Tag Archive: religion


Christian Love Does Not Seek its Own

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry — 16 Comments
January 14, 2010

Christian Love Does Not Seek its Own

Today we present the selfless actions of Jesus as yet another example of Christian love. We briefly introduced the subject, “Love Does Not Seek Its Own,” in a prior post (What-is-Christian-Love) that addressed Paul’s dissertation on the subject of love, found in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

Saint Paul Preaching

Acts of Christian love are not performed for self benefit or reciprocity. They are performed for benefit others with all the kindness, generosity and blessings that can come from a loving relationship with us. There is not a “What is in it for me,” associated with Christian love. This is communicated in the following Bible passage where Jesus guides a man toward the kingdom of God:

Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, ” ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’“ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:16 – 21)


Notice that this passage did not say, “Sell what you have and give it to my ministry, or my mission, or me.” The above message was designed to bless the man who asked the question just as much as it was intended to be a blessing to the poor. Unlike some of our ministries today, Jesus did not “seek His own,” but rather sought to bless others exclusively. He simply sought to act in love and to speak the truth.

So, in our desire to become more like Jesus we must ask ourselves some difficult questions. Do we put others before ourselves when making decisions? Are we in ministry to bring attention to ourselves or are we focused on the poor like Jesus was? Are we focused on the will of God or are we doing what will make us look good to others?

The purpose of these postings on Christian love is to assist the reader who is seeking to become more like their savior Jesus Christ. Our approach is to communicate that the life and words of Jesus are the perfect model of what we hope to become. Our expectation is that the reader will contrast their own words and actions to those of Jesus and make an effort to discover places that they may fall short of the mark. Once shortcomings are identified then the reader can seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help them in moving closer to the perfection of the examples that Jesus left us.

We recommended that every person in ministry reflect upon their worthiness to serve by first studying these examples of Christian love.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Christian Love Does Not Behave Rudely

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality — 18 Comments
January 10, 2010

Christian Love Does Not Behave Rudely

As we discussed in several of our previous messages, Christian love is about being a blessing to other people. Interestingly, most of us believe that rude behavior is not be a blessing, but we will challenge this belief as we look at some of the actions of Jesus presented in scripture.

Jesus Turns Over the Merchants Tables

What we are about to present to you is an understanding that Jesus delivered His message of truth without concern for an offensive reaction by the person receiving His message. In fact, taking the more difficult path of delivering God’s message in this way is often a requisite to true Christian love. The following scripture is a wonderful example:

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it. Fools and blind! For which is greater, is it the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it. Fools and blind! For which is greater, is it the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar swears by it and by all things on it. He, who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he, who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See! Your house is left to you desolate; or I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’  (Matthew 23:13 – 39)

After reading this passage how can we reconcile the following facts?

  • Love does not behave rudely
  • Jesus is the model of love perfected

The above message of Jesus is bold, uses name calling and insinuates that the Jews are not what they would otherwise appear to be. This seems inherently rude and I can understand that taken from the Jewish perspective, it would seem very offensive. On the other hand, the points made by Jesus are true and are necessary information for the salvation of the scribes and Pharisee’s receiving the message. Therefore, they are not rude. To the contrary, one can make a point that it would have been rude to withhold such information.

This is because by remaining silent He would have denied them the opportunity to see the errors of their ways and repent. Being rude would have allowed them to blindly fall into the darkness of the devils’ lies and therein depriving them of an eternity with God. By leading them to the truth, Jesus gives them an opportunity to abandon their misguided course toward self destruction. The truth from God is not rude but rather a fact that must be dealt with for the salvation of us all.

Willful lies told by the devil and the people he influences are rude because they are designed to both mislead and injure. They are designed to divert you from your intended direction and in so doing divert you from your purpose in life. These lies are craftily created to focus on self and in doing so, kill your destiny and ruin your opportunity to live in eternally in the presence of God. They are designed to place you into the bondage and torture of the devil.


In looking at the actions of the Scribes and Pharisees, I would have to say that they were not at all interested in getting to the truth, but rather in promoting their own power and prestige. To do this they sought to defeat Jesus by trapping Him at His own words. Their motives were to eliminate Jesus who had become a threat to their position in life, in the church and in the political structure of the government under Roman rule. Despite the signs and wonders that they personally witnessed they proceeded to hound Jesus and question Him at every opportunity in an effort to destroy Him. In taking these steps they destroyed the truth, hope and love that had been sent to them by the Father.

The point to all of this is that being rude may not be what you think it is. You can be rude by being silent even when there is no sense of offense by the other party. On the other hand you are not rude when you tell the truth to protect a person from harm, even when there may be outrage by them.

This type of love is sometimes referred to as “tough love” because it risks the relationship itself. Program’s like Alcoholics Anonymous often use this term because it is difficult to speak the truth to someone you love when you know that you laying your relationship on the line. On the other hand, this is exactly what Jesus did for us by giving His life for us on the cross. We needed the truth from Jesus to understand that we are sinners and that we need His help to change from our wicked ways to ways that are pleasing to God. So in a like way, we must challenge others with the truth. Without the truth there will not be change and without change there will be a loss of life. In cases like there, being silent is an easy way out, but it is also rude because it results in the potential loss of a life and a loved one.

Then should we not be taking a tough stand like Jesus did? Should we consider it rude to tell the truth to those who do not know God? Certainly not! In cases where a soul is at stake we have an obligation to speak up regardless of how rude the message may appear to be. Let’s look at what Jesus taught us about this situation:

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:33 – 34)

Therefore, if you speak the truth of Jesus you will have an advocate with the Father, but if you keep silent you will have the testimony of Jesus against you. It would seem to me that speaking God’s truth is the wise course. In addition, what we speak is a reflection of what is in our heart. Let’s look at another quotation of Jesus:

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:34 – 37)

In addition, if we say nothing it is a reflection that there is nothing in our hearts. If we do not speak the truth of Jesus when the opportunity arises then we do not have a love of Jesus and God the Father in our hearts. For surly they would lead us reach out to the lost and tell them the truth. Our failure to do so is rude indeed.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Christian Love Is Not Puffed Up

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality — 15 Comments
January 7, 2010

Christian Love Is Not Puffed Up

Our posting today is in support of our prior posting (What-is-Christian-Love) that broadly addressed Christian Love as it was presented in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

The topic of, “Not being puffed up,” is closely aligned with, “Love does not parade itself (Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself).” One exception is that being puffed up carries with it an overly inflated sense of self worth as well.

Today we look to the example of Saul the Pharisee, who would later become the apostle Paul. Saul had persecuted the church of Jesus and in doing so was considered an up and comer in the ranks of the Jewish faith. That is until he was knocked off of his high horse and had to be cared for by the very people he had been persecuting. Here is the story:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9: 1-6)


Needless to say Saul was no longer puffed up with his religious fervor. Jesus addressed this condition several times during His ministry and often associated it with hypocrisy. The puffed up state of Paul was that he saw himself gaining rank and status in the eyes of others. His hypocrisy was that he though that he was doing God’s work when he clearly was doing the opposite. The following scripture reveals what Jesus thinks about hypocrisy:

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:9)

Saint Paul Preaching in Rome

We had hypocrites in Jesus’ day and we have them still today. National news has identified a few of our religious leaders who have committed adultery. Others profess to be leaders of the people but sometimes appear to be shake down men and thieves. There are reports that some TV evangelicals who receive tremendous wealth from their ministries such that they live in luxury, sometimes on the contributions of the poor. There are reports that some priests have abused children.

Therefore, guard your every action to ensure the alignment of your heart with your actions and words. Do not deny your Lord and Savior under any circumstances and certainly do not fear the actions of men because you speak the truth. Finally, recognize that hypocrisy can not be love and therefore avoid it at all costs.

The purpose of these publications concerning love is to assist anyone who is seeking to become more like their savior Jesus Christ. Our approach is to communicate that the life and words of Jesus are the perfect model of what we hope to become. Our expectation is that the reader will contrast their own words and actions to those of Jesus and make an effort to discover where they fall short of the mark. Once shortcomings are identified then the reader can seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help them in moving closer to the perfection of the examples that Jesus left us.

We recommended that every person in ministry reflect upon their worthiness to serve by first studying these examples of Christian love.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Christian Love Does Not Parade Itself

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry — 15 Comments
January 4, 2010

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

Read my story by ordering my book, “Possess the Vision”

Christian Love Does Not Parade Itself

 

Today we present an example taken from the life of Jesus to support the position that Christian Love does not parade itself before others. Our example will show the humility of Jesus who performed miraculous healings and yet asked that His identity be kept a secret. All of this is done in support of a prior post (What-is-Love) that broadly addressed the topic of love that is found in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

So let us start with our example:

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” (Mark 1:40-44)

 

Jesus Heals the Leper

In this example we see an overt effort by Jesus to divert attention away from His miraculous actions. In fact He draws attention to the priests and to Moses as He commands the man to make sacrifices as a testimony to them!

Christian love does not draw attention to self. In fact, Jesus was critical of the religious leaders of His day for this very point. Here is a scripture that communicates this principle:

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’  But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:1 – 12)

 

Jesus Speaks to the Multitude

Clearly then, drawing attention to self is not an action favored by Jesus. Christian love is demonstrated in the actions we take for the betterment of others, not ourselves. The works that we do must be done out of a pure love of God and for His glorification, not our own. Our actions should demonstrate humility in the service of God and our fellow man as we walk through this life with our brethren.

When reading the material presented above we must search ourselves for clues to our own behavior. Am I promoting myself or my ministry for the accomplishments that have been or am I giving credit to God for all of His provisions and support? Is my focus on the growth of my ministry or on helping others? Am I in any way drawing attention to myself by way of this ministry? Am I competing with others for power or recognition? The bottom line here is that Christian Love is a focus on God and on others and can never be a focus on self.

The purpose of these postings on the topic of Christian love is to assist anyone who is seeking to become more like their savior Jesus Christ. Our approach is to communicate that the life and words of Jesus are the perfect model of what we hope to become. Our expectation is that the reader will contrast their own words and actions to those of Jesus and make an effort to discover where they fall short of the mark. Once shortcomings are identified then the reader can seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help them in moving closer to the perfection of the examples that Jesus left us.

We recommended that every person in ministry reflect upon their worthiness to serve by first studying these examples of Christian love.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:  

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Read the truly amazing life story about how the forces of good and evil battle over a man and the vision that God gives him. Joseph W. Gordon’s Possess the Vision (Xulon Press, $12.95, 140 pages, ISBN 1-59781-205-6) tells about the mysterious spiritual experiences that occur throughout his lifetime.  

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Christian Love Does Not Envy

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry, spirtual warfare — 19 Comments
December 28, 2009

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

Read my story by ordering my book, “Possess the Vision”

Christian Love Does Not Envy

Today we present the envy-less love demonstrated by Jesus as yet another example of Christian love. Previously we introduced the subject, “Love does not Envy,” in a post (What-is-Love) that communicated Paul’s writings found in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

The Power of Prayer

Love makes us blind to the things that other people have. Our acts of kindness (Love-is-Kind) and long suffering (Love-Suffers-Long) are not withheld because of the things that others have. Love is not diminished because our neighbor has a bigger house, a nicer car, a more successful ministry, a gift from God, or just happens to be more popular than we are. We are called to love one another just as Jesus loved us.

In the following scripture Jesus demonstrates this principle as He is not envious of an unknown man who had been ministering to other in the name of Jesus. Here is the story:

Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.” (Luke 9:49 – 50)

Jesus Confronting the Scribes and Pharisees

Jesus was not envious of the man who had been casting out demons like He Himself had been doing. He was not concerned that an unknown man was using His name in doing so. In fact, since He asked no questions about the man we can assume that the questions we would normally ask about the man were irrelevant. Questions like the following. What denomination does he belong to? What are his core beliefs? Or what sins has he been guilty of in the past? Jesus was not even concerned about the doctrine or creed the man believed in.

Jesus’ lesson to His disciples is crystal clear, none of these things are of any importance. Jesus gives His disciples this lesson so that if they see a similar circumstance in the future that their actions will be different. If these other things were of importance He would have said so.

The only thing that was important was the fact that the man loved his brothers by casting out demons in Jesus name. Therefore, he was obedient to the new commandment that Jesus gave us to love one another and in doing so was carrying out the mission that the Father gave Jesus. So should it also be with us.

When reading this passage we must ask ourselves, is this how I act? Am I ready and willing to give credit to other ministers in the name of Jesus? Can I love others despite their Christian doctrine? Can I love the affluent minister, the politically powerful congressmen and the popular personalities who are demonstrating their love of others in the name of Jesus? Am I ready and willing to pray that God’s blessings be upon all of them? The bottom line here is that love is manifest with out envy.

The purpose of these publications is to assist others who is seeking to become more like their savior Jesus Christ. Our approach is to communicate that the life and words of Jesus are the perfect model of what we hope to become. Our expectation is that the reader will contrast their own words and actions to those of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to help them to discover and correct their shortcomings. We suggest that every person in ministry reflect upon these examples of Christian love.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Read my story by ordering my book, “Possess the Vision”


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Christian Love Suffers Long

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry — 13 Comments
December 18, 2009

Christian Love Suffers Long

Today we will present the long suffering nature of God’s love as just one of the many characteristics of Christian love. We briefly introduced this subject in our last post where we presented Paul’s dissertation on love found in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

Saint Paul Preaching in Rome

The purpose of these postings on the subject of love is to guide the reader toward taking on the attributes of Jesus our savior. Our approach is to present the life and words of Jesus as the perfect model of aspiration. Our hope is that the reader will contrast the actions of Jesus to their own and with this new information, initiate an action plan with the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help them move closer to the perfection demonstrated by Jesus.

We recommended that every person in ministry should reflect upon their worthiness to serve by first studying the examples of Christian love presented in these postings. With this said, let’s proceed with this postings subject, which is “Christian Love Suffers Long.”

God’s long suffering is a reflection of His continuous desire for a loving relationship with us. He does not cast us aside just because we have chosen badly, but rather is always waiting for the moment when we will turn back to Him. When we do He welcomes us back with open arms and with blessings.

Jesus Forgives

This is the way it was for me when I made my decision to surrender (see Possess the Vision, Surrender Brings Change). It was also the way it was in the story of the prodigal son as told by Jesus. I have included this story because in essence, it exactly correlates what happened in my life. This scripture exactly describes how God welcomed me back after I chose to return to Him and subject myself to His mercy. This passage adequately demonstrates the characteristics of God’s long suffering love for us:

And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (Luke 15:13 – 23)

When reading this passage we must ask ourselves, is this how I act? Am I ready and willing to forgive the fault of another or do I hold on to a grudge against that person even when they come back to me to ask for forgiveness? Am I ready and willing to shower affection upon this person or am I aloof or cold shouldered? Old disputes are sometimes the most difficult to resolve. Can I get over the hurts that lasted for so long and make the change necessary for me to become more like my savior, Jesus?

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

What is Christian Love

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry — 18 Comments
December 16, 2009

What is Christian Love?

As Christians, understanding the concept of love is a foundational component in dealing with the world around us. For example, it is a critical element in guiding our actions when interacting with our spouse, our family, our neighbors and the world community in general. It is equally critical to the effective relationships between nations, businesses, corporations and each and every person on this planet.


Indeed, love is the one commandment that Jesus left us, and is the outward sign by which people will recognize us as disciples of Jesus:

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)

Saint Peter Healing the Cripple - Raising Tabitha - Masolino

Therefore, seeking a better understanding of the concept of Christian love is essential for all Christians, but especially for those in ministry or seeking to serve God. Consequently, the subsequent postings will focus on the developing a better sense of Christian love.

In fact, love is the sole criteria by which Jesus will separate the good from the evil on the Day of Judgment:

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?

The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matt 25: 31-46)

Jesus the Good Shepherd

Somber words indeed. These words reflect the ultimate impact of our acts of love as well as our lack of such action. So now, with that said, let us continue on with our investigation into the subject of love.

Our definition of love is initiated with an exploration of Saint Paul’s definition of love as found in the book of “First Corinthians”. In subsequent postings we will amplify this definition by looking at specific examples of love provided by the words and actions of Jesus. So let us get started by presenting a core definition of love taken from scripture.

A Core Definition of Love

For a foundational definition of love we look at one of the letters written by Paul to the Corinthians:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13)

Saint Paul Preaching

One major point established in this passage is that love is essential to establishing and maturing a relationship with God. It also identifies a list of the attributes of love. We plan to expound upon these in subsequent postings.

We have presented a number of posting that address the principles of Christian Love. Each of them is reinforced by examples taken from the life and words of Jesus. The following list of hyperlinks is provided to help those interested in reading these other postings. Clicking on any of the links below will transfer you to the posting of your choice:

What-is-Christian-Love

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-Not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Seek-Its-Own

Christian-Love-is-Not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-No-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Do What Jesus Did

Filed under: Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 1 Comment
December 10, 2009

Do What Jesus Did

We have spent quite some time in looking at the life of Jesus. We have sought to understand the key attributes of His nature. In the process we have come to know that He came to earth to be our Savior, our protector and our guide to the heavenly Promised Land.

Jesus Arises to Heaven

Jesus Arises to Heaven - Mansions in the Background

He came to give His life on the cross as a in full payment for our sinful ways. He came to break the bonds of the devils dominion over our lives. He rose from the dead to demonstrate that there is life after death and a place in His Fathers house if we choose to follow and become more like Him.

From all of this our conclusion is that we should all do as He did. We should all strive to become more like Him by conforming our actions and words to those He gave to us via scripture as examples for us to follow. Even in this respect Jesus gave us an example to follow as He Himself aligned His actions and words to those that the Father showed Him:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19)

Jesus did what the Father did and as a result we look to Jesus for examples of what we must do to gain favor with God. We become imitators of God and therein examples to others in the process. When we set our actions and words in the direction that Jesus taught us, we will find that we can achieve even greater works than Jesus did:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (John 14:12-21)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Expect Miracles in the Name of Jesus

Filed under: Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 4 Comments
December 6, 2009

Expect Miracles in the Name of Jesus

Interestingly enough, Jesus was sent to earth as an ordinary man. This ordinary man was then empowered by the Holy Spirit and entered into the ministry that His Father gave Him. As we have been discussing all along, Jesus left us His ministry to carry forward and He left us His life as an example of what we should become and what kinds of things we should do. Therefore, if Jesus is to be our model of the life that we should also live, then we also should expect to enter into our ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the will of the Father. To explore this a bit further, let’s take a look at an example of how Jesus sent His disciples into ministry:

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither He himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Luke 10:1-9

Jesus sent the seventy to the places that He would also go. He empowered them to heal the sick and to communicate that the kingdom of God is near. He therefore gives them the mission of doing the will of the Father and personally empowers them with the Holy Spirit. We know that this is true because of His words in the following scripture:

Jesus did what He saw the Father do:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:19-24)

In addition, Jesus prayed for our unity with God. He prayed that we be one with Him — We in Him, and He in us — the Father in Him and He in the Father. If we are to be one with Jesus then we will do the things that Jesus shows us. Therefore, the Life of Jesus is the perfect life that we should emulate. We should seek to do as He did, say the things that He said and have the same effect that He did when He walked the earth. Through out the course of our postings we have presented many examples that support the proposition that the life of Jesus was given to us to be used as the model of what we can become.

All that is required is to step out in faith in response to what Jesus places in your heart. Eliminate all doubt and concern about looking foolish as God rewards people who have perfect faith. He is looking for people who are willing to risk looking like fools in the eyes of nonbelievers because it is only when they see the impossible achieved by the hand of God that they will truly come to believe that God exists.

The Bible is filled with people who had this kind of faith in God. Moses had the faith to lift His staff in expectation that the waters of the Jordan River would part. Moses had perfect faith that God support His mission because he received it directly from God. He therefore was not concerned about the opinions of the people. When the waters parted the people knew that God had delivered them.

It was the same in the life of Jesus. He had to speak words of faith to cast out demons and to heal the sick. He could do this because the direction He was undertaking was one that the Father showed Him. He had to put his reputation on the line that the Father would honor and support His actions in support of His mission that the Father gave Him. He certainly was not concerned with what others might think about these actions. There certainly was no concern for the opinions of the Scribes, the Pharisees, the money changers or the demons.

We, in turn, have to take action that demonstrates our faith in God to support the initiatives that God gives us. We have to initiate the action and have faith to know beyond doubt that He will support what He initiates. If we do these things, then we will be like Jesus. Take the step, speak the word, and take the action necessary to get things moving. Once that is accomplished, then simply step back and watch the power of the Holy Spirit take action.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Jesus Sent His Disciples out Empty Handed

Filed under: Jesus, Ministry, Prayer, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 1 Comment
December 2, 2009

Jesus Sent His Disciples out Empty Handed

In scripture, Jesus is reported to have sent His disciples out empty handed denying them the customary clothing, provisions and money required for the success of their mission. In thinking about this for a moment I believe that being sent out empty handed is much more common than one may think. At least for missions that come from God.

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.  And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.” (Luke 10, 1-4)

I think a mission to heal the sick would be deemed impossible by most of the world today.

Saint Peter Healing the Cripple - Raising Tabitha - Masolino

Therefore the lesson of Jesus is clear; to be successful in our God given ministries we must learn to have total faith in God.

After all, only when the world sees the impossible achieved by the power of God will they start to believe our words. This was true for Jesus himself, who performed miracles in support of the words that He spoke to the people. It was also true for the disciples as well. Peter and John healed the beggar at the temple gate for example and the entire congregation took notice of the event.

When the world sees the miracles of God supporting His saints they will become more likely to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

Why would any Jew or Moslem for example, be persuaded to believe in Jesus when all we have is words? It is through miraculous circumstances that the unbeliever will become ripe for the harvest.

The point is that if we are committed to modeling our lives after our Savior Jesus, then we do not need worldly things for the ministry to be successful. If we do not have what is required then we can pray knowing that He will provide what we need.

In fact, we are much better off having an undoubting faith than to have magnificent resources in support of our ministry. Speaking for myself, I believe that the favor of God is a requirement for successful ministry. Without it all the assets of the world can be ineffective.

We should not hesitate to take on a mission that comes from God simply because it has an improbable outcome. After all, what glory is there for God if the world knows that we mortal men have achieved something on our own abilities? If Jesus has sent us out, then we should not worry about our inabilities or limited resources. If He sent us, then He will provide the money, materials, people and anything else we need for that matter. Have faith and stick to the things that He has shown you. Continue on in faith and do not doubt. I tell you He will deliver what is needed at the very last minute. Do not waiver but rather, stand strong and you joy will be great:

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10, 17-20)

In addition, do not try to solve problems in accordance with the ways of man. God deserves all the credit, wait on Him and let Him do the impossible through you. Most of all ensure that you give God all of the glory when He comes through for you.

Finally, when He calls you and sends you out, act quickly, be obedient and do not be distracted from your mission.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment