Walking With Jesus

What Is Brotherly Affection?

“One day David asked, ‘Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive – anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’” (2 Samuel 9:1 NLT)

Saul, who was Israel’s first king, had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan was in line to become king upon his father’s death, but he recognized that he was not God’s choice. David was. Still, he and David became friends, in much the same way as what Peter was seeking to illustrate in his 2^nd letter. David and Jonathan became a picture of what brotherly affection should look like.

The word that Peter used in 2 Peter 1:7 is the Greek word “fil-ad-el-fee’-ah” (Philadelphia), which is often translated “love” or “brotherly love.” It’s far more than a mere acquaintance or even a deep friendship, it’s a relationship characterized by deep trust and commitment. It’s the kind of relationship that developed among the original disciples and those who became part of the early church.

Fueled by the Holy Spirit’s infilling, they became selfless and Christ-centered. Their concern wasn’t simply for themselves, but for their new eternal family and for those they were commissioned to reach. We see what this kind of love looked like in Acts 2: “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” Later in the chapter it speaks to some practical implications of their love for one another, and the environment that resulted.

“Reverence and Awe” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

“A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

What can we learn from these first century believers? First, they were devoted – to Jesus, the Apostles, and to each other. There’s a lesson here for us. If our devotion to Jesus stops with us, we have no real devotion to Jesus. A closed, selfish heart does not a Christ follower make! So, lesson one – love within the Body of Christ must be Christ-centered and selfless. Devotion to Christ equals devotion to His Body, the Church.

To claim allegiance to Christ and yet close yourself off from His eternal family is a contradiction. Say it with me – Body of – whom? Body of random people? Body of friendly, really nice people? No, it’s not about the people themselves. So, who’s it about? The Body of CHRIST! On some levels the presence of God on earth is no less significant as He’s seen in His Body, the Church, as it was as seen in His Son’s body when He walked the pathways of this earth.

There’s a sense in which Christ = His Church! At least that’s how it should be and, I believe still is in many parts of our world. We, as His children on earth, exist to do His bidding. We exist to love each other within His eternal family. Why is that so critical? Because, according to Jesus, our love and devotion to one another is designed to paint a picture of the unity that exists in the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A family that prays together stays together. But another way to think of it is a family who serves together sticks together! What’s my point? A fighting, malicious, venomous family isn’t giving the light of Christ, but the darkness of the enemy, and should repent or close their doors. They’re doing more harm than good.

To the extent we pray and “stick” together as members of His Body, the Church, to that extent we’ll see His Kingdom expanded. And by “together” I’m not just referring to people in a local church, though that’s a good start. I’m referring to reaching across racial, ethnic, denominational barriers and theological differences to work together to serve our cities and communities with the love of Christ.

There’s so much more we can do together than any of us can do as a single church body. The key is, we can’t care who gets the credit, except Jesus! That’s what the Bible means by “brotherly affection.”

Blessings, Ed 😊

Godliness Can’t Be Counterfeited!

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”

Godliness, like character, cannot be taught. It must be learned through association with godly people who love Jesus more than they love themselves. I was told early in my walk with the Lord that Christianity is more “caught” than taught. The power and effectiveness of the original disciples wasn’t because of what Jesus taught; it was what they became because they persevered in His presence.

Judas exemplifies many in our churches today; people who “hang out” with Jesus, but never commit to love and serve Him. They want the “fruit” of a relationship with Him, without the commitment. They want to be respected and held in high esteem for their contributions or positions, but their commitment to live a godly life is an inch deep and a mile wide. They can “talk the talk,” but they don’t “walk the walk.” Paul refers to these people as having “depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.”

In the verse at the top of the page, Paul is warning young Timothy that in the last days, the days in which we’re now living, “people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.”

To whom is Paul referring? Professing believers who were a part of the church. They learned how to look and act like the real thing, but their heart was empty and their faith shallow. They wanted to be accepted and recognized as “faithful,” but had ulterior motives and desires. They desired to win people’s attention and affection for what they could get out of them. Enough of that. You get the picture.

“Holy in our conduct” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

What is “godliness,” and why is it so essential in our lives as a Jesus follower? It’s reverence, respect, and piety towards God. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “reverence” as “honor and respect mixed with love and awe.” It’s how Jesus taught us to pray when addressing our Father: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…”

These are attributes of a godly person that can’t be taught. We’re empowered by God’s Spirit to have insight into who God is and why we should honor and revere His holy name. It’s how we recognize that Jesus is God in human flesh. It wasn’t because He looked any different than any other Jewish man. It was and is God’s Spirit that draws us to Him and what creates in us the conviction that we’d rather die than deny Him or live without Him.

“Patient endurance” is supplemented by “godliness,” because there are some things that can only be learned through pain and suffering. Troubles and trials don’t create godliness, they reveal it. The pressures of life will either push us away from the Lord or cement us to Him. When we’re forced into the proverbial “corners,” of life, seeing no way out, and having nothing left but Jesus, that’s when we learn He’s all we need.

Godliness is desiring Jesus plus nothing. He’s all we want! He’s all we need! Now and forever! There’s no counterfeiting that conviction! It’s who we are…in HIM!

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Is Spiritual Rest?

“Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord Himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.” (Psalm 121:4-5 NLT)

In Genesis chapter 2 the Bible says: “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, so He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation.”

What do you envision when you read those words? Is God just chilling in His heavenly hammock, catching a few winks? Another translation for “rested” is “cease” or “desist.” The verse from Psalm 121 let’s us know that God never sleeps or slumbers, so what are the implications? If God didn’t slumber or sleep, what did He do, and why?

God was establishing for us a precedent that He knew we would need in this life. The Jewish teachers of their religious law took God’s words to extremes I don’t believe He ever intended. Obviously, Jesus healed often on the Sabbath or “shabath,” which was against the Jewish laws they’d made, but didn’t violate God’s intention.

Perhaps 2 Chronicles 32 gives us a better understanding of God’s desire. King Hezekiah was a godly king who sought to be faithful to God in his leadership of Judah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had a vast army against which Judah was no match. But King Hezekiah said to his people: “’Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!’ Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.” Another translation says: “the people rested themselves.”

For us today, the Sabbath isn’t only a time of literal rest from our week of labor, whatever that may look like for you, but a day of worship and contemplation of the power and might of our God. On many levels the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s fear. Like the children of Israel, fear can cause us to lose hope, which limits our ability to hear from God and/or to follow Him.

Spiritual rest, to me, speaks of placing our full confidence in our Savior. It paints the picture of relaxing by a bubbling stream as it meanders down it’s chosen path. It’s not being frightened by the week to come, knowing the Lord is with us and for us.

In thinking of this it reminded me of how I envision heaven. Think of driving on crowded highways with never a thought of an accident. Or leaving your home with no locks on your doors because there’s never a thought of someone breaking in. Or letting your small child ride their bike with friends without a concern that someone will harm them in any way. Or having someone say they’ll do something for you and you don’t give it another thought, never doubting that they’ll do exactly as they said they would.

You see, that’s how we can “rest” in God, because He’s all those things and a million more. The Sabbath is a day of rest to contemplate and become more and more grounded in the beautiful Savior to whom we’ve pledged our lives. We’re never alone and we never need to be afraid – “for His rod and His staff protect and comfort me.” Why? Because they’ll never be used against me, only for me against my enemies.

I can rest in that thought! Nap anyone?

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Long, Treacherous Road to Patience

“By standing firm, you will win your souls.” (Luke 21:19 NLT)

Early in my walk with the Lord, an older saint reminded me to never pray for patience unless I was serious. When I asked why, they simply said: “Because He’ll answer you!” Patience is described in Strong’s Concordance as: “the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” And who comes first to mind when you read those words? Our dear brother Job!

Jesus describes in Luke 21, from which the verse above comes, a time just prior to His return to earth. In verses 10-12 He says: “Then He added, ‘Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven. But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution.”

When you read these words what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? What came to my mind was: “Lord, I’m fine with you taking me home before all of that begins.” But you want to know the staggering reality? It’s already happening all over the world!

Families feuding, neighbors bickering, cities collapsing, nations warring! We live in a time of turmoil, anger, and pain. Satan is having a heyday as he deceives, lies, steals our joy, kills our desire for God, and destroys anything that hints of holiness or righteousness. And amid all that’s happening, what is God’s desire for us? Patience! Why? Because we know how this story ends!

When my son was still in diapers, my wife’s parents took us to lunch after church. As you might expect, we waited a long time to be seated, then longer to receive our food. Finally, the server began to place our orders on the table. I’m not sure if it was the smell of the food or just bad timing, but I could see my son’s little cheeks turning red as he seemed to be straining to do something. Yep, you guessed it. The smell wasn’t pleasant, and his dirty diaper was really ill-timed.

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com

Patience is “on-the-job training.” Strangely, we can’t learn patience in any other way, yet, once we stop fighting the Lord and begin to learn to flow with His “object lessons,” it enables us, as James implores us, to rejoice in our troubles. Why is that so vital? Rejoicing is an act of worship. It illustrates dependence and trust in the only One we ever need, but whose presence is so invited and cherished when we’re at the end of ourselves.

Jesus, as He stands before the crowd, shortly before He’s murdered, is a picture of patience. What can we learn from His example? First, patience isn’t learned by words alone, but by example. God’s Word tells us multiple times to “be patient.” “Ho, hum. Will someone pass the popcorn?” It just goes in one ear and out the other! We’re deaf to instruction we don’t know how to follow.

Unfortunately, for us, the only way to learn patience is to see it in action, practice it in our own lives, then learn to endure it. One of the most important lessons the Lord is seeking to teach me in this season of my life is to stay calm, especially in trying times.

Years ago, I had a little VW Rabbit with a diesel engine. I loved it for many reasons, but it was the most underpowered vehicle I’ve ever owned. I was slowly passing a huge semi on the Interstate, but apparently, he didn’t see me, so he started moving into my lane. I honked, to no avail, but he wasn’t changing his mind. I had to stay calm and figure out what to do in about three seconds. I could panic and yank the wheel to the left and fly off the road, or I could slowly and deliberately move to the berm and let him pass.

Patience moves slowly and waits for God to instruct. He will. How do I know? Because He loves us and is always with us. No One wants us to learn to trust Him and follow His directives more than our Father in heaven. All He wants for us is to love Him and let Him walk with us through troubled times, but if we get impatient and run ahead of Him trying to find our own solution, it becomes a treacherous road to travel.

I know this post is a little longer than usual, but please be patient with me.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Trying to Get “Self” Out of Self-Control

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:23 NLT)

On many levels I believe it’s safe to say that for many of us when we first come to Jesus, we’re out of control. Our passions and lusts drive us in directions that rule our lives and can become very hard barriers to cross as we’re seeking to grow in and serve the Lord.

The word used that’s translated “self-control” means “the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his/her sexual appetites.” (Strong’s) It can also be translated “temperance,” which means: “habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions; especially moderation in or abstinence from the use of intoxicating drink.” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Two of the most predominant desires or passions of a human being are sex and alcohol/drugs. We have basic human needs that center on air to breathe, food, and water, that, when we’re deprived of those things, can give rise to survival instincts that can drive us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. But that’s not what “self-control” is addressing in this passage.

Desires and passions first and foremost are a battle in our heart and mind. Whether we ever act on them or to what extent, depends on our willingness to submit the authority of our heart and life to the Holy Spirit. Notice in the verse at the top of the page, the Apostle Paul says: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit…self-control!

To say it’s humanly impossible to curb the desires and passions that torment and ravage our lives may be an exaggeration, but not by much. Jesus said in John 10:10 that the devil’s goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy,” and the primary ways that he seeks to accomplish that is by distorting our desires and passions.

Our “bent” as humans is selfishness. We want what we want when we want it. James writes in 4:1-3: “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.” And these scathing words are written to “believers!”

It reminds me of Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7:24-25 when he wrote: “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!” He’s our only hope of deliverance and freedom to be all He died to enable us to become.

Remember, Peter is outlining the road to living a holy life, more specifically, he says we must “supplement…knowledge with self-control.” What’s the point? Biblical knowledge without self-control is valueless. Unless and until we can allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to harness our desires and passions, our lives will simply mock our efforts to live a holy life.

It doesn’t matter “what” we know or what we seek to teach others. It only matters “Who” we know. Only through the priceless blood of Jesus can we be cleansed and purified and enabled to live a holy life. It’s always and only by faith – in Jesus!

Blessings, Ed 😊

What We Don’t Know Can Hurt us … and others!

“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” (Luke 11:52 NLT)

The last few days we’ve been looking at what it means to live a holy life. We’re using 2 Peter 1:5-8 as our guide and today we’ll look at the role of knowledge in God’s plan to enable us to live a separated life. In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul wrote: “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

The role of knowledge is critical in walking in a way that honors and glorifies our Father. Paul instructs Timothy to “work hard,” but how? The context suggests that he must study carefully so that his understanding of the truth will guide him as he shares his faith with others, especially in what and how he teaches.

Whether you like it or not, as a Jesus follower, virtually every conversation we have with someone reflects our knowledge of God’s Word or lack thereof. To the extent that what we share aligns with the truth of Scripture, to that extent we’ll guide others to Jesus. But how will we know that unless we know what God’s Word says?

In Scripture “knowledge” refers to our general intelligence or understanding as it relates to the Christian Faith in general, but it also signifies our “moral wisdom” that is evidenced in right living. What is the implication? Right knowledge is reflected in right living. That’s why it’s so critical we read and study God’s Word for ourselves.

Yes, of course, it’s helpful to listen to godly men and women who have studied the Scriptures for years. Read their books and listen to their sermons, but understand that they have drawn their own conclusions, which is what they’re sharing with you. But God doesn’t hold us accountable for understanding what someone else believes. He’s more interested in what WE believe, because ultimately, that’s what will guide our steps and spill out of our mouths to others.

Knowledge involves much more than learning facts about a subject. It entails applying what we learn to the way we live, which becomes a reflection of who we are, and Whom we are following, or not. And it’s important that we understand that we don’t have to “make” that happen, it’s a biproduct of being a human being.

Whether we realize it or not, what we learn either gets discarded or applied to what we think about, which becomes what we talk about, which becomes what we base our lives upon, which ultimately becomes the lifestyle we adopt and follow. That’s the “view” of ourselves others see and hear when we speak with them.

As a Christ follower, our knowledge must align with what is true as defined by the Bible, thus leading us to live a life that honors and magnifies Jesus in everything we think, say, and do. The teachers of religious law to whom Jesus spoke in the verse at the top of the page, were very intelligent and were well versed in religious law. But their brilliance blinded them to the Truth, which was and is Jesus. When that happens, we not only miss heaven, but we also lead others away from Jesus, instead of to Him, as is God’s will.

That’s why we must supplement our knowledge with self-control, which is our topic for tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Does Holy Living Look Like?

“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT)

In yesterday’s post we began looking at the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s life in us. It matters little what we believe in our mind in comparison to what becomes “believable” in and through the way we live. John Piper wrote: “You can embrace a system of theology and not even be born again.“ What does that mean?

It essentially means you can have full confidence that you believe all the right things, and still not have a relationship with Jesus. Until what you believe translates into “shoe leather,” and you begin to walk your talk, all you have is knowledge about Jesus. How can you know the difference? Who’s leading your steps?

When you’re walking in submission to the Spirit’s authority, the “fruit” of that submission will be evidenced, as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:5-8, by your “moral excellence,” “knowledge,” ”self-control,” “patient endurance,” “godliness,” “brotherly affection,” and “love for everyone.” Let’s look at each of these more closely.

What is “moral excellence?” It means virtue, which means “conformity to a standard of right: morality.” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary) It means: “a virtuous course of thought, feeling, and action,” evidenced in “modesty and purity.” (Strong’s) Where do we learn these things? From the Bible. That’s why daily reading and study of God’s Word is foundational for any child of God.

Bryan Loritt,s, who is one of our teaching Pastors, wrote: “God is after so much more than our happiness. He’s after His glory.” God is glorified by our moral excellence. By choosing God’s Word as our “moral standard,” we begin to understand how vitally important it is to live righteously, in a manner that glorifies and honors the Lord. How do we do that?

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

In how we present ourselves. People make decisions about us before we ever say a word. How so? How are we dressed? Do we draw undue attention to ourselves by the clothes we’re wearing? Are we dressed appropriately? Are things showing that should be covered? Are our clothes too tight? Do our clothes exude purity of heart and mind, or do they cause others to think inappropriate thoughts about us?

From the moment I met my wife, she’s always dressed modestly and appropriately. She’s beautiful and she wears current fashions that allow her to feel and be attractive, but not in a lustful or inappropriate way. Most of the women at our church, young and old, dress modestly. What’s appropriate? In my mind if what we’re wearing, whether a man or a woman, draws people’s attention to us and away from Jesus, it’s inappropriate.

Purity means much more than virginity. A person can be a virgin and not be living a life defined by purity. And someone who has lost their virginity can be pure in the sight of God when their sins are forgiven, and their hearts and minds are pure. Purity, as a measure of moral excellence, has reference to how we view life.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8-9: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Holy living begins in our mind, our thought life, then must translate into how we live and treat others. We’ll look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Holy Spirit = Holy Living!

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 NLT)

The Holy Spirit’s presence in a person’s life WILL be evidenced in the way a person lives. If there’s no evidence of the Spirit’s presence living in and through them, there’s no Holy Spirit residing in that person. Isn’t that a bit harsh? You decide.

In 2 Peter 1:5-8 Peter wrote: “In view of all this (God’s divine power in us through His Holy Spirit) make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As with many other words in the Bible, the word “Work” in the verse from Hebrews above, carries the clear implication of “YOU work.” And just for clarification, “Holy” doesn’t mean sinless, it means to be set apart for sacred use. It means “consecration,” which means “to devote solemnly to a purpose.”

Our devotion to Jesus is impossible to live out apart from the presence of His Spirit living in us. That’s the only way anyone can be “sanctified.” Sanctification, like salvation, is an ongoing process. There are past, present, and future uses of both of these important words. We point to the time of our initial commitment to Jesus by referring to it as the day we were saved. But the truth is, as long as we live in this mortal body we are still being saved. Then one day, at the moment of our death or at Jesus’ coming, we will be eternally saved.

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our heart and becomes our “Pilot” in maneuvering us through the storms of life as we grow in Jesus’ likeness or, in other words, are sanctified or become holy. God does His part, the part only He can do, but He has expectations of us, the parts only we can do.

Just because we’re dependent on the Spirit’s leadership doesn’t negate the demands He places on us to do our part. For example, in the verses from Peter above, we are the ones who must “make every effort to respond to God’s promises.” God will not force us to do anything against our own will. We must supplement our faith with moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, etc. But how?

A.W. Tozer wrote: “Go to church once a week and nobody pays attention. Worship God seven days a week and you become strange!” When the Holy Spirit not only lives IN you, but THROUGH you, people are going to take notice. Why? Because you won’t be living the same life you used to live. There’s no question about it – we WILL change as we yield our lives and allegiance to Jesus, or we’re living a lie.

The “proof” is in the proverbial “pudding.” Just as you can talk all day about how good your “pudding” is, no one will know for sure until they “taste” it. J.C. Ryle wrote: “Where there is no holy living, there’s no Holy Spirit.” So, the question becomes, how will people know that I’m a believer, that I’m being “set apart” by God for sacred use? I’m so glad you asked.

Let’s look at this more closely over the next few posts.

Blessings, Ed 😊

That the World Will Believe!

“I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one – as You are in Me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe You sent Me.” (John 17:21 NLT)

Yesterday we looked at “Life’s Greatest Tragedy,” concluding (at least I concluded 😊) that the greatest tragedy isn’t missing heaven, but missing Jesus. Why is that so tragic?

Because to lead someone to pray a prayer of repentance who has no concept of who Jesus is or what He’s done on their behalf; to seek to provide someone with a “ticket” to heaven, to have their sins forgiven, and be given a new life without any insight into the cost of those precious gifts; to allow them to be content with walking in the hope of heaven without a commitment to the One who gave His life to make it possible; to not help them understand HE’S THE TREASURE THEY SEEK, is to give them a false sense of security that will only lead to a wasted life.

John Piper writes: “The opposite of wasting your life is living life by a single God-exalting, soul-satisfying passion. The well-lived life must be God-exalting and soul-satisfying because that is why God created us (Isaiah 43:7; Psalm 90:14).” To profess faith in Christ and not have a passion to exalt Him in every area and dimension of our lives is to miss the point of knowing Him.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Pexels.com

Jesus said in John 17 that the way to have eternal life is to know the Father. Why? Because He’s the only true God. That’s why Jesus came to earth – to give visibility to the Father. In John 10:30 Jesus declared “The Father and I are one.” And in His prayer in John 17, He expressed His desire that we, His Body on earth, the Church, would be one as He and the Father are one. In verses 20-21 He said: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one – as You are in Me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe You sent Me.”

Did you catch that: “…that the world will believe You sent Me.” Our individual and corporate passion for people to know Jesus is the glue that holds us as believers together and paints the picture of the beauty of Jesus that’s so appealing for those who need Him. But our passion for Jesus must be grounded in a strong desire to know Him.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead.”

The word Paul used that’s translated “to know” is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word used in Genesis 4:1: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain …” It’s a term of intimacy, devotion, and commitment. It’s the oneness that God desires for us in marriage, so as to give a living illustration of what our relationship with Jesus should look like. It’s the deferring of our own desires in favor of the One to whom we’ve pledged our life and allegiance.

To the extent our love for Jesus gives visibility to selflessness, compassion, love, mercy, grace, and the other fruit of the Spirit, to that extent our lives will become magnets for those who are lost to find hope and new life in Him. As will our shared passion for Jesus by those with whom we serve and worship.

A life lived without devotion to Jesus is a wasted life, and that my friend, is a tragedy.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Life’s Greatest Tragedy!

“And this is the way to have eternal life – to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent to earth.” (John 17:3 NLT)

Driving home from church I was listening to SiriusXM The Message when the announcer asked: “What is life’s greatest tragedy?” Then he said: “To me the greatest tragedy is for God to not answer a prayer that was never asked.” For a lost person to remain lost because they never asked for forgiveness is tragic, so I’ve been pondering his question.

Each morning as I walk the streets of my neighborhood, the thought that haunts me most as I’m speaking with the Lord is: “How will they know? How will those who don’t know You learn that You love them and are for them? That You, Lord Jesus, sacrificed Your sinless life to pay the penalty for their sin? How will they know?”

And the question He offers in reply is: “How did you learn? How did you come to know Me?” And the thought that immediately comes to mind is: “Someone introduced You to me!” So, I pray every morning that the Lord would send someone to each person in each household that they would listen to and allow to tell them about Jesus.

Of course, the Lord knows my heart and if He wants me to be that one for my neighbors, I’m willing. But the best avenue of sharing is built and opened through relationship. So, how do we develop friendships with our neighbors? One person at a time! That’s what I’m seeking to do and would encourage you to do as well. Why would I make that effort? Why should you?

Paul writes in Colossians 1:16: “Everything was created through Him (Jesus) and for Him.” Couple that with what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11: “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” What’s my point?

God’s plan and desire is that everyone have a relationship with Him. He loves us and desires for us to love Him in return. But because of sin, we’re separated from Him, giving rise to Satanic influence which draws us ever further away and builds a barrier of resistance in our heart because of our selfishness and increasing desire to satisfy ourselves.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

When we’re lost, separated from God because of our sin, we’re blinded to the Truth. We seek to content our conscience through “religion” or being “nice” or “respectable.” We want to become “good people” who can be worthy, because from somewhere deep within us our heart is forever crying for more! This – this earth, this lifestyle, this exaggerated sense of self, this house, this car, this ever-expanding desire for more – can’t be all there is!

And, as followers of Jesus, we know what that “More” is. He has a name – Jesus!

So, where am I going with all of this? For me, as I understand the message of Scripture; the wickedness and vileness of my own heart; and in contrast, the beauty, majesty, purity, and holiness of my Savior’s life – the greatest tragedy in life isn’t missing heaven, it’s missing Jesus!

There is no heaven without Jesus. There is no life, hope, contentment, wholeness, purpose, meaning, joy, happiness, there is nothing without Him!

Why is this so vital to understand? We’ll look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊