deep into the darkness of our troubles, it can seem like a place of fatal hopelessness. But at just the right time, every now and then, God sends a comforting angel; sometimes in the form of someone we know, but have simply taken for granted. It was just a few days later, this cloud still hanging over my head, that someone I knew sneaked up behind me and gave me a big ol' heavenly hug...out of nowhere! Don't I know God just embraced me! I was so hungry...and He appeared to me in the form of bread I was needing.

The body of Christ brings the presence of Jesus when we need him the most. A burdened heart can glorify God even in the storm, to the credit of those who make themselves available to Him. My prayer is that you would make yourself more available to God, that He may cause you to show up in the form of manna for the hungry people in your life. Let's empty ourselves of ourselves and be led of Him, so that we can shine our light in the darkness; carrying hope to those who feel hopeless, and love to those who feel unloved; and perhaps, should the circumstance dictate, a loaf of bread.

PJR

"Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance."
(Psalm 78:23-25)

God With Us

Since our righteousness is achieved by what Christ alone accomplished, we should be very humbled. Since it is by God's grace alone we ourselves have not been judged, this should prevent us from judging others. We should, rather, be interceding for those whom Christ died for as well. Whether friend or foe, we are to love all.

It is the love of the Father for us, by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, that brings about a recognition of our own sinfulness. (John 16:8) He alone works repentance in us. (2Timothy 2:25) Confessing and embracing this, we then have the ability to turn this love towards others, becoming ambassadors for Christ.

Those who judge sinners whose hearts are repentant fail to understand that this repentance is the evidence of God's holy work in their lives. The love of God is not in those who judge. They are still blind and deaf.

"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:47) Our love for others is proportionate to the degree in which we perceive God has forgiven us.

God's love for the world manifests itself when His children know they have been saved from themselves and become resurrected into the life of Christ; no longer living to themselves, but to Him who has called them to go in the same manner of love that He came; Immanuel...God with us.

PJR

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

Faith, Hope, And Love

Below are some Scriptures that give us insight as to how each one of us came to possess the abilities we utilize and enjoy here on earth, both in our natural and spiritual lives.

How we receive our physical gifts.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13)

"Then Moses said to the Israelites, 'See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And He has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers. So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.'" (Exodus 35:30; 36:1)

How we receive our spiritual gifts.

"But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding." (Job 32:8)
 
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as He determines." (1Corinthians 12:7-11)

"It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-14)

How We Steward our physical and spiritual gifts.

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10)

"So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church." (1Corinthians 14:12)

"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!' The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!' Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (Matthew 25:14-30)

All gifts will eventually pass away.

The physical

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." (1Corinthians 15:50-53)

The spiritual

"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

If at any time during the life of a Christian, the Lord were to immediately remove every good gift He has given them thus far, He would not remove His gift of faith, hope & love, for this is the seal of the Holy Spirit upon us. (Ephesians 1:13-14) These are the three gifts which bear the life of Jesus and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in and through us, regardless of the absence of any other blessing.

There will come a time where faith (the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen- Hebrews 11:1) and hope (our irrefutable confidence- Romans 5:5) will have fulfilled their purpose, leaving us with the last and greatest of all blessings; love; the Lord Himself! Our Husband!

Here then, are some fundamental and foundational scriptures about faith, hope, and love that we may embrace as evidence that we belong to Him.

"But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18)

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26)

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  
(Hebrews 11:6)

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  
(1 Peter 3:15)

"For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly await for the hope of righteousness." (Ephesians 5:5)

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth." (Colossians 1:3-6)

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so

that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  
(Ephesians 3:14-19)

For all the gifts that God has blessed us with, this is the ultimate purpose for them.

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)

PJR

"All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change." (James 1:17)

Disciplined By Love

In the absence of authority, people entertain the depraved desires of their hearts. Thus, laws are enacted for the sake of peace and protection of citizens in a society. Yet to simply demand obedience to these laws will only encourage rebellion against them. So there is added an incentive to obey; penalties for those who break the law. Without consequence there can be no discipline. So there is a fear in the mind of every one who contemplates breaking the law; the consideration of what it will cost them should they be caught. It is this fear that will deter many from following through.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." (1 John 4:18)

The body of Christ, however, is not disciplined by fear, but by the laws of love that come through Christ's sacrifice for the redemption of our sinful nature (Hebrews 10:10); for "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

PJR

"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:14)