Showing Love in the Little Things

     As February will soon be here, we often think of Valentine’s Day.  Gift giving, candy, flowers as well as cards are exchanged between those who want to demonstrate their love for a spouse or significant other.  However, as believers, we are to demonstrate God’s love every day to both those near and dear to us as well as to those who “despitefully use us.”

     Jesus gave us a number of important instructions when it comes to loving one another.  John 13:34-35

says, “A new commandment I give you; Love one another as I have loved you, so you also must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”  So our primary duty in the Body of Christ is to demonstrate love to one another just as our Lord did for us. This is not always an easy task because we are not perfect as our Savior was, and lets be honest...it is not always easy to love others. Even in a family, it can be difficult at times . This is where we need the Holy Spirit’s help to love sacrificially giving of our time, our talents and friendship to one another.  Considering the price our Savior paid to redeem us is it too much to ask that we put aside some time to love on other members of the Body?  What does this look like in practice?  We can encourage one another, visit the sick, comfort the bereaved, send a card or make a phone call. This shows others that we care about them. It isn’t so much in the “big” things we do...it is often in the little things we do that shows our care.

     Recently, I was having a “bad” day.  Nothing seemed to go right and I hated just about everything I was trying to do.  Ever have one of those “Satan inspired poor me” days?  Well, I was wallowing in my own self-made misery when I got a text message from our son.  It was so encouraging, and along with it, he sent a picture of our youngest grandson.  He could never have known how much I needed that simple message.  Sometimes, that is all it takes to demonstrate the love of Christ at just the moment a person needs it most. It isn’t complicated or costly to do it either. It was a small token of love that changed my outlook.

     Our Lord also told us something a little more difficult to do when it comes to showing love. Luke 6:32-36 tells us:  “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Without the help of the Holy Spirit, this is a hard thing to do for any of us, but it demonstrates the love of Christ to our fellow man like nothing else can. The world does not live or love like this, but in Christ, we can and must.  

     Jesus summarizes how very important it is in the life of a believer to demonstrate His love to others.  In John 14:15, I love the way “The Message” says it:  “If you love Me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.  I will talk to the Father, and He’ll provide you another Friend (the Holy Spirit) so that you will always have someone with you.”  As we demonstrate our love for each other in the Body of Christ and outside of it, we are obeying the commandments of the Lord. And as the Lord said, He did send another Helper to live and abide in us to help us with this task.  We have only to ask in prayer for His assistance. To my way of thinking, the month of February is much more than flowers, candy and cards.  It is a month to remember how we are to love others with the agape love of Christ. Let us bring glory to His name by living and showing forth His love.  Selah!

In Good Hands

      Whenever we contemplate surgery, we want to be certain we have the very best doctor for the job.  We have all seen those silly commercials where a patient asks the nurse about how good his doctor is.  She replies that he is “Okay”.  Then when the doctor comes in the room he asks the patient if he is scared to which the patient says he is.  The doctor says he is too but they will figure it out.  The commercial ends with “Just okay, is not okay.”  We all get the point.  We want the best person for the job.

     Planning to have knee replacement I wanted a doctor who was experienced and had great results.  I found such a

physician and went ahead with surgery. Replacing a knee is no small task and recuperation is not quick and pain free.  However, the results allowed me to have a better quality of life in the end.  In the meantime, I worked with my therapist doing exercises that made me wince thinking ahead of the times I would be able to walk without pain. I had to keep that goal firmly fixed in my mind so I didn't give up.

     In much the same way, when we come to Christ, we have just had major surgery...a heart transplant. God takes our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh that can know Him and love as He loves. This is a surgery that only the “Great Physician” can do as recorded in Ezekiel 11:19:  “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,”.... Through the blood of Christ, God changes our hearts.  When we repent, He gives us a whole new way of living life..a fresh start. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. However, now comes the hard part.

     We have just been through major surgery at the hands of our loving God. We have a new heart, but we now need to learn to live a new way with a new mindset.  At times, this new life will challenge us and we may wince just as I do during my rehab.  Being born with a sin nature means it will take time to throw off the old habits that want to keep us bound to our past.  Praise God, He gives us the blessed Holy Spirit to live and dwell within us as our teacher and guide.  The more we pray, seek God in His Word and fellowship with other believers, the quicker we will grow strong in Christ.  This is our goal, our high calling in Him and we must not lose sight of it.

     Paul reminds us that the runner runs to win.  He trains and perseveres so he might win a perishable crown, but we are running for one that is imperishable. Just as with my rehab, if I did the exercises, I had a better outcome from surgery.  It is not fun to do or pain free, but neither is the Christian life.  Oh there are the great, glorious times but there are also the moments of hardship when we think we should just quit. The devil is all too happy to remind us of our shortcomings too.  Yet, we are more than conquerors in Christ, and we must remember this encouragement as we prepare to meet our Savior face to face one day. Our temporary trials are nothing compared to the weight of glory that awaits those who press on daily.  Let us remember that God who gave us a new heart will help us every step of the way because we are in the best hands!  Selah! 

When God is For You

Edinburgh Royal Castle

     When I was a little girl, my Grandfather Engel would read to me from the Bible as I sat on his lap. I didn’t understand all the words, but I remember that the Bible was his most important read of the day.  He loved Psalm 27:1:  “The Lord is my light and salvation - whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?” These words sustained him for many years.  My mother told me that he had a heart condition that doctors could not treat in those days, so he truly lived by faith in God’s goodness each day.  There are so many other verses like this one that provide comfort to believers and it is good to remind ourselves daily that God is for us not against us.

     Yesterday as I was looking at my social media feed, someone posted Isaiah 54:17:  “…no weapon that
is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”  What beautiful words of comfort to God’s people!  This promise for God’s people offers peace to us in the middle of a world that has seemingly gone crazy.  When Jesus said to His disciples “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27), it was an affirmation that believers in Christ can take to heart.  Later in John 16:33, He says:  “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take courage; I have overcome the world.”  In these verses, we have the promise of peace not a promise of no trouble, suffering or heartache.  However, through the difficulties, His peace will be there deep in our souls.

     When I think about a great example of someone who really believed God was with them, I cannot fail to mention Corrie Ten Boom who knew the severe trial of a concentration camp.  She and her sister who were imprisoned for hiding Jews in their clock shop during WWII experienced horrible conditions but found the opportunity to share the Gospel with other prisoners.  Corrie’s sister died in the camp, but God miraculously had Corrie released by clerical error.  Through it all, she found her strength in the Lord and a peace which helped her through the pain and suffering.  God used Corrie as she traveled the world telling others about Christ.  God was for her, in her and with her.

     In his letter to the Romans in chapter 8, Paul points out how God is, indeed, for us.  Verse 1 says:  “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  These glorious words assure us that our faith in Christ has freed us from condemnation for our sins.  This world system may condemn us, but we are free from that before God.  As we continue to read this chapter, Paul points out that Christ suffered and died then rose from the dead for us and our sins.  We are now children of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided “we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (vs.17b).  He continues in verse 31 by saying:  “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Once again, we have another assurance that God loves us.  After all, He gave His Son that we might be saved.  As he draws the chapter to a close, Paul once again reminds us that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God in verses 38-39.  He calls us more than conquerors.  This is a chapter of Scripture we should remind ourselves of often.  

     God is for us, with us and lives by the power of the Holy Spirit in believers.  In whatever situation we find ourselves today, we need to rejoice in this wonderful news.  We are never alone and nothing can ever separate us from His love and care.  The world system may want to chew us up and spit us out for not walking in their path, but we have the Creator of the Universe as our steady companion, friend and Father.  He has given us all we need for life and godliness.  Live in that knowledge today!  Selah!

The Evidence is In

          

               Having grown up in a family with a well-known criminal attorney for my grandfather, I was exposed to all things concerning the law from the time I was little.  My father would usually go and visit my grandparents every evening and I always begged to go along.  I would sit and listen to their discussions concerning various cases that were in the news and the evidence that had been gathered.  Whenever eyewitness testimony was mentioned, my grandfather would say "Case closed unless they can prove the witness to be less than reliable."  Without eyewitness testimony, many cases were on shaky grounds in those days unless there was enough other evidence present to bring a conviction.  However, when both eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence were present, it made the case a more solid one.

     With this in mind, I always find myself surprised when I hear people talk about their faith being built

upon that "inner" feeling they have that God is speaking to them.  Perhaps they have been highly motivated by a great message or by the antiphonal music of a choir and instrumental group.  Certainly, there is nothing wrong with being moved in our hearts, but our faith can rest on far more than a "feeling".  We have eyewitnesses who testified to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Because of this, we can say, "Case closed."  Feelings come and go, but the Word of God stands forever!

     Two of the disciples, John and Peter, were eyewitnesses to what happened in the life of Christ and they wrote clearly about their experiences.  Peter said in his letter:  "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).  Likewise, the Apostle John wrote these words:  "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life, and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us" (1 John 1:1-2).  Both of these men walked, talked and lived with Jesus for three years.  They witnessed His crucifixion, His death and His resurrection.  Then, they boldly proclaimed His name after He ascended to the Father.  In fact, they ended up paying great penalties for what they preached.  Peter was crucified upside down as he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as His Lord.  John was boiled in oil though he survived and was banished to the Isle of Patmos where he later wrote the book of Revelation.

     Matthew was also a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and recorded in detail the events of our Lord's life.  While Luke was not an original disciple, he spoke with many of those who were eyewitnesses to the life of the Lord.  He records in great detail the many events that occurred. As a physician, he would have been very driven to write things accurately and he states in the opening of his Gospel:  "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught"(Luke 1:1-4).   From this we know that Luke had first hand eyewitness accounts on which to base his writing.

     Jesus also appeared to His original disciples (with the exception of Judas who had taken his own life), Mary Magdalene, Salome, Mary the mother of James, Cleopus (Luke 24:13-34) and to over 500 during the 40 days following the resurrection.  Though Paul was not an eyewitness, we know that he had a dramatic encounter with the living Christ that turned him from persecuting Christians to believing in Him.  He also was brought to the disciples in Jerusalem by Barnabus and affirmed as a brother in the Lord  (Acts 9:26-30).  As a contemporary of the Apostle Peter, Paul wrote, preached and taught alongside these disciples.  His testimony of Christ was demonstrated by his life and death at the hands of Rome.

     I have only scratched the surface in pointing out the eyewitness testimony to the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it should be evident that we have radical legal evidence to stand on for our faith.  Most of the Gospel accounts were written either before 70 A.D. or within the first 100 years following the death and resurrection of the Lord.  This type of historical documentation lends even more credibility to the events that transpired.   In addition, many (if not most) of the original disciples were put to death for their faith.  These trembling, fearful fisherman who hid after the crucifixion became bold preachers.  They paid dearly for their stand.  Why would you do this if it was not true?  I do not think anyone would offer up his body to be crucified, beaten and beheaded for the sake of a false religion.  These were the eyewitnesses to the life of Christ who sealed their testimony in their own blood.

     Feelings are not a reliable source on which to base our beliefs.  Christianity is logical, reasonable and has stood the test of time.  In fact, more evidence to the veracity of what the Bible teaches is being turned up every day by archeologists.  Who is surprised?  God's Word is inspired, infallible, and the very foundation of our faith.  We could take it to court and find no better testimony offered there.

     After recounting the events surrounding the resurrection, John makes this powerful statement in his Gospel:  "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name"  (John 20:30-31).  This is why the Bible stands as a book filled with eyewitness accounts to the greatest events in history.  It is His-story!  Believe in the Lord, not as a result of feelings, great music, or a motivating message.  Believe in Him because of the testimony preserved for us in the written Word of God which guides us into all truth.  Selah!