Love Never Fails, pt. 1

Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) 

God is love, and therefore love never fails and is never bested, or defeated. Love cannot be bribed or compromised, for it is the purest of all motivations. Love is the only absolute proof that we know God and that the Holy Spirit abides in us, our families, and our fellowship.

 

Love is the most universally valued and respected currency in the world, and the Church of Jesus Christ should do more and more to spend it at every opportunity. Love is how we are known. So, let your love shine brightly today, because God is love and you are God’s.

 

Love is the best revenge, because it wins every time. Love always exudes the fragrance of Jesus Christ, and that is its truest test. Christ is glorified when we love, and He is not when we don't. Therefore, He is exalted by love, and when He is truly lifted up, all men are drawn to Him by His sacrificial love.

 

God's love is honest and enduring, spiritual and gracious, extravagant and holy. It is not reckless, romantic, or emotional, for Christ is none of those things. His love is holy and true — and remember, His love never fails.

Let’s Pray – Father, thank You for loving me more and better than I can repay or comprehend. I will love others according to the Holy Spirit who lives in me, and may You be pleased and glorified in that love. Amen.

 

Seeking the Loss

“. . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Could it be that God is reaching out to the sinners we reject? Could He be moving among people we've disdained? Could it be that God wants to use us to touch the people, neighborhoods, and nations we've abandoned? Was Jesus Himself not accused of consorting with prostitutes, hated tax-collectors, and a whole assortment of undesirables? Are we, then, right to condemn and refuse to even show kindness to those He loved and died for? Lord, forgive us!

It is a sad thing to witness a church which as lost its first love — that is, its ability and willingness to love the way Jesus loved. Without love, the church is a sad caricature of herself, having strayed far from the One who called her and keeps her.

The true church is the body of Christ, with arms outstretched to a lost and dying world — where the least and last find a place of refuge and security.

As long as we are mired in worldly culture and controversy, we cannot fulfill the Great Commission; for we cannot make disciples until we are disciples — disciples of Jesus Christ. We must remember that we are the exclusive messengers of the New Covenant, and Jesus seeks and saves the lost by His ministry through us!

May we turn back to Him, and may He once again find us faithful and useful for His divine enterprises, not our religious ones. Amen.

Let's Pray - Dear God, please forgive me for a judgmental attitude toward others. I long to take advantage of every opportunity to show the love and compassion You showed me. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. Amen

Manner of Spirit

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. (Luke 9:55)

 

Jesus Christ is not a conservative, a moderate, or a liberal. He is not an American, nor is He limited to or by any nationality. He is not pro-this or anti-that, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of pros and cons — but a Kingdom of righteousness and truth. He is God Almighty, who cannot be contained in any of the politics, principles, theologies, doctrines, or systems we build.

 

The Lord simply won't conform to our constructs, our religion, our buildings, denominations, or programs — and certainly not our principles or convictions (no matter how sincere). Beware of the temptation to mistake your passionate beliefs for His. His ways, His thoughts, and His words are higher than ours, and that will never change.

 

Jesus did not come to give us Christian principles or convictions, but to give us abundant life — and His life does not flow to us from laws and rules, but from the Holy Spirit. We do well to remember that.

 

Let’s Pray — Lord, teach us what it means to come to you sincerely and worship You in spirit and in truth. In Jesus alone, Amen.

Our God and His Word

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

 

The Word of God is the only defense we have against our tendency to create our own god and our own spiritual narrative. God's Word alone gets to the true heart and spirit of every issue; and if we are to get to the truth, we must get there by His Word. 

We sometimes do not know what manner of spirit we are of, because we have strayed from the Bible. This is a trap that so many have fallen into in this ambitious religious age, and it has resulted in the perverted form of godliness we too often witness. Some are consumed with their own good works and programs, while possessing none of the raw power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and that is why Christians are known by everything except love.

 

If Satan can get us a few degrees off the center of God's Word, he has succeeded in robbing us of the fullness of God in Christ, and we become the blind leading the blind. Unfortunately, he has been far too successful in doing so. May the Lord open our hearts and eyes to the scriptures again, and may He pour out His Spirit upon us afresh and anew.

 

Let’s Pray – Father, forgive us for making things about us, and not about Jesus. We need Your Holy Spirit, if we are to have abundant life. Refresh and renew us today! In Jesus, Amen.

Do Not Doubt

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22)

When Jesus speaks, He speaks out of faith in His Father. Therefore, His words move mountains and accomplish His will — and if we believe, so will ours. Jesus is not telling us to have faith in our words, or to have faith in our faith (as so many erroneously teach). We are to be one with the Father, as He was, and the Father will give us the same Spirit He gave Jesus. We have what we ask, because we ask in Jesus' name, and all authority, power, and dominion has been given to Him. So, ask again — and this time, truly ask in faith and in the name of Jesus.

 

Some of us never rise above asking for things from God, and our prayers center on ourselves — "me, me, me." But the Lord longs for us to draw near to Him, and He answers the prayers of everyone who desires to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus knew the Lord would give Him what He asked, and His prayers reflected that confidence — "And I know that You always hear Me . . ." (John 11:42) If you are in Christ, the Father will always hear you, too. Are you in Him? When it comes to prayer, that is the only question that matters.

Let’s Pray – Father, we know that there is power in the name of Jesus, and it is in His name we pray. Let it be granted to us accordingly, and we will give You the glory and praise You deserve. Amen.

 

Righteousness Over Rightness

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. (Luke 9:54-56)

Being righteousness and being right are two completely different things. Christians are not called to be right about men, but to show the world the love and righteousness of God. Loving God and our neighbors as ourselves are the greatest commandments, and by them, God's love flows through us to the world — a world in desperate need of that love. That is how righteousness expresses itself through us — not by winning arguments, but by winning souls. We do well to remember this.

 

What a shame for Christians to hold up legal standards for others, while basking in the grace of God! How sad and hypocritical are those who sing "Amazing Grace," while judging and condemning "those sinners!" It is all too easy to fault others when they fall short of God's full purpose and standard, forgetting the times we came before the Lord and begged for His mercy and forgiveness. Yet, the Lord listens for the prayers and intercession that reflect His desire to see all men saved, and He blesses the saints and churches that welcome sinners and lead them to the Cross.

 

May every Christian remember we were not saved or sanctified by works of the law or our own goodness — For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8) May God be able to use us to offer that same gift to the world.

Let’s Pray – Father, forgive me for displaying a self-righteous attitude. I stand in the righteousness of Christ, not my own. I will be sure to let His light shine through me today. In Jesus alone, Amen.

Faith and Figs

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-14)

Jesus was hungry, and the fig tree had no figs to satisfy His hunger. The Lord has little tolerance for fruit trees with no fruit, even when it is out of season. Spiritually speaking, seasons do not have to do with the time of year, but with faithfulness and fruitfulness. In other words, the season for fruit is whenever Jesus is looking for fruit, and that may be at any moment. Therefore, the fig tree failed the most basic test of being ready in and out of season.

 

Is there fruit hanging from your branches today? Is it the fruit of the Spirit?

 

Jesus teaches us a tree is known by the quality of its fruit, and the fruit is determined by the root. If we are not rooted in Christ, our fruit will be unripe, sour, and unpleasant. Those who eat it will be sickened and repulsed by it, and we will leave a bad taste in their mouths as it pertains to our Lord and His church. However, if our hope is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if we are filled with His Spirit, then our branches will bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and everyone who eats of it will experience refreshment, joy, and health as a result. Men and women who encounter us will "taste and see that the Lord is good!" 

 

Therefore, our lives are valued by what we feed others through our words and actions. So, once again my friend, what's on your branches?

Let’s Pray – Dear Lord, may I be found ready when You call. May there be abundant fruit of the Spirit on my branches and may many receive nourishment and refreshment from the life I have surrendered to You. In Jesus, Amen.