“The Miracle of Love”

 Scripture:   John 15:9-17; 1 John 3:16-24

Our lead passage for today is from a section of John’ Gospel, chapters 14-17, commonly known as Christ’s Farewell Discourse.  This portion of John’s gospel provides a detailed discussion of the final teachings that Jesus offered before leaving for the Mount of Olives and his subsequent arrest.  These 4 chapters provide us with insight into all that Jesus wanted believers to understand about His ministry among us. 

 And the verses for today describe the depth and breadth of the love that He had for all of humanity, and especially for those who would followed His example.  And the sum total of all that He taught would culminate in the sacrifice that He was about to endure at Calvary.

 But the love that our Lord would show to us is the same love that His Father had shown to Him throughout His life here.  In John 7:16-17, Jesus tells us that He taught nothing that hadn’t come from His Father first, including the love that He blessed His followers with.

 Read John 15:9-17

 The Lord assures us that Divine love is granted through our obedience to all that He has taught us, and in all that has been lived through us.  And why not?  God never gives us the most difficult tasks at the very beginning of our relationship with Him.  They begin as basic opportunities to show Him our love and trust, and then gradually grow as our faith gains greater ground within our Lord.  And as we follow each of the tasks that come from God, we begin to show more and more of our Godly love to those we are serving.

 It began with the Father’s love for His Son, and as Jesus served and taught to the greater of our needs, He was showing His love to each and every one of us.  And in return, our obedient service shows love to both those who we serve, as well as to our Lord who filled us with that love to begin with!

 And as Godly love grows within us, the joy of God also begins to grow within both the Lord and those who learn, live and obey the ways of Jesus.  The one thing that we have to remember about “joy” though, is that in the context of faith, the word is not necessarily synonymous with “happiness”.  Happiness is our reaction to worldly satisfaction and appreciation. 

 Joy, on the other hand, is God’s blessing when our life follows and fits that which we have learned and obeyed as we walk hand in hand with our Lord Jesus.  The phrase “the Joy of the Lord” was never meant to imply that life no longer has a single care or pain, but simply that we are living and loving others in the way that Jesus lived and loved us.

 And we never have to figure out how love should be offered all on our own!  We have the example of Jesus that is always before us, and if we follow Him, His grace and mercy will become our guide. 

 Remember the encounter that Jesus had with the woman caught in adultery?  What was Jesus’ judgment of her, when her accusers left without stoning her?  There was no condemnation, only grace and mercy, as well as the command to “Go and sin no more.”  This was love being shown to the one who had been intentionally trapped in order that Jesus Himself could be confronted and accused of heresy.     (John 8:2-11)

 Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus reaching out to gentiles and sinners with a healing and kindness that the Jews of His day never would offer and never could understood.  This was God’s love in action.  Jesus washed the feet of His disciples in the image of their servant.  And in John3:16-17, “For God so loved the world …” – and I call on you to finish this proclamation of what God’s love is all about in your own life!

 In our passage for today, the Lord says that He no longer calls us “servants”, even though we serve others as He has served us.  The truth is that He now sees us as “friends” who have chosen to follow Him in love, and not through coercion. 

How well do we emulate the love of Jesus?  Or are we better known for loving others in the easier way of Earth?

 Read 1 John 3:16-24

 In John’s 1^st epistle, he offers us an example of how to recognize love at work in a believer’s life.  And basically, it is about using the resources that God has blessed us with to help others through a difficult time of need.  Why do you think that the Lord provides some with more resources than others? I believe that God allows some to have more, and others less, so that we can share God’s blessings for the good of those who are in need.  We aren’t called to benefit from our own goodness and welfare– it is strictly to allow us to be generous and loving!

 In Leviticus27:30-33, the Lord tells Israel that the proper offering is a tenth of all that God has given to you, without question or hesitation.  But this was never meant to be a maximum, but rather a standard.  John writes that our generosity is indicative of the amount of love that we have within our heart!  And he even goes so far as to tell us that if we don’t reach out in faith, that it's because we have forfeited the love of God!  It has nothing to do with what we proclaim, but rather in what we do through the love that is within us!

 Godly love can never be attained or developed through our personal efforts and abilities.  Romans 5:5 reminds us that “… God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  The true gift of love that lives within us has come directly from God, and is ours to share with those who are in need of His love.

There is a hymn that we sang a couple weeks ago – “Love Came Down at Christmas”.  The final verse reads:

                    “Love shall be our token;

                              Love be yours and love be mine,

                    Love to God and all men,

                              Love for plea and gift and sign.”

 The love of God that we offer to others is a statement of faith; the love of God is universally given to all people, but it is up to us as to how we use it.  Will we use it selfishly?  Or generously?  As a gift of God that is intended for others?  As a sign of God’s preeminence in our lives, or will we use it to build ourselves up?

 How will each of us let the love of Christmas change us and grow within our heart during this season of Godly love?  May it always be in grand and glorious ways!

“The Spirit of Hope”

 Scripture:   Matthew 12:17-21,  Isaiah 42:1-9

In this 2^nd Sunday of Advent, we come to realize that this season is not only one of great expectation, but must also be a time of personal reflection.  Jesus, even though He was divine and glorious in His Being as the Son of God, He was also a humble Man of this plane.  He seldom proclaimed His greatness, but rather left the acceptance of His truth to each person individually. 

In 1 Corinthians 1:21-23, Paul wrote “²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles”

 Jesus gave the people all of the signs that they needed to be pointed directly toward the truth of God.  And yet, they still wanted their Messiah to be exactly who they imagined that He would be!  Unfortunately for Israel, the signs that should have led them to their Jesus Messiah showed that He was gentle, humble, loving, and caring of all people, regardless of who they might have been.

 Jesus is the very One whom we all need, but people of all times, will continue to seek Him through their own wisdom, foolishness, and personal vision, instead of in the One who God sent to heal us all.

 Read Matthew 12:17-21

 As we read through this prophecy of Isaiah, we discover the depth of who Jesus is for us. He was never one to complain about those who worked against Him, or to personally seek after glory for Himself, or to call the ones who the world would see as the best to serve Him, or to condemn anyone who would refuse to follow the ways He proclaimed.  He was the meek and obedient servant of God, and in that way, He served as the servant of all who would accept Him as their Lord and Master.  He never claimed to be Spirit filled, even though He truly was.  And even though several of the prophets tell us that He will be Lord of many nations, Israel wanted Messiah to be theirs alone, and many rejected Jesus over that singular issue.

 They could never understand how a meek and gentle servant could ever be victorious over the ways of Earth.  Even with all that the Lord Jesus endured and suffered through, He never saw Himself in the role of victim.  It would have diminished the qualities of Victor and Conquer that were the true significance that He would bring to the lives of all who gave themselves over to His way.  He may have come to this place in the form of a helpless infant, and yet, even in this humble way, He is still the mighty, triumphant and victorious King of all.

 Read Isaiah 42:1-9

 The beginning of this passage is the prophecy that Matthew was referring to in his gospel.  But Isaiah goes even further in proclaiming all that Jesus Messiah will be for the people of Earth.  He reveals that the Lord Jesus was involved with all of Creation, and that it was given for the benefit of the people who were also an important part of all that God had put in place.  And for every being on the face of the Earth, God also filled them with breath and life that they might live with Him.  We were never meant to be inanimate objects or helpless beings.  In Genesis 1:26-30, we discover, first of all, that men and women alone were created in the image of God Himself, and second, that humanity is the only aspect of creation who were given responsibilities regarding the rest of creation!

 And as the prophecy continues, it is revealed that God has also called His faithful to be His representatives in sharing the covenantal promise that we find in Jeremiah 7:23-24, that ^23 … but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.  And we were also called to be bearers of the Light of God that others might come into the Light that reveals and details the Lord’s desires and plans for our lives.

 We are to lead others into divine freedom from the “darkness” of Earth through our faithful witness to the Lord and our love for all people.  But this freedom isn’t simply a release from the imprisonment that sin brings to our lives, but more importantly, to open our eyes and give us a renewed and true vision of all that God is and has done on our behalf.  The past lives that we have lived are ones of condemnation, and yet, this sentence doesn’t have to be the controlling aspect for that which is yet to come.  God, through our faith in Jesus, has given all of us the opportunity to leave the darkness behind, and to live a new life that is bathed in the Light of eternity.

 The Lord of Hope has come into our lives!  And we have received His call to be part of His ministry of Light to all of the people who struggle in this dark and burdened world.  Consider all that our Savior has done for us, and continues to prepare for those who have yet to come to Him in faith!  And all that God asks of us is to follow Him, and to be a blessing to others wherever He leads.

 This is the greatest gift that we could ever give to anyone – a divine relationship through God’s Light of truth and His Hope for eternity!  Don’t let the gift go begging – share it with someone who is still trapped in the hopelessness of the world’s darkness, especially during this time of Christmas Light.

 

“A Light in the Night”

 Scripture:   John 3:16-21; Matthew 5:13-16

At Christmas time, we celebrate God’s Gift of salvation that He sent to us through Jesus.  Since this was a Gift that came directly from God, you would think that this glorious present would be accepted and praised by the vast majority of people throughout the world.  But the truth is that acceptance has always been anything but universal, and as a matter of fact, the denial and rejection of the Gift is far more common than it is celebrated and honored!

 Jesus even offered a parable describing this denial in perfect detail – and it has come to be known as the parable of the Tenants, which actually appears in three of the gospels – Matthew Mark & Luke (Luke 20:9-19).  God’s Gift to the world was, as is any gift, given at the Lord’s expense and out of His love and compassion for His creation.  Recipients would all be receiving a gift that would bless them through eternity, and the Giver would be honored through the praises and faithfulness that the people show to the Gift.

 Anyone who accepts this great and gracious Gift would be freed from the power of condemnation, and would be welcomed into the Lord’s family as full and beloved members.  And yet, the vast majority of humanity have rejected this most precious gift for centuries!

 During this season of Advent, we will be considering some of the additional gifts that Jesus will also be bringing to our lives.  Today’s gift for us to reflect on is the gift of clarity of vision and understanding.

 Read John 3:16-21

 The problem that Jesus came to address in our lives is our inability to understand the vast difference that exists between the worldly life, and the life that reflects the way that God desires for us.  Jesus was given to all who would accept Him as a God-given gift.  No one was excluded in the giving, but many have refused to accept the gift before they even understood what they were being offered! 

 Imagine, if you will, discovering a present underneath the Christmas tree with your name on it.  When it is handed to you, you decide after simply looking at the wrappings, that the package couldn’t possibly contain a single thing that you could ever want!  And so, you tell the presenter that you don’t want their gift, and that they can keep it, regardless of what it may contain!

 I don’t know of a single person who would do that, and yet, I do know of many who either reject Jesus outright, or decide that He could be OK, but only after implementing a few changes that they want to make to His ways.  Do any of us truly understand the depth of the condemnation that we have built up in the life we have been living?  Without Jesus, the way that we have chosen to live is so far removed from God that we will never be able to find our way back to Him, without His help!

 John’s gospel tells us that one additional item of help that God has included in this Gift is “Light”.  In John 14:5-7, we read that only Jesus can be our guide to eternity, that He alone is the “Way” that will put us on the right path to salvation, that He brings us the “Truth” that we can always depend upon, and that He is the clarifying “Light” that will reveal both the way and the truth that we will certainly need if we have any desire of finding the way to the Father’s Throne.

 This Gift is perfect!  The Lord has completed all of the preparations and final arrangements, and all that we have to do is accept it and apply it to our lives!  Unfortunately, the downside is that the first coming of Jesus into this lost and dark world isn’t the last – it is the first step in carrying out God’s final Judgment on His creation!  Condemnation is not the Lord’s first choice for humanity, but it will certainly be the last without Him.  We all will notice in this reading that until Jesus arrives the second time, condemnation is totally on our own head.  But on that day, we will be examined for the depth of the commitment that we have made and lived out through our Lord and Savior, and neither we nor Satan will anything to say about it – Jesus will already have all of the evidence that He will need to hand down the proper decision. (Zechariah 3)

 His salvation has been available to us all, and if we have chosen to ignore it, we will have decided, by default, to accept whatever the final decision may be.  Will it be condemnation, or will it be salvation?  The point is that it will be based in the choices that we make during our lifetime – whether we choose to follow and live in Jesus and His way while we still can, or to reject the greatest Gift of reprieve that has ever been offered to the condemned of Earth!

 Will we choose the Light of the world, or the darkness that surrounds it?  God sees all, and there is nothing that we will ever be able to do to hide from that divine and all-knowing gaze.

 Read Matthew 5:13-16

 Matthew presents the teaching that Jesus lifted up during his Sermon on the Mount.  And this is what will be expected of all who choose the way of Jesus.  The life of discipleship in the way of Jesus is obviously intended to be one that is obvious to the rest of the world!  Our life must, apparently, be lived for the benefit of the world, just as Jesus lived His (Matthew9:12-13).  By our example, we are called to have relationship with others, to share the Light of Christ wherever we go.  Salt is purification in the example of Elisha in 2 Kings2:19-21, and seasoning as in Job 6:6 and Colossians 4:5, and preservation through salt has been used for centuries.

 Elisha used salt to purify a spring that provided water that was terrible to drink, and couldn’t even be used to irrigate a field without killing the crops. 

Job referred to salt as that which improves the taste of certain foods, just as our witness to the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ should be “seasoned” so that it will be a blessing for the life of others.  

And in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he teaches that our conversations should always be “full of grace, seasoned” so that our words will provide wise and understandable answers for the questions that others may ask of us.

 Jesus also referred to the Light that comes to us by faith in Him.  But what are we to do about that holy light that shines within us?  Remembering that the purpose of light is not that it might be seen, but that it will illuminate other things that we need to be able to see.  The point is that we are to let the Lord’s light shine for others, that they might discover the truth of Jesus for themselves.

 And the third comparison, that the church should be like a city on a hill, means that we are 1) to be obvious to all who are still a long way away, and 2) to be a place of refuge, safety and welcome for all, and not just a place that forbids and condemns those who are strangers to the way of Jesus.

 Our Almighty God has given us the Gift of Light and Life, but the question remains – what are we ready and willing to do with that gift?  And the answer that is waiting to be proclaimed, is that we must always be ready to share it with as many others as possible!  God’s gift of salvation was never meant to be kept hidden away within our own life – it must be given away, and when we do, we will discover that it will never run dry within us.

 The gift of Christmas will never break, never wear out, never pale, and when we open God’s Gift and allow Him into our hearts, that is the beginning of our realization that this is truly the greatest gift of all time.