Tag:

love

The Sabbath, the Disciples, the Beatitudes (Luke 6)

by TerryLema

Wow, what a chapter! It begins with Jesus proclaiming that He is Lord of the Sabbath. (The Sabbath means far more than just taking one day off from work to rest. It means a deep rest, a profound peace. When Jesus says He is LORD of the Sabbath, He means He is our deep rest and our eternal peace.)

Then Jesus calls His disciples together and chooses 12 to be His closest. He calls them apostles. For the remainder of the chapter, Luke recounts an abbreviated version of the Sermon on the Mount.  A large portion of that is dedicated to loving our enemies.

“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”  [Luke 6:27, 35b-36 HCSB]

Sometimes Christians can be cavalier about “loving our enemies.” We all know what Jesus said. We even think we are doing it. But are we really? Or are we choosing which of “our enemies” to love?

It is easy to love your enemies if you get to choose which ones – because we will usually choose as enemies those who are just a little irritating or annoying. We seldom choose to love those who can do immeasurable harm to us, or those with whom we have major disagreements. (Think political figures we disagree with, or those on the other side of the virus and vaccine debates, or those who hate Christianity and seek to stamp it out.)

But Jesus was specific. We are to do good to those who hate us. We are to bless those who curse us (and those who curse our God). We are to pray for those who abuse us.

We are to be merciful simply because our Father is merciful (and has extended that mercy to His greatest enemies – us!)

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My Friend …

by TerryLema

I got up Thursday morning at my usual 5 AM time. I walked out to the kitchen and there next to the waiting coffee pot were two cups. There had been three cups there for a week, but my friend Patty had gone home the day before and her cup was missing.  It was a reminder of friendship, and it was a reminder of separation.

I was also reminded of the Scripture in Proverbs 17:17a: “A friend loves at all times.” [HCSB]

Patty and I did not do a lot, not a lot to do during a COVID fear-and virus pandemic. We ate out a couple times, brought food in other times. We did visit a couple furniture stores (looking for that elusive dresser). We watched some football and baseball on TV. Mostly we talked, we remembered past good times, and we laughed.

Thursday morning, I was exhausted and both happy and sad. Happy that there had been three cups by that coffee pot each morning for almost a week, and sad that on Thursday there were only two.

I am so thankful for friends. There is something special about people who love you across the decades because they choose to do so. They like being around you; they share memories with you.  God graciously gives us friends who “love at all times.”

But, then God also calls us friends. “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” [John 15:15 NKJV]

Jesus was preparing His disciples for His upcoming departure. He knew the cross was just around the corner. He knew that He would not be with them physically as He had been for nearly three years. He wanted them to know that they were not just servants who would do His bidding, they were friends. He had given them the things He, Himself, had heard and received from the Father. They, as His friends, would now testify to the world about the love of God.

That “friendship” with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is alive and well in us today. Amen & Amen.

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What Are You Afraid of …?

by TerryLema

I need a new dresser. One of the drawers is broken on my old one, so broken it had to be removed. So now there is this annoying gaping hole where a drawer should be. I am a little OCD, so the key word in that last sentence is “annoying.” Every time I walk by, I am reminded that I need a new dresser.

I looked online at various furniture sites but hesitated to buy. Either they were too expensive, or they had to be assembled on arrival, or the quality was a bit iffy. I decided then to venture out of the house, mask on, and went to various thrift stores, furniture stores and big box stores. That was not an easy decision. I have not been inside those kinds of places for months and I will admit that with my immune-compromised health, it was a bit scary.

So, upon reading 1John 4 this week, I came across a wonderfully familiar verse. “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment” [v4:18 HCSB]

I thought it interesting that I had a bit of fear going shopping, but I had no fear about accepting Almighty God’s invitation to come into His presence this morning. I know my Father loves me. I know that my condemnation and punishment has been removed because of His perfect love for me, and because of what Jesus, my Savior, did on the cross.

Romans 8:1 promises me that “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus.” [HCSB]

 I can come to my Father with great respect, awe, adoration, amazement, and reverence, but I do not fear Him. I know that He will accept me, cherish me, discipline me when needed, and guide me. There is no fear in His love for me.

That makes this one Wonderful Wednesday!  (Oh, and I still haven’t found a dresser. Sigh.)

 

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Are We a Stumbling Block?

by TerryLema

I was thinking again this morning about my trip to the grocery store the other day, about the requirement of masks and the clerks who were exposed to the coughing and sneezing of those who felt it was their “right” not to wear a mask.

I will not debate the efficacy of masks or the right not to wear one. I leave that to experts, of which, I am not. I will, however, remind us that sometimes in the simplest of things we find divine principles.

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with food sacrificed to idols, is it okay to eat meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. He begins with an interesting contrast between knowledge and love in verse 1. “About food offered to idols: We know that ‘we all have knowledge.’ Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.”

 After debating the issue about meat sacrificed to idols, Paul makes two statements which should give us pause. The first is a principle that is to be applied to much more than eating meat. “But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.” [vs 9 HCSB]

The second is even more profound. “Now when you sin (putting a stumbling block in the path of others) like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.” [vs 12 HCSB]

 As Christians, it does not matter if it is meat, alcohol, masks, or anything else. It is the principle that while we may have the right to do something, and the knowledge about that right, to promote our right in the face of another is to cause them harm … and God regards that wounding of another the same as “sinning against Christ.”

Love does no harm.

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No Servant is Greater Than His Master

by TerryLema

I am 73 years old. Born in 1946 that makes me one of the early baby boomers (1944-1964). I remember the Korean Conflict, Viet Nam and the Anti-War protestors, the uncertainty of the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the plague of polio, discovery of AIDS, and many more wars and conflicts and troubles. I am not sure I remember any time as uncertain as what we are experiencing now.

I do not remember another time where the church has come under such attack in our nation for wanting simply to be together. Maybe, we have grown too comfortable, too complacent recently.

Perhaps we have forgotten Jesus’ words to His own shortly before His death. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” [John 15:18-22 NIV]

When we read those words, do we believe Jesus was simply talking about the few who were listening? Was the warning only for those disciples who would be the first to suffer persecution for His name’s sake? Do we think that we are now so “enlightened” as a world that Jesus’ words do not apply to us in our generation or in our society?

Maybe we do. Maybe we do because while our country was founded on the Christian principles of our forefathers seeking religious freedom from oppression, there is no guarantee that future generations are so inclined. We have not been challenged in decades, and like muscles that are not challenged, we have grown somewhat soft.

“No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Jesus, they will also persecute us. The world does not love us – it cannot love us, but as Paul reminds us in Colossians 3, we are still to forbear, forgive, and we are to love.

Colossians 3:14: “…over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” [NIV]

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To Love & Good Deeds

by TerryLema

Occasionally I write something on my personal Facebook page that provokes an angry response. Or I will read something written by someone else that I know is going to provoke a flood of anger or annoyance. Often that is the intention of the author – to provoke.

Provoke is an interesting word. The English definitions include stimulating a strong or unwelcome reaction or emotion in someone, inciting or arousing anger in someone, and deliberately making someone annoyed or angry.

Much of our media and social media is designed to do just that—make people angry. When we are angry and operating from an emotional level, our brain goes into neutral. We stop thinking and start reacting to things that may not even be true.

I guess all that explains why I consider Hebrews 10:24 to be such an interesting verse when it uses the word provoke. “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” [KJV]

The NIV substitutes the words “spur one another on” for the provoke in the KJV. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

The word in the Greek is paroxusmos and it means incitement to do good as well as to dispute in anger.

I am not sure why the author of Hebrews did not just use the word encourage and chose to use the work provoke instead. Maybe he wanted his exhortation to be more urgent or intense than just an encouragement.

Christians are to provoke each other, but not in a bad way. We are to spur each other to love more and to do good works. It is vitally important that we keep each other on the right track – not one of annoyance or anger – but one of love and good deeds.

So, beloved, provoke someone today! But do it in the way Hebrews 10:24 commands.

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Choosing Life Brings

by TerryLema

This morning I read through the part of Moses’ sermon to the Children of Israel as they were camped next to the Promised Land. He reminded this generation, which would be the ones to enter the land promised their forefather Abraham, that God had given them the right to choose their response to His invitation.

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” [Deut 30:19-20 NIV]

He said if they chose life, they and their children would live and be blessed. Then Moses added three things that would be part of that life they chose. They would love the LORD their God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.

What a beautiful picture of our life with the LORD God our Savior, Christ Jesus. It is one of love, obedience and faith.

They say the basics of life are food, water, air and light. Those may be the basics of physical life, but the greatest desire of our heart, I think, is to be loved and to love. We search for love (sometimes in all the wrong places). It drives us to seek out others who will allow us to love them and then love us back.

To know that we are called to a life that includes loving God is incredible. That blessing moves us to listen for and to God’s voice, the way someone listens to the words of a lover. It moves us to clink to Him in faith and loyalty.

Our relationship with the LORD God our Savior, Christ Jesus, meets us at the place of our deepest needs. It fills the yearning of our souls. I know He fills the yearning of mine.

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He Set Me Free!

by TerryLema

When I needed an attitude adjustment, God took me to Psalm 118, and the reminder that “This is the day the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

In order not to allow my attitude to become maladjusted again, God is having me pray through the Psalm. Today I am praying through verses 5-7: “In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.”

What is the greatest fear playing out in the world today? It is the fear of death. We are sheltered-in-place because we fear what a virus can do to us. It not only has the potential of making us sick, it has the potential to kill us. We are bombarded with that fact constantly every day. The airways are filled with the latest statistics about how many are acquiring the virus, how many are on ventilators, how many have died, where the latest outbreak has occurred. We leave our homes in trepidation and see people wearing masks, avoiding contact with others. We cannot help but be fearful.

The Psalmist reminds us however, that when we cry out to God, His answer is to set us free from that fear. He reminds us that whether we shelter-at-home or venture out He is with us. He is our helper. Paul confirms that in 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

God is with us. I will add my voice to that of the psalmist, “I will not be afraid. What can man [or virus] do to me?” All my days are already numbered. When it is my time to go, via virus or some other conveyance, I will march into the presence of my God in triumph.

Father, remind us today that you are with us every moment, whether we are inside our homes or outside of them. Keep us in Your precious care. Give us that spirit of power, love, and a sound mind so that every fear is driven far from us. Amen & Amen.

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As He Loves Us

by TerryLema

It’s almost Valentine’s Day when the world thinks about “romantic love.” I know the restaurants will be full and the card and candy makers and flower shops will have a busy day. Maybe even the jewelry stores. I remember talking to a waitress once who told me that she hated working on Valentine’s Day because the tips weren’t very good. People had spent all their money on the dinner and gifts. However, she loved working Mother’s Day because it was the best tip day of the year. Apparently, we still want to impress our moms!

Jesus had a lot to say about love, not the romantic kind, but the love that emanates deep from His presence in us and captures not just emotions but a determined will of obedience. He said:

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” [John 15:12 NKJV]

“I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” [Matt 5:44-45 NIV]

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” [John 14:23 NKJV]

None of what Jesus said about love is easy.

We are to love each other as He loved us. That involves sacrifice.

He said we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us as they persecuted Him.

And He said our love for Him will be seen in our obedience to Him.

Nope, not easy, and it is getting harder in our society today to follow Jesus’ way of love, but there is also a promise given. If we do love as He commands, He and the Father will come and make their home with us. Loving Jesus’ way may not be easy, but it is sure worth it! Amen.

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With the Measure You Love

by TerryLema

“With the measure we love God, that is the measure we will use to worship Him.”

Sunday’s message was out of John 4, the story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus. It centered around Jesus’ words that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” [23-24 NKJV]

No longer is there a specific location to worship, God is present with us and in us by faith. Now it is our hearts and our heads that are involved in worship – wherever the body might be. There must be knowledge of sound doctrine that invites our minds to consider our God and all His Worth, and there must be passion in our spirits to give voice to our worship.

I was reminded also that worship is never stationary in the sense that it reaches a level where it simply stops and we consider it “enough.” Our worship is truthfully based upon our love for God. That love is to continually increase and grow. Down through our years we should be more aware of all God has done for us, all He has done in us, and all He is doing through us. We should see His Hand revealed in everyday life and in those moments of despair and crisis, confirming to us how much God cares for us.

When we see God’s goodness around us, we love Him more. The measure of our love for Him increases with the knowledge of Him. That measure of love will determine our level of worship. The expression of deep love flows out in a level of worship that matches it. (Just the way a shallow love of God produces but a shallow worship.)

Father, may we love deeply, more and more as the days pass. May we worship you greatly in spirit and truth. May our worship grow more honorable as we love you more and more. Amen.

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