April 24th 2016
Love Only Grows, When It Is Given Away!
1 John 4:10 (NIV)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Is it easy for you to read the Old Testament and feel the love exuding from God? Some of the stories make us wonder how loving God is toward all of mankind. Certainly God was helpful and protective of the Israelites, but even they were punished because they ignored God’s instructions, which sometimes resulted in many of them dying. However, when they followed God, and did as He instructed they flourished. They were fearful of God and they therefore followed His commands, and they were thus blessed. Are you fearful of God, or have you created a box to keep God in until you need Him?
Some who claim to follow Jesus are part of a group referred to as “the name it and claim it group.” Some believe that Jesus is a sugar daddy who will give health and wealth, if you follow Him in this life. Do you believe that Jesus owes you a debt, because you have chosen to follow Him? Did Jesus guarantee His followers a great lifestyle, if they just followed Him, when they could fit it in their chosen lifestyle? Jesus once said, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33) On another occasion while Jesus was teaching His disciples, Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)
Yes, I know this does not seem like a good ad to attract people to follow Jesus, but I do believe it is true that electing to follow Jesus in this life does not guarantee you will have a life of smooth sailing, so to speak! What it does offer is a life of feeling protected from the grief associated with living in a cursed world. When troubles occur in your life, and there will be troubling situations, then you will actually be able to see a brighter side to your problems. This is because there is a loving Jesus who is right there with you during those troubling times. The worldly values that puts having things above, having and giving love, to those people surrounding you, is largely eliminated from your prospective of true value! Love only grows, when it is given away!
God sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of all who elect to follow Jesus. God did not send Jesus to only a select group of people, God sent Him to atone for the sins of all who accept this wonderful gift of grace. Amazingly, God sent Him while we continue to be sinners in this lifetime. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) God did this to offer salvation to all of mankind, who elect to accept this amazing offer of freedom from worrying about trying to be perfect in this world. What a wonderful relief this is for all who accept the offer!
Jesus’ offer is not one of complete protection from problems in this world, but in knowing that God loves us, and that our immortal soul is guaranteed a wonderful life after leaving this worldly lifetime. This feeling of freedom starts immediately when you accept God’s grace, so you believe tomorrow is guaranteed, because of what Jesus did on your behalf. In this troubled world we can still love others, even those we may not like them, because the love of God/Jesus can flow from us, as though we are a conduit of God’s love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:19-21)
John wrote about this amazing love from God to all of mankind. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8) Remember Jesus/God created us to have an association with Him, and for Him to desire our adoration and fellowship. We were created in the image and likeness of God. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26) When Jesus walked this earth as a man, He called His disciples (us) His friends. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15)
Jesus made known to us, His disciples on this earth, “everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” We have available to us this information, which Jesus had His friends write about Him in your Bible, all you have to do is study it, every day! Jesus also left behind the Holy Spirit who is available to all of Jesus’ disciples to aid them to better understand what they study in their Bibles. This Holy Spirit is also available to all of Jesus’ followers when they pray. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26) Do you avail yourself of this Holy Spirit every day?
Paul wrote to remind us exactly what is required for us to be saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Remember your salvation has been paid-in-full by Jesus. All you ever have to do to be saved for eternity, and be with Jesus, is to accept this indescribable gift. And then, thank God for sending His Son to save you! Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)
Have you thanked God today for sending His Son to be this indescribable gift of eternal salvation?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
1 John 4:10 (NIV)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Is it easy for you to read the Old Testament and feel the love exuding from God? Some of the stories make us wonder how loving God is toward all of mankind. Certainly God was helpful and protective of the Israelites, but even they were punished because they ignored God’s instructions, which sometimes resulted in many of them dying. However, when they followed God, and did as He instructed they flourished. They were fearful of God and they therefore followed His commands, and they were thus blessed. Are you fearful of God, or have you created a box to keep God in until you need Him?
Some who claim to follow Jesus are part of a group referred to as “the name it and claim it group.” Some believe that Jesus is a sugar daddy who will give health and wealth, if you follow Him in this life. Do you believe that Jesus owes you a debt, because you have chosen to follow Him? Did Jesus guarantee His followers a great lifestyle, if they just followed Him, when they could fit it in their chosen lifestyle? Jesus once said, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33) On another occasion while Jesus was teaching His disciples, Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)
Yes, I know this does not seem like a good ad to attract people to follow Jesus, but I do believe it is true that electing to follow Jesus in this life does not guarantee you will have a life of smooth sailing, so to speak! What it does offer is a life of feeling protected from the grief associated with living in a cursed world. When troubles occur in your life, and there will be troubling situations, then you will actually be able to see a brighter side to your problems. This is because there is a loving Jesus who is right there with you during those troubling times. The worldly values that puts having things above, having and giving love, to those people surrounding you, is largely eliminated from your prospective of true value! Love only grows, when it is given away!
God sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of all who elect to follow Jesus. God did not send Jesus to only a select group of people, God sent Him to atone for the sins of all who accept this wonderful gift of grace. Amazingly, God sent Him while we continue to be sinners in this lifetime. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) God did this to offer salvation to all of mankind, who elect to accept this amazing offer of freedom from worrying about trying to be perfect in this world. What a wonderful relief this is for all who accept the offer!
Jesus’ offer is not one of complete protection from problems in this world, but in knowing that God loves us, and that our immortal soul is guaranteed a wonderful life after leaving this worldly lifetime. This feeling of freedom starts immediately when you accept God’s grace, so you believe tomorrow is guaranteed, because of what Jesus did on your behalf. In this troubled world we can still love others, even those we may not like them, because the love of God/Jesus can flow from us, as though we are a conduit of God’s love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:19-21)
John wrote about this amazing love from God to all of mankind. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8) Remember Jesus/God created us to have an association with Him, and for Him to desire our adoration and fellowship. We were created in the image and likeness of God. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26) When Jesus walked this earth as a man, He called His disciples (us) His friends. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15)
Jesus made known to us, His disciples on this earth, “everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” We have available to us this information, which Jesus had His friends write about Him in your Bible, all you have to do is study it, every day! Jesus also left behind the Holy Spirit who is available to all of Jesus’ disciples to aid them to better understand what they study in their Bibles. This Holy Spirit is also available to all of Jesus’ followers when they pray. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26) Do you avail yourself of this Holy Spirit every day?
Paul wrote to remind us exactly what is required for us to be saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Remember your salvation has been paid-in-full by Jesus. All you ever have to do to be saved for eternity, and be with Jesus, is to accept this indescribable gift. And then, thank God for sending His Son to save you! Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)
Have you thanked God today for sending His Son to be this indescribable gift of eternal salvation?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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