Do Not Love This World

The Bible gives us some helpful information about the world that we live in, and we do well to pay attention to it.

No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. (Mt 6:24 ISV)

The wisdom of the Scriptures is apparent here in reminding us that no one can serve two masters. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, then we serve only Him. To try to do otherwise is folly.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. (1 Joh 2:15 NIV)

We’re advised that we should not love the world or anything in the world. This is not speaking about people, but about material things and the world’s way of valuing what is important.

The most important thing in life is to serve the Lord and to maintain a vital and living relationship with the Lord Jesus.

. . . for whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. (1 Joh 5:4 MEV)

We’re reminded that we who have accepted Christ as our Savior are born of God, and we are overcomers! Glory to God! What do we overcome? The world and its systems and its empty values.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Joh 16:33 NIV) Jesus is speaking to us in this verse above in John 16. He says that in this world we’ll have trouble. But He reminds us that He has overcome the world. It is Jesus’ victory that makes His followers overcomers. Rejoice in this truth today.

A Permanent Covenant

A covenant is a relationship between two parties who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach their common goal.

We are currently living in “New Covenant” times. This covenant defines a new relationship between God and man mediated by Jesus Christ and based upon a sincere declaration that one believes in Jesus Christ as Lord, God, and Savior.

Today, we are meditating upon this covenant that believers have with the Lord.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isa 54:10 NIV)

Neither God’s love—nor His covenant of peace—will be shaken or upset. Glory to God!

Pay attention to me, come to me; and listen, so that you may live; then I’ll make an everlasting covenant with you, as promised by my faithful, sure love for David. (Isa 55:3 ISV)

As our title today tells us, we have an everlasting covenant with the Lord. It will not end.

I will not break my agreement nor change what I have said. (Ps 89:34 NCV)

God is stating clearly that He will never break His Word or change His promises to us. We can rely upon His stability and His dependability. Thus, our faith may rest upon a flawless foundation. Hallelujah!

Let Your Love Increase & Overflow

Our love for ourselves and for other people should be increasing and overflowing as we mature in Christ and in our relationship with Him. Here are some key Scriptures:

A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mt 22:39 NLT)

We can’t learn to love our neighbor, until we learn to love ourselves—by the grace of God. God loves us as we are, even though He knows all about our weaknesses and our past. God’s love is mature and steadfast and doesn’t accept offense.

And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight . . . (Phil 1:9 AMP)

As the verse quoted above says, our love will display itself in greater depths as the years and our experiences in Christ continue. This will make us better spouses, parents, neighbors, and witnesses for the Kingdom of God.

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you. (1 Thes 3:12 CSB)

As we grow in our awareness of God’s steadfast and unfailing love for each one of us, individually, the Lord will trigger a yearning in our hearts to show God’s precious and anointed love to everyone with whom we come into contact. May your joy abound and be shared with everyone you meet!

Our True Daily Bread

Bread is a symbol of many things. In the Old Testament, the Lord provided bread from heaven when His people were wandering in the wilderness after escaping from Egypt. (Ex 16:4, 14, 31) In this context, bread was a forceful symbol of God’s provision for His people.

For decades in America, the husband in a family was referred to, in informal terms, as the breadwinner. Even now, bread is a synonym for money.

Let’s read what God’s Word says about bread.

Give us today our daily bread. (Mt 6:11 NIV)

Give us day by day our daily bread. (Lk 11:3 ASV)

Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say: ‘No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken.’ ” (Mt 4:4 CEV)

In the above verse, Jesus reminds us that we need to know and love God’s Word as much as we do our daily food.

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³²Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” ³⁵Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (Joh 6:31-35 ESV)

In John, chapter 6, Jesus clearly declares Himself to be the true bread from heaven. Through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we become partakers in eternal life. It is vital to maintain an ongoing faith in Jesus and an ongoing relationship with Him because we need to depend upon Him continually for our every need.

The Lord Jesus proved Himself to be forgiving, merciful and loving to those who followed Him. He was a fount of wisdom and grace, and being in His presence provided a powerful blessing. He was also the hand of God who healed the sick, maimed, deaf, blind, and hurting. People received deliverance and miracles and wonders through the ministry of Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb 13:8)

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Cor 10:16-17 NIV)

When we partake of the Communion elements, we are remembering the sacrifice and obedience of Jesus. Through the ceremony of remembrance—which is the observance of Communion—we declare our unfailing gratitude to God for the precious gift of salvation that we have received. Praise the Lord!

God is Eternal

How does the fact that God is an eternal Being impact a Christian’s daily life? First, let’s look at some relevant Bible verses:

Your divine throne is eternal and everlasting. Your royal scepter is a scepter of justice. (Ps 45:6 CEB)

But you, Lord, are enthroned forever; You are remembered throughout all generations. (Ps 102:12 ISV)

You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. (Lam 5:19 NKJV)

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim 1:17 ESV)

Because God is an eternal and all-powerful Being, pleasing Him and having a relationship with Him is a satisfying and meaningful investment. It is a relationship that will go on into eternity, and one that will change our daily lives for the better.

The souls of all human beings are destined to continue eternally, and we have the authority to choose whether our eternal home will be in hell or heaven. When we choose to live for Jesus, and to obey the Bible, we make the best decision ever.

God’s wisdom and God’s Words will never pass away. Obeying His Word will be eternally valuable. Therefore, we need to invest NOW in the things that are eternal and affect eternity. This mindset means that we choose to follow Christ’s example daily in every area of our lives.

We are wholly connected with Christ. We are even hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3) Therefore, we are secure in Christ. We belong to the Lord, and are protected in Him. The certain and magnificent day will arrive when we will be glorified with Him. Praise God!

The Kingdom of Heaven

The terms “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God” are synonymous; they represent the same thing.

“Many people think of the kingdom of God as heaven or as the church. However, the kingdom of God is not an actual physical place. A working definition of God’s kingdom from a biblical perspective can be seen as God’s universal reign as Creator and Christ’s exhaustive work as Redeemer. Since God is eternal, His kingdom is eternal. The Kingdom of God transcends time and space.”

(Source: https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-10-things-christians-need-to-know.html)

Let’s see what the Bible says:

. . . and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:3 NKJV)

In order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one needs childlike faith and trust in the Lord. Just as earthly children trust their parents for their daily needs, we also must place our faith and trust in God the Father for daily shelter, food, protection, and all of life’s necessities.

Jesus told them another story: The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. ³²Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches. (Mt 13:31-32 CEV)

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mk 4:30-32 RSV)

The Kingdom of Heaven is compared, in these Bible passages above, to a mustard seed that grows into a mighty plant whose branches become a home for birds as well as a protection from the shade for other animals.

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Joh 3:5-6 NKJV)

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of all who have become part of His kingdom by submitting to His authority, and by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Wherever God’s faithful people are gathered is where the Kingdom of God can be found. God will meet us wherever we gather, whenever we call upon His Name.

A relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord is the basis of the Kingdom of God. It impacts all actions, thoughts, relationships, families, institutions, and governments. Everything on earth will come into contact with God’s Kingdom.

This Kingdom has grown all over the earth, and is still growing and overcoming all obstacles in order to touch the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Glory to God most High!

Why Did Humanity Throng Jesus?

A THRONG means a multitude, crowd, mass of people, or swarm of people. The Bible points out that everywhere that Jesus traveled, people swarmed to Him. They ran to Jesus in hope, out of need, and due to a yearning to see the hand of God operating among them.

The people not only crowded around the Lord, but they were actually pressing in upon Him—trying to get as close to Him as they possibly could. Let’s turn to the Bible:

And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. (Mk 5:24 NASB)

And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” (Mk 5:31 NASB, emphasis added)

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret . . . (Lk 5:1 ESV)

. . . because his twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter. While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around Him. (Lk 8:42 CEV)

Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” While everyone was denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you.” (Lk 8:45 ISV)

The people wanted and needed to experience the forgiveness, the love and the mercy of God that Jesus radiated to all who were exposed to Him. All human beings desire love and acceptance, and no one conveyed that as powerfully and as genuinely as Jesus Christ did.

In the physical presence of Jesus, I believe that every human being on earth would react in just the same way today as people did in Bible times.

What we would do well to remember is that we already having a loving and personal relationship with Jesus as our Savior, Lord, and Messiah. We have access to all of His blessings and to His presence in our lives. All we need to do is to stop, and get alone with Him in a place of prayer and worship. At once, the Lord’s presence will be magnified as we focus upon Him, alone. God bless you.

What We KNOW as Believers

We, as Christians, don’t have to wonder or hope or try to get faith. We need to stop and consider what we know. Our key verse for this study is in 2 Timothy:

. . . for I KNOW whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day. (2 Tim 1:12b KJV)

For we KNOW JESUS, our Savior and Lord, with whom we have a living, vital relationship—Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God! (Mt 16:16; 26:63; Joh 6:69) To KNOW someone means to have a relationship with, to comprehend, and to have experienced who they truly are as a person.

As a matter of fact, because we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer and Lord, we are now known as SONS OF THE LIVING GOD! (Rom 9:26) Hallelujah!

These are some of the vital things that we KNOW as believers:

That the Lord has set us apart for Himself; the Lord will hear us when we call upon Him! (Ps 4:3)
That because we are set apart for God (His anointed), He will answer us with the saving strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ps 20:6)
That the Lord is great, and He is above all gods. (Ps 135:5)
That God’s works are marvelous. (Ps 139:14)
That Jesus is the Holy One of God. (Mk 1:24c; Lk 4:34c)
We know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. (Lk 8:10)
We know Jesus, our Good Shepherd. (Joh 10:14)
We know the Lord, because He dwells with us, and He lives in us. (Joh 14:17)
We know that Jesus dwells in the Father; we dwell in Jesus; and Jesus dwells in us. (Joh 14:20)
That wherever we go, we carry the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. (Rom 15:29)
That we have received the Spirit who is from God through whom we know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (1 Cor 2:12; 1 Joh 4:12-14)
We are the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer. (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19)
That we are in Christ because we keep His Word, and the love of God is perfected in us. (1 Joh 2:5)
That Jesus was manifested to take away our sins and in Him there is no sin. (1 Joh 3:5)
That we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. (1 Joh 3:14)
We know the Spirit of God because we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, and He is from God. (1 Joh 4:2)
That we are born of God and know God because we love one another, and love is of God. (1 Joh 4:7)
We know that we have eternal life because we believe in the name of the Son of God and will continue to do so. (1 Joh 5:13)

Support Missionaries & Evangelists

We should always be hospitable to and support fellow Christians, especially those who have served as missionaries and traveling evangelists. The Bible tells us that we should aspire to become fellow workers for the Kingdom of God.

. . . because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth. (3 Joh 1:7-8 NKJV) We should receive fellow Christians and missionaries into our homes as a way of supporting them. The Word says that by doing this, we may become fellow workers.

Here is the same verse in the New International Version:

It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. ⁸We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. (3 Joh 1:7-8 NIV)

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Phil 4:3 NIV) This verse is appealing to a Philippian friend to help and support the women who labored in furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hospitality is one way of doing this. Another way was to befriend these women and stay in relationship with them.

As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. (2 Cor 8:23 NIV)

All of these Scriptures remind us to be hospitable and supportive of all those who preach the Word and share the Good News of Jesus with the unsaved. When we obey these verses, we reap blessings upon ourselves and our families. Pray for, encourage, and help those who are missionaries and evangelists. God will reward you and credit you as co-laborers with them. Now that is good to hear!

Do We Have Ears that Hear?

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mk 4:23 NKJV)

He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Mt 11:15 NKJV)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev 2:29 NKJV)

The Scriptures talk about people having “ears to hear” quite a bit. What can that mean to us as believers?

Do you know that God is always speaking to His people? And our relationship with our Savior is based, as any true relationship is, upon communication!

To quote Kris Vallotton (Bethel Church, Redding, CA), “Communication is probably the single greatest vehicle of any relationship.” Prayer is part of our communication with God and listening for His voice is the other part of that two-way communication. It is our responsibility to do the listening! Pay attention because the Lord’s voice will often be quiet and unobtrusive. And He may speak to you in ways that you don’t recognize.

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹²and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kgs 19:11-12 NKJV, emphasis added)

The wonderful thing about God is that He may use various ways to communicate with us. He uses the Scriptures to communicate clearly with us, but he may also use any of these other methods as well.

Visions: The Lord may give us visions which are simply images and concepts that play upon the screen of our imagination within our minds. Visions frequently require interpretation. So, when the Holy Spirit uses this method to communicate, we need to ask Him to clarify the meaning of the vision. (See Acts 2:17-18)
The still, small voice of the Lord: This can be perceived as a transient thought, an abrupt but strong impression, or an inner perception of a message from the Lord. (See 1 Kgs 19:11-13)
Creation: The very creation that God made speaks to us of His power, strength, creativity, provision, and beauty. Pay attention to any message that the Lord may give you through His creation. For me, when I was a brand-new believer, I was asking the Lord to show me His love. I was out with my fiancé driving on a country road. I kept looking at the beautiful sky above me that was just full of large, puffy, billowy clouds as far as the eye could see in EVERY direction. As I was observing those clouds, a church song came into my heart in which the chorus includes the phrase: Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, in fathomless billows of love! (Song Wonderful Peace, lyrics by Warren D. Cornell, music by W. George Cooper – 1889)
The Lord used nature to communicate His great love for me with the image of fathomless billows of love that were demonstrated to me by the huge, billowing clouds before my own eyes—as far as the eye could see in every direction. To this day, 50 years later, I have never forgotten that message from the Lord that was just for me. I cherish it.
Circumstances: God is able to speak to us and to direct us through the circumstances of our lives. He can open doors of opportunity, or close them, as a way of directing us. However, we can easily misread a blockage that has been erected by the enemy and think that it is God directing us. But we would be wrong. Consequently, we should always seek wise counsel from our Pastor and from other mature believers whom we know very well, and who know us. Also, we must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to us about every step we need to take in our lives.

So, look back upon your life and recall the times when God used any of these various methods to speak to you or to direct you. Or, you may have a new example of how God communicated something to you. But the important thing to recognize is that there is communication flowing in your relationship with the Lord. Thank and praise the Lord for it! When you can receive such communication from God and ACT UPON IT, then you can be assured that you DO have ‘hearing ears’! God bless you.

decidingvoteblog

You are the Deciding Vote! In your life, you can make decisions that will help you and bless you.

Tag: relationship