Roots of Love

And now I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 says,

 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

God my Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Please bless these words and make them Your own to move me and all who read them. Thank You.

The line at the top of the post is the introduction the Bible gives to this passage titled simply as "Love." A way of Paul telling us blatantly that Love is the most excellent way. Paul starts talking about this excellent way by using examples of actions known to Christians of the time with the apostles. He uses speaking in tongues first. 

Paul writes that if he were to speak in the tongues of not only men, but of angels as well, but did not have Love, he would the equivalent of a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. He would be nothing but a bunch of noise. To speak in tongues is to speak in the other languages. Paul's first example then is that if he could even speak in the language of angels, but didn't have any Love in it, he would just be making a bunch of loud somewhat irritating noise.

Next Paul gets more extreme. He writes that if he had the gift of prophecy and could fathom all mysteries and knowledge and if he had the faith that could move mountains, but had not Love, he would be nothing. So in other words, Paul is saying that if he could understand all the mysteries of existence and had all knowledge of the everything and had the faith that could move entire mountains, but did not have this Love, he wouldn't just be like a gong or cymbal, he would be nothing.

Paul then uses an example that easier to relate to for most of the Christians of the time. He writes that if he were to give up all his possessions and surrender himself completely but did not have Love, he would gain nothing. So even if he gave up everything for the sake of others, but didn't have Love, he would gain nothing from it at all. 


Paul no doubt rattled the Corinthians mindsets with this part of the letter. The instant response I think to this would be, what then is the Love that makes all of this worthless? The answer is next. The entire next paragraph of the passage is the description of the Love Paul was writing about. Go back and read it again slowly thinking about each part as you read them off...


Patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices with the truth, always protecting, always trusting, always hopeful, and always persevering. The first thing to realize about this description is that there is nothing in this world that meets this full description. So what is Love? 1 John 4:8 "... God is Love." 

So no wonder you can't find this in this world. Only God could be all these things at all times. It's a happy thought to think that we could put our name in place of the word "Love" in this description, but no matter how much I change in God and try my hardest, I just can't even get half way before I have to stop reading. The only One to ever be in this world that could match that description has been Jesus Christ. He met it from birth all the way to His death on that cross to pay for our sins. So going back to what Paul said before, what does it mean to not have Love?

Throughout Paul's letters and in James letter, it says that you need both faith and deeds. But Paul gave examples of both at the same time with himself as the example as a way of stating, "If I am faithful and give everything but have not Love, then I am nothing." So then there is a third element to go with the two. An element that if missing, would make the faith and deeds worthless. So we have established that the element is Love, and that this Love is God. So 1+1, we need to have God in order for anything to matter. But wouldn't having faith and works already entail that we have God? Not always. Even if I believe in God and say start writing this post to serve, if I do not have God and His Love in it, then it's merely for me to do. The difference of having God or not is ultimately what is driving the uses of what we have. I could speak the languages of angels, but if I do not do it for God, then it's worthless. I could be a prophet and have true understanding and great faith, but if I do not let God use it, then there's no point. I could become rich and give everything away, but if I'm giving it away to make sure I do not feel bad or for the act of giving instead of because it's what God wants, then there is nothing to gain from it, except some people getting some new stuff. 


We need to be rooted in God and change our motives to fit His. I do believe, and I do serve in the church, but so often I find myself doing things and believing all for the wrong reasons. I do not give it up to Him. I find that things do not go well when I do this either. It ends up being all wrong. If I am not rooted in Him and planting myself in His Love, then all the fruits produced are worthless, they're sour. Whether it's talking to people, playing worship music, volunteering with children's ministries, or writing this blog, if I do not turn to God and let all of these attributes of Love come out with those things, then I'm doing something wrong here; then I AM NOTHING! But thankfully the faith I do have, is in a merciful God who's Name is Love. Without this Love and Mercy I would be dead. I am so convicted by this. 


The solution to this is to check on whether we are matching our actions with the attributes of Love in the passage. But wait, hasn't Jesus Christ been the only one ever able to meet this mark? Yes. Then how could we ever do so? We can't. That's why I bring up God's Grace and Mercy, because we could never meet up with what's expected. But even though we are forgiven for the times that we can't, it doesn't mean there's no point in trying. Would a soldier meeting impossible odds give up or fight to the end for what mattered most? I want to say that I would fight to the end for God in this life. I want to war against myself and my worldly desires and reasons for my faith and deeds. I want them to be changed as much as possible in this life to be a servant for my God. Not because I could gain something from it, I have already been given everything I could ever want by God through forgiveness in Jesus Christ. I want to do it because I already have everything. I do not need more. I want to give it all up for God, and I want to do it for Him and by Him. That means doing it with His Love. To know what that looks like though, I need to know what each of those attributes actually are. So I've given myself a challenge that I am now giving you. The challenge is to take one of the attributes of Love and each day write it on my wrist or a piece of paper in my pocket and have it there for 24 hours while I read in the Bible about it, pray about it, and truly ponder it and what it would look like in my life as a servant. So this is a 15 day challenge, but it could change the way we act for the rest of our lives and help us to let God base our actions in His Love. 


I really encourage you all to do this challenge. I started with patience today. This challenge must not however be for the wrong reasons either. As you do it, you realize just how easy it actually is to mess it all up. Which is another positive side to it, it brings me closer to God and helps me see just how forgiving and Patient He is. A Christian should always desire to get to know God more. He is our greatest relationship, we should work on getting to know Him more than anyone or anything else. Convicting words that even hurt me as I type them. My thankfulness for His forgiveness only seems to be growing as this goes on. One last thing to remember, is that these 15 things, are only an infinitely small fraction of what His Love is. We could all spend each day of our lives looking at attributes of His Love, but it wouldn't be enough. All the more the reason to start now. A statement to remember during this challenge and dare I say the rest of our lives, is this: "We can only grow and share Love, if we have our roots in it."

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen 

Opportunity: Love and Mercy at the Brink

Jude 1:17-23

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's Love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

God, let these words be Yours for Your purposes and Will.

This passage is titled "A Call to Persevere." Jude wrote this letter to all Christians that this letter could reach. That includes us today. He was addressing the topic of godless men that infiltrate the Church and lead other Christians away. Jude starts this passage with the topic by quoting the early apostles. They wrote that men who follow their own ungodly desires would appear. They would show up and divide Christian and would follow their own natural instincts because they are without the Holy Spirit. There are different denominations of Christianity that have their own sets of rules and guidelines today, some even with their own edited versions of the Bible that they keep adding to. There also entire religions with very similar basis. People over time have been split up among these different faiths. Some of these have and still cause fighting and warring by their members. Speaking of the truth in Jude's words. These people have caused rifts and fights among us all. So often because of what they want. But there is only One true God and One true faith. Moving to that, Jude wrote next about it. 

The arguments over this and that in Christianity alone, let alone other religions, can be so overbearing and draining. But the thing is that it's not gonna go away. It's only going to get worse. There will be as many lies and false teachings as there are men who follow their own desires; a number that is always growing. So Jude tells us to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. Not to mean our faith is like a bunch of coats, "I'll wear my most holy one today." No. He means that our faith itself is holy and set apart. It is not normal or of this world. It is something that feels like it doesn't fit in this world, because it doesn't fit. Which is why it can be hard to build it up. But by staying in God's Word, we can strengthen it. Because we can run what we hear from teachers and writers by what we read in the Bible. We just need to read properly and study it honestly in order to listen to exactly what God is trying to say, not ignoring something because it isn't what we want to hear. We need to take in all of it and put it into practice. By doing this our holy faith is built up. And when the faith is built up, it is stronger than anything. The faith of a mustard seed has the power to move mountains into the sea. The false teachers in this world will try anything to conform you to their teachings, for the Evil One's work is subtle, but if our faith is built up then we can see right through it. Galatians 1:9 says that all people who preach a gospel other than the one we have heard based in the Love of God and His Son Jesus Christ's sacrifice will be eternally condemned. So as long as we also keep ourselves in God's Love until our time here on earth ends, then we can fully test and approve of God's Will. To Love, we must give up ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Jesus. If we do these two things at all times, our God will build up our faith and wisdom and keep us from following the wrong paths. But this Love will also lead to these false teachers and believers, but in another way: In Loving them.

Jude addresses how we should then act towards these people and those who follow their ways. He splits it into 3 kinds of people. The first is the doubter. Jude calls us to have mercy on the doubter and not show contempt for them because of their doubt. I have gone through my own bouts of doubt even during the time of this blog's operation. We have doubts sometimes because we don't know whether or not we belong. We end up feeling unsure about something, and the Evil One takes hold of that and makes it worse and worse. We end up with a desire to belong, and in these times, we often look in the wrong places feeling more and more empty as we go along. Jude calls us to have mercy on these people who struggle to find out where they belong. To have mercy, is to not judge them or treat them poorly, to not rebuke them or brush them off because they ask the weird questions, or to ignore them because they aren't like us. It's just the opposite. To have mercy, to bring them in and Love them and show them the Love of the Father and show them that we all have a place of belonging with God our Father. It's to show them that we are all meant to live for something more, for God. 
The next person is the one who can be snatched up from the fire. These are the people that are already right on the edge of Christianity but also of death. These are the people we have true opportunity to share the Gospel with and Love on and welcome in. They can be saved with just a gentle Word of God. They are the Opportunity, we just need to take it.
The last type of person is the one who has no interest in looking very much and just want to do what they want to do. We are called to show them mercy as well. Because anyone who follows their instincts is trying to find the place they fit in and the thing that fits the hole inside them. We need to Love them no matter what, but we also need to mix that mercy with fear. Fear of becoming like them and losing the forgiveness of God. It's easy to deny that we as Christians are not easily influenced by the world, but it is just the opposite. When our faith is built up it is strong, but when there is a chink and it gets weaker, it can fall apart. And when our faith falls apart we can fall into a sinful binge that if not broken quickly can lead us away from God completely. As 1 John 3:19,20 states, our proof of Salvation is the conviction of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. But speaking from experience, once this "binge" starts, that conviction grows less and less convicting. Eventually there is a crossroad of choosing God or the world. You know it when you hit it because it is a gut wrenching and painful transition. When we hit it we can either turn to our sin for comfort or back to God begging for forgiveness. I am so thankful that when I hit this, God called me one more time and brought me back to Him. It hurt so much to go through it. I am deathly afraid of falling back there again and feeling like that and hurting God like that. We need to hate anything belonging to the sinful person's life, but not the person.

When I was in that point I went to what could have been my last Bible study at my youth pastor's house. I admitted I was angry at God and myself, but my friends didn't throw me out or rebuke me. They prayed over me one by one. It was that night that I hit the crossroad and chose God. I, therefore, cannot stress how important mercy and Love for people in these times really are. Sometimes just living the Loving Christian life around others and doing what the Holy Spirit calls us to do, can be what snatches people from the brink and saves them. To live as a Loving Christian, is truly taking the Opportunity. So build up faith and take it every chance you get, God might just use you to save someone.

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen 

Opportunity

Acts 22:30-23:11

The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to GOD in all good conscience to this day." At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"
Those who were standing near Paul said, "You dare to insult GOD's high priest?"
Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say the there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)
There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
The following night the LORD stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

GOD, let these be your words, not mine. Amen

Paul was arrested for preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem just prior to this. He had felt GOD calling him there to preach, so he followed. His speaking however landed him in jail with beatings. Words are the most powerful tools man has been given on this earth. They can be used to make a career and life, they can lead entire nations and armies, they can bring comfort to those who are completely broken. How powerful then, are the words of GOD when shared by man? Powerful enough where a ruling system of a people, the Jews, worry that they will lose all power to them. The Jews wanted nothing more than Paul to be executed and done away with. But GOD had other plans. Paul was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, the ruling authority of the Jews in the Law. 

Paul speaks only twice in this passage. We're going to look at what he says. First is his insult to the high priest. Paul calls him a "whitewashed wall." Basically put, Paul is stating that he is nothing of importance and has no substance. What he did not know was that he was the high priest. When Paul found out how he had let his mouth fall down the stairs, he quickly apologized. How often have you started a very important conversation with a big mistake of saying something completely inappropriate to the other person? I have done this a many times, regretting each one to this day. Like I wrote earlier, words are a powerful tool that can make or break something. Paul's mistake could have cost him the opportunity to speak any further and spread the controversial message of the Gospel. We need to keep a hold of our tongues at all times and not let things slip so easily in life. A slip could cost us the position or experience that GOD wants for us. Keeping a tight reign over our tongues allows us to wait and listen to what GOD has to say to us. If we are constantly talking, GOD will not be able to get a word in. How can we even begin to do His work if we do not listen to the instructions? We must first be silent, listen, and then wait for Him to tell us to speak.

Paul put this into practice before the Sanhedrin with the second chance he received in the situation. Paul recognized that some of them were Sadducees. Meaning just what the passage said, they did not believe in the resurrection. Paul then said that he was there because of his faith in the resurrection. This of course started the debate among the Pharisees who did believe and the Sadducees who did not. Paul said nothing else, but caused an uproar among leaders that made them more like animals than men. All Paul did was speak the truth of the Gospel that he believed in the resurrection. Those words were enough to bring a group of highly praised men to the point where they were ready to tear Paul apart. Thankfully the commander took Paul away before that could happen. Paul knew that his words would cause such a reaction by the high priest being ready to strike him after a few words. They were tense and easily turn against one another by their beliefs. How frightening it must have been to say those words if that was the outcome? GOD called Paul to preach the Gospel in Jerusalem before all men, and when he did, he was arrested, beaten, and almost torn apart by the Sanhedrin. What made all that worth it? 

Often we become scared of sharing the Gospel because of the consequences. We ask, "How could this be worth it?" It seem so much easier to keep talking and talking about other things in this life with others at school, work, and everywhere else than to talk about Jesus Christ. I am guilty of this myself. I now say painfully that I have lost count of the people that I did not take the Opportunity to share the Gospel with. I capitalized the "O" in opportunity for a reason, to emphasize that it truly is an Opportunity to share the Gospel. One that benefits us, them, and the Kingdom of GOD. It is never a sin to speak of the Gospel in a Good manor. I love that statement, "It is never a sin to speak of the Gospel in a Good manor." But it is wrong to not do so when we have the Opportunity. To not do the Good we know we ought to be doing is a sin. We all know why we don't speak though. We're afraid, we're busy, we're not gonna do a good enough job, we're not in the mood to do so. The excuses go on. But what makes taking the Opportunity worth it? In this life, nothing. There is no promised benefit in this life for spreading the Gospel. If anything, it will just bring persecution like it did Paul. But there is still a benefit. It's just not here. The benefit comes in heaven. To let GOD take over and speak for us His own words allows Him to work His way to those around us. We do nothing ourselves when we share the Gospel. All the credit for what happens goes to GOD. But to take the honor of becoming the instrument GOD makes the words flow out of to save those around us is the greatest honor of words. That is the true reward, to be used by GOD for His works of Salvation. Does He need us to do so? No! Not at all! But He gives us the Opportunity to do so. It can be hard, but it is beyond worth it.

After Paul's ordeal, the LORD stood near him and told him to take courage! He told Paul that he wanted him to speak again, not just in the city of Jerusalem, but in Rome. I would be terrified, but the one thing I have found in sharing the Gospel is 2 things. 1 It does not get easier. It really doesn't. But the 2nd thing is that it becomes more and more worth it to see what GOD is willing to do with me for others. To see the instances where I know it was Him speaking and the reaction and Love that filled the other person is so very worth it. Even more when I remember it has nothing to do with me. GOD will call us to where He wants us to speak, but if we do not take the Opportunity and open our mouths, nothing will happen. If we don't close our mouths, nothing will happen either. There is a balance, and that is the truly hard part: figuring out the times to speak. I look at 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words or GOD. So I try to keep quiet until I know there is an Opportunity to speak the Gospel. I still mess up, but thankfully, we have a GOD of mercy and second chances. But overall, there are plenty of Opportunities to use our powerful words for GOD, we just need to take them.

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen 

Steps For Focusing On Hidden Life

Colossians 3:1-17

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of GOD. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in GOD. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of GOD is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as GOD's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to GOD. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to GOD the Father through Him.

We're gonna go paragraph by paragraph with this Scripture. But first pray for this to be His words that reach out to us.

We have been raised to life with Christ Jesus who is seated with GOD above in Heaven. Because He is the One who has given us everything we will need for all eternity, we should focus on Him at all times. He deserves all of our focus. It can be so hard in this life with the amount of distractions in this life. How many times while reading this are we going to look at the text or Facebook message we just got? It's so easy to get distracted from the actual time we set aside for GOD, let alone our daily lives at school and work and with friends. It's a hard discipline to have, but still so very necessary. The reason we find it so easy to look away from GOD is that we just can not see the treasures and glory of heaven. All we have to see is the world around us on earth. There is nothing else to see except that because our minds cannot comprehend what lies in heaven. They are things that our eyes cannot see. This is why the Scripture says that our life is hidden with Christ Jesus, because it literally is hidden until Jesus comes back and takes us up with Him. Only then is it revealed to us as to what we are truly striving for in this life with the commands based in such a crazy Love that makes no sense. So how to we focus on what is to come if we cannot see it? By taking steps to do so. The first is to cut off what is wrong according to the Bible. Bringing us to the next paragraph.

 We are asked to put to death whatever belongs to out earthly nature: the "sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." We are to put them to DEATH. That does not mean to just not do them at church or when with other Christians, no it means to never do them. It means to work on killing the part of us that commits to these things. To not fill ourselves with the earthly pleasures of this world. Because these things are not what leads to pleasure. They are temporarily good feeling, until we arrive at the point when GOD's wrath comes. The passage tells us that it is because of these things that GOD's wrath is coming. We must cut them off and not live in them anymore because we have received the new hidden life with Jesus Christ. By cutting them off we get rid of the parts of us that lead to our bad reactions in this life, labeled here as "anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from our lips." When we stop chasing after the earthly things and start focusing on GOD, we no longer have the anger, rage, and malice towards others because we see the point of this life. The earthly things just stop being worth the trouble that we begin to see they truly are. We are able to start Loving each other and stop our slander and filthy language. We are able to stop our lying as we are continually changed by our growing knowledge in Christ. That is a major step in in focusing on GOD: not thinking there is a point to stop working on changing in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. It is continuous change until our life is fully revealed at Christ's coming. In this knowledge, there is no difference between any of us. Paul lists the stereotypically opposites in his own time at the end of the paragraph. But he ends it by saying there is none of these, meaning that there is no difference. This is because Jesus "Christ is all, and is in all." There is no favoritism in Jesus Christ, He is now for all who want to accept Him. As we are in Him, He is in us and has become our life. The next step after starting to rid ourselves of our sinful ways is to start bringing in the Good from GOD.

Paul uses a metaphor for the next paragraph of how we should view practicing the Good of GOD. He writes,  "Therefore, as GOD's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." As GOD's chosen people we should clothe ourselves with these things. When we go outside, we wear clothes. They are sometimes noticed, sometimes not, but we always have them on when we go out into the world. We usually have them on even when we're alone. They bring warmth and protect us from what could be around us. In the same way, we should think about wrapping ourselves with these qualities and wearing them where ever we go whenever we are there. We should have compassion, the ability to empathize and feel for others, kindness, Loving conviction for us and others, humility, recognition that we are meant to be servants for GOD first and then others and ourselves last, gentleness, the gift of feeling GOD's Love and comfort and sharing it with others, and patience, the act of waiting on GOD for the good that He has in store for us in the future. The last one I find to be the most important here, and the one that links to the rest of the paragraph. We need patience to respond to the call of forgiving others and waiting on the life that has not been revealed to us. To round off the paragraph Paul goes back to the metaphor and says over all these virtues we should put on Love, which binds all of them together in perfect unity. Without Love, all of it is meaningless and can scatter everywhere for different reasons. We have nothing if we do not have Love. This makes the key of this step in focusing on Christ Jesus. We need to take in as much of the Love that we can receive from GOD in this life in order to link us to the life that is still hidden. Because the Love we have in this life is truly not the complete Love that GOD will pour on us in the hidden life, but still part of it, we need to focus on taking in and sharing as much of it as possible. So what comes from pushing out the sin and bringing in the Love? Peace. The next paragraph starts the next step. 

When we have started the previous steps, we start feeling the Peace of GOD. So Paul starts the next section by telling us to let this Peace rule in our hearts because we are called together in peace. We are to let this feeling of no sin and great Love bring in a relief of no worrying or earthly pains for this world, but a start of a separation from it. This is the feeling of peace that we can experience here on earth. We become as free from pain and worry as we can on earth in the wake of GOD's Love here on earth that is unclouded by worldly things. The more we follow the previous steps, the more it grows as well and the better we feel. So Paul adds an extension: "And be thankful." We must make sure that we look to GOD and remember that He is the cause of this goodness we have and the peace we now get to experience. He is the source of all these words and the lessons and the causes of them. Which is why we must remember that it all started for us with His words, His Promise to us through His own words. Paul writes that we must let His words dwell richly within us as we teach and sing. To dwell richly is a picture of having so much that there's excess of it to pour out around us. We must be full of His words as we worship. To worship without thinking about GOD's words is impossible. Our worship and teachings and everything good and Loving is based on His words. This is the next step, to dwell in His word and fill ourselves with it as we let His peace rule us. His word drives us to change more and more and let more of His Love in. These 3 steps are a never ending cycle that leads to another constant step: To do everything in the name of the LORD Jesus while giving thanks to GOD the Father through it all.

As we work to change in GOD, take in His Love, and let His peace and word rule our hearts, we start to naturally do everything in the life for GOD in His name. We start to focus on doing everything for Him instead of ourselves. To do everything in this life for GOD, is the definition of living for the life to come. To focus on the life to come is to focus on the part of it that is already here: our LORD Jesus Christ. He is all and is in all, therefore, He is our life to come, and is in us already. To focus on the life that is hidden, we just need to focus on Him in this life, "And be thankful."

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen

Dulled Wrath = Dulled Mercy

Nahum 1:2-6

The LORD is a jealous and avenging GOD; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and maintains His wrath against His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.

I have just started my summer vacation after my first year of college. After spending hours a day at school talking to people of all sorts, Christians, non-Christian, and religious cocktails of all kinds, I have learned so much about this world and about myself and my mistakes. There was a lot that terrified me and caused me to weep. But there was one thing that I saw at college, and that is growing in popularity more and more each year among young people. It's the idea among young Christians that because of how long ago the disciplines and commands of the Bible were written, they are now outdated in the present age and there is no need to follow them now. The arguments made to me were that people back then never had to deal with the lack of modest clothing, there wasn't birth control, there wasn't TV or internet, parenting was different back then, money was different, etc. This list literally goes on for every kind of sin and command in the Bible that I could bring up with someone. The scary part is that they all tell me that they believe in Jesus, but that's no reason to go to church or to read the Bible or to obey what it says because those are outdated. I became furious with this thought process and the way it was made and the people who were following it. But in my anger at how dulled other people had become, I found myself angry with myself. My college group leader at church has been going through a couple series on the old prophets. As I heard and read on, I realized I was missing something as well. I was dulling the power and wrath of GOD.

No Scripture can determine what my generation has dulled down than Nahum 1:2-6. We're gonna go bit by bit through this potent Scripture. Verse 2 starts by saying The LORD is a jealous and avenging GOD. It sounds bad right from the start. That's probably why I pretend it's not there. But it is and it's true. GOD is jealous. James says that He is jealous of the world for us because we are constantly choosing the world over Him. He is jealous of the world for taking us so easily when He has to work and sacrifice so much to guide us back to Him for Salvation. But so often we don't go back and we walk further away. But He doesn't stop at being jealous, He is also avenging. the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and maintains His wrath against His enemies. GOD becomes filled with vengeance and wrath that He directs toward His enemies. Who are His enemies? James 4:4 says,

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward GOD? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

When we choose the world more and more, we befriend it. And as we befriend the world, we turn into part of it. And as we become part of it, GOD's wrath is pointed at us as His enemies. But if one believes in Him then they are saved from death no matter what right? Refer back to James 2:19.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.

The 4 Gospels all have testimonies written about Jesus' meetings with demons. A number of them have demons that proclaim Jesus and the Son of God. So even they believe in Him and His power. But they are not saved. Why? Because their actions are evil. Their actions are so evil that it clouds their judgement and they are unable to receive any Grace. The more our actions do not line up with Jesus' and the more we stop listening to His commands and go to do what we want, the more we stop hearing His voice. And in 1 John 3:19-20 we remember that we are proven saved by our ability to hear the Holy Spirit through conviction of our hearts. If then we can't feel it anymore and don't hear Him speaking to us, we are in the wrong. For we have a sinful nature and there is always something we do wrong that can be repented for and changed. But when we don't hear or feel the conviction, we do not repent, the key to receiving Grace, or change. We truly become one with an unrepentant evil world, and therefore become GOD's enemies. 

So why then are we not all wiped out now? Because The LORD is slow to anger and great in power. GOD is slow to anger. Vengeful and anger are different. GOD is a GOD of justice. He Loves us still, which is why He hates the world and anything part of it. He wants us to be with Him. So He is slow to anger. When GOD is angry, it is because something is so detestable and causes destruction of what He Loves. GOD's anger burned against the Israelites for their disobedience and complete disregard for Him. There was no hope for them, only the likely action of turning away anyone left for GOD away from Him. So His anger burned against them and He destroyed their numbers on multiple occasions, His own Loved people. So as not to leave this dull either, the New Testament writings by Paul and the other apostles all have the same theme: those who were not of Jewish decent were allowed to be saved because the Jews didn't choose GOD. I am not Jewish, so this seemed harsh, that I was the dog sitting on the floor. But all the writings are the same, even Jesus own words stated that He came for the Jews, but they did not choose Him. So He had the disciples turn to others. I am saved because He turned away GOD's anger and allowed me to be saved. But His anger can still burn against us. 

 ...the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. I did not know any other way to start the next section except with the Scripture itself. Again I say, GOD is a GOD of justice. For those who are saved by repentant faith and actions in Christ Jesus, their guilt is gone. For in justice, GOD laid the punishment of our sins on Jesus who was pure and could not die by sin, for He had none. So when the punishment was dealt, it could not affect Him. And with it gone, we were made free of all guilt. But for those who only have faith but no works, or only works but no faith, or none, their guilt remains. And as they refuse the parts they lack, GOD's anger is turned to them more and more as their guilt grows. GOD does not leave us unpunished for our lacking of repentant faith or good works. He punishes us. But this punishment on earth can be for our benefit. GOD is slow to anger. He wants us to come back to Him and repent and change. So He rebukes us on earth so that we might have more after death. But the problem is when we ignore the rebuke and commit more and more to the world  and our sins. So then we are His enemies. And if we stay His enemies to the end, we die, forever. GOD is Loving, but GOD is a GOD of justice, and will not leave our sin unpunished. He is powerful  Read this again:

 His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.


These are GOD's words through His prophet Nahum. When GOD is angry, His wrath is poured out like fire. It is burning and convicting and painful and it covers everything like water. But with all this infinite power comes something else.

Nahum 1:7

The LORD is good, a Refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him,

With His power comes infinite Love. For those who have true repentant faith in Him and obey Him to their ability with repentance for what they can't, He comes down and becomes a refuge in all hard times. His Love becomes what is heavy upon us instead of His wrath. He cares for us like no other ever could. He rewards us for turning to Him from the world. He gives us peace and justice by His Son, Jesus Christ. And He shows us mercy. Not because we are doing everything He wants us to, but because we are trying to.

In the end, it comes to where our hearts are and what we choose to be important to us. GOD acts toward us the way He does based on how we act towards Him. He gives us every chance to choose Him. My decision now, is to take every chance I can get to change and strive for more. I will never be perfect, only Jesus Christ could ever be that. But I can try while repenting and seeking GOD for help with what I can't. And by His Promise, I know I will receive it with His Mercy and Love.

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen  

Teaching is Love, Debating is Repellent

Isaiah 29:13,14

The Lord says:

"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The wisdom of the wise will perish and the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. But what wisdom and intelligence does this speak of? That of the world. Too often I have found myself going to Church worshiping God, only to stop by debating old laws in the Bible with other people. When I say debate, I do not mean teaching someone when they do not understand the Scriptures. No, what I mean when I say debate is to argue over a topic that has no truly sound answer. It's arguing for arguing sake. When we start getting to this point, we use whatever ideas we can to prove we are right, and the other person is wrong. Very often this has led to the traditions that some churches have used in history and continue to. It was no different in the time of the passage. People would come worshiping God, but they would be far from Him because they would turn worship into debates that would set the rules. Resulting in the human rules for life. Through our "victories," we think we are righteous and wise. But the truth is that we probably just managed to irritate the other person. It took a long time for me to realize that even though I was winning debates, I was not actually evangelizing. There is the common mistake. We think that if we argue this case we can win the other person over to Christianity or to making a good change. But the truth is, debates do not win followers. God and His unfailing Love do.

Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in God's Name. Discipleship and baptisms and highly intimate and Loving spiritual acts. In order to evangelize then, we can't go around debating our way into people's hearts. We need to Love our way into them, just and Jesus Loved His way into ours. Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to Love God, and then Love others. We do this by sharing His Love with people, not our man made wisdom and intelligence. God's Love makes little sense when you truly think about how vast and unfailing it actually is. It gives me a headache trying to figure out. That subject itself has been the source of many of the debates I've ever had. Through those debates I have come to realize that debates are pointless. I will sometimes ride the trolley in San Diego to get around. I was spending a day talking with people and praying for them when a friend sent me an article about Christian tattoos. He and I started debating as we always had. But as I was thinking of my next comment, I realized, I had missed out on praying for all the people around me and the people on the trolley for over an hour, because I was arguing about something that I could already tell had no settling answer for either of us except one: God will call us to do what He will with the things He gives us. For me, I was not using the opportunity to share God with others on the trolley. So I ended the debate and went back to doing what God was asking.

We are not called to argue. We are called to Love and speak of God's Kingdom. If we argue, we are in the wrong. God can stick up for Himself in His own issues. If there is a debate between two Christians over what to do, first pray for a true answer from God, then go away and read through the Bible to see what ALL the Scriptures say on this subject.. If there is still an argument, leave it alone. If there was a true need for an answer, God would have brought it, for He gives wisdom freely to those who ask. But we must be ready to hear it, even if it's not what we want to hear. But if there is no answer, then it also might not be time for one. Either way, arguing over something does nothing and it is a waste of time that could be used for Loving others. If you and another Christian are arguing that whole time, who were you not praying for or Loving that you could have? 

Debates and teaching are different. Teaching the Law to others is showing them exactly what the Bible says without a doubt. One example being that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. There is no doubt in that. But what about the things there are no solid answers for, such as whether everything really was made in 7 days? The best thing to do is to show what everything that follows along with Jesus teachings says about the subject. Share what you believe and why. But if the other person chooses differently, but still believes in Jesus just as you do, there is no point in the argument. Teach according to what God has truly taught you. Most of these blog posts now are things that I learn through experience, the week of reading, or even the day of the publishing. But I only type up what I know God wants to write. That way I might have confidence in His words, and not my own.

As always the solution is the same, focus on Loving the person, not arguing them into submission. It does not work. All we can do is tell others what God has told us. So do not instantly put up defenses when a new idea is put before you. Listen to it and see if God approves of it according to His Word. There are constantly new things to learn in this life about God and His Word. We must be willing to test and approve His Will. But we can only do so when we put ourselves aside and Love.

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen 

What We Actually Deny

Matthew 26:31-35

Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

"'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.

This passage is titled, "Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial." They have all just taken the first Lord's Table with Jesus on the night of His betrayal. And Jesus comes out to tell them, I already know that all of you are gonna fall away and mess up tonight. He tells them with a verse from Zechariah 13:7 "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." There are two things that happen after this. The first is that Jesus promises His rising again by saying that He is going ahead of them to Galilee. Jesus tells them this right after quoting the verse saying that He will be struck down and that they are all gonna scatter and leave Him. But the hope is in that He is going to rise and go ahead of them to Galilee to imply that they are all going to meet again and see Him after His death. He predicts all of them failing Him and sinning before they do it, and then He predicts their coming back to Him before they do it. God does that constantly with us. He tells us, "Yeah you're gonna do this and this and this wrong everyday for the rest of your life on earth. But you are gonna come to me repenting, and in that moment you will be with me as I embrace you." Words so beautiful, but the problem, is that we deny it.

The second thing to happen was that Peter walked up and denied Jesus prediction saying he would never do that. So Jesus told Peter directly that he would deny Jesus 3 times before the rooster crowed that night. Peter followed by saying that even if he had to die, he would never deny Jesus. And yet within the same chapter we read in 26:69-75:

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. 

But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."

He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"
After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for you accent gives you away."
Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"
Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows you  will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

 We all deny that we would commit certain sins against God. We even make promises to never do so because we Love God too much to even think about doing it. We hear Jesus telling us that we will fail no matter what we do because we have a sinful nature, and that we cannot abstain from any type of sin. Some of us even say that under any circumstance we will never deny Jesus. Peter was in the same position. And yet he not only denied Jesus, he did so three times. Each one getting worse as he went. The first was a denial in front of others when he was accused. The second was an oath. He made an oath to Jesus that he would not deny Him, only to make and oath that he did not know Him. Promises and oaths were utterly important back then. There were no contracts, only a man's word among them. But this was not the worst. The third time he denied Jesus was when he even called down curses upon himself. He was cursing himself to show he did not know Jesus. Attacking himself with his own words of punishment. This would not be done quietly. Peter was at risk of being killed with Jesus, so he made sure that all the people around him knew that he did not know Jesus. But didn't Peter promise not to deny Jesus, even if he was faced with death? The exact scenario that Peter denied occurred the exact way he promised against; and all before the rooster crowed.


We can easily compare ourselves with Peter. We promise that we will not do this or that, but if there is anything we should know from experience, it's that anything can be on the table if we still have a sinful nature. We can say all we want about our not sinning, but how many of us can say that we have never committed a sin that we promised we wouldn't? It sneaks up on us. Sometimes we don't even know we are doing it until something clicks. It did for Peter when the rooster crowed. But the difference is what we do when we click. When Peter realized that he had done just the sin he feared doing, he went outside and wept bitterly. When you weep bitterly, it's like crying over someone you love who has died. You feel a shattering pain inside of you that tears you apart. Peter felt himself break knowing what he had done to Jesus. Can we say the same? Can we say that if we commit our sins we denied that our hearts break? It took me years to get to a point where I felt shattered when I commit these sins against God. But it is not nearly enough for me. Sin is to be hated and despised because of how destructive it is. It causes true death. We should treat it that way.


The thing is that when we deny that we are going to sin, we are doing something more. We are denying some of our sins' existence. And when we deny the existence of sins, we can't repent for them. We need to accept that we sin in many different ways. It hurts to do so, but it is only after we stop denying it that we can turn to Jesus and be forgiven for them. If Peter and the other Disciples hadn't denied their sins, they could have payed attention to Jesus promise of rising again to join them after their sinning. In the same way, if we stop denying our sins of our past and our future, we can start to see that He truly has forgiven us for everything. He knew all of our sins that we commit in this life from our birth to death back then on the cross. He predicted them all back then. But He also predicted that because of His sacrifice, we would gain great eternal life through Him. 


The last thing to remember, is that our forgiveness is not the end of what happens when we stop denying our sin and receive forgiveness. We need to go out and serve and let God work through us to share this forgiveness with others. It was written previously that God can use anything to do good. Peter again is a great example. Peter, who denied Jesus with curses, ended up receiving the Holy Spirit and spread the Gospel all over. He even was used by God to write the letters that are still in the Bible today, 1 and 2 Peter. Letters that were sent all over the other side of the world in his time. And that now circulate everywhere nearly 2000 years later. 

God uses the weak and sinful and broken to do mighty works in the world. But if we deny our sin, there is no grace, and without grace there is no Holy Spirit, and with Him, there is nothing. We need to accept our sins for what they are: the things that kill us and hurt our God so painfully. When we accept them we are forgiven and learn from them by the Holy Spirit. God changes us and uses our sins for His glory. I hear people complain about the old Laws written in Leviticus and Numbers and the other Law books in the Bible. But I love them. Because I can read them, and see what other sins I commit that I didn't know were sins. After that I'm brought to repentance and am forgiven. Then God is able to change me and use me to teach about that sin. There are only blessing and more Grace to be given by learning what we do wrong. For Jesus knew it all back then when He took our punishment for it all. We no longer have to worry about being destroyed for accepting our having committed these sins. Our destruction never existed, only our forgiveness that we were denying ourselves. So, leave no more room for doubt and denial in any sin, or forgiveness. Only accept what is truly there.

Thank You For Reading

Long Live Jesus Christ

Amen