"Understanding Love"

Too many miss what it means to love. Many speak of an "unconditional" love which I agree with but to take it to the idea that someone will love you no matter what kind of person you are can be spiritually destructive.

To love someone with a godly love means that you want them better, to be better, to live better and involves discipline when needed. If loving someone doesn't bring this intended result the love shown is missing a vital ingredient. Reaching out to your children and doing everything for them or pandering to them while they live a life that is irresponsible or ungodly is not godly love at all. That is keeping them and encouraging them to continue in their sinful ways and in the end they will lose their soul! I have known parents in dealing with their grown children speak without saying a word: "I don't care about your goodness or right behavior I just want..."

If we are really concerned about loving someone as God loves (which is where the cross calls us) it should lead us into a love that is about character and godliness. When someone tells me that they love me, I hope they mean that they will correct me when I am off track, guide me when my attitude isn't godly and withhold things because I am demanding or selfish! They are looking out for my soul which shows me their love. Too many are loving with little warm fuzzies!!! Too many bail out others thinking they are showing love when in reality they are just encouraging the ungodly behavior to continue. Read the prodigal son Jesus spoke about in Luke 15 and see the Father didn't bail him out but let him go! It was the only way for him to come to his senses. It was love being shown!

God's love expects something from us. Our love for our children and the brethren should expect a right character and behavior. When we read from the Lord that "Love does not act unbecomingly" (I Cor. 13:5) why do we support those who act unbecomingly? Many call that an unconditional love but God doesn't call it that. When someone acts in ways that are demeaning, lazy and without commitment they don't need to be coddled but loved with the love and God. What does God's love call for? "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives." (Heb. 12:6) That is God's real "unconditional" love and we need to practice it! True love calls us upward into God.

"Beware: Don't Void the Cross"

Paul had a great concern that he did not void the cross of Christ (I Cor. 1:17). He took great care in his teaching that he wasn't entertaining or cute with the gospel. Today too many are trying to be entertaining and fun in their teachings and as a result, the church suffers and shows itself in practice!

Not only being clever in speech can void the cross but there are other things Paul taught that are spiritually destructive. One can have a "form" of godliness but deny the power (II Tim. 3:5). The power comes from knowing Jesus and Him crucified. There is a major difference between possessing the power and just having a form. Just take a vase of flowers. They can have the form of reality but still be artificial! We see paintings all the time that are copies but not the real thing. What creates difficulties in the church is too many have a form and not the power. The cross of Christ has been made void in their lives. What takes hold in their life reveals much.

Read down through II Tim. 3:1-5 and look at the list. These things to be sure are in the world but Paul is speaking of in the church. Let's pick out a few of them. "Lovers of self." People in Christ who have no real concern for others but they have the form. "Lovers of money." Money becomes the focus and the drive while the Hebrew writer expresses what God is really looking for from His people (Heb. 13:5). "Disobedient to parents." How many parents in the church just shrug the actions and attitudes of their children as part of being a young person? Not to God!! "Ungrateful." There seems to be very little thanks and a lot of complaining! "Irreconcilable." Brethren who refuse to enter a treaty and unwilling to forgive another. You see this especially in martial difficulties. "Malicious gossips." It is beyond gossip. It is one who is a spreader of criticisms and accuses others. "Treacherous." One that betrays or turns on you. We have seen it where people act like they care but turn on you. "Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." Pleasure seeking over God seeking. To them, that's what weekends are made for and you see little love for the brethren (we're back at lovers of self)!

Paul taught that he made certain he did not void the cross. People can look religious, act religious and say religious words and have no reality. They void the power by playing the game. You void the cross and you void your relationship!

"Unforgiving - Unbelief"

Over the years I have known people, professed Christian's that refuse to forgive another. One time there was a Christian lady who had built up so much animosity toward me in her heart that she waited until I was out of town on a Sunday, came forward asking for the forgiveness of the congregation for her actions and then told the congregation (in a note) she would not be back here. It was a shot at me! She held so much against me that she went through all this to show her disdain for me. The brethren did not understand what was happening. To this day she still believes she and the Lord are in a good relationship!

The reason a person cannot forgive another is one simple word: UNBELIEF! When people have suffered what they think is an injustice to them, they want it to be corrected. A word I hear thrown around is: accountability! They have no faith in the Lord that the Lord will do what is right and just so they become the justice bearer! They will make the offender accountable. It's a simple matter of unbelief. Hurts are held to because the fear that the guilty party will not suffer.

God is righteous and just...always! Some professed Christian's don't believe He is, it is that simple. Paul taught in Rom. 12:17 that it is never right to pay back evil for evil. NEVER! If these are the words from God and His teaching and we don't believe in them, then pay back!! In Rom. 12:19 God teaches us that it is NEVER right to take your own revenge. Vengeance is the role of God. People say they won't take revenge but they sure take a bad, hateful attitude toward the one that hurt them. That is revenge. You want them to feel the pain that was caused and will withdraw or speak critical or whatever it takes because they want the offender to know they are upset. In reality they don't believe God! If you don't believe God's word, then take your revenge and make that your role!

Jesus taught His disciples to love their enemies! Jesus loved His enemies. Just listen to words from His heart while on the cross: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Listen to Stephen's words as he followed His Savior to death while a vicious crowd stoned him: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:60) Listen to some professed Christians not willing to budge or forgive because of the hurt and bitterness in their heart. "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgessions." (Matt. 6:15) How do those words from Jesus grip your heart?

"Motivations"

It was at a Lectureship that I had attended. The final, main speaker of the evening was an older gentleman. He spoke softly but I heard his message. It was insightful and confronted us with God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Afterward, listening to the younger adults speak about the events of the day, the majority attacked this older gentleman with words like, boring, uninteresting, monotone and mundane. The talk turned to the enthusiastic and those who had some great emotion in the pulpit. It struck me how people had missed something of great value.

The gospel is voice of God spoken to the lost like me! The gospel is where people find freedom and help. The gospel is about the Person not another person or friend. The gospel is the truth that sets people free! Too many are getting caught up in a preacher, a teacher, a movement and the enthusiasm people give off. The power of God and the fullness of God is placed in Jesus (Col. 1:19). The gospel of Jesus Christ is about God coming to us sinful and vile people redeeming us from the power of sin and death.

That leads us to this: Is it the gospel that "fires us up" or the enthusiastic preacher? Is it the Person of Jesus Christ that motivates us or some exciting program or teaching? Is the podium the stage that motivates us or the stage of the resurrected Christ? Will our lives end with a world of barren, enthusiastic facts and no life with God?

"Ignoring the Word"

I have received numerous personal emails after yesterdays post. I appreciate all the thoughts. I do need to address the importance of paying attention of listening to God's word and letting God lead us upward into Him. As a teacher and minister of God's word, I must try to help.

We must be a people that is focused completely at listening to the Lord and following His will otherwise we will not make it to the Lord (Matt. 7:21). Just because someone believes in the Lord does not mean they are of God. Jesus showed this plainly in John 8 when many of the Jews believed Him (8:31). Those who believed Him Jesus called them sons of the devil (8:44). Why? Because they would not listen to His word (8:43)! They believed what they wanted while ignoring other parts. Their minds were set on what they wanted and couldn't hear the words of Jesus. Those who are of God, Jesus said, hears the words of God (8:47). I would encourage you to read this chapter.

I want to follow the Lord and not some tradition of the world. We need to listen to Jesus, what He wanted His church to follow in His instructions. Before His death, Jesus proclaimed His Supper saying it was to be done in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). Jesus gave them bread to represent His body and the cup was a reminder of His new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). That's what He asked them (and us) to remember. The apostle Paul saw this so important that he taught extensively the church at Corinth how they were corrupting the "rememberance of the Lord." (I Cor. 10:15-22/11:17-34)

Prior to the Lord's ascension back to the Father, Jesus called those apostles together and told them to go into all the world with a gospel message and they were to proclaim that message (Mark 16:15-16). What is the gospel message? His death, burial and resurrection (I Cor. 15:1-4)! That is what they were to proclaim. It was His death, burial and resurrection that was the "good news" (that's what the term 'gospel' means). It was the Lord's death, burial and resurrection that the Lord's church was born out of. The power of God to save anyone is placed in the gospel and nowhere else (Rom. 1:16-17). The gospel is what gives hope to a lost world and reveals His grace (Col. 1:5-6). This gospel was not to be ignored or tainted in any form without severe consequences (Gal. 1:6-9). People will build faith and find salvation ONLY through the gospel or Jesus lied to those apostles and us!

Upon revealing this, we cannot just gloss over the warnings given by Christ's apostles about being taken captive by traditions of men (Col. 2:8). The teachings of the apostles are to mean something to Christ's church, His people. The apostle John warned that those from the world listens to the world while those from God listen to the apostles (I John 4:5-6). We need to be careful that we aren't formulating our beliefs off what the world tells to believe. When there are verses that teach us what to watch for, we can't just ignore them like the don't exist. We have to deal with them in an honest heart.

I pray those who read realize I am not trying to attack anyone. I am trying to help us think, putting the word of God in front of us to deal honestly with it in our heart and not ignore the teachings like they don't mean anything. Our world has set up things the Lord Jesus never set up and to jump on board and say its good to follow the world and their ideas of God that directly contradict the Scripture is to ignore the Lord and His word. Where does that put us?

"Re-visit Christmas"

Do you ever feel like that you're the only one in a situation that is disturbed about things while others around you seem untouched about what is going on? It makes you think and reflect if you are the one off base. It happens to me from time to time. This is one of those times.

I have a great difficulty understanding how people, sincere God fearing people, have allowed the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus to become the central issue this time of year. Please, please, don't take this as an attack. People are taken captive by it! I guess you cannot write something like this without getting someone upset and since this is my blog, well, I'm not trying to upset anyone but we need to seriously think about what is surrounding our lives and heart in relation to the Lord.

Christmas isn't from God. It never was. It is a man-made tradition that was tied to the birth of Jesus to make it acceptable. Just do a little research. There is nothing wrong with having a man-made holiday or tradition. But to tie something to Jesus that was never a part of Jesus, making it seem 'religious' is just not right. Paul warned the church at Colossae to "see to it" that they weren't taken CAPTIVE according to the traditions of men. It must be according to Christ (Col 2:8). That's what the holy Scriptures speak! You say something like I am writing and people get upset. Does that speak they have been taken captive? What are we trying to protect?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with gift exchanges, lights and the like but why tie it to the birth of Jesus and worship? Those gospel accounts of Jesus entering our world in His birth were to show the fulfillment of prophecy from the early years. It demonstrates the wisdom of God and the anticipation of the Messiah for the Jewish nation. That is all it was for. After those few verses penned for us, not one mention of the birth yet man surrounds a month in worship and adoring His birth. The birth of Jesus never saved one soul. The birth of Jesus doesn't confront us with our sins and seriousness of the consequences of our sins. I know there are those who take issue with me but it is not "according to Christ!" It is all man-made and it makes people "feel" religious. Listen carefully to what the apostle Paul said about things like this: "These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence." (Col. 2:23) The issue with the Lord is our fleshly indulgences. This is a self-made religion we are speaking about here and it cannot help us over-come our fleshly desires, the very thing that will cost people their souls.

Let's do things according to Christ! Let's follow with all our heart the teaching of the word. Let's worship and adore that which God asks us to worship and adore knowing it was the death, burial and resurrection that the apostles were commanded to go into all the world and preach! The risen Christ is where we will find the power to over-come our fleshly desires. The Supper we take is about the risen Lord. Our justification is the result of His raising from the dead (Rom. 4:25). It was Paul who said his boasting would be in the cross of our Lord to which he was crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14). Nothing, nothing except the tradition of men focuses on His birth and that's not according to Christ yet has take so many captive!

"Are We Mary and Martha?"

John 11 tells us that Jesus had a very special relationship with Lazarus and his two sisters. Upon hearing of Lazarus being sick, Jesus intentionally chose to stay away two more days (11:6). That might not stand to reason for a friend because when we hear of a friend being sick, we would do what we could to contact them and not stay away! The sisters must have been talking because they both couldn't understand the decision of Jesus to stay away either (11:21,32). What is more interesting is Jesus saying He was glad He wasn't there (11:15)! Why? Because Jesus knew the outcome of the whole from the beginning (11:4,15).

Upon careful looking at this real life incident, Lazarus wasn't the only dead one that day when Jesus arrived! Jesus pointed that Lazarus would live and then tells them He is the resurrection and the life (11:25). Why would He speak that? What was Jesus trying to get them to see? All of them, from the Jew's who came to console to the two sisters were all dead that day! Jesus not only made a powerful claim about Himself but asked the only question that needed to be asked: "Do you believe this?" (11:26) That's what Jesus is asking us! Do we really believe He is the resurrection and the life?

Jesus had gone over things, stated things and had gotten little response from any of them. He looks around, sees Martha weeping, Mary weeping, the Jews weeping it moved Him but it moved Him to being troubled (11:33)! Jesus wept! He wasn't moved by their tears and the situation. He was moved by their not hearing one word He said and believing Him! Jesus hurts when people refuse to listen and respond. That's one message that comes out of all this. We can see His outreach to all those that day when Martha outright tells Jesus that it might not be best to remove the stone over the tomb (11:38-39). The heartache of Jesus speaks: "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" (11:40)

That day Lazarus was not the only one in the graveyard. It makes me reflect and think, 'What about me? Am I Mary and Martha?'