They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am certain you have seen electric cars on the streets in your city. They are shaped like other cars. They have 4 wheels, headlights, tail lights, wipers. But what you can't see is that they do not have a piston engine running on gasoline. They have very big batteries, instead. That is my rather loose analogy to Christians living in the world amongst those who are not Christians. We are a new creation and have a new means of propulsion.  

When Nicodemus went to see Jesus. Jesus looked under his "figurative" hood and told him - you need a different engine.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. - John 3:3-8

And so, everyone who is born again has a new nature. Old things have passed away. You look like the rest of the cars on the outside, but you are radically different on the inside. So what does this have to do with love. Well, running on the old motor you were capable of one kind of love - natural affection - brotherly love if you will. But, with your new means of propulsion you are capable of the same love that God showed you by sending Jesus and Jesus showed you by going to the cross for you. In the same way, we are to show the world that same spiritually based love. 

No greater love has one [person] than this but to lay down [their] life for [their] friends - John 15:13 

BTW, when I put words in [brackets] it is because I have changed the word in the scripture reference - most often from a male reference to an inclusive male and female reference.  

The love that God and Jesus showed the world is spiritual at its root and is called Agape [uh-gopp-aa]

So how do we get it? Well, it starts with God - John 3:16. Then when we are born again we love God back  

According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. - Matthew 22:37 Totally focused and surrendered to the Father. When that happens we are able to love others in the same way - Love your neighbors as yourself. The second greatest commandment. The thing is that we can't do the second unless we do the first - first. Jesus said that all of the law - which covers how to live and worship - is hinged on those two commandments. These are some verses that drive the idea home.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. - 1 John 3:1

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. - 1 John 3:16

We love Him because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. - 1 John 4:21

Pretty simple - natural love is dependent upon our flesh - agape love is dependent upon the Spirit of God.  My conclusion is that if you and I  have a problem loving others it is because we have a problem loving God.

They will know you are a Christian without telling them but by showing them.

When Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Jesus (John 21) - Peter said yes and each time Jesus essentially said "Show Me!" by tending to Jesus' sheep.  That was going to requires Agape love.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

When Did We See You

Then they also will answer Him [Jesus], saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. - Matthew 44-45

Everyone could see just fine but were blind - uncaring - to the needs staring them in the face. Now if they knew it was Jesus - well that would have been different.  

There is a man and woman - I assume a couple - that sit in a pew two rows down from us every Sunday. She brings him into the sanctuary, by herself, with him sitting on a simple chair with wheels. This particular Sunday, before the start of the service, the woman got up for some reason and left the man alone. After a few minutes, I noticed the he slowly, with considerable effort, stood up and began inching his way back closer toward the aisle, where they usually sit and then sat back down. He seemed to be using every ounce of strength that he had to move just 4 feet over on the pew. Frankly, I wondered if that could be me one day. It is cool in the sanctuary before it fills up with people. I noticed that he was trying to put his jacket on while sitting down. The jacket got hung up behind his head as he tried to find the other sleeve of his jacket. He was struggling to put his other arm in the jacket. All the while there were people sitting in the pew behind him chatting away - as if the man was not there. I waited for about 30 seconds thinking someone would surely make a move - but crickets. So I got up, walked down to where the man was sitting, asked if I could help and then helped him with his jacket. He thanked me but couldn't look up to see me. I patted him on the shoulder - a guy thing, wished him well and walked back to my seat. The people behind him never stopped talking - apparently oblivious to the man's need. I was thinking, people should come to the service on Sunday primarily to worship God corporately, secondly to show others Jesus and not just focus on people they know. 

That's when the Spirit brought the parable of the sheep and goats and the good Samaritan to my mind. So I wrote a note down on my bulletin. The topic for a future BLOG Post - this BLOG post. 

It is easy to have a judgmental attitude toward the goats, or the Levite or the priest. Thinking "that would not be me!" But it gave me pause to wonder - has that ever been me - could it ever be me. I shared the story with you not so that you would think I should be credited for doing a good deed. I shared that with you because we all need to be on the look out - the police call that a BOLO for others in need. I should not and could not encourage you to do something that I am not willing to do myself?

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. - John 15:13

There are always opportunities to show the love of God toward others. You must be ready to cross the road. They don't have to know who you are. And you do not need recognition from others for being a "good Samaritan" like the Pharisees did. 

they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. - John 12:43

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Choosing The Jesus Way

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. - John 10:9

As I read in the Book of John this morning, I thought about people I know that have been so close to salvation but have stopped at the door and not entered in. It is not because they have not heard the Gospel, but they have not believed. Oh, they believe there is a God, but not beyond the fact of His existence. 

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! - James 2:19

My heart hurts for them as I watch them struggle in life. It is not that they don't want their lives to be better, they just don't want it if it means they must travel the "Jesus Way"

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. - John 14:6

I know the gate to heaven is narrow - meaning that few will enter as compared to the many that have populated this earth. Only if I could make them see. But I remember my own life. When my folks shared their faith with me and Martie - and almost with everyone they met - and although I was respectful, I really wasn't interested. I didn't realize that they were planting seed wherever they went.

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. - Matthew 13:3-8

Of course I want the people that are close to me to be good ground - but that is not my call - mine is to cast the seed - just like my folks. I am reminded of Jesus lamenting over His rejection by His own people.

Now as He [Jesus] drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! - Luke 19:41-42

So what to do. Don't mistake your concern for the people you care about to be a prompting from God to tell them once again "Jesus Saves". They heard you the first or the last time you told them. The burden is on them to yield to the Spirit of God by faith. Like Paul said ...

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. - 1 Corinthians 3:6

But for you and I? 

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear - 1 Peter 3:15

Listen to this - Phil Wickam - I Choose The Jesus Way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARSGgC9iQb0

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The Cost Of Following Jesus

Andy Rooney, a commentator on 60 Minutes for over 30 years, once said that a writer’s responsibility is to tell the truth. Not the comfortable version. Not the popular one. The kind that weighs on you, the writer, until you finally put it into words. 

That is how I approach writing these Devotional BLOGS. Sometimes I would like to tone them down, but the Spirit will not let me. Always keep in mind that my goal is to encourage you to press on toward the mark of your high calling in Christ Jesus. To listen for His voice - hopefully you will hear it through the words I write or say on my podcast. - As for me, I have decided to follow Jesus - no turning back!

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”- Luke 9:57-62

One man was concerned how he would live - his standard of living and security. Another was concerned about taking care of his family - nuclear or extended. Another was concerned about leaving family and not seeing them.

All of those reasons seem reasonable to people - even responsible. But put those things in context to what Jesus said.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  - Matthew 16:24

So what does it mean to deny yourself. It starts with changing your priorities. Your preference must be to submit to God - every aspect of your life. Loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. That does not leave any room for other passions or pursuits. But to be in step for Jesus. He may not lead you to missions in some foreign land but He will most certainly require you to abandon your priorities in life that would take precedence over your devotion to Him.

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. - Luke 12:51-53

Choosing the Jesus way can cause division perhaps even in your own family and your friends. I know it has in ours. It will test your true devotion. Choosing your family over Jesus means that you are not willing to follow Jesus. You must trust God even in the face of rejection by the people you care most about. Salvation brings radical change in our natural life and relationships. Don't expect those who are not born again to understand your new life.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

It doesn't mean that you love others less -  it is that you love God more.

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? .....  whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. - Luke 14:27-30, 33

Often people want the benefit of salvation - eternal life - but do not consider the cost of salvation and following Jesus

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Spiritual Discernment

DISCERNMENT is the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure. Natural discernment is making a determination or drawing a conclusion about some observation involving a natural, physical, emotional, or relational event or a combination of any or all of those factors. The assumption is that everything can be understood through natural discernment.

Spiritual Discernment differs from natural discernment in that conclusions drawn from the same observation are not solely reliant upon natural wisdom and intelligence but on spiritual revelation through the Holy Spirit. And so the conclusion a Christian draws from any particular event may not and often is not the same conclusion as the natural man. The natural man, without the Spirit of God, is incapable of understanding life from a spiritual perspective.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed. - Matthew 16:1-4

I was recently asked to watch a short video on the determination of when Jesus was really born. The author of the work focused on that natural phenomenon and human activity to "figure" it out. He was careful not to question the deity of Jesus - just the celebration of His birth on the 25th of December. Jesus was confronted by the religious leadership of the day. They wanted a sign - They were talking to THE sign from heaven. Jesus spoke to the about their lack of spiritual discernment - they were religious. They knew the scriptures from a natural perspective - the wisdom of man - but they did not understand the scripture from a spiritual perspective - the wisdom of God. And even when they saw the sign of Jonah, Jesus rising from the tomb (from the belly of the earth not a whale) after three days, they denied that it was a sign. It didn't fit with their understanding.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. - Isaiah 55:8

The disciples struggled with the same problem - looking to the world for spiritual answers is the "go to" for mortals - looking to the natural to explain the supernatural. Jesus asked the question (BTW He never asked any question He did not already have the answer to)

How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. - Matthew 16:13-14

Then Jesus challenged their understanding of who He was and is - after hearing who the world was saying He might be.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:15-17

Jesus said that spiritual truth and discernment comes from God - through the Holy Spirit - and not through the reasoning of men. That is what made Peter different from the other disciples and the religious leaders. And from us, very often.

So how do you get spiritual discernment - intimate relationship. With whom? God the Father. Being one with Him and Jesus. Do you recall Jesus' prayer in John 17?

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. - John 17:20-23

With spiritual discernment our view and response to world events is very different. That perspective is called having a Christian World View. That view is not limited to, but includes, moral issues. When you were born again you received a spiritual nature. That nature must be nurtured and should be primary in the way we look at life. The Spirit of God teaches us spiritual truth and give us spiritual insight - if we are yielded to the Spirit and serious about our faith beyond "getting a ticket to heaven".

I want to close this with a prayer of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 1.

[I, Paul, pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. - Ephesians 1:17-21

That is my prayer for you as well.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The Definition Of Good

 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10

I am certain that many of those reading this recall at least hearing about Vince Lombardi. 

"It was the summer of 1961 and Vince Lombardi started Green Bay Packers training camp holding something that needed no explanation and said…“Gentlemen, this is a football.” In five words, he communicated his point: if you want to be successful, we’re going to remember the basics and make sure we’re executing the fundamentals. You never graduate past the basics. Yes, you build on them but you never move past them."  (Mark Tiderman, Jr.)

So I would hold up Jesus to you and say, "This is the source of our salvation and right standing before a holy God." The basics of our faith. Saved by grace through faith not by our "good" works. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote that 

"And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." - Romans 11:6

Grace is unmerited favor. Mercy, on the other hand, is not getting what we do deserve. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus that we cannot be good enough to merit God's favor. Once we are born again by faith then there are good works that God has prepared us to do by the power of His Spirit. If what we do does not have, at its root, a spiritual seed, then it will not accomplish God's purposes. 

I recall telling a group of what they called "Ex-patriots" (meaning that they were living in one country - Haiti - but were citizens of another - the United States) that if they were in Haiti and God had not called them to the work, then they should go home. That was not well received. Each one was doing a "good" thing in their mind - but if they were doing it without the prompting of God merely out of a desire to do a good thing, then they should not give God the credit. It was a work of the flesh not of faith. You are familiar with what the Apostle James said about faith and works.

"Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." - James 2:17-18

Good works are a natural result of faith. God purposed it. Faith apart from works is a dead faith - meaning it is not producing the fruit it was intended to produce. Do you remember the fig tree that was not producing fruit? If not look it up. Mark chapter 11. A faith that is alive will produce fruit – it can’t help it.

But works apart from faith are also dead. Doing good things apart from faith has no eternal value. It is possible for people who lack faith to do good things. It happens every day. But God is not in it.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10

Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler?

 "A certain ruler asked him [Jesus], Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good—except God alone." - Luke 18:18-19

Jesus went on to ask the man questions about his good works. The man said he did all of the things Jesus asked about. Then Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus. The man left sad. 

Why? Because his faith was in his riches and not in God. Good works are a reflection of our love for God – the first greatest commandment and that love is then expressed in our love for others and that is expressed through our good works. 

So how do you know if your good works - worked? Well, to be blunt – you don’t need to know. It’s not about you. It is about the God we serve. The Apostle Paul wrote.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. - 1 Corinthians 3:6

God gives the increase through our good works – we don’t. If you start looking for results from your labor then you open the door for pride to come in. And that leads to a place where you do not want to go.

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8

Man calls good what comes from man. God calls good what comes through man from God.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it.  Let your light shine and give God the glory.  

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Praying For People Even When They Don't Seem To Care

…men always ought to pray and not lose heart. —Luke 18:1

Are there people in your life that you care deeply about that you watch as they struggle in life. Making poor choices, suffering the consequences and then making more poor choices.  Do you believe that God can make a difference in their lives?  Has He made a difference in yours?  We tend to look at what people might “do” differently rather than how they might trust differently.  

People who choose poorly do so because they have full confidence in their ability to accomplish whatever it is that they must accomplish.  They just have to try harder or again.  Watching them floundering in life, we want them … try to wish them into … choosing better … to not give in to whatever is disrupting any possibility of them experiencing joy.  Often, with great sorrow, we have little confidence that they will be successful. The problem is that we too, have lost focus on the solution to their dilemma. 

The solution is not doing more … but doing less and trusting God more.  That is a faith transaction.  No amount of wishing or wanting is going to make that happen.  So what to do.  We must intercede for them with the One who is able to do more than we can ask or think.

[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us - Ephesians 3:20

The prayers of a righteous man (person) are powerful and effective. - James 15:16  

Do you believe that? Someone once said that the only part of the Bible that you believe is the part that you obey.  If I could make someone want to do right and act on it, I would, but I can’t.  I cannot change a heart .. only God can do that.  So if I want a heart changed for the good, I must turn to the One who can do that.  BUT … He will not force His will on anyone .. that person must yield their heart … and what of they don’t or more correctly won’t?  Then you will be heart broken … just like the Father is as He watches millions reject His great Gift and Hope, Jesus.  But don’t lose hope .. don’t stop praying .. don’t stop trusting .. don’t stop caring … Keep looking to the hills from which our help comes! 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber - Psalm 121:1-3

(My Grandma Elgin's favorite Psalm by the way)

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Rejoice! Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone