Every Calvary Step Was Love

 Every Calvary Step Was Love

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. (1 John 3:16)

The love of Christ for us in his dying was as conscious as his suffering was intentional. If he was intentional in laying down his life, it was for us. It was love. 

“When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). 

Every step on the Calvary road meant, “I love you.”

Therefore, to feel the love of Christ in the laying down of his life, it helps to see how utterly intentional it was.

Look at what Jesus said just after that violent moment when Peter tried to cleave the skull of the servant, but only cut off his ear.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” (Matthew 26:52–54) 

It is one thing to say that the details of Jesus’s death were predicted in the Old Testament. But it is much more to say that Jesus himself was making his choices precisely to see to it that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. 

That is what Jesus said he was doing in Matthew 26:54. “I could escape this misery, but how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 

In other words, I am not choosing to take the way out that I could take, because I know the Scriptures. I know what must take place for my people to be saved. It is my choice to fulfill all that is predicted of me in the word of God. It is my choice — every step of the way — to love my people to the uttermost. And I want them to feel this. And be utterly secure and free and radically different from the world.

GOD GAVE YOU ALL YOU HAVE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2025.

SUBJECT : GOD GAVE YOU ALL YOU HAVE!

Memory verse: "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven." (John 3 vs 27.)

READ Deuteronomy 8 vs 11 - 18:

8:11: Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgements, and His statutes which I command you today,

8:12: lest - when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them,

8:13: and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold are multiplied, and all that you have multiplied;

8:14: when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

8:15: who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock;

8:16: who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end - 

8:17: then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' 

8:18: And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

INTIMATION:

All we have; gifts, abilities, talents, and possessions came from God. He gives us the power to get everything we have, and also, asks us to manage it for Him. It's important for us to recognize that He is our source, regardless of how much effort we put into earning a living. In an environment and economy of material prosperity, however, there is always the temptation to forget God. People tend to take for granted all that they receive from God, and thus pride themselves in the euphoria that they are their own accomplishments. 

Consequently, their allegiance which should have remained focused on God, turned to a focus on themselves as a result. In times of plenty, we often take credit for our prosperity and become proud that our own hard work and cleverness have made us rich. And when we get so busy collecting and managing our gifts, the tendency is that we push God right out of our lives. Don't forget God in your abundance because He may remove His blessing from you.

The interesting thing about this Scripture in Deuteronomy 8 vs 18, is that God was talking to the children of Israel who would eventually enter into the Promised Land. They were going to be living in homes built for giants. The fields already had the rocks cleared out of them, the furrows were dug, and the crops were planted. The Israelites were going to step in and benefit from the labor of others. God was telling them not to forget the source of their wealth when they went from living in the desert to living in mansions with abundant property. In context, God was saying, "Don't think you got wealthy by your own might or power. I'm the One who made you rich, and I did it to establish My covenant upon the earth." The covenant He made with Abraham (Genesis 12 vs 1 - 3).

The same is true for us today. God is the One who makes us wealthy. The people of our generation live at a level of relative prosperity that most people throughout history couldn't have dreamed of, yet we didn't do anything to be born at this time. We didn't cause ourselves to be born into such opportunity and freedom. It is quite obvious that the ability to prosper is a gift from God, and we can't boast of the opportunities we have been given. 

The apostle Paul emphasizes this in First Corinthians 4 vs 7, "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" Whatever you are; your talent, wisdom, skills etc, whatever assets you have; money, properties, etc, and whatever position you occupy in life, are all the act and doing of the LORD. Acknowledge Him, give Him thanks, and use your gifts properly—for service to Him. You are blessed to be a blessing (Genesis 12 vs 2).

The remedy of materialism is to remember Him from whom all blessings flow. The materialist creates a god who originates from within himself, and thus, he humanistically worships his own ability to perform and produce.

The humanist focuses on the ability of man to perform, but the saint focuses on God who brings power to one’s effort to work to the glory of God. When we are blessed, therefore, all glory must be given to God who gave us the gifts to produce, and also gave increase to the work of our hands. Our recognition of the fruits of our hands, therefore, is an opportunity to be grateful to God for working in our lives. 

Prayer: Abba Father, Only You strengthens me to do all I do, and all I have You have given me. You have daily loaded me with Your benefits, and I am forever grateful and thankful. Give me the grace to properly administer Your gifts to me, that I may be a blessing to others, and a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly applying myself for the interest of the kingdom, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Christ as Means and End

 Christ as Means and End

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Why did God create the universe? And why is he governing it the way he is? What is God achieving? Is Jesus Christ a means to this achievement or the end of the achievement?

Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God. He is God in human form. As such, he is the end, not a means. 

The manifestation of the glory of God is the meaning of the universe. This is what God is achieving. The heavens, and the history of the world, are “telling the glory of God.” 

But Jesus Christ was sent to accomplish something that needed doing. He came to remedy the fall. He came to rescue sinners from inevitable destruction because of their sin. These rescued ones will see and savor and display the glory of God with everlasting joy. 

Others will continue to heap scorn on the glory of God. So, Jesus Christ is the means to what God meant to achieve in the manifestation of his glory for the enjoyment of his people. No one would see and savor and celebrate the glory of God apart from the saving work of Christ. The aim of the universe would abort. So, Christ is a means.

But in that accomplishment on the cross, as he died for sinners, Christ revealed the love and righteousness of the Father supremely. This was the apex of the revelation of the glory of God — the glory of his grace.

Therefore, in the very moment of his perfect act as the means of God’s purpose, Jesus became the end of that purpose. He became, in his dying in the place of sinners and his resurrection for their life, the central and supreme revelation of the glory of God.

Christ crucified is therefore both the means and the end of God’s purpose in the universe. 

Without his work, that end — to reveal the fullness of the glory of God for the enjoyment of God’s people — would not have happened. 

And in that very means-work he became the end — the one who forever and ever will be the focus of our worship as we spend eternity seeing and savoring more and more of what he revealed of God when he became a curse for us. 

Jesus is the end for which the universe was made, and the means that makes that end possible to enjoy by justified sinners.

THE WORD OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2025.

SUBJECT : THE WORD OF GOD!

Memory verse: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1 vs 1.)

READ: John 1 vs 1 - 5:

1 vs 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2: He was in the beginning with God.

3: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5: And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

INTIMATION:

The Word of God is special revelation from God of Himself, and is the solemn declaration of His Will. And the Will of God is the expression of God. The Bible in First Samuel 3 vs 21 declares thus, "Then the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the LORD." The Word of God is the same with God (John 1 vs 1). It is an agent of creation (Psalm 33 vs 6), and by it all things are created (Genesis 1 vs 3 - 26). It is also the source of God's message to His people through the prophets (Hosea 4 vs 1), and it is God's law which is His standard of holiness (Psalm 119 vs 11).  

The Word of God is Christ (Revelation 19 vs 13), and Christ is God, and was with God in the beginning. God is everlasting, so is His Word (First Peter 1 vs 25). The Word is also a seed (Luke 8 vs 11). It was the seed (the Word) that God planted and it germinated into all that were created. The Word also, is a spiritual revelation of God, and living in the Word is living in Christ. He is the perfect Teacher, and in Christ's life we see how God thinks and therefore, how we should think.

The Bible is the comprehensive Book regarded as the ultimate authority on the subject of the solemn declaration of the Will of God—the Word of God. It contains the engagement entered into between God and man. These declaration is called Testament and the engagement is known as covenant. The Bible is the ultimate authority detailing the engagement entered into between God and man, either that with Moses (as expressed in the Old Testament) or that instituted by Christ (as expressed in the New Testament). 

The Bible has been with us for more than two thousand years, and the early books of the Old Testament have existed almost twice that long. Its enduring life attests not only to its great spiritual treasures but also to its amazing stories, astonishing miracles, and intriguing facts that continue to grip readers today. Even today, the modern scholar or scientist is hard-pressed to provide a logical, natural explanation for the events described in the Bible. We must rely on the Bible authors' interpretations to shed light on otherwise inconceivable happenings. Their confident understanding of these events points us beyond ourselves to consider the One who created all things.

Obedience to the engagement as well as observance of the declaration, is doing the Will of God, and obeying the Word of God. Living the life of obedience and observance, guarantees a partnership with God in living your life on earth and ensures an ever profitable and classic living, and ultimately culminates in receiving the crown of life, that is, living with God in eternity after life here on earth.

The Word of God is given the title "the Word of life" (Philippians 2 vs 26). And “the Word of life” is the combination of the two declarations in John 1 vs 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," and in John 1 vs 4, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." It has been established that the Word of God and God is one (John 1 vs 1). Since God and the Word is the same, the Word is as effective as God. God is life, therefore, His Word is life and the life was the light of men (John 1 vs 4). 

Prayer: Abba Father, let Your Word dwell richly in me, that I may obey You, and observe to do all that is in Your Word. Let the light that Your Word gives illuminate my path of life, that I may dwell continually in Your presence, and partake of the fullness of joy in your presence, and the everlasting pleasures at Your right hand, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Perfect City

The Perfect City

He has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

No pollution, no graffiti, no trash, no peeling paint or rotting garages, no dead grass or broken bottles, no harsh street talk, no in-your-face confrontations, no domestic strife or violence, no dangers in the night, no arson or lying or stealing or killing, no vandalism, and no ugliness. 

The city of God will be perfect, because God will be in it. He will walk in it and talk in it and manifest himself in every part of it. All that is good and beautiful and holy and peaceful and true and happy will be there, because God will be there. 

Perfect justice will be there and recompense a thousandfold for every pain suffered in obedience to Christ in this world. And it will never deteriorate. In fact, it will shine brighter and brighter as eternity stretches out into unending ages of increasing joy.

When you desire this city above everything else on the earth, then you honor God, who, according to Hebrews 11:10, is the designer and builder of the city. And when God is honored, he is pleased and not ashamed to be called your God.

 

THE LOVE RULE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2025.

SUBJECT: THE LOVE RULE!

Memory verse: "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (First Corinthians 13 vs 13.)

READ: Mark 12 vs 28 vs 31:

12:28: Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

12:29: Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

12:31: And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

INTIMATION:

Love is having great affection for, feeling a passionate attraction to. Biblically, It is described as the basic first cause, and ultimate expression of God and man as well. It is the Christian gospel, and church ethics. It is a fruit of the Spirit. Love describes God; “God is love” (First John 4 vs 8 & 16). Love as used of God, expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.

Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all, in implicit obedience, to His commandments. Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all (Romans 15 vs 2), and works no ill to any (Romans 13 vs 8 - 10); love seeks opportunity to do good to all men, especially toward them that are of the household of the faith (Galatians 6 vs 10). 

The intent of God’s law is to promote love to God and others. Consequently, the Christian faith involves many rules that are meant to be governed by love. That makes love the highest rule, but it also moves Christians toward personal sacrifice, discipline, and responsibility, which are scarce resources in today’s world. When confronted with rules of your own or others, ask: (1) Does the rule serve God’s purpose? (2) Does the rule reveal God’s character? (3) Does the rule help people get into God’s family, or keep them out? (4) Does the rule have biblical roots that can be supported in the context of all Scripture? Good rules pass all four tests.

Everything concerning God is summed up in love. His laws can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of God’s Law.—the “Ten Commandments.” According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God’s laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (First John 4 vs 9 - 10). Obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellence in its object: “But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 vs 8). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.

Love explains: (1) why God creates—because He loves, He creates people to love; (2) why God cares—because He loves them, He cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose—God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died—His love for us caused Him to offer a solution to the problem of sin; and (5) why we receive eternal life—God’s love expresses itself to us forever.

Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. The Scripture says, “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” (First John 3 vs 16). How can we “lay down our lives?” By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we’ll die for others than to truly live for them—this involves putting others’ desires first. Jesus taught this same principle of love, He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15 vs 13.) 

We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and He loved us enough to give His life of inestimable value for ours that are completely worthless because of sin. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping, encouraging, giving, caring. Evaluate your lifestyle, and measure your obedience to the highest rule! You can start right away: Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more. Then make it a regular practice.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are love, and has poured out Your love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit You have given to us. Give me the grace and empowerment to love as You love, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Lincoln’s Providence

 Lincoln’s Providence

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33)

Abraham Lincoln, who was born on this day in 1809, remained skeptical, and at times even cynical, about religion into his forties. So, it is a most striking thing how personal and national suffering drew Lincoln into the reality of God, rather than pushing him away.

In 1862, when Lincoln was 53 years old, his 11-year-old son Willie died. Lincoln’s wife “tried to deal with her grief by searching out New Age mediums.” Lincoln turned to Phineas Gurley, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington. 

Several long talks led to what Gurley described as “a conversion to Christ.” Lincoln confided that he was “driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go.”

Similarly, the horrors of the dead and wounded soldiers assaulted him daily. There were fifty hospitals for the wounded in Washington. The rotunda of the Capitol held two thousand cots for wounded soldiers. 

Typically, fifty soldiers a day died in these temporary hospitals. All of this drove Lincoln deeper into the providence of God. “We cannot but believe, that He who made the world still governs it.”

His most famous statement about the providence of God in relation to the Civil War was his Second Inaugural Address, given a month before he was assassinated. It is remarkable for not making God a simple supporter for the Union or Confederate cause. God has his own purposes and does not excuse sin on either side.

Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war might speedily pass away. . . .

Yet if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid with another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.”

I pray for all of you who suffer loss and injury and great sorrow that it will awaken for you, as it did for Lincoln, not an empty fatalism, but a deeper reliance on the infinite wisdom and love of God’s inscrutable providence.