1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, told us to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” This simple command was so important that it was repeated in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Our Lord teaches that it is the second most important command for God’s people to obey. So, why is it so difficult a task to master? We are by nature selfish beings and since birth we have demanded constant nurturing and attention. Placing anyone else before our own personal wants and desires is contrary to one’s human nature. But, if we try to succeed in this task alone, we are destined to fail. It is only through Christ, that we can accomplish this charge. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When we foolishly try to accomplish these things of our own volition, pushing away the Lord, placing one’s self above Him, is when we will fall short.
To truly love someone is to place them before one’s self. We attend to our loved one’s needs, trying to anticipate their desires, and to fulfill them, even before taking care of ourselves. The object of our love becomes our soul reason for living. This is how our love should be directed at our Lord. When our love is directed to our Lord it completes us. Our Lord loves us so much that He wants to have a full relationship with us. Everything we have, ourselves, our time, and our possessions, are gifts from God. This entire world was created for us by our Father. His love for us is unending. Our Lord gave everything for us, including His life. In the ultimate act of tough love, He sent His only begotten Son to earth as a mortal human being, to suffer and die in our stead. Every piece of flesh torn from our Lord’s body was done so that we would not have to endure the eternal punishment that we so rightly deserve. This was done out of His unconditional love for us. Every sin He carried to the cross belonged to each one of us. Then as our Lord hung on the cross, bleeding and dying, God terminated His relationship with Jesus, leaving Him to die alone with the awful burden of our sins. But, out of that depth of desolation sprang our salvation. Because Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins, died in our place, and was victorious over death, we can now have eternal life with Him.
This salvation is offered freely. We need only to accept, believe and love our Lord. His love for us is beyond all human understanding. Why then is it so difficult to love our neighbors? Why can’t we lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer and in service? Why is it so difficult to speak out for our Lord, who loves us so deeply? With everything God has done for us we should not have to think twice before answering the Spirit’s call and place our neighbor before ourselves. With God’s help, we should strive to reach out to those that need assistance, not only with the physical world, but especially for their spiritual health and well being. The Lord said in Matthew 25:36 “The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Many of our brothers and sisters are falling prey to the false doctrine of bound conscience. By not lifting up their voices to stand up for Scripture as it is assaulted and transformed to fit the needs of the secular world, they are acquiescing to that false gospel. If our Lord can suffer and die for us, we should be able to defend His Word against this false teaching. As our Lord loves us, and through His love, we must support God’s Word and open the eyes of those that would continue on the slippery slope of this modern and enlightened society’s new norms that contradict Scripture. Eternity is a long time and speaking out for our Lord to help our neighbors return to the narrow road that leads to salvation, is the very least that we can do.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Find Your Strength in the Lord
We can find our strength in the Lord in three ways;
Through the talents he blesses us with,
Philipians 4: 13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” No matter the task that is set before us, we can, through our faith in the Lord, accomplish God’s work. Every talent that we possess is a gift from God. Skills that the Lord has given us can truly make a difference in this world. Even those skills that we may view as unimportant may make the difference in someone else’s life. The Lord provides us with the tools necessary to enrich his kingdom and lead others to His Word. It is our responsibility to use those gifts to the glory of our God. Through the Spirit, He provides us with the opportunities to perform His work in this world. Remember the Sunday school song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” This song reminds us that we need to share the gifts that the Lord has given us. It is not enough to just put your offering in the collection plate each Sunday. The Lord instructs us in the parable of the talents. Matthew 25:23 “His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Do not waste your talents by not sharing with those in need.
With His Word that strengthens us,
Psalm 23: 1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” We are the sheep of His flock. Our Lord protects us, provides for us, and nurtures us. But, the Lord does not want us to be the sheep that stand and are led to slaughter. 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” God gives us the tools to counter the arguments against the knowledge of God and to expose the faulty reasoning of those that would promote a false gospel. If we choose to dwell in His Word, God will give us the counsel required to speak out for Him. Matthew 10: 16, 32-33 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 32 Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Our Lord has made it abundantly clear that, as Christians, we are expected to be faithful witnesses. A faithful witness is compelled to stand up for God’s Word, not sit back and be “on the fence” or “not get involved’. Many of God’s sheep are trapped within the ELCA and are being led away from Him. If we do not speak out against this false gospel of bound conscience, we acquiesce to that doctrine and are no better than someone who denies our Lord.
By His love which He shares with us and invites us to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Lord also charges us to love one another, Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love is a great responsibility. To love someone is to give oneself to them, place their needs before your own and to protect them above even yourself. If we truly wish to love one another, we need to support our brothers and sisters in Christ, not only with our prayers, but in action. Many sheep will be led down the easy path of destruction, by those invoking the terms tolerance, acceptance, and social justice that they use to fuel their ambitions in the secular world. It is not enough to stay true to our faith and remain an island within the ELCA. As fellow children of God, it is our responsibility to help lead our brothers and sisters back to the narrow road that leads to salvation.
Through the talents he blesses us with,
Philipians 4: 13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” No matter the task that is set before us, we can, through our faith in the Lord, accomplish God’s work. Every talent that we possess is a gift from God. Skills that the Lord has given us can truly make a difference in this world. Even those skills that we may view as unimportant may make the difference in someone else’s life. The Lord provides us with the tools necessary to enrich his kingdom and lead others to His Word. It is our responsibility to use those gifts to the glory of our God. Through the Spirit, He provides us with the opportunities to perform His work in this world. Remember the Sunday school song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” This song reminds us that we need to share the gifts that the Lord has given us. It is not enough to just put your offering in the collection plate each Sunday. The Lord instructs us in the parable of the talents. Matthew 25:23 “His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Do not waste your talents by not sharing with those in need.
With His Word that strengthens us,
Psalm 23: 1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” We are the sheep of His flock. Our Lord protects us, provides for us, and nurtures us. But, the Lord does not want us to be the sheep that stand and are led to slaughter. 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” God gives us the tools to counter the arguments against the knowledge of God and to expose the faulty reasoning of those that would promote a false gospel. If we choose to dwell in His Word, God will give us the counsel required to speak out for Him. Matthew 10: 16, 32-33 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 32 Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Our Lord has made it abundantly clear that, as Christians, we are expected to be faithful witnesses. A faithful witness is compelled to stand up for God’s Word, not sit back and be “on the fence” or “not get involved’. Many of God’s sheep are trapped within the ELCA and are being led away from Him. If we do not speak out against this false gospel of bound conscience, we acquiesce to that doctrine and are no better than someone who denies our Lord.
By His love which He shares with us and invites us to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Lord also charges us to love one another, Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love is a great responsibility. To love someone is to give oneself to them, place their needs before your own and to protect them above even yourself. If we truly wish to love one another, we need to support our brothers and sisters in Christ, not only with our prayers, but in action. Many sheep will be led down the easy path of destruction, by those invoking the terms tolerance, acceptance, and social justice that they use to fuel their ambitions in the secular world. It is not enough to stay true to our faith and remain an island within the ELCA. As fellow children of God, it is our responsibility to help lead our brothers and sisters back to the narrow road that leads to salvation.
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