Just sharing.

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''But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

Luke 2:19

There was an exercise, on the part of this blessed woman, of three powers of her being: her memory — she kept all these things; her affections — she kept them in her heart; her intellect — she pondered them; so that memory, affection, and understanding, were all exercised about the things which she had heard. Beloved, remember what you have heard of your Lord Jesus, and what he has done for you; make your heart the golden pot of manna to preserve the memorial of the heavenly bread whereon you have fed in days gone by.

Let your memory treasure up everything about Christ which you have either felt, or known, or believed, and then let your fond affections hold him fast for evermore. Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming on his pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read: stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow which toucheth the brook with her wing, but as the fish which penetrates the lowest wave.

Abide with your Lord: let him not be to you as a wayfaring man, that tarrieth for a night, but constrain him, saying, “Abide with us, for the day is far spent.” Hold him, and do not let him go. The word “ponder,” means to weigh. Make ready the balances of judgment. Oh, but where are the scales that can weigh the Lord Christ? “He taketh up the isles as a very little thing:” — who shall take him up? “He weigheth the mountains in scales” — in what scales shall we weigh him? Be it so, if your understanding cannot comprehend, let your affections apprehend; and if your spirit cannot compass the Lord Jesus in the grasp of understanding, let it embrace him in the arms of affection.

 

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What The Bible Teaches About Forgiveness



The Bible teaches us much about forgiveness, and here’s some of the best Bible verses on that subject.

Forgiven
Since we’ve been forgiven so much, it’s important that we learn or choose to forgive others, so my hope is that these Bible verses about God’s forgiveness will help us to forgive others more easily, especially considering how much we’ve been forgiven. After David had committed adultery and conspired to have Bathsheba’s husband murdered, he wrote perhaps the greatest chapter on repentance and forgiveness. In Psalm 51:7-12 David prays to God, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” David knew, even then, that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our forgiveness is free, but it comes at great expense to God, because, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7).
Forgiving
Isaiah 1:18 is a great verse about God’s forgiving nature. Isaiah writes, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Now that is a cleansing! The Apostle Paul writes about forgiveness in saying we should “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32). Notice that Paul includes the word “as,” meaning in the same way God forgave us, we must forgive others. Jesus said something similar, saying that “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt 6:14-15).

God has forgiven us infinitely more than anyone could ever sin against us for, in a million lifetimes, so we ought to be “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col 3:13). Jesus went even further, saying, you must “love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36). Jesus also compares the forgiveness we’ve received for reason to forgive others. In that way, “you will be sons of the Most High,” because that’s what the sons and daughters of God do.

Forgetting
We should forgive others, not only because God has forgiven us, but because it’s the right thing to do, but then once we’ve forgiven them, we can’t keep bringing it up. If it’s buried, and you’ve had the funeral, don’t exhume the unforgiven sin! God does not do that with us and neither should we do that with others. If we keep reminding them of their sin against us, have we really forgiven them? By constantly or occasionally bringing up past grievances, we show we’ve not really forgiven them, because it’s still on our minds! Once more let Jesus’ teaching soak into our brains: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (John 6:37). It’s not easy to forgive others for what they’ve done to us, but think about this. It’s not easy for others to forgive us either, but God’s forgiven us, so we must do the same for others. We don’t wait till we feel like forgiving someone. Forgiveness is a choice. Jesus didn’t feel like going to the cross, but He knew it was the only way.

National Repentance
King Solomon dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem by James Tissot c. 1896–1902
If ever there was a time for a national prayer of repentance, this is it. In 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 Solomon wrote, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.” God is nearer to the humble than the proud (James 4:6). He is near the crushed and broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). He hears our confession of sin and forgives us of our sins once we’ve trusted in Christ, but the Book of Hebrews shows that there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Heb 9:22), but we who believe have received this forgiveness “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:19).

Conclusion
Revelation 3:5 tells us that “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels,” so who are these in white garments? When the elders saw the redeemed, they asked, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:13-14). What a privilege to come to God in prayer and be cleansed of all unrighteousness. If you know someone who’s struggling with forgiving others or forgiving themselves, why not share this article with them, and why not do it right now?

 

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What Does The Bible Say About Our Thoughts?



What does the Bible say about our thoughts? Can we control them or are there other influences which affect our thoughts?
Our Nature
We do not live in a neutral world. Our minds are held captive by something…or better yet, someone. They are held captive by someone we might not even believe in, but the Bible tells us who it is behind our thought life. When Jesus was speaking about adultery, He said that it’s not only the physical act that is sinful, but in our minds we can sin too. The Lord said “that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). To be sure, sin begins in the mind before it’s ever manifested in the flesh. We think about it…ponder it, and then act on it. The fruit the human heart naturally produces evil works, so whatever starts in the mind can end up being “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19-21a), and the bad news about those who bear such fruit is that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21b). The fruit reveals the root, and until we’ve received the Holy Spirit, we cannot possible bear righteous fruit like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).

Overcoming our Thoughts
Since we cannot bear righteous fruit without God’s Spirit, how can we take captive these thoughts that are unwholesome, to say the least? The Apostle Paul said “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). So how do we demolish such thoughts when they enter our mind? Again, without God’s Spirit, we have no hope of reforming our own thoughts. Paul has said that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4), so until we’re set free from the clutch of Satan and his minions, we remain blind, even though we think we can see. Only trusting in Christ allows us to resist the Devil, and only then will he flee from us. David had a way of resisting evil thoughts and then having those thoughts bear sin. He wrote, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11), so along with the Spirit of God we have the Word of God to help us avoid such evil thoughts, and only then are we able to “not sin against” God.

Transformed
One way to eliminate something is to replace it with something, and in the case of our thoughts, replace them with something much better. For example, we can dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8), instead of dwelling on whatever is sinful, lustful, or pleases the flesh. By allowing the Spirit of God to renew our minds, we will “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). With the Spirit of God and the Word of God, we can renew our minds. The Word of God allows us to walk in safety since the “word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). His Word shows me the path in order that I might stay on the path and avoid leaving the path. That’s the power of God’s Word.

Sanctification
Before conversion, our thoughts gravitate toward whatever pleases us, with little or no regard for those around us. If we are fulfilling the desires of the flesh, we could care less about the fruits of the Spirit. Our minds will be held captive until we repent of our sins and put our trust in Christ. Only then can we have God’s supernatural power; the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and changes the child of God into being more like the Son of God. I don’t mean we’ll be sinless, but we should sin less over time. Sanctification takes time…in fact, it takes a lifetime, and only until we enter the kingdom will our minds be completely free of evil thoughts, desires, and intentions.

Conclusion
You cannot take captive any thoughts you have but only for a moment or only temporarily. Eventually, our minds will gravitate to unholy things, that is unless we are in the Word of God daily and have the Spirit of God in us. When we’re saved, we receive a new nature…the nature of God, and even though it falls infinitely short of God’s mind, we strive to have it renewed daily by prayer, by the Word, and by His Spirit, so we can receive help from God in overcoming our thought life, particularly our thoughts on things of the world and of the flesh. Paul asked the Corinthians, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Paul admonishes us to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:5-7). When we focus on serving others in humility, there is no room for selfish thoughts to satisfy the flesh. Instead of it being all about us, the mind of Christ makes it all about others. We cannot control our thoughts but the Spirit of God can. The Spirit of God allows us to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3).

 

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Concerning Eternal Life Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. John 6:47-51 NASB __________________ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 KJV __________________ Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life. 1 John 2:24,25 RSV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

Luke 2:20

What was the subject of their praise? They praised God for what they had heard — for the good tidings of great joy that a Saviour was born unto them. Let us copy them; let us also raise a song of thanksgiving that we have heard of Jesus and his salvation. They also praised God for what they had seen. There is the sweetest music — what we have experienced, what we have felt within, what we have made our own — “the things which we have made touching the King.” It is not enough to hear about Jesus: mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music.

If you have seen Jesus with the God-giving sight of faith, suffer no cobwebs to linger among the harp strings, but loud to the praise of sovereign grace, awake your psaltery and harp. One point for which they praised God was the agreement between what they had heard and what they had seen. Observe the last sentence — “As it was told unto them.” Have you not found the gospel to be in yourselves just what the Bible said it would be? Jesus said he would give you rest — have you not enjoyed the sweetest peace in him? He said you should have joy, and comfort, and life through believing in him—have you not received all these? Are not his ways ways of pleasantness, and his paths paths of peace?

Surely you can say with the queen of Sheba, “The half has not been told me.” I have found Christ more sweet than his servants ever said he was. I looked upon his likeness as they painted it, but it was a mere daub compared with himself; for the King in his beauty outshines all imaginable loveliness. Surely what we have “seen” keeps pace with, nay, far exceeds, what we have “heard.” Let us, then, glorify and praise God for a Saviour so precious, and so satisfying.

 

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The Dangers of Getting Your Way



Like anybody else, I love getting my way. I celebrate when circumstances turn out the way I hope they will. I feel safe and secure and happy when reality matches my expectations.
When circumstances are bad, I struggle. I question my existence and the point of it all; I lament and project/inflict my pain onto others. I feel malaise and anger. When things are tough, I am constantly working to make them better (if not constantly on the verge of giving up). When things are the way I want, I feel as though they are how they should be. When things are not as I want, I desire change.

Sometimes when I am in a season of particularly difficult circumstances, I will say “I just need a win”. I don’t think I’ve ever suggested, “I could really benefit from a loss”. The interesting thing is I have thought this about other people. I’ve often looked at someone and thought they could use a kick in the pants or a slap in the face, that they might benefit from being knocked down a peg or two. But, I am too often blind to the need for humility in my own life and the value of sometimes not getting my way.

Pattern of Entitlement
The hard thing about getting your way is that you are biased. Sometimes getting your own way is what you want and what you need. Sometimes it is just one or the other. And we are incredibly adept at self-deception, making hard to truly discern a distinction between what we want and what is best for us.
One of the dangers of getting your way is that it validates your desires. If that happens over and over again, we develop a pattern of entitlement. We start to expect to get our way. It starts to inform the way we see ourselves, the world around us, and the relationship of the two. It becomes difficult to discern how the world really works. The truth gets eclipsed by the swelling accumulation of our own desires and the never-ending desire for MORE.

Growth Through Struggle
The truth is, though we hate to admit it, we grow through our struggles. Those existential questions we face in the midst of pain help to make us better people. They strengthen our character, open our pathways of vulnerability so we can relate better with others, and reveal to us the truth of a complicated and mysterious world we cannot control.

Struggle produces perseverance. And since the human life is fraught with waiting and uncertainty, there is perhaps no moral muscle more important than perseverance.
But this, of course, brings us to a bit of an impasse. If there is value in suffering, should I be looking to suffer? If there is danger in success, should I be trying to fail?
I don’t think there is anything wrong with trying to avoid pain and disappointment. What is important is our perspective. Because pain will inevitably find us. Disappointment is unavoidable. We should not go searching for pain, but neither should we be overly afraid of it – to the point our fear steals the valuable opportunity of suffering.
Perhaps the most pervasive danger of always getting our way is that we lose sight of the true path of our lives – to pursue truth, which is bigger and more complex than any one of us.

 

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Are Your Fearful? He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4:40,41 NIV __________________ For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41:13,14 KJV __________________ Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:25,26 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“The dove came in to him in the evening.”

Genesis 8:11

Blessed be the Lord for another day of mercy, even though I am now weary with its toils. Unto the preserver of men lift I my song of gratitude. The dove found no rest out of the ark, and therefore returned to it; and my soul has learned yet more fully than ever, this day, that there is no satisfaction to be found in earthly things — God alone can give rest to my spirit. As to my business, my possessions, my family, my attainments, these are all well enough in their way, but they cannot fulfil the desires of my immortal nature. “Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.”

It was at the still hour, when the gates of the day were closing, that with weary wing the dove came back to the master: O Lord, enable me this evening thus to return to Jesus. She could not endure to spend a night hovering over the restless waste, not can I bear to be even for another hour away from Jesus, the rest of my heart, the home of my spirit. She did not merely alight upon the roof of the ark, she “came in to him;” even so would my longing spirit look into the secret of the Lord, pierce to the interior of truth, enter into that which is within the veil, and reach to my Beloved in very deed.

To Jesus must I come: short of the nearest and dearest intercourse with him my panting spirit cannot stay. Blessed Lord Jesus, be with me, reveal thyself, and abide with me all night, so that when I awake I may be still with thee. I note that the dove brought in her mouth an olive branch plucked off, the memorial of the past day, and a prophecy of the future. Have I no pleasing record to bring home? No pledge and earnest of lovingkindness yet to come? Yes, my Lord, I present thee my grateful acknowledgments for tender mercies which have been new every morning and fresh every evening; and now, I pray thee, put forth thy hand and take thy dove into thy bosom.

 

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Our Help in Trouble Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. Psalm 37:39,40 NIV __________________ The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:7 NASB __________________ Thou who hast made me see many sore troubles wilt revive me again; from the depths of the earth thou wilt bring me up again. Thou wilt increase my honor, and comfort me again. I will also praise thee with the harp for thy faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to thee with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. Psalm 71:20-22 RSV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.”

2 Samuel 18:23

Running is not everything, there is much in the way which we select: a swift foot over hill and down dale will not keep pace with a slower traveller upon level ground. How is it with my spiritual journey, am I labouring up the hill of my own works and down into the ravines of my own humiliations and resolutions, or do I run by the plain way of “Believe and live”? How blessed is it to wait upon the Lord by faith! The soul runs without weariness, and walks without fainting, in the way of believing.

Christ Jesus is the way of life, and he is a plain way, a pleasant way, a way suitable for the tottering feet and feeble knees of trembling sinners: am I found in this way, or am I hunting after another track such as priestcraft or metaphysics may promise me? I read of the way of holiness, that the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein: have I been delivered from proud reason and been brought as a little child to rest in Jesus’ love and blood? If so, by God's grace I shall outrun the strongest runner who chooses any other path.

This truth I may remember to my profit in my daily cares and needs. It will be my wisest course to go at once to my God, and not to wander in a roundabout manner to this friend and that. He knows my wants and can relieve them, to whom should I repair but to himself by the direct appeal of prayer, and the plain argument of the promise. “Straightforward makes the best runner.” I will not parlay with the servants, but hasten to their master.

In reading this passage, it strikes me that if men vie with each other in common matters, and one outruns the other, I ought to be in solemn earnestness so to run that I may obtain. Lord, help me to gird up the loins of my mind, and may I press forward towards the mark for the prize of my high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 

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The Infinite Power Of Love



Love is more than a feeling…it is a verb, and it is the most powerful of all human emotions.

Love is a Verb
Love is not just a greeting card or saying “I love you.” Love is a verb. It is what you do. The greatest display of love ever shown was at the cross (1 John 3:16), as God loved us first (1 John 4:19); we who were still ungodly, wicked enemies of His (Rom 5:6-10). God made the first move (John 6:44) and God made the final move (John 3:16). Love was no better displayed for all time than in the way Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus prayed three times to have the cup of Calvary removed, but knew that He must do the will of His Father in heaven.

This was the only way (Acts 4:12), so He did it, despite the detestible cup of abominations that He was to drink. He drank from the dregs of sinful, human depravity, so He took upon Himself the sins of our flesh so that He might save those out of the flesh. Before, during, and after the cross, God’s love was the motivating factor behind it all. This was love in action, so as you can see, love is a verb. It is what you do, not so much what you say. Loving God and loving others is more than a feeling…it is a sacrificial response (Matt 25:35-36) that is supernaturally infused by the Spirit of God.

Love’s Potent Power
Not long after Romania’s brutal dictatorship was brought down (in 1989), researchers started looking at the orphanages. There were thousands and thousands of orphans left over from the thousands and thousands of Romanians who were imprisoned, brutally tortured, or murdered. The number of orphans vastly outstripped the number of parents by the almost 100,000. The toddlers were so desperate that they’d resort to doing anything to get someone to come and show them some attention. Other children rocked back in forth incessantly as if in another world, most were unable to communicate, and most of these children resisted being held. They weren’t used to it. When they were held for changing or feeding or bathing, they squirm and try to get loose, but strangely, once they were freed, they’d reach back for the one who held them. Sadly, one-on-one attention was just not possible. There were just too many orphans and not enough workers. These children were craving attention as if they were addicted to a drug, but it was love that they needed.

They craved attention, time, interaction, cuddling, talking, and all the other things we took for granted in our childhood, so here were thousands of children who were developmentally disabled, with little or no hope of a productive or happy future, and all because they had been left to themselves. We know that “a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Prov 29:15). Neglected children are hurt in ways we can’t even comprehend, so it wasn’t from a disability that these children suffered, but from the circumstances of being in isolation, and with precious little human contact. They were withering away because they had been neglected the love that every child needs. Love is essential to our survival, or at least a normal, functioning one.

Verses about Love
The Bible speaks about human, brotherly, and godly love, although there are more ways to love than just these three, but we know that love is greater than anything, even the spiritual gifts we have (1 Cor 13:13). The love of God is on an infinitely higher plain, because God’s love was displayed in “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6), and “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom 8:35a)? The answer is, no one or nothing can ever separate the child of God from God once they’ve trusted in Christ (Rom 8:38-39).

Brotherly Love
We are to love our brothers and sisters. For example, a friend who truly loves us doesn’t bail out the moment things get difficult because a real “friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov 17:17). This means we are to “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom 12:10). If you say you love God but don’t show it to your brother or sister, God says you are a liar! The Apostle John says, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). Every child of God knows “that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14), and love shows up in things like, it “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:7). God admonishes us all to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32).

The point to all this is to “keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Jesus shows us just how radical this godly love is, shocking His audience by saying, we are to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28). How can we love an enemy who hates us, curses us, and does bad things to us? Only through Christ can we do this (Phil 4:13). God did not give us what we deserve (His wrath); He gave us what we needed (His mercy and grace), so neither should we give people what they deserve…but what they need…and that is love.

Conclusion
People won’t know we’re Jesus’ disciples by our memorizing Scripture, winning a debate, or having perfect church attendance. People will know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:34-35). This is how “all men” and woman will know who Jesus’ disciples are…but conversely, who they are not (1 John 4:19). Love wins the day…and wins souls to Christ. God can use our love for others as a means to save some. Yes, God alone saves, but what a privilege to be used by God as a means to save those whom He has chosen. I love to share Christ because I love others. That means I am willing to endure name-calling, derogatory remarks, crude talk, and even being labeled a maniac.

That’s fine with me. I pray for everyone I come in contact with, regardless of what they say too or say about me. I can take a blessing or too for being insulted for His names’ sake (Matt 5:10-12). What about you? “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet 4:13). Because God first loved us, we also ought to love others first; regardless of whether they believe or not. Remember, we too were once unbelievers (1 Cor 6:11), but God still loved us first! Let us make the first move and love others so that perhaps they might know Christ, and Him crucified.

 

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Witnessing - Stay at It! Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9,10 NIV __________________ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:7,8 KJV __________________ Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126:5,6 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.”

Ephesians 1:11

When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in him, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will.

See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, “Whither the Forerunner is for us entered.” Heb. 6:20. Does he stand in the presence of God? — “He appears in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:24. Consider this, believer. You have no right to heaven in yourself: your right lies in Christ. If you are pardoned, it is through his blood; if you are justified, it is through his righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because he is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in him.

Thus Jesus is magnified — for all is in him and by him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us — for it is obtained in him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved “in whom” we have obtained all. Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales, and his treasure in balances, and then think to count the treasures which belong to the saints. Reach the bottom of Christ's sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss which God hath prepared for them that love him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ's possessions, and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. “All things are yours, for ye are Christ's and Christ is God's.”

 

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The Perils And Pleasures of Money



Money can be a blessing and it can be a curse, depending on how you use it, so to help you in using your money wisely, read what the Bible says about money.
Danger of Riches
The Bible is well documented about the risks of having money. It’s not that having money is wrong, but when the money begins to have you, then that’s a problem. The Apostle Paul wrote about loving money too much, writing that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim 6:10). Money is not evil. It is the love of money that is at the root of the problem. One of the clear and present dangers of having a lot of money is that “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Eccl 5:10). Jesus warned us to “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:5). We are to simply seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and He will take care of everything else (Matt 6:33).

Money and God
Money can compete with God because it provides for all of our needs, it gives us many different pleasures, and its security for tomorrow and the next day, but the author of Hebrews warns us to “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). If you are worried about finances, then you must feel forsaken by God, because if you’re not content with what you have, then you’re not free “from the love of money.” The love of money can make us wander “away from the faith” if we’re not careful, because “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24). Ask yourself, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it” (1 Cor 4:7)? Obviously all that we have received is from God.

Giving to God
If you think about helping the poor, think about this; “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (Prov 19:17). Maybe you’ve never thought of it that way, but that’s the way God looks at it. He is a defender of the poor, the orphans, and the widows (Psalm 68:5), so “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Eccl 11:1). It’s the law of sowing and reaping. Generally, we reap more than we sow, but we usually reap long after we sow, but the fact is, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (Prov 11:24-25). Malachi the Prophet challenged the children of Jacob to “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Mal 3:10).

Message to the Rich
The Bible has a lot to say to the poor and disenfranchised, but it also has a lot to say to the rich. For example, they should know that “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Prov 13:11). Sadly, in this world, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Prov 22:7), so God would say to you who are rich: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21). I don’t believe this is only for the rich, because “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6). That applies to all of us. The harvest is up to the amount you sow.

If you’re ever tempted to think you’ve acquired your wealth all by yourself, “Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut 8:18). Paul’s last message to the rich was to “charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim 6:17-19). By the way, the poor can be as covetous as the rich toward money.

Conclusion
Solomon wrote, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Prov 13:22), so there’s nothing wrong with saving money and spending it wisely. It’s fine to splurge once in a while. God wants us to enjoy our blessings, but when our blessings start to capture our hearts, we must get back to the Bible and realize that “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim 5:8).

 

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He is Faithful! Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV __________________ He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Psalm 105:7,8 KJV __________________ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; Hebrews 10:23 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“And these are ancient things.”

1 Chronicles 4:22

Yet not so ancient as those precious things which are the delight of our souls. Let us for a moment recount them, telling them over as misers count their gold. The sovereign choice of the Father, by which he elected us unto eternal life, or ever the earth was, is a matter of vast antiquity, since no date can be conceived for it by the mind of man. We were chosen from before the foundations of the world. Everlasting love went with the choice, for it was not a bare act of divine will by which we were set apart, but the divine affections were concerned. The Father loved us in and from the beginning.

Here is a theme for daily contemplation. The eternal purpose to redeem us from our foreseen ruin, to cleanse and sanctify us, and at last to glorify us, was of infinite antiquity, and runs side by side with immutable love and absolute sovereignty. The covenant is always described as being everlasting, and Jesus, the second party in it, had his goings forth of old; he struck hands in sacred suretyship long ere the first of the stars began to shine, and it was in him that the elect were ordained unto eternal life. Thus in the divine purpose a most blessed covenant union was established between the Son of God and his elect people, which will remain as the foundation of their safety when time shall be no more.

Is it not well to be conversant with these ancient things? Is it not shameful that they should be so much neglected and even rejected by the bulk of professors? If they knew more of their own sin, would they not be more ready to adore distinguishing grace? Let us both admire and adore tonight, as we sing—

“A monument of grace,
A sinner saved by blood;
The streams of love I trace
Up to the Fountain, God;
And in his sacred bosom see
Eternal thoughts of Love to me.”

 

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The Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’s Command to “Be Perfect”



On Episode 28 of Word Matters, Jonathan Pennington joined us to discuss Jesus’s command to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). What does it mean to “be perfect,” especially in light of the fact that we know no one is or can be perfect in a sinful world?

Pennington helpfully explained that “perfection” as it’s often translated in Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t mean sinlessness. When considered against its Old Testament roots, the word used here (τελειος , “teleios“) means something more like “wholeness,” “peace,” or “flourishing.” Further, in the Hellenistic tradition that had already infiltrated the world of the Bible’s writing, this term is related to a “wisely learned person” who is virtuous in his being, and not inconsistent in his inward vs. outward life. Jesus isn’t calling us to sinless perfection here (though he never allows us an excuse to sin), but is rather calling us to be whole like his Father. Indeed, Pennington translates Matthew 5:48 in his commentary—The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing—this way:
Therefore, you shall be whole as you heavenly Father is whole. (203)

But what does it mean to be whole in the sense that Jesus is getting at? As Pennington explained on the podcast, this term tells us that we can be blameless without being faultless. Because God knows we can’t live sinlessly (though that’d be ideal), he can still call us to a consistent and growing dedication. In other words, God is calling each of his people to be a type of person. “He wants a wholeness of heart, not a perfection of behavior.” Or as he says in his book,
…the Christian’s life must be marked by a way of being in the world that accords with God’s nature, will, and coming kingdom. The requirement of wholeness or heart-affections-behavior righteousness in 5:48, in imitation of God the Father, is a great summary of the gracious invitation of the gospel… (206)


Pennington (rightly) argues that this idea of wholeness (teleios) is “the summary call of the ethics of the kingdom” (203). The beginning of the Sermon gives examples of what wholeness is (notice how they represent the ethics of God’s kingdom and therefore the character of God himself), and then the rest of the Sermon lays out instructions for what this wholeness looks like as it is lived out in the now-and-not-yet.
We should not white-knuckle good deeds, but rather rest in the righteousness of Christ as the Spirit works through us to make us into his image.

 

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The Newest Church Growth Paradigm: Digital Church




The epidemic has forced churches to resort to online services. But now some church growth experts are hailing that problem as a new paradigm for “doing church.”
A The COVID-19 pandemic has “propelled the Church into the contemporary world,” according to a report from an evangelical Anglican organization in the UK. “Last month we were the Odeon, today we are Netflix.” An “Odeon” is a building designed to feature musical performances; that is, a concert hall.

In the 1950s, the Odeon was okay, but then along came consumer choice, individualism and crowded complex lifestyles. Then came TV film channels, and now Netflix, Prime and others, where you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you are on whatever you’ve got. . . .The Government has shut our ‘Odeons’ down, so in response we have stumbled into ‘Homespun Netflix’ and it’s looking promising.

Indeed, churches that want to be contemporary have adopted the concert hall model. Sanctuaries are dominated by a stage, complete with overhead spot lights, microphones, a drum set, and guitar amps. The service is modeled after a concert performance, with the band and the preacher putting on a carefully-orchestrated show. Today, most people turn to the internet and streaming TV, rather than concerts, so why shouldn’t churches adapt accordingly?

Notice that both the concert hall and Netflix models assume that worship should be analogous to entertainment. Both approaches are very different from the historical approach to church, in which members of a Christian community gather together to receive God’s gifts in the Word and Sacraments in front of a pulpit and an altar.
The study, from the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS), does find some good results from online church services. According to the authors Bob Jackson and George Fisher, “Most churches going online have discovered that far more people are accessing their services than ever came to the building. What seemed initially to be a devastating blow to churches may actually generate growth.”

One church reported, “We’ve had a huge number of hits, many more than the number of people in church on a Sunday, connecting with people who would not come to a regular service.”
Another said, “Our online services on our YouTube channel, through Facebook, through our website, have doubled or nearly tripled Sunday morning numbers.” . . .
People are finding it easier to access church online because they can join in the services without feeling concerned about ‘doing the wrong thing’ – like standing or sitting at the ‘wrong’ time, they don’t have to enter a strange building and meet new people, and they can access the services at a time that suits them.
One church reported: “One previously non-churchgoer said that online she felt comfortable, fully part of the service and so more welcomed than if she had been in the building unsure of how to behave.”

Now this is tremendous for Great Britain, where church attendance has dropped to nearly imperceptible levels. The internet is indeed a great tool for outreach. If services posted on YouTube or Facebook can show unchurched people what church is like, convey the Word of God to them, and encourage them to actually come to church, so much the better. American churches too might want to consider continuing and enhancing their internet presence.
That doesn’t mean that churches should reinvent themselves according to the “Netflix” model. Watching the Food Network can inform viewers about food they might want to try. But it is no substitute for eating.
Another church growth expert, Carey Nieuwhof, also advocates “digital” church, but he also complicates the picture. In his post The Original 2020 Is History, he gives some important data about online services during the pandemic.
Yes, 29% of congregations showed an increase in online visitors over their regular in-person attendance. But that means 71% did not.


Of Americans who regularly attend worship services, 48% did nottune in to their congregation’s online services; 40% did; and 23% tuned in to another church’s online service. (The total is more than 100%, since some, over the four weeks being studied, attended their own congregation’s service some times and attended a different one other times.)
That does not strike me as an overwhelming success. Nevertheless, Rev. Nieuwhof sees “digital church,” rather than just “physical church” as the wave of the future.
Digital technology, he says, will accelerate the trend we are already seeing in the “consolidation” of the church, as smaller congregations close in favor of fewer but bigger megachurches. And yet, Rev. Nieuwhof says, the physical churches will not disappear. Here are some of his observations:

Growing churches in the future will become digital organizations with physical expressions, not physical organizations with a digital presence.
The difference in this trend is as stark as JC Penny and Amazon.
JC Penny (which recently filed for Chapter 11), like Sears and ToysRUs, were physical retailers that slowly adapted an online presence, behaving like most people still wanted an in-person experience.

Amazon, of course, started as a digital retailer that gradually moved into physical stores.
What’s surprising is that sometimes the digital connections have been as or more meaningful than the in-person connections. . . .
To put digital church back on the shelf in the new normal is to ignore the greatest opportunity the church today has to reach people.
Seeing digital as optional really does mean your church will end up like malls in the age of Amazon, just hoping for people to show up again.

And it also ignores the fact that many will want digital to be at least an option, if not a preferred method of engagement where geography and other barriers prevent access. . . .
Further, digital scales in a way that analog doesn’t.
Online church transcends geographic, physical and time barriers in a way that analog doesn’t.
Will we still have in-person, physical gatherings and services? Absolutely. But in the future church, if you care about people, you’ll care about digital church.

Notice the other metaphor being used to think about church: businesses. Mom ‘n’ pop retailers vs. the big box stores vs. Amazon.com. Big corporations swallow up the little guys, and digital corporations swallow up the physical shopping malls. And so it will be with churches. Again, historically and Biblically, churches were always different kinds of things than business ventures.

Consider the other implications of digital church. Certainly, the technology can engage more people, with the need for fewer pastors, at a smaller expense, without even the need for large megachurch facilities and campuses. Since a digital church “transcends geographic, physical and time barriers,” we won’t need as many of them. We will need few, if any, pastors. It won’t even be necessary to plan a new service or a new sermon every week. A library of different sermon topics and musical performances can be put together, and viewers can just click which ever one they are in the mood for at any given time. As with Netflix.
From the beginning, churches were situated; that is, they existed in a specific place. Thus, St. Paul writes his epistles to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus. Today, we have the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and local congregations of every affiliation in cities, suburbs, small towns, and countrysides.

A community, whether secular or sacred, needs a sense of place. The church is the body of Christ, so it needs to be embodied. The Sacraments ensure that it is. Churches have to do with body, blood, and real presences–of Christ and also of Christians. Churches exist in time–in redemption history from creation through incarnation and atonement and resurrection to the last judgment, as part of the historical church, in the cycles of life from birth through death, in the church year, in the present, in eternity.
A fully digitized church will bear the same relationship to the actual church–against which the Gates of Hell will not prevail–that virtual reality bears to actual reality.

 

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Concerning Honesty You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and just weight you shall have, a full and just measure you shall have; that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 25:15,16 RSV __________________ Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Colossians 3:9,10 KJV __________________ "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Leviticus 19:11 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Tell me ... where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.”

Song of Solomon 1:7

These words express the desire of the believer after Christ, and his longing for present communion with him. Where doest thou feed thy flock? In thy house? I will go, if I may find thee there. In private prayer? Then I will pray without ceasing. In the Word? Then I will read it diligently. In thine ordinances? Then I will walk in them with all my heart. Tell me where thou feedest, for wherever thou standest as the Shepherd, there will I lie down as a sheep; for none but thyself can supply my need.

I cannot be satisfied to be apart from thee. My soul hungers and thirsts for the refreshment of thy presence. “Where dost thou make thy flock to rest at noon?” for whether at dawn or at noon, my only rest must be where thou art and thy beloved flock. My soul's rest must be a grace-given rest, and can only be found in thee. Where is the shadow of that rock? Why should I not repose beneath it? “Why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?” Thou hast companions — why should I not be one? Satan tells me I am unworthy; but I always was unworthy, and yet thou hast long loved me; and therefore my unworthiness cannot be a bar to my having fellowship with thee now.

It is true I am weak in faith, and prone to fall, but my very feebleness is the reason why I should always be where thou feedest thy flock, that I may be strengthened, and preserved in safety beside the still waters. Why should I turn aside? There is no reason why I should, but there are a thousand reasons why I should not, for Jesus beckons me to come. If he withdrew himself a little, it is but to make me prize his presence more. Now that I am grieved and distressed at being away from him, he will lead me yet again to that sheltered nook where the lambs of his fold are sheltered from the burning sun.