God is Love
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Everyone wants and needs to be loved – it is a universal truth. We recognize that love comes from several sources –from our parents, our friends, and from our spouse but there is also a higher love known as agape love that comes from our Heavenly Father. Many of us experience the first three forms of love and yet still feel unsatisfied because experiencing perfect love from God is the key to living completely fulfilled.
God’s unconditional love for mankind is the overriding theme of both the Old and New Testaments. God created us to be in relationship with Him and yet because of our sin we are separated. God promised a redeemer and that redeemer is Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so that our relationship with God would be restored for all those who believe. Only God through Jesus can love us unconditionally. And only with that perfect love are we completely content and able to walk without fear of the challenges that lie ahead.
In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. I John 4: 17-18
Because God is love, in Jesus Christ we are made complete and without fear.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Seeking Meek
God is All-Powerful
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
With hiring still at the top of our industry struggles, could you imagine a job description that lists being meek as a qualification? – Hardly! Yes, companies are lucky enough to find hard working, perseverant individuals who are intelligent and well-connected, but meek – that does not seem to apply. After all, how can you truly be successful as a boss or at any task, if you don’t act “bossy”?
If we dig into scripture, meek does not suggest weakness, but rather standing in confidence and security that is achieved through a relationship with the Almighty God. Meek suggests being submissive to God’s will, but not necessarily to men. And being meek involves being forgiving at all times. Jesus modeled what true humility is – the all-powerful God made man to be a servant for mankind. Not weak but meek. Now maybe meek is what we are looking for in others and what we should emulate!
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8
Because God is all-powerful, through Christ, we can humbly serve others.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
With hiring still at the top of our industry struggles, could you imagine a job description that lists being meek as a qualification? – Hardly! Yes, companies are lucky enough to find hard working, perseverant individuals who are intelligent and well-connected, but meek – that does not seem to apply. After all, how can you truly be successful as a boss or at any task, if you don’t act “bossy”?
If we dig into scripture, meek does not suggest weakness, but rather standing in confidence and security that is achieved through a relationship with the Almighty God. Meek suggests being submissive to God’s will, but not necessarily to men. And being meek involves being forgiving at all times. Jesus modeled what true humility is – the all-powerful God made man to be a servant for mankind. Not weak but meek. Now maybe meek is what we are looking for in others and what we should emulate!
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8
Because God is all-powerful, through Christ, we can humbly serve others.
Sunday, January 15, 2023
The Golden Rule
God is Love
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Luke 10:30-35
This term, The Golden Rule, refers to the maxim "do as you would be done by". Each day we are given a number of situations which we can handle a number of ways. We can be short tempered, impatient, or arrogant and rude feeding our own insecurities to be right. Or, on the other hand, like the Good Samaritan, we can look past our own desires and aversions and extend grace and mercy to those in need. We can choose to forgive and go the extra mile when we put aside our fears and selfishness even when we know we are right or simply don’t have the time.
By loving God completely through Jesus Christ, we can be transformed to see things as He sees them and be moved to action that is out of the ordinary. May you choose to serve wholeheartedly and be blessed for it!
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. James 2:8
Because God is love, with Christ in our hearts, we can live out The Golden Rule.
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Luke 10:30-35
This term, The Golden Rule, refers to the maxim "do as you would be done by". Each day we are given a number of situations which we can handle a number of ways. We can be short tempered, impatient, or arrogant and rude feeding our own insecurities to be right. Or, on the other hand, like the Good Samaritan, we can look past our own desires and aversions and extend grace and mercy to those in need. We can choose to forgive and go the extra mile when we put aside our fears and selfishness even when we know we are right or simply don’t have the time.
By loving God completely through Jesus Christ, we can be transformed to see things as He sees them and be moved to action that is out of the ordinary. May you choose to serve wholeheartedly and be blessed for it!
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. James 2:8
Because God is love, with Christ in our hearts, we can live out The Golden Rule.
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Finding God
God is Ever Present
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-12
Sometimes when we need God, we need Him in a hurry and in a big way. When we seek his comfort and help, how do we know where to look and when in fact we’ve found Him?
Elijah, the Lord’s prophet, was fleeing Israel because King Ahab wanted him dead. He thought he would be able to find God’s presence to comfort him when he arrived at Mt Sinai, the Mountain of God. But when he looked, God was not present in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Rather, God made himself known in a gentle whisper. Yes, God is always present, and can make Himself known through magnificent ways, but He is also present in the small things we encounter each day – easy to miss if we don’t slow down and take time to ponder these gifts. This year, may you find peace and joy in discovering God and all His glory.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28
Because God is ever present, in Christ, we can experience God’s presence at all times.
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-12
Sometimes when we need God, we need Him in a hurry and in a big way. When we seek his comfort and help, how do we know where to look and when in fact we’ve found Him?
Elijah, the Lord’s prophet, was fleeing Israel because King Ahab wanted him dead. He thought he would be able to find God’s presence to comfort him when he arrived at Mt Sinai, the Mountain of God. But when he looked, God was not present in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Rather, God made himself known in a gentle whisper. Yes, God is always present, and can make Himself known through magnificent ways, but He is also present in the small things we encounter each day – easy to miss if we don’t slow down and take time to ponder these gifts. This year, may you find peace and joy in discovering God and all His glory.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28
Because God is ever present, in Christ, we can experience God’s presence at all times.
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