Romans 5:8 8/27/2019*

^“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God didn’t wait for you to get your life straight to love you. His love initiates, it doesn’t respond. While you were still sinning…He was paying the price to restore you.  

…how many of us follow this path?

If you sin against me and then ask for me to forgive you…I probably will.
And by that, I mean I will stop actively being angry at you.  But I will withhold my affection and watch you and not let you close to me until I am sure you are sincere.

That’s comfortable and safe for me but it is not love…  There is no need to argue with me… I struggle here to… I’m just telling you what the bible says. 

Jesus said to “love others as I have loved you” (John 13:34) so we can debate all we want but Jesus is very clear. I must do the work to restore you even if you are moving away from me…that is how God demonstrated His love to me - and that is how I am told to demonstrate my love to others.

So again, I will ask…how many of us follow this path?

Some counselors will tell you this is unwise - but apparently, they and God disagree. So, you will have to decide who to follow. 

Let me challenge you to take God at His word and choose to love His way…

Will it make you happy?...I don’t know. But it will make you holy. And that is God’s purpose for your life. Holiness produces joy…and while happiness is circumstantial, joy is permanent.

Who in your life do you need to love while they are still sinning?  What load of animosity have you been carrying that you need to drop today? 

What person or group of people, do you need to reach out to and offer the redemptive love of God to… even though they don’t love you?

The instructions are clear. You must initiate restoration. The Holy Spirit will enable you to do it…. You just have to decide to obey.

I am not sure what it will do for the person you decide to love - but I am positive what it will do for you.

“There but for the grace of God go I.” – John Bradford

Peter 3:15-16 8/20/2019*

“His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction”

Peter is talking about Paul’s letters, and this short sentence carries some very significant implications. There are three important lessons to glean from this verse:

1.    Some people want to discount Paul’s writings because they contain things that are controversial, but Peter clearly states that they are scripture.

2.    People will distort complicated scripture to suit their own purposes.

3.    Doing so leads to destruction.

This passage shows that trying to discount Paul’s letters (or any other scripture) is not a new phenomenon. It occurs when scripture not only teaches doctrine but shows how it should impact your actions.

Some people would rather change the truth, than change their behavior. So, instead of altering their lives to fit scripture, they alter scripture to fit their lives.

Peter says that is ignorant and unstable…. In other words -  it happens when you are uneducated in the Word of God, and it leaves you without a foundation.

If you choose to discount Paul’s words because you don’t like them, then you must disagree with Peter’s statement in this verse and toss it out as well…. if you follow that path you are headed for destruction.

The fact of the matter is that If you start picking and choosing what scripture you follow …you are no longer following scripture… you are following yourself.

The Bible is not a buffet – it is either God-breathed – or it is not. If God miraculously wrote it - He can miraculously protect it and defend its integrity.  Scripture, taken in context, is intended to be your guide. It is foundational.

If you intend to only follow scripture you agree with then stop wasting time with all the “theological open field running” it takes to justify your actions and just choose your own path.

But if you believe the Bible is the Living Word of God - then follow it …ALL of it.

Truth does not need majority approval, and untruth will lead you down a dangerous trail. Either follow the Bible or your own conclusions…. select your compass and get going.

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” - Jesus

John 13:7 8/13/2019*

“Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

There is an amazing amount of theological truth in that little verse.

Jesus is explaining why He is washing Peter’s feet. Reading about it now it seems foolish for Peter to argue with Him, but we often do the same thing. 

We all want God to be a part of our plan, when we should be seeking to be part of His.

We seldom understand His design because we have no desire to…We already have a strategy and our prayers are more instructional than inquisitive… they are often just a list of chores for God to do to achieve our goals.

The problem with that is we do not have the intel He has – we don’t see, or control the future as He does…so it makes little sense for us to insist on our plan, yet we do it all the time.

When Peter does it in this passage…Jesus basically says, “trust me on this one”.

So, the question is what situation is God saying “Trust me on this one” to you about?

Are there circumstances in your life that are causing you anxiety?  Are there things that you think God should handle differently?  Maybe God is saying “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Trust Him…The hardest thing for us to comprehend is that He actually loves us. That’s hard to believe, knowing what we know about ourselves, but it is true, and it is the key to having peace. 

Peter should have realized that when Jesus said “trust me, you’ll understand later” …and so should we.

Don’t let the enemy steal your peace ..his lies are only accurate if God is unable or unwilling to deliver you, and neither is true…God’s plan is unsurpassed, and He has the power to accomplish it… He is not pacing the floor in Heaven because He is in complete control… so trust Him on this one.

It is a choice…dwell on what you think might go wrong…or dwell on the power and love of God. Trust or argue…it is your call. But know that no one loves you more than He does…and no one can do more about your problems than He can.

“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”- Charles Spurgeon

Romans 1: 21-22 8/6/2019*

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools”

Foolishness is a process.  It begins when you start ignoring God.

You become self-absorbed and ungrateful…from there the slope gets slippery and your thoughts become futile and pointless.

The farther down the tunnel you go, the darker your heart becomes, and the harder it is to reach you. The final nail in the coffin is this…while everyone sees your idiocy…you think you are brilliant.

We see it every day…men and woman proclaiming their genius while they whole world shakes their head…but no amount of facts or statistics can change their minds because their hearts have been darkened. This is what God calls becoming a fool.

So how do we avoid this fate? How do we stay off the slippery slope of foolishness? The beginning of this verse holds the key…” although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him”. 

How are you doing in that department? 

Is God someone you know of and might think about on Sundays…or is he someone you are grateful for and strive to glorify each day. 

Those are two very different scenarios and have two very different outcomes.

The first one lulls you into a place of complacency and self-reliance. It is the beginning of the slide… If you feel the need to keep telling others how wise you are, then you may be headed down that slope.

But the second one is the opposite…it is the beginning of the climb.  Glorifying God and making Him the authority in your life, allows you to daily grow in wisdom and gratitude. These attributes are what prevent you from being a fool.

Rearrange your priorities and make sure the first thing you do this morning is to thank God and glorify Him for what He has done in your life. Focus on serving Him and loving His children. God will take care of the rest.

If you ignore God and take credit for yourself, you will slide into foolishness.

If you glorify Him and are thankful for His blessings…you will grow in wisdom.

“The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.”

 Niccolo Machiavelli