The way you can interact with others is to follow the blog entry from top to bottom and then post a comment about what you read. Each entry will be a devotional done by one of our pastors.  Here is how each entry is broken down.  Since we are dealing with God's Word we begin by reviewing the possible outcomes of our interaction with God's Word.  We call these our expectations.  After we meditate on the various expectations we should have as we approach God's Word we then pray to God using the IOUS format (thanks to desiring God). When we are finished praying we read the passage and then jot down our thoughts. After that we revisit our expectations and see which ones God has fulfilled in us with the particular passage we read. The pastor will post his interaction with the passage and you can contribute through your comments. We look forward to hearing from you!

Date: June 01 2010

:Expectations:
1. Convict me of sin. 2. Call me to serve.
3. Command me to change 4. Cause me to praise
5. Challenge me to sacrifice. 6. Compel me to pray.

:Prayer:

I - (Incline!)

Our souls need an inclination toward God and His Word.
Ask God to take your heart and create desires
that are not normally there (Psalm 119:36).

O - (Open!)
We need to have the eyes of our hearts opened
so that when our inclination leads us to the Word,
we see what is really there, and not just our own ideas (Psalm 119:18).

U - (Unite!)
Our hearts are badly fragmented.
Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not.
We long for a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes!
to what God reveals in His Word (Psalm 86:11).

S - (Satisfy!)
What we really want from all this engagement
with the Word of God and the work of His Spirit
is for our hearts to be satisfied with God.
(Psalm 90:14)

:Text:

Ephesians 2:1,4-5
You were dead in your tresspasses and sins in which you once walked...
But God... made us alive together with Christ.

:Thoughts:

Talk about rags to riches! There is one difference though, generally rags to riches happens when one pulls himself up by his bootstraps.  Here we are pulled up not by our own bootstraps but by the blood of Christ.  I have always been amazed and humbled by the question, "Why me?"  The only thing I know is that the answer to that question does not involve merit on my part.  Even though the answer to that question may be mysterious the implications of being chosen are glorious!  What a source of praise is the little word, "but" in Ephesians 2:4.

:Expectations Met:

1. These verses brings into focus again, for me, my sinfulness not only before salvation but after.
4.  Praise God for such a gift!  He has saved me.
5. What a mercy!  As Paul exhorted... by the mercies of God present yourselves as living sacrifices!

This is the first post of this sort on our blog. The way you can interact with others is to follow the blog entry from top to bottom and then post a comment about what you read. Each entry will be a devotional done by one of our pastors.  Here is how each entry is broken down.  Since we are dealing with God's Word we begin by reviewing the possible outcomes of our interaction with God's Word.  We call these our expectations.  After we meditate on the various expectations we should have as we approach God's Word we then pray to God using the IOUS format (thanks to desiring God). When we are finished praying we read the passage and then jot down our thoughts. After that we revisit our expectations and see which ones God has fulfilled in us with the particular passage we read. The pastor will post his interaction with the passage and you can contribute through your comments. We look forward to hearing from you!

Date: May 25, 2010

:Expectations:
1. Convict me of sin. 2. Call me to serve.
3. Command me to change 4. Cause me to praise
5. Challenge me to sacrifice. 6. Compel me to pray.

:Prayer:

I - (Incline!)

Our souls need an inclination toward God and His Word.
Ask God to take your heart and create desires
that are not normally there (Psalm 119:36).

O - (Open!)
We need to have the eyes of our hearts opened
so that when our inclination leads us to the Word,
we see what is really there, and not just our own ideas (Psalm 119:18).

U - (Unite!)
Our hearts are badly fragmented.
Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not.
We long for a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes!
to what God reveals in His Word (Psalm 86:11).

S - (Satisfy!)
What we really want from all this engagement
with the Word of God and the work of His Spirit
is for our hearts to be satisfied with God.
(Psalm 90:14)

:Text:

Ephesians 3:8
To Me the least of saints this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

:Thoughts:

The riches of Christ are certainly unsearchable. As I think on the unsearchable riches of Christ the depth of His mercy and grace seem all the more glorious as I contrast them to myself, the least of all saints. How can I, a servant of such a generous God, any longer content myself with the things of this world? How can I not be about "my Father's business?" To me, and indeed to all those that God has called out of this world, God has given the privilege of preaching the gospel (the unsearchable riches of Christ) to the world. I will try to always have the unsearchable riches of Christ in mind so that I will be more inclined to preach those riches to others.  After all God has been merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13)!

:Expectations Met:

1. Oh Lord forgive us when, by our actions and lusts, we diminish the value of the gospel.
2. Help us to serve by being faithful in passing on what we have received so freely from You.
3. Father as you have shown us our need for change we pray that you give us the strength to fulfill that which you command.
4. Father, we praise you for the gloriously wonderfully unsearchable riches that are ours in Christ.

Are You a Good Person? And Why It's a Good Question

Are You a Good Person?
Why it is an important question.

Are you a good person? Most of us would like to be considered good people. Not only do we desire to be, but we understand that being a good person will tend to pay eternal dividends. We think for instance, that all good people will go to heaven and all bad people will go to that place we would all rather not talk about. With this much at stake shouldn’t we make sure we are in fact good people? Where can we go to find a good standard with which to measure ourselves? Well it stands to reason that if there is a heaven and hell, and if hell is as unpleasant as it is reputed to be (and I am sure it is) and those who are there would rather not be, there must be an omnipotent judge who will determine, with authority, who will go to which place. What would the judge’s standard be and what verdict would he hand down on our lives? Are we in fact good or bad people?
In the Scriptures (Bible) we read these words…

Romans 3:12
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

So the verdict is in, at least from the one who matters, the one who has the ability to determine where we go regardless of what we think, and with no appeals. If you are like most people you will be tempted to say, “Wait a minute I think I am a good person, what standard does God use?” That is a good question, let’s take a look.
Let’s look at a few of the Ten Commandments which most consider a “good” place to start (pun intended).

• Thou shall not steal…
Have you ever stolen (taken something that did not belong to you) anything, no matter how insignificant? If you have what would that make you…. A thief.

• Thou shall not commit adultery…
Have you ever committed adultery? Jesus said that if you look upon another with lust you have committed adultery already in your heart. If you have lusted upon another you are an adulterer.

• Thou shall not bear false witness (lie)…
Have you ever lied? If you have what does that make you? A liar.

Can someone who is a lying, thieving adulterer claim to be a good person? No not really, but I can hear the complaints… “I only did these things a couple of times and I do not do them now, I am trying to be better!” Have you ever stopped to consider where those bad things came from? What was it in you that would allow you to be a liar or an adulterer or a thief in any given circumstance? Even if you only stole one time, what was it about you that would allow you to even contemplate stealing once? The Bible tells us that the ability or inclination to do evil comes from within us. Sure our environment, our circumstances may be an enticement, but ultimately it is our own lusts that bring forth evil.

James 1:13-16
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

When we realize that we have not measured up to God’s standard and when we understand the reason for this is that on the inside, we have lusts that cause us to violate God’s law almost continually, then we can be helped.

Romans 8:6-7
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so;

We cannot merit heaven on our own; we are sinners, evil people who have gathered to ourselves the just deserts for our sins. We have earned death and separation from God forever in Hell.

Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death…

We, however, are not without hope because even though our sins earn us death, God has made away to make sinful, evil people acceptable in heaven.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The law of God which tells us that we are evil people drives us to find an escape in someone else and that someone else is Christ.

Galatians 3:23-27
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

When we confess our sins, when we say the same thing that God says about them, and place our faith in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection on our behalf then we can be made acceptable in Him. You see Christ was good, he lived a perfect life. Christ died as a sacrifice to satisfy the Father’s wrath upon sinners who come to Christ in faith. He took upon Himself the sin of us all. Through Christ our sins have been punished; through Christ we can find rest and righteousness. We cannot claim to be good ourselves, but we can claim the goodness (righteousness) of Christ.

Philippians 3:8-9
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

So I hope you can see how important your view of yourself is. Are you a good person? If you think so there is no hope for you. You will continue to try to get to heaven on your own merit and you will fail. You will be cast into hell to pay for your own sins. If you understand your sinfulness before a Holy God you are not far from the kingdom of heaven. You must then…

Romans 10:9-10
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

If we can be of any service to you please contact us.

Pastor Jeff

How can you tell that you are headed for Spiritual Trouble?

From time to time I have been asked if there were spiritual symptoms that could be relied on to foretell impending spiritual trouble. A Christian’s spiritual health is not unlike his physical health in that there are warning signs of impending spiritual trouble. In the physical world a person can usually tell when he is coming down with a cold. He will experience a “tickle” in his throat (or something similar) which is a warning sign of an impending “full blown” cold. Just so, in the spiritual realm a Christian can tell when he is “coming down with something,” when he has begun to go down a path that will lead to open sin and rebellion. He can know that he is heading for spiritual trouble. Unlike the physical realm however, where once the preliminary symptoms are felt the illness will invariably manifest itself, in the spiritual realm a preliminary spiritual symptom does not mean a “full-blown” spiritual meltdown is inevitable, it is always avoidable.

The spiritual symptoms that are easiest to see and most people point to as symptoms of spiritual trouble are actually symptoms of the end result of spiritual neglect, they are like those that show up when a physical illness is “full-blown.” Most people can tell if someone has succumbed to the flu because the symptoms are easy to see. The spiritual signs most people recognize and take notice of are those symptoms which appear only after the spiritual crisis is ignored and the situation has become critical. For example unrepentant sins such as lying, cheating, swearing, fornication, adultery, gossip, anger, pride and bitterness are symptoms of a spiritual condition that has been ignored to such an extent that it manifests itself for everyone to see. People can see when you have the flu, and people can see when your spiritual troubles have become publically recognizable.

What is needed is to identify that symptom which precedes the ones associated with the onset of a “full-blown” spiritual crisis or failure. If a person can do that he will not get to the point where his life openly manifests the symptoms of spiritual failure. There is a symptom that warns us all is not well with our spiritual health. What is this symptom? It is our love for God growing cold. The things that nourish and guide our relationship with Him become a chore. When a person’s relationship with God becomes burdensome he is “coming down with something.” How can a person tell if his relationship with God is growing cold? A person’s relationship with God is dependent on two things to keep it vibrant and alive. Those two things are reading God’s Word and prayer.

Psalm 119:47 And I shall delight in Thy commandments, Which I love.

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

If these two things have become a grind then we are in trouble. When Bible reading and study along with prayer become a chore we can be sure that our love for God is growing cold. If our love for God becomes cold which is a sin, a further slide into sinfulness is not far behind. It was Joseph’s relationship with God that kept him pure.

Genesis 39:9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?”

David also saw his sin in relationship to God and Him alone.

Psalm 51:4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge.

This correlation between spiritual health and our relationship with God can also be seen in the greatest commandment.

Mark 12:29-30 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I hope all of us will also take into consideration to the words of Jesus to the church of the Ephesians.

Revelation 2:1-5 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

The church was doing great things, at least on the outside, persevering against evil men, exposed false apostles, but their relationship with God had begun to grow cold. Jesus considers this of the utmost importance. Repentance was required and if it was not forth coming Christ would dissolve that church. A red hot love for God is obviously important.
Our relationship with God is the place where our spiritual vitality is anchored. If your love for God grows cold your spiritual vitality begins to wane. Here are more thoughts from the Scripture along the same lines.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Those who are God’s love Him and keep His commandments willingly for they are not burdensome to them. And yet they also can hold a warning about maintaining our day to day love for God. We must not let our love grow cold, we must not let anything else come between us and the Lord, not even things generally thought of as good. Things such as, Sweethearts, spouses, jobs, possessions, hobbies, vacation, and money, all of which are not evil in themselves but can become and an evil influence when they begin to replace God as our priority and our first love.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

If you begin to find your love and joy in things other than God and His Kingdom then you are coming down with a spiritual crisis. You have been warned.

One of the easiest ways to tell if your love is slipping and your priorities are skewed is to examine how you feel about reading His Word and prayer. If your love is warm and alive you will delight in His Word and you will have a habit of secret extended prayer. These will be your priority and delight. You may say, “But these two things have always been a grind and a chore for me!” Then I would say that you have always had a low-grade fever (spiritually speaking) and you are probably always struggling against sins that others have overcome and have never been satisfied with your relationship with God.
Most Christians spend their lives masking this shallow, cold relationship with God by appealing to the flesh. What do I mean by that? Well, they will go to churches that have a “great praise band” or a “killer youth group” or some similarly appealing and emotionally engaging service. The sense of “worship” and “praise” is relieving. It is like swallowing a spoonful of honey when you have a sore throat. It takes away the pain for a moment but the sore throat is still there.
Christian concerts are also very popular for the relief of a cold spiritual relationship with God. Many Christians who are lukewarm or cold in their spiritual walk with God report amazing feelings of worship during the concerts, but their day to day walk never changes. Those who have a vibrant love life with God require little in the way of external props to gush forth in heart-felt praise. Those who go to a church and judge it as “dead” because it does not help them by ushering them into a worship experience are saying more about themselves than they are about the church they condemned.

The only way to have a vibrant walk with God when it has grown cold or lukewarm is to acknowledge the sin, repent and open the door to Jesus.

Revelation 3:15-21 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

It is interesting that many Christians think verse twenty is an evangelistic appeal, but it is an appeal to a church to return to be hot for God. They had grown cold in their love for God and yet still thought all was fine. Some how we think God will accept less than our hot fervent love. We live as though a lukewarm love is more than enough. Is there any wonder our Christian lives do not measure up to what we know they should.

Is there a quick fix? Nope. Paul said maintaining our love is tough and a struggle that will go on till we are finally cleansed from all fleshly influence.

1 Corinthians 9:23-27 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

If we have been born again our heart will cry out “Abba Father,” and we will not be satisfied with a less than stellar Christian walk. How can we tell if our walk is starting to be a stumble? How can we tell if we are walking in God’s will? Answer these two questions.

1. Do we DELIGHT in reading, understanding and applying God’s Word?
2. Do we have a CONSISTANT and FERVANT time of prayer?

An honest “yes” to these means we are on the right track and are probably spiritually healthy. A “no” to these two questions means our spiritual health is failing. We need to take action to avert a spiritual crisis. Remember Jesus does see this as a crisis, something in need of repentance (Rev. 3:15-21).
One further word of warning, failure to change a “no” answer to question 1 & 2 into a “yes” may give evidence that such a person is not a Christian. We should also notice in Revelation 3 above, that Jesus expects the church to respond and overcome!

If I can be of service let me know.

For You …
Pastor Jeff

What is Worship?

Have you ever left a Sunday service and felt empty? Have you ever felt as though you were just going through the motions during a worship service? You are not alone, and you are right to be concerned. Jesus had no patience with those who were not intimately involved in their worship.

“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me."

Matthew 15:7-8

The symptom of heartless worship is a sign of a deeper malady namely, misunderstanding what worship is. Worship is not just a Sunday morning experience, although Sunday may well be a time of worship. Worship is not something that is worked up through music or other stirring skits or speeches. Most pagans can work themselves up into a frenzy and come away convinced that they have communed with a diety, but have they? So… what is worship? Unfortunately when most Christians answer this question they equate worship with good soul-stirring music. This definition of worship is wrong but is held by the majority of the evangelistic world. Why do I say that? Well, in most churches what does a worship leader do?

• Does he lead in corporate prayer? No.
• Does he expound the scriptures? No.
• Does he direct a testimony time? No.

All he does is lead the congregation in singing and music. If a man is called a worship leader and all he does is lead in the singing and music ministries what then are we saying about worship?

It also seems by our use of the word that we generally limit worship to something done on Sunday. Most of us go to church to worship. Unfortunately if worship is the reason we go to church it can breed within us a selfish outlook towards church. We go to church wanting to receive something (like good American consumers), namely a worship experience and our church had better deliver the goods or we will move on to a more “spirit filled church.” Am I denying that worship is an important part of going to church? Not at all, but as we will see worship is a vital part of every day of our lives not just Sunday. Christians are by definition people who worship.

“for we are the true circumcision,

who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence in the flesh,”

Philippians 3:3

Christians get out of bed to worship, eat breakfast to worship, go to work to worship, every moment of every day is an opportunity to worship, so naturally they will worship at church. In everything they do Christians glorify God, giving Him the pre-eminence in their lives, showing Him and the world His infinite worth, thereby worshipping Him.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do,

do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

The problem with limiting our “worship” to Sunday is that Monday through Saturday we live as though God need not be acknowledged through worship. We do not meditate on His word, we do not pray with out ceasing and with fervency, and we do not witness to those around us. Is it any wonder that our “worship” on Sunday seems hollow? You see, in order to worship on Sunday we need to be worshipping God during the week by making ourselves living sacrifices.

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

It is interesting to note that worship is not mentioned as a reason that the early church gathered. The church is mentioned as gathering for very specific reasons.

• To spur one another on to love and good works.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another
to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;
and all the more, as you see the day drawing near."
Hebrews 10:23-25

" Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are varieties of ministries,
and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects,
but the same God who works all things in all persons.
But to each one is given
the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
1 Corinthians 12:4-7

• To be equipped by the pastor/teachers for the work of the ministry.

"And they were continually devoting themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42

"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets,
and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service,
to the building up of the body of Christ;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man, to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fulness of Christ."
Ephesians 4:11-13

• To fellowship around the Lord’s Table and for a time of prayer.

And they were continually devoting themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42

But what about those verses that speak of awe and wonder and praise, where do they fit in? They (awe, wonder, and praise) fit in when they come, not by great and moving music, or the skills of a fantastic worship leader, but in response to obedience to God’s commands.

"And they were continually devoting themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;
and many wonders and signs
were taking place through the apostles.
And all those who had believed were together,
and had all things in common; and they began
selling their property and possessions,
and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house,
they were taking their meals together with gladness
and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people.
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day
those who were being saved."
Acts 2:42-47

As you can see in the early church, worship was a byproduct of their obedient lives, and of devoting themselves to teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, prayer, having all things in common, and having a sincerity of heart. Can you understand now why your worship might seem hollow? You can do something about it. Do you desire to worship God? Then seek Him with all your heart 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Seek and you will find. You will find your heart ready and able to praise a God whom you have loved all week. Let us offer God our very best at all times.

A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
Then if I am a father, where is My honor?
And if I am a master, where is My respect?’
says the Lord of hosts to you,
O priests who despise My name. But you say,
‘How have we despised Thy name?’
“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.
But you say, ‘How have we defiled Thee?’
In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’
“But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?
And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil?
Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you?
Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 1:6-8

"Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is upright;
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Psalm 33:1-5

Biblical Love
Are You Manifesting Biblical love?
part 4

How can you know that you are manifesting the kind of love that Christ demands of us in His church? Let me ask you a few diagnostic questions.

• Do you pray for the spiritual growth of those in your church or do you gossip about their shortcomings?
• Do you stay to visit with those in your church or are you the first one out the door on Sunday.
• Do you practice hospitality to those in your church or are you a recluse?
• Do you spend time with God in your "closet" so that you have something to give or does your spirituality only exist when you are around people?
• Do you witness to the lost people around you or do you live callously and uncaringly about their eternal destiny?

Answering these questions is important in understanding whether or not you are truly loving. To love as Christ loves is a high calling and is not done by wimpy Christians. It is easy to respond negatively to hatred and persecution, to feel one’s needs are not being met, to see faults in others, to spend money on ourselves, to be a recluse, and to not get involved in lost people’s lives. But that would not be like Jesus would it? Jesus said that we should go out into all the world making disciples (rubbing shoulders with lost people with the goal to winning them to Christ) baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that He has commanded us. If we need to teach fellow Christians to obey all that He commanded us doesn’t it stand to reason that they will not be obeying all that He commanded us? And that being the case we will have ample opportunity to be offended and leave, but we cannot if we are there to teach others to obey!
The time has come to ask yourself are you serious about the high calling of Christ. How can you ever grow in your love for others if you let their faults/sins put you off? Did not God love us while we were yet sinners? Does He not still love you even though you still are far from perfect?
One possible sign that someone has an unloving heart is when they leave a church. Most people leave churches because they do not love those in the church. Oh, I know, they would not say as much, they would present excuses like these;

• The Lord is leading me to another church.
• It is time to move on.
• My needs were not being met at this church.
• This church is dead.

These and a myriad other excuses are given thousands of times each year. All of them are excuses not to love. Very rarely does anyone leave a church for Biblical reasons. If you have left a church in the last five years or so I would ask you to think about why you left. Be honest with yourself. Chances are it had more to do about your lack of love than any fault of theirs. Chances are you did not love them enough to overcome your own problems or the problems of others.
Biblical love is not easy it is however, the sign of belonging to Christ. We are known to be His disciples by our love one for another. Are you ready to love those in your local church to such an extent that outsiders know you are Christ’s disciple? Are you ready to love your enemies, love those who are hard to love? You can do it, have faith and love God. Now go to church and love others!

Pastor Jeff

Biblical Love
What is Biblical love?
part 3

How does Biblical love manifest itself within the Body of Christ, the Church? The first thing to establish is the importance of what is about to be said concerning love within the local assembly. I hope we can all agree that the first and foremost attribute that must be displayed for the entire world to see is our love for each other.

Biblical Love Is Not Optional for the Church.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Our love for each other is not only important it is vital. Jesus said that by our love for each other the world will know that we are His disciples. There is no substitute for a love that is missing within the assembly, nothing else will function as the sign of Christian fellowship to the world. Tolerating each other will not replace love, isolating oneself or others will not suffice and neither will ignoring each other. We have to love each other. What does that love entail? What must we do to love each other? Be patience with me, we still have one more thing to consider first. Not only are we commanded to love, but the quality of our love is also commanded and that quality to which our love will be measured by is perfection.

Biblical love’s Standard and Goal Is Perfection.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48)

We often hear that we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, but how many of us know that this reference to perfection was made in the context of love? In our love (as well as other areas of our lives) we are to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. Our perfection will be measured by the Father’s loving example. It is also interesting to note that the failure of our ability to love does not depend then on those we are commanded to love. In other words the vileness of those around us in no way should affect our ability to love them. So, obviously our lack of love to those in our assembly says more about us than it does about them. To summarize, our love for each other is mandatory and expected to be perfect.

What does love within the local assembly look like?

Biblical Love Is Not a Matter of Outward Show.

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Love is not a matter of doing good things; we are fully capable of doing great things while still hating those we supposedly “love.” It is not hard to tell when someone reaches out in love or reaches out because of some sort of duty. Love is not a matter of the work done but a matter of the heart.

Biblical Love Is a Matter of the Heart.

"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love springs forth from a heart that has been transformed by God’s love for it. A person that has been loved much by God, and realizes it, will in turn love God and therefore others much. (Luke 18:13, Luke 7:40-44)
Biblical love covers a multitude of sins that could otherwise hinder the love that is needed. There will be many times when a Christian brother will sin against you… will you, in love, forgive? Will your love cover that sin? Or will that sin stop you from loving as the Father loved you?

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

This kind of love is not easy; it may seem so as you read these words. Our spirit says, “Amen Lord Jesus I want to love like that, what a wonderful way to live!” But our flesh is weak and when we are in a situation where we are being treated badly our first impulse may be to lash out, or to run, or to withdraw and have no more dealings with that person. But who loses out if we react this way? We may be first inclined to say that we do, but that would be the wrong way to look at it. If we look at it this way we are still being self-centered. The one who loses out is Christ. We are His disciples and all the world sees is that we do not love each other, what a slap at Christ delivered on our behalf. May it never be!

How will we manifest Godly (Biblical) love when we are faced dealing with a person we don’t particularly care for?

Biblical love Is a Choice.

When Paul ministered in Philippi there were two women who were a help, one was named Euodia and the other Syntyche. Paul wrote that at one time these women had “shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel,” but now they seem to dislike each other greatly enough to warrant a mention in the Epistle to the Philippians.

" I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." (Philippians 4:2-3)

What advice did Paul give to these women?

Be God Focused.

As we found out earlier, a lack of love for whatever reason, says more about the one who does not love than it does the object of that love. And in Philippians 4 Paul calls the women back to rejoicing and peace that comes from God, through communing with God in prayer and supplication.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

Dwell On the Good.
The final sure way to love the unlovable is to dwell on what ever good remains.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9, NASB)

Our first impulse is to replay in our minds over and over again how we have been wronged, how we have been mistreated. But that is not conducive to the call of love that we all have. Think of it this way, if we have wronged someone would we desire the other person to forget that and instead to dwell on all the “good” we have done? Well, if that is what we desire from others how can we with hold that from them?

Paul says in the end that if all else fails emulate his life. Again it is not easy, but practice makes perfect and Paul wants us to put into practice these things.

Next time we will put some practical clothes on these principles.

All Scripture references come from the New American Standard Bible . 1986; La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.