…they went forth for His name’s sake… —3 John 7
“Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to
exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said,
‘Feed My sheep.’ In effect, He said, ‘Identify yourself with My interests in
other people,’ not, ‘Identify Me with your interests in other people.’ 1
Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually
the love of God expressing itself. […] Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the
supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit—
“the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” (Romans
5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in
contact with everyone I meet. […] The key …… that he is (that we are) attached
to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being
detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in
touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except
toward God. […] (Our) duty … is to concentrate on keeping (our souls)
completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men
and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but
people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought
about through the work of the Holy Spirit.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost
For His Highest
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give
you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm
37:4
That verse can be taken two ways. First, if you pursue God then He will give
you anything your little heart desires.
Second, if you pursue God, He will make His passion, your passion. He will change your “wants” to those things
that reflect His will and purposes. That
is what Jesus was telling Peter. “If you
love Me, then pursue those things that I pursue. Do what I say to do, even if it makes no
earthly sense.” What makes missionaries distinctive from other Christians is that they visibly place less
value on earthly comforts and relationships than they do on the call of Jesus
on their lives to pick up their cross, abandon the things of this world, and
follow Him. To feed His sheep if you
will. But that call is not limited to
missionaries – it applies to all Christians. The thing about a shepherd, when
everyone else is at home sleeping, he is standing guard over the flock. I am
typing this while sitting in a house in Texas far from lifelong friends and
family. My point? God has called us to this place from the place He had sent us before - and before that - and .... When He
calls, you must be willing to lay what is comfortable and familiar, down.
From time to time when I tell my wife that I love her, she will say “I love you more.” Then I say “No, I love you more.” And we go back and forth several times with that. But where is the proof of that love? The proof of love is not words, as affirming as they might be. Ephesians 5:25 says this, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” Do you love God enough to give yourself up for Him? (Romans 12:1-2) – your hopes, your dreams, your comfort, your secure retirement, your family holidays, your friends the list goes on …..
The theme of the Bible is that God is supreme and
deserves our total devotion … like David, we must love God with our whole
heart. (1 Kings 14:8). Listen, men, you
won’t love your wife that way (Ephesians 5:25) if you first don’t love God that
way. (Matthew 22:37-39). And you won’t love God that way if you are unwilling
to lay your life down. Think about it. I want to encourage you to examine your heart –
your motives for withholding love and devotion to God and, if necessary, get
your heart right with God. Then let your light Shine Bright my friend and give
God the place and glory He is due.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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