ABOUNDING LOVE!!! We, who call ourselves Christian, have taken this identity for granted. We have so abused and mistreated our uniqueness almost to the point of extinction. God deliver us! Have we forgotten the totality of God’s act? The splendor? The awe? The whole cost God paid for our forgiveness? Shame on us! “What shall we say then? Should we continue in sin so in order that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom 6:1, 2 HCSB) Yet our shameful thoughts, tongues, and deeds, are the very acts that cost Jesus Christ His life, for our redemption. And we allow this to continue to plague and debase us. Why? In the hope that I can shed some light on this question, let’s get back to basics. As disciples we are followers, students of Christ Jesus, we believe His teachings… Including His claim of being “…the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:16). We observe our Master and Mentor, that we may become imitators, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” (Ephesians 5:1, 2) Because we pursue Jesus’ example, by being obedient to His principles; our devotion goes to Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God… we claim Him as our Savior and Lord, we’re further characterized as Christians. It is for this reason that I believe the answer to the Why is: We’re in need of an attitude overhaul (the old-timers called this revival) in our relationship to the One we laid claim to as our Lord; it is a daily closer walk with Him. Please recognize that God’s forgiveness of our sin is so immensely benevolent—He gave His only Begotten Son—is so benevolently astonishing—would you give your child for the sin of the world?—and so amazingly praiseworthy—He is your (our) Creator, hence this recognition alone should be enough for us to freely offer Him, the One who died to redeem you and me, the fruit of our lips in praise, adoration and love to Him, for that’s the least and the most that we can offer, to love Him in return—understand that He first Loved us, consequently we have learned to love ourselves, so that we can love Him back, and our neighbor… Again, allow God’s Word to speak, “A Good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” (Luke 6:45) “The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courtyards of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: ‘The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’” (Psalm 92:12-15) “A thief [Satan and his host] comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10) “Love the Lord your God with all your hear, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30, 31) As lovers of Jesus, Satan is out to destroy us! But, he is a defeated foe. Since Christ indwells us through His Holy Spirit, there is no way that Satan or his host can occupy us as well, “…because the One who in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). But this does not keep Satan from oppressing us. Ephesians 6: 10-20, tells us that the battle that we fight is demonic hence we’re to, “Put on the full armor of God…” Now the full armor is a metaphor for Jesus, since He encompasses all the qualities and attributes of the full armor. How do I know this? Because having put on the full armor we are then told to stand, not once but three times. This is the way that the Christian fights, because our battle is not against flesh and blood. Ultimately, if we are going to be victorious in our revived walk with our Lord we need to put our renewed walk to the test, “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:32); “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2); “Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about doubtful issues.” (Romans 14:1); “Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please our selves.” (Romans 15:1). Having read this far, I trust that you have seized the value of what has been written, and if the Holy Spirit has impressed these certainties on your heart, I pray you are doing what’s necessary to make things right. The Message, Maranatha!!!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 02:47:46 +0000
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