This post comes as a sort of confession and conviction. In my teenage years, I remember praying every night to God, usually asking for salvation, to affirm I was a Christian, and then I would start the cycle of sinning afresh each day. Constant disobedience to my parents, looking at porn for hours on end, any evil inclination of the heart can imagine was pretty much what mine looked like.
Years later, after I decided to start a life of repentance thanks to the kindness of God (Romans 2:4), I can remember how joyful I was to pray! I would lie in bed at night and smile and thank God for His sweet mercy, started going to the weekly prayer meetings on campus I'd avoided for years (who could wake up at 6:30am to pray?!), and would spout of quick prayers during the day. I neglected, however, to read the Bible. And while I was kept from sin for a time, only by the grace of God, I soon noticed just how difficult it would be to crucify those fleshly desires.
While serving overseas, I gave into temptation and started viewing websites I hadn't been to in nearly four years. Soon after that, I was withdrawn from my local fellowship. I blamed it on culture shock, but really it was sin. I stopped praying. I couldn't even think to pick up my Bible. And that's what sin does: it separates, uproots, and destroys. It took three years for me to find my way again.
Looking at the devotion of the early disciples, I was heavily convicted. They seem to always be praying. The first few chapters of Acts constantly show the disciples in prayer, asking for boldness to proclaim the Gospel, praying for others, praying over people being sent out, and praying for things we are unaware of. The point is, they devoted themselves to prayer. May we, as followers of the Lord Jesus, be as devoted as they were and expect Him to work as gloriously as He did in the first century.
His mercies are new each day; His love is steadfast; He is slow to anger; He is righteous; He is holy, holy, holy; He is Judge; He is King; He is Redeemer; and He is my friend! May the glory and honor of Jesus Christ be shone to all who cross our paths today, by word and deed. Amen.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Love Is the Way
1 John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love..
Matthew 22:37-40 - "Jesus replied: ''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - "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."
1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Exodus 34:6-7 - "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."
Lamentations 3:31-33 - "For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."
Jonah 3:10 - "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Holy One of perfect love. To love is to fulfill the law. This is possible only by a changed heart through the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise God.
Matthew 22:37-40 - "Jesus replied: ''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - "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."
1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Exodus 34:6-7 - "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."
Lamentations 3:31-33 - "For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."
Jonah 3:10 - "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Holy One of perfect love. To love is to fulfill the law. This is possible only by a changed heart through the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise God.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Perfect Love
The title of my blog is a verse from the Bible that says this about love: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." I believe love is the most powerful force in the universe. Absolutely nothing can overcome it. Bitterness can hurt it. Hate can leave it battered and scarred. Jealousy and selfishness can hinder it. But eventually love overcomes everything.
God is love. This is why I can say love is the most powerful force in the universe! God was so full of love that He created us specifically to have a relationship with Him. He did not create us so that we could get ahead in life and completely ditch the guy. He wants a relationship, a real and true relationship with every single person on this planet. That is all He wants: for people to know and love Him, as He knows us and loves those who keep His commandments.
So you may ask, "How could a loving God punish unbelievers?" Well, God is more than just love. He is truth. He is holy. He is sovereign above all. God is infinitely wiser than the wisest man to ever live, and our arrogant arguments against Him cannot stand up to His testament. Disobedience and rejection of a mandate requires judgment, just as one would suspect to receive an infraction for speeding or running a stop sign.
The context of 1 John 4:18 is referring to those who are in Christ and love God. People who claim to love God and do not love their neighbor do not love God. For those who love God, fear of judgment CANNOT reside in them, for justification comes through faith alone in Christ Jesus! There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). As for the unbeliever, to reject the love and grace of God is to reject any way of being justified. It is rejecting salvation and the only way to be seen as righteous in the eyes of a righteous and holy God. Mankind's arrogance is what turns away from the Father. We reject the Creator who gave us breath to live by, water to drink, food to eat and a spirit to connect to Him. He made us in His image not physically, because the Father is not physical: He is spirit.
The only way to satisfy the thirst of our spirit is to connect it with God. Just as humans are made for relationships with each other, so we are made to have a relationship with the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Perfect love is found in this relationship and this relationship only. Humans will fail each other. God will NOT fail you. His promises cannot be broken, and once you enter a relationship with Him, He has promised to never leave nor forsake you. This is the true essence of love. This is the God of the universe. He is my Abba, full of agape.
God is love. This is why I can say love is the most powerful force in the universe! God was so full of love that He created us specifically to have a relationship with Him. He did not create us so that we could get ahead in life and completely ditch the guy. He wants a relationship, a real and true relationship with every single person on this planet. That is all He wants: for people to know and love Him, as He knows us and loves those who keep His commandments.
So you may ask, "How could a loving God punish unbelievers?" Well, God is more than just love. He is truth. He is holy. He is sovereign above all. God is infinitely wiser than the wisest man to ever live, and our arrogant arguments against Him cannot stand up to His testament. Disobedience and rejection of a mandate requires judgment, just as one would suspect to receive an infraction for speeding or running a stop sign.
The context of 1 John 4:18 is referring to those who are in Christ and love God. People who claim to love God and do not love their neighbor do not love God. For those who love God, fear of judgment CANNOT reside in them, for justification comes through faith alone in Christ Jesus! There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). As for the unbeliever, to reject the love and grace of God is to reject any way of being justified. It is rejecting salvation and the only way to be seen as righteous in the eyes of a righteous and holy God. Mankind's arrogance is what turns away from the Father. We reject the Creator who gave us breath to live by, water to drink, food to eat and a spirit to connect to Him. He made us in His image not physically, because the Father is not physical: He is spirit.
The only way to satisfy the thirst of our spirit is to connect it with God. Just as humans are made for relationships with each other, so we are made to have a relationship with the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Perfect love is found in this relationship and this relationship only. Humans will fail each other. God will NOT fail you. His promises cannot be broken, and once you enter a relationship with Him, He has promised to never leave nor forsake you. This is the true essence of love. This is the God of the universe. He is my Abba, full of agape.
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