Kiss Me…I might be Irish

That was the saying on a balloon I saw the other day at Kroger.  And it was also the sentiment in the elementary school we kids went to in New Jersey.  St Matthew’s was an Irish parish (maybe because the founding pastor was Irish, Fr Duffey), so our sports teams were the “Fighting Irish.”  Anyway, the sentiment was that everyone was Irish on St Patrick’s Day. I remember us Renner girls (mom’s maiden name = Galuszka; so you do the “ethnic” math ) spraying our hair green, putting on our already green uniforms, and heading next door to school.  (Yes, we lived next to the church and school!).  We FELT Irish…even if we were really German & Polish!

Everyone was indeed “Irish” at St Matthews on St Patrick’s Day, except for the few rebellious students and even teachers who wore orange instead of green.

But as an adult, I haven’t paid much attention to St Patrick’s Day…because I came to realize that for many adults it’s an excuse to drink and get out of control.  So I enjoyed the decorations and taught my children about the Trinity by using the shamrock (as tradition says St Patrick did).   But I basically gave it a token nod…that was until recent years.

I came to have a greater appreciation for St Patrick himself through a song/prayer I found while doing a Bible study on some little words of Scripture called prepositions.  In the Bible, these little words often show the relationship of the Lord and His people.  But rather than bore you with grammatical information, let’s take a look at this precious song.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate*

There’s a Celtic hymn, usually attributed to St Patrick, that is sung around his feast day (March 17^th).  Notice how the highlighted words (prepositions) show the close relationship to Christ that we believers enjoy.  In a very real sense this is a celebration of what is already true.  It’s also a prayer for our own realization of these wonderful truths.

Perhaps you would like to learn it and recite it often to celebrate the truth of our union with Christ by faith. Or maybe you’d like to carry it a step further, like one friend of mine, and teach it to your children or grandchildren.  Then you can recite it together.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me, King of my heart;

Christ be within me, Christ be below me,

Christ be above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,

Christ all around me, shield in the strife;

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,

Christ in my rising, light of my life.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me, King of my heart;

Christ be within me, Christ be below me,

Christ be above me, never to part.

* There are many variations of wording to St Patrick’s Breastplate.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSeyPd280r4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

BIBLE STUDENTS:

Take a look at Psalm 139.  There are some striking similarities to St Patrick’s Breastplate

Find the prepositions and bask in the completeness of God’s love and care for His people!

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Family Affection*

Dear woman, behold your son...behold your mother.  John 19:26 Jesus has a special love for His own.

As we've already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering.  Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.

What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary's face. Calvin Miller describes the scene well:

Beneath the tree stood the grieving mother of the heretic.  She was a woman whose face was rimmed by little wisps of silver hair that protruded defiantly from under her mantle; occasionally she trembled with uncontrollable spasms of despair.  Before the tree a young fisherman gazed in blurred glances at his dying friend; his broad arm cradled the head of the convict's mother.  But he was unable to console her.  The man on the cross was her son... Miller, Once Upon a Tree

This was her little boy...her precious son that she nursed and rocked and raised to be a man to fulfill God's plan.  Yes, she had warning of suffering ahead...remember Simeon's prophecy when the baby was presented in the Temple?

This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul. Luke 2:34 NLT

Little did Mary know all this sword would entail.  According to Miller, romphia (Greek) was a huge Persian sword that literally skewers its victims in pain.   Jesus Himself knew all this and yet submitted to the Father's plan.

But now He would care for His suffering mama by entrusting her to the man He knew would care for her as his own.

When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27 NLT

Years later the apostle Paul would write to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith:

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8

But this begs the question...where were Jesus' brothers?  Surely, this first-born Son could have entrusted His mother to one of his brothers, James or Jude, or perhaps another close relative.

There was obviously something more going on here...something that includes you and me.

Perhaps a year or so before...

...as Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you.” Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” Matthew 12:46-50 NLT

So by entrusting His mother to His beloved disciple and friend, Jesus was "creating a new family based not on kinship to one another [blood relationship] but solely through their relationship to him."*  Although his brothers were related by blood, they had not yet become related in the Spirit through faith in Him, God's Son and Savior of the world.

And that brings us back to us believers...those of us who are related to Him by faith.  We are His family...children of the same Father:

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Jesus the God-Man is our Brother, and we are his brothers and sisters:

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers … For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. Hebrews 2:10, 11, 17

And Jesus cares for His own with a special love and care:

Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested...So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 2:18; 4:16 NLT

We also belong to one another...brothers and sisters in our Father's and Brother's family.

On the night before He died, Jesus gave us the new commandment, Love one another as I have loved you...

Why? because then the world will know you are my disciples. Why?  because the world will hate you. Why? because in this world you will have trouble.

So we will need each other!

Love each other with brotherly affection, and delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10

Dear brothers and sisters, ...who is it in your human family that needs your affection and attention? ...who is it in the family of God that needs your brotherly (Or sisterly) affection and attention?

Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone--especially to those in the family of faith.  Gal 6:10

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bible Students:

Go back to the night before Jesus died (John 13-17). Mark every time that Jesus says love with a red heart. Who is loving whom? Now do this for the epistle of First John. Did you notice that LOVE is John's emphasis? No wonder...He's the disciple Jesus loved.

You may also like this post:  "Love's Abiding Harvest"

The New Testament is filled with "_________________ one another verses." Click here and read through all of them, including the Scriptures. Which ones jump out to you and why? Is God telling you to do something about it...attitude or action-wise?

You may also like this post: "It Takes a Village..."

Activity:

In the center of a piece of paper, write your name.  Around your name, write the names of all the other persons that you consider part of your family.  Those closest to you might be written close to your name, those further away may be written a greater distance from your name. *

Now do the same with your "spiritual family"...fellow believers in your life, whether in your church body, Bible study, family, neighbors, etc.

Then answer the closing questions above...

Dear brothers and sisters, ...who is it in your human family that needs your affection and attention? ...who is it in the family of God that needs your brotherly (Or sisterly) affection and attention?

*Thanks to friends at Abiding Christ Church for sharing these thoughts.

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Salvation*

Jesus, thief

Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Luke 23:43

lost sheep

Jesus seems to have a special love for lost people.  I love the stories He tells in Luke 15.  The first is the beloved story of the shepherd who has a hundred sheep but leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost.  Then when he finds his lost one, he calls in his neighbors and friends to rejoice with him.

lost coin

The second story is of a woman who has 10 coins but loses one.  She is so distraught that she searches high and low for it.  When she finds the coin, she calls in her neighbors to rejoice with her.

prodigal son

The last story is of a father who had two sons.  One of the sons decided to go his merry way, away from his father's love and provision. The son then squandered his inheritance with loose living in the far country.  The father never stopped watching for and longing for his beloved son.  So when the lost son finally came home, his father threw a party so all could rejoice with him.

At the end of each of these stories, Jesus says,

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent...I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents...we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Jesus & 2 thieves

This makes me think of the criminals executed with Our Lord Christ. They certainly were the lost sheep, ...the lost coins, ...the lost sons...and Jesus came to seek them.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

They obviously had been running away from God...who knows what kind of crimes they had committed!  The Bible just calls them "criminals" [thieves, malefactors KJV].  Maybe God didn't come into their thinking...but that's the point.  They had gone their own way.

But here is an incredible thought:

Of all the possible condemned criminals in the Roman world (and there were many!)... through all the centuries that Rome practiced the cruel punishment of crucifixion... God in His sovereignty placed those two, side by side...with the SON OF GOD!

Jesus & the good thief

And this, at the time of the victorious Crisis of the Ages -- the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ!  Hardly a coincidence!

But of the two hanging there next to the Son of God, only one was saved! What made the difference?

They each perhaps heard Jesus' "Father, forgive them..." but only one responded in repentance and faith:

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left...

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly ["we are sinners"], for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong ["He is the sinless Messiah"].”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:32-42

Look at our Lord's response:

Truly I say to you, TODAY you will be with ME in Paradise [heaven]. Luke 23:43

So one desperate, believing lost one was found...captured by the seeking, pursuing Lover of Sinners!

We are not unlike these criminals (or the straying sheep, the lost coin, or the prodigal son, for that matter)...

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

We all go our own way -- wandering off and needing God's rescue.  And we're all faced with a choice (as these two criminals were), God's salvation or our own.  Yes, even as believers, "saved ones."

The Divine Pursuer is always on a "Rescue Mission"...sovereignly orchestrating our circumstances (as He did for the thieves on the cross) so we can encounter HIM in new and life-giving ways.  He rescues us from our self-centered attitudes and ways of doing life [SIN].

As C.S. Lewis once said,

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.   C.S. Lewis

Where in your life today, dear friend, is the Divine Pursuer seeking you out, perhaps even shouting at you? Is it in your relationships? ...in your finances? ...in your attitudes and thought life? ...in your health? ...in the health crises of loved ones? ...in _______[fill in the blank]_____?

Call out to HIM in your distress...TODAY!

For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2Cor 6:2

Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:17

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Listen, view, and reflect on our suffering Savior [with scenes from The Passion of the Christ]:

jesus with crown of thorns

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, now scornfully surrounded with thorns, thine only crown: how pale thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn! How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!

What thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners' gain; mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve thy place; look on me with thy favor, vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest friend, for this thy dying sorrow, thy pity without end? O make me thine forever; and should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for thee.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

reading the Bible

Bible Students:

Salvation is much more than just going to heaven when we die...and just doing the best we can in the meantime.Salvation is the NT Greek word sozo.  In its broadest sense, sozo means "to save, to deliver, to preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction, to make whole."

The Bible uses the word salvation in three tenses:

1. past = I have been saved from the penalty of sin. (Eph 2:8; Titus 3:5)
2. present = I am being saved from the power of sin. (Rom 6:14; Gal 2:19,20)
3. future = I will be saved from the presence of sin. (Rom 5:9,10; 8:18-24)

Spiro Zodiates summarizes it this way:

Salvation of the soul is deliverance from death unto life through Christ (John 6:56-57; 14:20; Rom 6:7,11; 1Cor 1:30; 9:1.2; 2Cor 5:17; Eph 2:13). The believing sinner receives the spiritual life of a new nature from God (2Pet 1:4) and is freed from the power of sin (spiritual death) while having to endure its presence until the resurrection.  Deliverance of the body will occur at the resurrection when an entire creation will also be renovated (Rom 8:21-23).  The Complete Word Study Dictionary

Another way to look at salvation is through Ephesian 2:*

1. I am saved from__________________________ (vs 4-5).  See also Rom 6:23.
2. I am saved by________________________ through __________________ (vs 8-9)
3. I am saved for_______________________(vs 10).

*Thank you to my friends at Abiding Christ Church for the title and additional thoughts to the Bible study section.

Lenten Meditation: Forgiveness...Revisited

Today I met with a group of moms to explore our Lord's first words from the Cross: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34

As our discussion went on, we talked about the struggle we all have to forgive our offenders.  I shared a short section from a book that years ago had an incredible impact on me in the area of forgiveness.

I used to think that the struggle to forgive was itself sinful...as well as the horrible feelings I had in the whole thing.  But I've come to realize that the struggle and the feelings are all part of the human condition on this earth.  Perhaps they are rather temptations to the sin of unforgiveness.

Here are the five points that Lewis Smedes writes in his book Shame and Grace. I pray these points will be helpful to you as well.

Consider forgiveness as a personal drama with five scenes [I love that Smedes doesn't express them as "steps" but rather as an unfolding "story"]:

Scene One:  We blame the [offender]. We hold him or her accountable.  If we do not hold people accountable for what they did to us, we will not forgive them.  We may indulge them, perhaps, as if it did not matter much, or we may excuse them, as if they could not help doing what they did.  But we will forgive them only if we hold them responsible for what they did to us.

Scene Two:  We surrender our right to get even. We take our natural right to a balanced account--a right to fairness, mind you, that is all, only what we deserve--we take it in our hands, look it over, consider its possibilities, and then surrender it [to the Lord, I might add].  We agree to live with the score untied.

Scene Three:  We revise our caricature of the person who [offended] us. When we taste our resentment, we roll it around our minds the way we roll a sour lozenge around on our tongues, and we taste it, our minds draw a caricature of our [offender].  We turn him into a monster who is what he did to us.  We see him; we feel him; we define his whole person in terms of how he [offended] us. However, as we move with the forgiving flow, we gradually change our monster back into the weak and faulty human being he is (or was), not all that different from ourselves.

Scene Four:  We revise our feelings As the frozen tundra of resentment melts, a tendril of compassion breaks through the crust.  Sorrow blends with anger.  Sympathy softens resentment.  We feel emerging in our consciousness a hesitant desire for the other person's welfare.

Scene Five:  We accept the person who [hurt us]. In the last scene of the drama, we offer our [offender] the grace that God has offered us.  We not only pardon him; we also accept him.  We take him back into our lives as a fellow member of the human race.  Chances are that we are not able to restore the special relationship we had before.  But if we cannot be reconciled, it will not be our resentment that prevents it.

Dear friends, may the Forgiving Christ so fill our vision and our lives that He lives His forgiving life through us...one "scene" at a time.

[Note:  The brackets represent where I changed the words shamer/shame to alternate words.]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You may also want to read an excellent sermon by Dr. Smedes, entitled "Five Things Everyone Should Know About Forgiving."

Here's a summary of the "five things": (but you will want to read the entire sermon)

1. Forgiving is the only way to be fair to yourself after someone hurts you unfairly. 2. Forgivers are not doormats; they do not have to tolerate the bad things that they forgive. 3. Forgivers are not fools; they forgive and heal themselves, but they do not have to go back for more  abuse. 4. We don’t have to wait until the other person repents before we forgive him or her and heal ourselves. 5. Forgiving is a journey. For us, it takes time, so be patient and don’t get discouraged if you backslide have to do it over again.

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Forgiveness*

Lent

Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet, once said,

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

So true...but we humans more readily echo what someone else has said,

To err is human, but to get even? THAT is divine.

We struggle so, with forgiving our offenders!  Perhaps that's why we are amazed and awestruck to realize that Jesus' first words from the Cross were ones of forgiveness.

Unknown-5

And these words came after hours of suffering:  agony in Gethsemane, betrayal, arrest, abandonment and denial by his own, illegal trial after trial, scourging, mocking, carrying His cross.

Then as He was being nailed to and raised on that same cross, He said,

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34

Jesus seemed to have a special love for those who betrayed and abused Him.  Think about it...Judas, He called "Friend"; Peter, He had already interceded for and later restored; the deserting disciples, He loved still; His rejecting nation, He wept over; and now this angry mob and these vicious executioners, He forgave.

And aren't we all in that list?  Put yourself there and realize that when Jesus was suffering and dying, He was forgiving you and me:  all our evil deeds -- past, present, and future;  all the evil that dwells in our flesh -- the self-sins: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, and a host of others that make up the self-life (AW Tozer, Pursuit of God).

And sin separates us from God*...so we need Christ's forgiveness.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit... 1 Peter 3:18

And sin also separates us from one another*...and that's where the struggle comes in.  Here's a question that I've been pondering:

Did Jesus struggle with forgiving as we do? Or could it be because of our self-sins that we struggle so? What do you think? (You can weigh in below in the comments if you'd like.)

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Giambattista Tiepolo 1750

Here are a few of my thoughts:  Maybe that was part of what went on in Gethsemane.  Jesus struggled there with the will of the Father, but He surrendered Himself to it:

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. Luke 22:42-43

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him... Hebrews 5:7-9

When we struggle with forgiveness, we need exactly what Jesus needed...surrender to the Father's will and purpose, even in our hurt and pain.  As we go through the decision as well as the process (because for most of us, it's both), we can remember the loving and forgiving Christ who lives within.  He will forgive and love through us if we let Him (that's called faith).

A few years back, I was struggling with forgiving in a certain situation.  I asked the Lord to give me a picture of Himself in my mind and heart when I felt offended, rejected, left out, or neglected.  Immediately what came to me was a picture of Jesus' face as He was dying on the Cross and speaking the words,

Jesus on cross

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Are you struggling with forgiveness, dear brother or sister?  Fill your mind and heart with the forgiving Christ.  Invite Him into the hurt and surrender to the Father's child training.  He will love and forgive through you as you trust Him.

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.  Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 4:32-5:2

Amazing Love

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken, I’m accepted, You were condemned. I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me, Because You died and rose again.

Chorus Amazing love, How can it be That You, my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.

You are my King Jesus You are my King You are my King

*Many thanks to pastors and friends at Abiding Christ Church for generously sharing your congregational Lenten study, The Last Seven Statements from the Cross. I've borrowed some of the titles and thoughts from that study.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

reading the Bible

Bible Students:

The New Covenant was inaugurated through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper (Communion) to remember this new covenant in His blood.  Luke 22:14-20 Basic to all the New Covenant promises is forgiveness of sins. Read through Hebrews 8:6-12. List the promises/provisions of the New Covenant.  Be sure to note the reason all these are possible in verse 12.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explore the Greek words for forgiveness:

1. aphiemi, aphesis= to send forth or away; to let go from oneself This is the word used in Luke 23:34. "The expression 'to forgive sins' or to remit sins means to remove the sins from someone. Only God is said to be able to do this (Mark 2:10).  To forgive sins is not to disregard them and do nothing about them, but to liberate a person from them, their guilt, and their power."  Spiro Zodiates, NT Word Study Dictionary. See also Romans 4:7; 1John 1:9, 2:12; Ephesians 1:7-8
2. charizomai = to show someone a favor, be kind to; to give or bestow something willingly; derived from charis, "grace""The most common meaning peculiar to the NT is to pardon, to graciously remit a person's sin (Col 2:13)...also to forgive someone, be gracious   to (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13)."  Zodiates.
3. apoluein = to release, pardon a prisoner, release a debtor. See Luke 6:37, Matt 18:27
4. paresis = to disregard, a passing over, an overlooking of faults.  See Romans 3:25

Recommended Reading:

Lewis B. Smedes,  Shame & Grace. Chapter 17 ("Coming to Terms with Our Shamers") has very helpful thoughts on forgiveness.  Smedes has also authored a book, Forgive & Forget.  I haven't read it, but it might be worth looking at by clicking on the link.

a holy experience button

A beautiful, "hands on" forgiveness devotional by Ann Voskamp

Lenten Meditation: Last Words...and Conversations

The last words of a dying person are important.  They can communicate good or ill to those left behind.  Why?  Because the last words are so final...and so revealing of what was uppermost in the person's mind as he was leaving this earth to face his Maker. I've never been at the bedside of a dying person.  But I have been with a few people just days before their death.

My "Babci" (Polish for grandmother) was hospitalized after a heart attack.  She wasn't expected to die then, but she did just before being released.  But I had visited her from out-of-town, and I remember her looking at a picture of Jesus knocking on the heart's door saying, "O how much He suffered for us!"  To me, these were her last words that reflected a lifetime of devotion to her Lord.

Another person I visited shortly before his death was the father of a young friend.  As I took his hand to pray for him that night in hospice, this dad struggled to say something.  I waited to hear what he was trying to say.  Finally his words came..."I'm concerned about Mary's [not her real name] relationship with Jesus."

I told Mary the next day about her dad's concern.  That day she had time alone with him and said, "Daddy, I love Jesus."  And right then her daddy went home to his Lord.  His last words were those of loving concern for his daughter.

Sadly though, that's not always the case.  I had close relative who spoke angry words to his sons just hours before he suddenly died of a heart-attack -- no time to make things right...no time to express the love he really felt.  Needless to say, the sons struggle, but live with, the memory of these final harsh words from their father.

So last words can have an incredible impact...

This is especially true of the last statements of our Savior from the Cross.  And this will be the subject of the next few weeks as we prepare to celebrate the greatest day for us believers, the Resurrection of our Lord.

When we realize the agonizing death caused by crucifixion, it's incredible to think that our Lord would say what He said hanging from a cruel cross.  Angry, blaspheming words,  like those spoken by the criminals crucified with Him, would more readily come to mind for most people.

Bible scholar, Bernard Guy, says of crucifixion:

Crucifixion was a form of torture that literally knocked the wind out of a person. The weight of the body suspended by the arms caused immediate pain in the chest, paralyzing the pectoral muscles and making breathing extremely difficult. The person being crucified could inhale but had great difficulty exhaling. To exhale he had to push on his feet and straighten his legs to release the pressure exerted on his arms and chest. But the pain that this caused to his feet was so excruciating, because of the nails, that he would immediately cease any such effort. Death usually occurred within two or three days. But when the Romans wanted to shorten his agony, they would break his legs. So, unable to straighten himself with the help of his legs, the man would suffocate rapidly. The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus to hasten their deaths, but Jesus’ legs were not broken because he was already dead (John 19:3133). Thus was accomplished a prophecy from Scripture saying that none of his bones would be broken (John 19:36). It is in this context, while he was fighting for his every breath, that Jesus uttered his last words. ("The Last Seven Words of Jesus," bible.org)

Here are the seven last statements of Christ from the Cross.  Let us be amazed as we reflect on these one by one in the weeks ahead.

1. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34
2. I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43
3. Dear woman, here is your son...Here is your mother.John 19:26-27
4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?Matthew 27:46
5. I am thirsty.John 19:28
6. It is finished! John 19:30
7. Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.Luke 23:46

Next time: Father, forgive them... A Word of forgiveness

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bible Students:

On the night before He died, our Lord had an intimate time with His disciples.  He poured out His heart to His beloved followers.  In Jesus' own words, we hear His longing for His own:

I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.  Luke 22:14-16

Put yourself in that group of disciples and join the conversation.

Read, meditate, and journal on the final thoughts and words of your Lord to YOU.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  John 17:20-21

Here are the passages in chronological order according to theHarmony of the Gospels:

Chapters 14-17 [of the gospel of John] are called the Heart of Christ.  Nowhere does the Master lay bare His very soul more than here in chapters 15 and 16, with the allegory of the Vine and the teaching concerning the Holy Spirit. AT Robertson, Harmony of the Gospels

• Luke 22:14-16, 24-30 -- a New Covenant in His blood, kingdom conversation
• John 13:1-38 -- Jesus washing the disciples feet (washing and being washed)
• Luke 22:17-20 -- Communion
• John 14 -- a place and a Comforter promised
• John 15 -- the Vine and the branches
• John 16 -- the world's hatred and trials, work of the Holy Spirit
• John17 -- Jesus' High Priestly prayer (listen in to prayer within the Godhead...wow!  For you and me!!!)
• Mark 14:26, 32-42 -- Jesus' agony in Gethsemane

If you would like to view a very moving dramatization of John 12-17 (all scripture), click on the youtube links below in the order given.

Lenten Meditation: Dust to Dust

I grew up in a liturgical church.  So from my childhood into my early adulthood, I observed the church calendar.   Ash Wednesday marked a real turning point in the calendar year.  It was a turn from comfort, frivolity, and enjoyment (think Mardi Gras) to a time of repentance, self-denial, and mortification called Lent. Ash Wednesday was a day when we all remembered that someday we would each die and face our Maker.  The priest would put the sign of the cross on our foreheads in black ashes and say,

Remember, Man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. [based on Genesis 3:19]

A  very sobering reminder...and I took it all very seriously.

Even though I'm not a part of a liturgical congregation now, I think it's a good thing to remember that death is up ahead for each of us.

But why death?  The Bible says,

The wages of sin is death...  Romans 6:23a

But the good news is

...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 6:23b

Pastor and Bible teacher, Chuck Swindoll, takes the symbolism of the ashen cross a step further.  He says,

The mark is a sign of Christ's ownership of the person and a symbol of sorrow for sins...We are His possessions and a true appreciation for the cost of our salvation begins with an understanding of the seriousness of sin.

So while Ash Wednesday reminds us of our sin and our mortality, we can look ahead to Good Friday and Easter Sunday because we are His possession.  We know the end of the story, and (as someone has said) "We win"...because HE won!

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  1Peter 2:24

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  Hebrews 2:14-15

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Cor 15:54-57

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More Lenten meditations to come:  Jesus' last words from the Cross Subscribe via email (right) or RSS (top right)

It Takes a Village...

February is American Heart Month. How appropriate since February is also the month of Valentine's Day, celebrating the heart's favorite emotion -- LOVE. Well, this year American Heart Month takes on new meaning because the "love of my life" had a heart attack six months ago.  So the last six months have brought lots of changes to both of our lives, but especially his.  And cardiac rehab has been a big part of these past six months.  As many heart patients know, cardiac rehab takes a village...

It has taken a village of medical personnel.  There were the paramedics who responded when we called 9-1-1; the doctors who did the heart cath; the nurses who cared for John in the hospital; the physical therapists and technicians who exercised and educated him so he could find his "new normal"...and the list goes on and on.

Then there were the neighbors, family, and friends who prayed, jumped in to help, and emailed, facebooked, called, and sent cards with words of encouragement. There were also fellow heart patients, past and present, who empathized and spurred John on.

It has taken all of these folks using their expertise, gifting, and care to enable John to recover from a "widow-maker" level heart attack.  Now he can live in relative good health for as long as God ordains.  We thank God for the village He's provided.

All of this makes me think of the village the Lord has provided for our "spiritual cardiac rehab."

Through our personal heart relationship with the Lord Christ, we have received a new heart and new spirit, so we are complete in Him.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you....And I will put my Spirit within you...  Ezekiel 36:26-27

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  2Cor 5:17

But while we are living in our broken humanness on this earth, we need our minds, affections, and wills continually renewed.  And in God's eternal plan in Christ Jesus, it takes a village...the Body of Christ, the community of believers, His church.

Our minds get darkened by the enemy's lies.  Our affections get wooed by the "sweet-talkin'" world.  Our wills are weakened and pulled away from God and His ways.  And all of this even while we have the indwelling life of God in Christ through the Spirit.

Oswald Chambers (July 12, My Utmost for His Highest) says it well:

THE SPIRITUAL SOCIETY "Till we all come . . unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13

Rehabilitation means the putting back of the whole human race into the relationship God designed it to be in, and this is what Jesus Christ did in Redemption... The rehabilitation of the human race on Jesus Christ's plan means the realization of Jesus Christ in corporate life as well as in individual life.

Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this purpose - that the corporate Personality might be realized. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy spiritual retirement; we are here so to realize Jesus Christ that the Body of Christ may be built up. Am I building up the Body of Christ, or am I looking for my own personal development only?

The essential thing is my personal relationship to Jesus Christ - "That I may know Him." To fulfill God's design means entire abandonment to Him. Whenever I want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. It will be a big humiliation to realize that I have not been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ, but only about realizing what He has done for me.

So our growth in Christ not for our own spiritual "pleasure."  We all need each other for our "spiritual cardiac rehab" on this earth.

How does this work?

1. Connect to a community of believers who know and love the Lord, His Word, and His people. Today, there are many options:  from small groups to house churches to mega-congregations; from contemporary & casual to formal and even liturgical. The important thing is...where does GOD want you.  No matter what you choose, it won't be perfect.  As one Bible teacher I know used to say, "If you find the perfect church, don't join it...because you'll ruin it."  :)
2. Give to & receive from others in the body of Christ. I love the story in John 13 where Jesus washed His disciples feet.  Most of us immediately get the lesson that we are to "wash each others' feet" by serving them. But tucked in that passage is the added lesson that we need to let our feet be washed by our brothers and sisters.  When Peter protested about the Lord washing his feet, Jesus responded: Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.   John 13:8 It dawned on me one day when reading that verse that perhaps part of what Jesus was saying was...if you don't let your brothers and sisters serve and minister to you, you are rejecting ME..."no part with ME!"
3. Use whatever gifts the Lord has given to build up one another and glorify God and His grace. One of my favorite Bible words is "manifold."  It means various, multi-colored, variegated (like yarn), multi-faceted (like diamonds)...and it's used in my favorite verses about spiritual gifts:

   As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So each of us is a "facet" in the brilliant diamond of God's glorious grace when we serve in the fulness of the Spirit in the gifting He's given us.  What a privilege!  And what a protection as we walk through this sin-cursed world.

Don't try to do it on your own, dear brother and sister.  We need each other in the Body of Christ!  As a friend once said when going through some dark trials in his family, "The Body of Christ is at its best when a believer suffers!"  Why?  Because we are part of each other.   And the Lord's multi-faceted grace ministers through His people!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bible Students:

If you would like to read and study further about spiritual gifts, look at these passages:

Romans 12:3-13

1 Cor 12:4-31

Eph 4:7-16

Be sure to note what the goal or purpose (anticipated outcome) of the gifts is in each of these passages.  Our unity in diversity is a beautiful thing to behold!

Loving and Being Loved

man with flowers

Last year on Valentines Day, I ran to Kroger to pick up a few needed items.  As I got out of my car in the parking lot and walked across the lot to enter the store, I saw a man leaving, carrying a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers!   For some reason, it moved me to tears. Here was a middle-aged, short, stocky guy...not handsome at all....not romantic looking or attractive in any way.  And yet, I realized he was incredibly blessed because he LOVES someone.

Maybe she's a wife, a sweetheart, a daughter, a mother...but he has SOMEONE to love.

And maybe she loves HIM in return!

Love is a gift...both sides of love -- loving and being loved.

If you love someone today...let him/her know!  If you are loved by someone today...be thankful!

Above all, dear friend, know that you are loved by your God...be thankful and let HIM know!

conversation hearts

We love because He first loved us! 1 John 4:19

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

The Class of '65 Turns 65

Jan's senior pic

You heard it first here, people...or maybe not!  This year the class of '65...the beginning of the Baby Boomers...the "American Dream" era...is turning 65!  And that's me! Even though 65 is the new 55... when you go on Medicare, I'm sorry, 65 is 65!

But I'm not bitter...truly!  I've lived nicely in "La, La Land" thanks to my sweet, care-giving husband who takes care of all our business and finances.  But now I have decisions to make because I'm turning 65 a year and a half before him!  I need to make my medicare choices in the next few months before my birthday!

vanity mirror

It's not that "aging" hasn't stared me in the mirror for years...it has.  Years ago, I remember my mother-in-law telling me how she marveled as she looked in the mirror, "Who's that old lady staring back at me?"

Even though my mom tries to add some perspective, "Why are you telling your age...you're just a KID!"  Keep in mind that she's 87!

Daddy & me wedding day

In some ways, aging has sneaked up on me...

But I'm the same high school girl who got crushes, the same college girl who fell in love with "the Man" [click here to see him and read about our 40th anniversary];

baby Jeremy and me

the same young woman who was walked down the aisle by her Daddy;

the same young mother who gave birth first to a beloved son and then to a darling daughter;

the same woman who raised them, nursed them, educated them, agonized over them, and then launched them

baby Beth & me

into their own adult lives...to fall in love with their own "Loves" and have their own babies.

And I'm still that same woman staring back at me in the mirror...praising God (not without a few tears) for those years and for time I still have with "the Man" [click here to see how I almost lost him].

The question is "Can I age with grace and spiritual beauty grounded in the LORD and His love"...even if I've become "invisible" to the "youth & beauty" worshiping culture around me?

I love and hold to the beautiful promise (and prediction) the LORD gives his aging children in Psalm 92:12-15 [note: I've made the reference specifically female, though it could be either] --

fruitful plam tree

The righteous woman will flourish like a palm tree,

She will grow like a cedar of Lebanon

Planted in the house of the Lord,

She will flourish in the courts of our God.

She will still yield fruit in old age;

She shall be full of sap and very green

To declare the Lord is upright;

He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him!

My heart's desire is to continue to declare Him to be my all-sufficient Rock through my words and deeds as long as the Lord gives me life and breath on this earth.

LORD Jesus, may it be so through the power of your Indwelling Life.  Amen!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is just for fun...while I'm still 64...until June 16, 2012:)

Walkin' n talkin' n...Talkin' n walkin'...

Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? Luke 24:32

Carter and I have this thing goin' -- walkin' n talkin'...n talkin' n walkin'...n walkin' n talkin' n....on and on and on.

It's pure delight for both of us, because Carter is 3-1/2...and I'm Carter's Babci (Polish for Grandma).  I know it won't last forever -- he'll grow up and become interested in many other things.  But for right now, we have each other and walkin' n talkin' n talkin' n walkin'!

Well, what is walkin' n talkin' n talkin' n walkin'?  It's simply this:  we just walk (or trot if you're Carter) and chat up a storm at a local, enclosed shopping area.

What do we talk about?  Anything and everything...from the mundane to the sublime -- like blue ugly dolls to how many frosties (snowmen) do we see...to which one we like best (mine's the one with the plaid scarf, his is the one with the sparkly colors)...or whether the train will be running in the children's department of the shoe store.

Carter & I talk about how we love each other, and how we are "best buds."  We also talk about how God wants him to obey mommy and daddy, and how Jesus living in him obeys through him (explained in 3 year old talk, of course!).

And of course, we eat burgers and play games in our booth at Buffalo Wild Wings.   What a glorious day!

My time with Carter reminds me of another pair of "Walkers & Talkers" -- Jesus and His disciples.  They "walked and talked" everywhere together --  through grain fields, through vineyards, from one town to another to another, and even out on the water...chatting up a storm.

Of course, Jesus being the Rabbi did the most significant talking.  But the disciples chatted too, sometimes putting their "foot in their mouths"...like asking who would be the greatest in the kingdom, etc.  But that was okay because Jesus loved them anyway...they were "best buds!"

Perhaps my favorite "walk" of theirs is the one on the road to Emmaus right after Jesus' resurrection (Luke 24).  Unlike my walks with Carter, the two disciples didn't even realize that it was their Lord Jesus Christ that was walking with them.

And He was sharing the Scriptures with them that spoke of Himself and His death, burial, and resurrection.  It wasn't until the intimate activity of eating together, that their eyes were opened to know HIM as their walking companion.

I think it's the same with us present-day disciples of Jesus.  We often "go our merry (or not so merry) way" feeling like the Lord is "up there somewhere" sending down a little help if we ask.  When in reality He is "God with Us" in close association with us at all times.  In fact, He is united to us in oneness.

A while ago, I was going through what felt like rejection in some areas of my life.

It all left me confused and disheartened...and LONELY!  I decided to go for a walk through a beautiful senior center near our home.

As I walked, I moaned and groaned to myself:  NOBODY really knows me...NOBODY really cares...NOBODY really gets who I am!

I sat down on the grass in a grove of trees, feeling all ALONE.

Then came the still small voice of my unseen Walking Partner:  Nobody really knew ME...nobody really cared for ME...nobody really got Who I AM! (Nobody except His heavenly Father, that is).

It was then that I realized that I hadn't been walking and moaning alone...

So the rest of the way, I walked hand-in-hand with the LONELY ONE.

What about you, my dear brother and sister in Christ?

Do you realize that you have a Life Walking Partner Who is your Almighty Loving Lord Christ? You are never alone, and you are always understood and cherished.  No matter what you're going through, walk through it hand-in-hand with HIM.

There's a song Wayne Watson put out a while ago, Walk in the Dark. (I've printed out the lyrics below.)  At first, I didn't understand it, because I naively thought Christians always walked in the "light."  After all, Jesus is the Light of the World, isn't He?   But after I went through some dark crises, then I got it!

If you are walking through darkness right now, may this be your heart cry...it's better to walk in the dark with JESUS, than to walk in the light on your own...Amen!

WALK IN THE DARK

where are you taking me-why are we turning here this road is strange to me-this path is not so clear must be the place where my doubt turns to faith where I close my eyes and take your hand

CHORUS: I'd rather walk in the dark with Jesus Than walk in the light on my own I'd rather go through the valley of the shadow with him Than to dance on the mountains alone I'd rather follow wherever he leads me Than to go where none before me have gone I'd rather walk in the dark with Jesus Than to walk in the light of my own

I've made some plans you know-mapped out a strategy Somebody tell me where did the seasons go-have you forgotten me I've heard the darkest hour is just before dawn And wherever you are the sun will shine

CHORUS

There will be shadows-but I won't be shaken 'Cause you've never forsaken a vow You've never failed me before this I know And, Jesus, you won't fail me now

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bible Students: Perhaps you would like to  explore some of Jesus' other walks with His disciples.  Here are a few to get you started:

Through a grain field on the Sabbath -- Luke 6 Through Samaria, encountering the Samaritan woman -- John 4 On the water with Peter -- Matthew 14:22-33 Through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem before the Triumphal entry -- Luke 18:31-19:40 Through a vineyard on the way to Gethsemane -- John 15 On the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection -- Luke 24:13-35

Don't know Him? Or maybe you're just not sure?  Click here and read of one woman's spiritual journey.  Prayerfully reflect on the Scriptures.  May you come to put your faith in the One who loves you and died for you

More "Moi Joy" -- a Response

Many of you have read my December post on what the Lord is doing among the Moi people of Papua, Indonesia through the Browns and other New Tribes missionaries. This week I received a response to that post from a dear family friend, Ron Hoffman.  Ron and his wife Eileen are themselves retired missionaries.  Ron was moved, after reading Rich's story, to share his meditations.

You may want to take a peek at Rich Brown's post to refresh your memory.  Then read and be encouraged by Ron's inspiring devotional response:

After reading the Browns’ experience with the Moi People, my mind went to the Apostle Paul when he visited the city of Corinth. Here was a city known to be without the true God.  It was common to hear at the time that when one was self-indulgent and controlled by sensuality, he was said to be “living like a Corinthian.”

When Paul began preaching at Corinth, the Lord spoke to him in a vision one night,

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. Acts 18:9, 10 NIV

As with the Browns, Paul was seeking to “see a church born from ashes.”  Apparently, fear that this might not happen crept into Paul’s life.   The Lord was reminding Paul that it was His Church and His people.  Paul’s responsibility was to present the Gospel, and it was the Holy Spirit who would bring the Corinthians to salvation.  The results – Paul stayed a year and a half teaching the Word of God as the church continued to grow.

Isn’t it wonderful to realize that the Lord is still bringing people to Himself from all over the world through men and women like the Browns?  We all agree with Rich in speaking about our part in this process:

"He desired to use people like me, who are naturally selfish and unloving to show the Moi His entirely selfless and loving Son. The plan really didn’t make sense, but strength being made perfect in weakness is a foreign concept anyway.”

The thrilling results of their ministry encourage all of us.  It is wonderful to hear,

“I am totally overwhelmed…I thank you, I praise you Creator.”

And, this is from a man who all his life lived in a society “full of fear, hate, and treachery” one that had “frequent sickness and homicides” and “had lost all knowledge of God.”  Then we hear that not only do the Moi believers call out “Thank you Creator!” and “Praise you Creator!” but also have written countless songs of praise and thanksgiving.

These words of praise invite us to visit the future scene in Heaven found in Revelation 4 and 5.  As we cast our crowns before God, all believers will be exclaiming:

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you have created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being…You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise…To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. Rev. 4:11; 5:9, 12, 13 NIV

Isn’t it exciting?  We might be standing next to a Moi as we experience this ultimate praise service!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ron shares his own story:

Ministry did not begin for me until later in life.  I was raised in a somewhat religious home but did not trust Christ as Savior until I was 20 years old at a religious retreat in Berchtesgaden, Germany while serving in the U. S. Army.

Ten years later, after marrying my wife, Eileen, and as a father of Tim and Sharon, I was called by the Lord to get further Bible training at Moody Bible Institute.  At that time, a friendship was nurtured from a one-time meeting in PA with John and Jan Loyd.

Ron & Eileen Hoffman

After graduation from Moody Bible Institute in 1976, we began ministry with American Missionary Fellowship – locating in S IL as Area Missionaries to local rural churches andCamp WE WO SE JE.  In 1992 – locating near Nashville TN - we began ministry as a Regional Director with AMF.  This involved leadership with AMF missionaries in 7 Mid South states. Our son and family continued the ministry in S IL and at Camp WE WO SE JE.

Since retiring in 2007 from the Regional Director position, Eileen and I have enjoyed visiting with family and friends in TN and IL.  I also enjoy writing, assisting in camping ministries, woodworking, gardening and home improvement projects.

Ron Hoffman 1/22/12

In Pain...Two Things I Know

Tears

Surely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8 PAIN!

Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it? 

For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!

And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...

...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.   C.S. Lewis

In pain as in joy, I'm learning to hold onto two truths that are my "Unchangeables," my non-negotiables:

GOD IS GOODThe LORD is good...

I AM LOVED...and His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

And it seems the enemy of our souls always assails at those two points with hislies.  It happened in the Garden, and it happens every day in my life and in yours.  We are just dull to recognize it.

But I'm hear to affirm by faith...

God is GOOD!

God's character is often bought into question when we face the "hard things" in life, like sickness, death, broken relationships, financial reversals, and so on.

When our son and daughter went through serious health problems (cancer and what turned out to be benign tumors) within months of each other, it threw me into incredible pain and confusion: "How could this be happening to my children!?" "What kind of toxic waste dump have we been living in!?" And I struggled on...for a long time!

reflections on Christ - crucifixion

Finally, it was Jesus' words to His disciples, the night before He died, that stabilized me:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

But why all the suffering?  God's Word tells us that because of the Fall, everything and everyone has been suffering:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:21-23

God's plan hasn't been stymied because of man's fall into rebellion.  God is weaving all things in our lives into His eternal plan in Christ.

tapestry, front & back

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:28-29

As Bible teacher Kay Arthur says,

Everything in our lives is filtered through fingers of Love!

And that brings me to my second "Unchangeable"...

I am LOVED and you are too!

We all are seeking perfect love...loving and being loved in a real and deep way.  This is God-given.  But I get myself into trouble when I expect perfect love from another person, or I try to live up to others' expectations simply so that they will love and accept me.

The realization that I am loved with an everlasting love by the Lover of my Soul, the Lord Jesus Christ, enables me to let others off the hook.  It also frees me to admit and repent of my failures to love...and then forgive myself.

house

Maybe this is part of what we each must go through in adulthood in coming to grips with our "parent issues."  In a perfect world, all of us would have been parented by perfect parents who met all our needs.  But in reality, none of us has...though some of us have had some pretty darn good ones!

But in finally coming to grips with our grief and loss, we can forgive others for not loving us as only God can.

It's at that moment that you and I can fully embrace God's incredible, perfect love for us...and embrace our life, choosing to love with the love with which we have beenloved by God.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing,... None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing— nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable —absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:35-39 MSG

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1 ESV

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kaden the student

Bible Students:

Click on the highlighted links for further study.  There are several Bible-based articles by Biblical scholars, Scripture references, and links to other posts that have further explanation and Scriptural background.

Recommended Reading:

book -- One Thousand Gifts

When I was in the midst of writing this blog post, I came to chapter 5 of Ann Voskamp's beautifully written book One Thousand Gifts:  Dare to live Fully Right Where You Are. Ann shares the raw pain and suffering in her life that led her to the same conclusion-- God is always good and I am always loved. I was delighted, surprised (but why should I be!?), and encouraged that God is speaking this same liberating message to His children everywhere.  I highly recommend this beautiful book!

Ancient Words

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

reading the Bible

I love these words of Jeremiah.  God's Word is "so delicious," as my friend Penny would say.  I consume it as my daily manna.

My Love Language is "words."  So when God's Word is "highlighted" by the Holy Spirit to my heart, I feel loved.  That's when I experience Jesus' words to be true again and again:

My sheep [continue to] hear My voiceand I know them and they [continue to] follow me. John 10:27

Imagine my delight then this morning at worship, joining with orchestra, choir, and congregation to sing this most celebratory of songs.  Perhaps you would like to join in, thanking God for His loving gift of the Word.

ANCIENT WORDS

Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world, They resound with God's own heart. Oh let the ancient words impart

Words of Life, words of Hope Give us strength, help us cope In this world, where e'er we roam Ancient words will guide us Home.

CHORUS: Ancient words ever true Changing me and changing you, We have come with open hearts Oh let the ancient words impart

Holy words of our Faith Handed down to this age Came to us through sacrifice Oh heed the faithful words of Christ.

Holy words long preserved For our walk in this world. They resound with God's own heart Oh let the ancient words impart.

CHORUS We have come with open hearts Oh let the ancient words impart

Bible

"We thank Thee, O our Speaking God, for Your amazing gift of communication to us Your children...through the Living Word, our Lord Christ and through Your written word, the Scriptures."

Regret...or Re-NEW?

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!

We regret our offenses:

hurts we have caused

sins we've committed

walls we've built up toward others

We regret our missed opportunities:

to take advantage of new, though frightening, possibilities

to choose love in difficult relationships

to die to our own selfishness in order to serve

And the lists go on...and the regrets can eat you alive

...maybe because we can't believe we were so selfish or foolish!

...maybe because we can't undo them!

...maybe because those opportunities are gone forever!

But whatever the regret or the reason, if we are to begin afresh in the NEW YEAR, we need to put the past to rest...to rest, that is, in the hands of our Sovereign Father God.

Oswald Chambers says it well, speaking of the regret Christ's disciples must have felt when they didn't watch and pray with the Lord...

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair [...regret?].

The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, "Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore." If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair.

But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, "Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing."

In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.

There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them.

The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.”

If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption. Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.

Jesus is in the redeeming and renewing business.  He has promises that are sure:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.    1 John 1:7-9

So we can flip the page of the calendar to this new year...trusting that our Sovereign God is weaving everything in our lives-- past, present, and future--including our faults, failures, and yes, even our sin (because of His grace) into the beautiful tapestry of His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-14: Romans 8:28-39).

My life is like a weaving Between my Lord and me I do not chose the colors He worketh patiently Sometimes He weaveth sorrow And I in foolish pride Forgets He sees the upper And I the underside

Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reasons why The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver's skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned

(author unknown)

"Moi" Joy!

I'm so excited to share this story with you.   Some of you may have read my Christmas post MEGA-JOY.  Well, here is a real life sequel...with all the drama and joy of a present day coming of Emmanuel. Rich Brown (my first "guest branch") is our real life storyteller.  He and his wife Karen, along with their sweet daughters Atalee, Alyssa, and Ashlynn, are church planters with New Tribes Mission among the Moi people of Papua, Indonesia.  After years of seeming fruitlessness, the Lord has brought forth an amazing harvest of new believers among the Moi.

Now that the frenzy of Christmas shopping and wrapping and unwrapping is over, take a few moments to read Rich's account of this incredible work of God.  And be sure to witness the joy and thanksgiving that broke through for one man at the moment of salvation (shown in the video at the end).

Rich speaking:

What would it be like if you were born among a small people group of 1000 surrounded by beautiful jungle covered mountains?  Doesn’t sound too bad, maybe.  Well, what if the 1000 people you lived among were full of fear, hate, and treachery?  What initially might have sounded like a romantic setting suddenly becomes dark and oppressive.  This is the setting that the Moi people were born into.

Before the year 2000 the Moi were totally untouched and unknown by the outside world.  They were literally stuck in time; living just like their ancestors from centuries before.  Death was all too real with an infant mortality rate of 75%.  If they managed to be the one in four that survived childhood they likely weren’t going to live long because of frequent sickness and homicide.   Their world was sad. What makes their story even more heart wrenching is the fact that they were not just victims of circumstance, but rather, reapers of what they and their ancestors before them had sown.  They lost all knowledge of God.  In fact they did not even have a name for God, fearing only the evil spirits.  Their ancestors had followed after a course that led to a hopeless eternity from God.  All the generations that followed had also fallen headlong into the depths of a world without the knowledge of God.

Romans 1 so clearly shows this downward spiral mankind is on.  We, like the Moi, had chosen a path 180 degrees from Him.  In Romans 1:21 it says, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The desire to worship and thank God had been lost.  Although man did not seek God, He in His goodness had sought man.  He promised a Deliverer through Eve and many generations later that promise was fulfilled through His Son, Jesus.  After Jesus presented himself as a perfect sacrifice for mankind through his death, he rose from the dead three days later.  In His final words on earth he sent his followers to share the Good News about Him to all mankind.  He had made a way for people who were lost in their sins and blinded by Satan, the ruler of this present darkness, to be freed once and for all.  Hebrews 2:14b-15 says, “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

In God’s goodness and love He had a plan for bringing the Moi people back to Himself.  For hundreds of years God had been looking down at this people group, with their own distinct language and culture, desiring that they might know Him.  Yet the Moi continued to live as they had for centuries without the knowledge of God.

Romans 10:14 says, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”

Before we were ever born God knew who would go and tell the Moi.

He would use a total of four different families to reach this small people group.  He desired to use people like me, who are naturally selfish and unloving to show the Moi His entirely selfless and loving Son.  The plan really didn’t make sense, but strength being made perfect in weakness is a foreign concept anyway.

In June of 2000 three families, with New Tribes Mission, left their relatives and homes to live among the newly discovered Moi people.  Supported by a network of believers around the world they intended to see a church born from ashes.

They began the long process of learning the language and culture of the Moi so when God’s Word was finally taught it would speak to their hearts.  Day in and day out they were salt and light to the Moi.  Medical care was one of the means of showing God’s love and compassion.  Sadly, only three years after living among the Moi, one of the families had to leave for health reasons.  In August 2005 we joined the team.  By this time the Moi language had been analyzed and reduced to writing.  Chronological Bible teaching lessons were being developed into Moi and accompanying scripture portions were being translated.  We actually had to come up with a name for God since they didn’t have one.  Taking the verb “anegite”, to create, we made the name, “Anegitemee”, the Creator.  It literally meant, “the one who creates”.

Finally, after years of hard work the time had come to present the truth about the Creator.  None of the Moi knew who this “Creator” was, but eight of the Moi were curious enough to find out.  For seven weeks they sat through the teaching.  Listening to nine lessons a week they were taken from Creation to Christ.  They were blown away by power and majesty of the Creator.  He was so powerful he could speak the worlds into existence and yet so loving He would walk in the garden with Adam and Eve, the pinnacle of His creation.

The faith of the eight who would believe continued to grow.  As they intently listened to the unfolding of God’s plan they saw His awesome power not only displayed in creation, but also in judgment of sin.  He wiped out the world with a flood and saved the eight who believed in Him.  He set a bow in the sky as a promise to never again destroy the world by flood.  They learned for the first time that the rainbow wasn’t an evil spirit’s walking stick, as they had always heard.  Right after the lessons on Noah and the flood, as we were leaving the small schoolhouse, we looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow.  The Moi for the first time in their history spoke words of praise and thanksgiving, “Thank you Creator!  It is a sign of your promise.  Praise you Creator!”

That day marked the first day where words of praise and thanksgiving were finally given to the one to whom all praise and thanksgiving are due.

A few weeks later the first eight of the Moi understood and believed in the substitutionary death of Jesus on their behalf.  He was their spotless lamb who had taken away their sins.  They were forgiven.  It was fitting that the Creator would make them into new creations in Christ.  They were never the same.

God used those first eight Moi believers to turn their world upside down.  They were radically changed by “The Creator’s Talk”.  From the testimony of their changed lives the Moi church has grown from eight to more than 120 believers.  The believers have written countless songs of praise and thanksgiving.

It says in Psalm 107:22, And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of JOY!

Here is Mbanapeoma’s testimony only moments after understanding and believing what Christ had done for him on the cross.  Notice his first ever words of praise and thanksgiving given to Him who alone is worthy.  Praise you Creator God!

If you would like to contact Rich and Karen and learn more about their lives and ministry among the Moi, please visit Rich's blog.

To read a response by Ron Hoffman, an AMF missionary...

6--brown_family

URGENT PRAYER NEED for the Moi: Rich received word that there's a tribal war going on right now.  It's possible that some of the new Moi believers may have been killed in that war. Isn't it amazing to think that some of those who not long ago were in darkness and without God could now be in the arms of their Savior! Read Rich's Christmas letter to learn more...but above all, please PRAY!!!!!

Remembering Jesus’ BIRTH-day

Taste and see that the Lord is good; how happy is the one who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8 I had good intentions.  The recipe looked easy enough, yet festive:  Chocolate Orange Cake.  I figured last year “the boys” were old enough to  enjoy a birthday for Jesus.  And who doesn’t like chocolate?  Even though I had been  tempted by the beautiful little chocolate cake at Trader Joe’s, I decided to take the plunge myself.  I pulled out the spring form pan (which I had worked with before) and went at it.

I wasn’t prepared for the result!  Even though my toothpick came out clean, something happened to part of the middle as it cooled on the rack!  If the whole middle had sunk a little, it wouldn’t have been that bad.  But there it was, a desperately mis-shapen birthday cake for Jesus.  My efforts at patching it up just ended in making it worse:  glaze sliding off one side, crumbs in the glaze…nothing I tried helped.

Discouraged, pressured, and ready to pitch the thing and go spend $7.99 for that cute little TJ cake, I remembered… JESUS!  I realized that He probably NEVER had a perfect birthday cake (if they even did that in those days).  Even His actual birth-day was far from perfect…no hospital, no doctor, no nursery with a clean crib and changing table, no doting relatives, no baby showers, no “home sweet home”, not even a room in a hotel…but rather a barn filled with animals, far from loved-ones, with two teen-aged parents, and unclean out-casts with their sheep for visitors!  (Of course, God couldn’t resist throwing in a few angels and a star!  But they were only “visible” to the few believing hearts).

Something began to change in my attitude toward my cake.  Now it was a picture, a “metaphor”, for my Lovely Lord who wasn’t one of the beautiful people (kinda like my cake):

“He has no beauty or majesty that we should look upon Him nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” (Is 53:2)

My cake began to speak to me of this Glorious One who came to earth and put up with a broken, imperfect life for my sake: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (pitched His tent) among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…who although He existed in the form of God, …emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:5-8)

So I swallowed my pride and put a little crystal nativity on top.  When it was time for dessert, I read the verses from Isaiah, and we sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.  The funny thing is that it was actually “delicious”…kinda like Jesus, huh?

Taste and see that the Lord is good; how happy is the one who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

MEGA- JOY!

London_Trooping_the_Color_02

Joy is the flag that flies over the soul when the King is in residence!Chuck Swindoll

Several years ago, I was leading a small group of ladies through Paul's letter to the Galatians.  In chapter 5, we came to a familiar passage:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self control. Galatians 5:22-23

Julie was in that small group that year, and Julie was from Great Britain.  I asked her about Chuck's metaphor.  She assured me that it was true.  When royalty is in residence at the palace, the flag flies. It's the signal to the "subjects" that their monarch is present.

How fitting a picture this is!  When the Lord is present to believing hearts, JOY results!

A few years later, this really hit home again!  We were celebrating Christmas in my Home School moms Bible study that year by sharing our favorite Christmas song/carol.  In almost every case, the over-riding response to the coming of our Lord, our Monarch, the Promised One was...JOY!

We found this to be especially true in the Scriptures surrounding the coming of our Emmanuel, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Look for yourself:

It begins with the coming of John the Baptist, Messiah's forerunner:

Luke 1:12-64 -- promise to John's father Zacharias When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth...When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

Luke 1:44-45 -- John in Elizabeth's womb encountering Jesus in Mary's womb! "...As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

Luke 1:46-55-- Mary's response to Elizabeth “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior...."

And continues with the angels and shepherds:

Luke 2:10-20 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”...The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

138_5228

And even extends to the foreign Magi [my favorite!!!]

Matthew 2: 1-10Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”... they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. [literally, they rejoiced vehemently with MEGA-gladness!]

These are just a few instances.  Why not search out for yourself, in your favorite Christmas songs & Scriptures, the amazing response of JOY to the presence of our King Jesus in a believing heart?

Then let's turn away from the glitz and glitter of the season and focus on HIM, the true cause of our JOY and delight!

138_6545

JOY Selah

Every breath of air Was a silent prayer I was longing for Your face

And I wondered why All the years went by Without a single trace

Anticipating, Lord, we've been waiting Just watching the days come and go But now we know

Joy and the angels sang There was joy Let the whole world know this Joy, our King has finally come Joy, here is the promised One

Set the captives free Tell the broken reed Hope has been restored And the one who cries For a wandering child Her tears are not ignored

Father in heaven, You gave us reason to see past the pain of today We celebrate

Chorus

Unending hope for all time When the King of the ages arrived

Chorus

Kaden the student

Bible Study Here are a few more passages to take a look at:

Nehemiah 8:10

Psalm 16:11

Luke 24:36-53 -- encountering the Risen Christ

Holding Hands...for 40 Years

Our Wedding Verse, November 27, 1971

O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3

How starry-eyed and "in love" we were 40 years ago as we chose for our wedding song..

We've Only Just Begun

We've only just begun to live
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we're on our way
(We've only begun)

Before the risin' sun, we fly
So many roads to choose
We'll start out walkin' and learn to run
And yes, we've just begun

Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
Workin' together day to day
Together Together

And when the evening comes, we smile
So much of life ahead
We'll find a place where there's room to grow
And yes, we've just begun

wedding picture03

We did find a place where there was room to grow...in each other's arms and in the Arms of our Father God.

But we didn't realize how much "dying" it would take to grow...and to live as one, did we?

...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

We didn't count on the stresses of everyday life being so...REAL:

making a living
parenting
changes of vocation
job losses
miscarriage
my chronic mysterious health problems
serious health crises in both of our beloved children
aging of our mothers
deaths of our fathers
your heart attack...and the list goes on

We didn't realize how hard it would be to "coordinate" our very different personalities:

YOU:  introverted, quiet, analytical, observant, unemotional, thoughtful before acting...an only child of an only child mom
ME:  extroverted, loud (at times), intuitive, emotional, initiating...oldest of 7 (and "the boss of the mob," as my mother says)

But according to a friend, we are the "poster children" of how the Lord's indwelling life can empower a couple, so opposite in every way, to live with each other with a measure of harmony....though not without "duking it out" at times. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

So now, I say, we've only just begun...

to live a life together rooted in true love (better than just being "in love") and to experience the friendship and companionship that come from walking through the joys and sorrows of life together.

And so, my darling John,

Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be,
the last of life, for which the first was made.
Our times are in his hand who saith,
'A whole I planned, youth shows but half;
Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'
Robert Browning

HOLDING HANDS

One day, far away, you gently won my heart
And one night, by candlelight, we made a vow to never part
And then it seemed just like a dream
When wide eyed, side by side
We faced the future holding hands

Years fly, they hurry by, the simple times are gone
Bills due, a kid or two, a week can feel eight days long
By fading light, let's kiss goodnight And then we trace God's daily grace
Thankful we're still holding hands

There's a hope that won't let go
There's a truth we know God is holding us In His arms

Thoughts stray far away to all that lies ahead
In frail days when strength fades
Will we still mean all that we said?
Our love's secure, so rest assured
Come what may 'til that day

We'll walk forever holding hands
By God's grace 'til that day
We'll walk forever holding hands

Love's Abiding Harvest

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. John 15:9

When I returned home from California a couple weeks ago, I began meditating on John 15 from the "harvest" point of view.  Though my daytime thoughts were going in a different direction, my waking thought became a word from the Lord:  Abide in My love.

I visualized the Lord on His way to Gethsemane with his disciples.  He had just showed His love for them by washing their feet at supper and sharing His last loving instructions and encouragements before He went to the Cross.

Then Jesus and His beloved followers walked together through a vineyard:  I am the vine...you are the branches....whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing...Just as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you, abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. John 15:5, 9-10

I couldn't get away from it...abide in My love! Then I realized, it's all about love.  It always is!

Deep in every human heart is the desire to love and be loved.  And it is also deep in the heart of God....because GOD IS LOVE!

So a harvest of fruitfulness is all about abiding in HIS LOVE!WHOSE LOVE?

The Father's love for the Son.

As the Father has loved me... John 15:9a

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. John 5:20a

The Son's love for the Father.

I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. John 14:31

I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. John 15:10

The Son's love for us.

...so have I loved you. Abide in my love. John 15:9b

...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

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

WHAT KIND OF LOVE?

The kind of love Jesus is talking about is agape...God's love, unconditional andsacrificial.  It's the kind that esteems another more highly than himself.  It's a love that can express a oneness of will and purpose, because it's not primarily "touchy-feely" but rather a choice of the will.  And it's hard to find on this earth.

It's the love that moved the Father to send the Son to the Cross on our behalf.  It's the love that motivated Jesus to always do as His Father commanded.  It's the love that moved the heart of the Son to sacrifice Himself for us.

And it's this very love in which we are to abide!

HOW DO WE ABIDE IN HIS LOVE?

Jesus gives us the answer:

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. John 15:10

So Jesus calls us to the same obedient life He lived...not by trying hard to live it, but by living with His obedient life.  Let me explain...

Because of the abiding life union of branch in the Vine, the obedient life of the Son of God courses through our spiritual veins.  Will we live from that from that Obedient Life?  That's always the question, isn't it?

WHAT ARE HIS COMMANDS?

They are those written in chapter and verse in the Scriptures...and on our hearts.

They are also the little Holy Spirit nudges that tell us to say a kind word or refrain from saying an unkind word....to pick up the phone and check on a friend...to stop and help someone in need instead of going our merry way.  Because in the context of John 13-17, the new command of the Lord is to love one another as He has loved us.

Or it may mean to stay away from a certain relationship or terminate one because it is ungodly and destructive.

His word may also come saying, "Put aside your own agenda and spend some time with Me, feeding on my Word and abiding in My love."

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

• I can experience friendship with God. Jesus said that He has called us friends. But friendships can't be just one-sided. That's true in human relationships, and it's true in friendship with the Lord. Jesus tells us that when we obey Him, we are His friends.You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:14

• I can use His name with confidence in prayer to the Father. I can be a "name dropper" in the throne room of heaven :)If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you....whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.John 15:7,16

• I can be in on family secrets. This is the same perk the Son has in relationship with the Father!No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing;but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

• I can bear fruit that remains. What I do and who I am can have eternal results because of my life union with Christ, abiding in His love.By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples...I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide... John 15:8,16

• I can experience exuberant joy :)These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Abide in His love, O beloved branch!

Because it's all about love...it always is!

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1John 5:3

We love because He first loved us! 1John 4:19

Kaden the student

A project for Bible students:  Go through the epistle of 1 John and notice how the Elder Apostle John, years after writing his gospel, uses the same words and concepts...but with more depth.  Look for love, abide, keep His commandments...any others?