God Loves People

                                                                                                                                       

Aloha Dearest family,

                We have heard many times that God is a personal God and that he cares for each one of us individually. At first I had a hard time picturing this. I mean we are talking about God Almighty, the Creator of everything that is. Even the heaven of heavens cannot contain His majesty. As King Solomon stated,

                “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (I Kings 8:27) 

With God being this magnificent, why would he ever consider little old me? But as I started to study God’s Word I started to understand God’s desire for children and how deeply He cares for each one of us.

                We will first examine a record from Mark 5. Wherever Jesus went he always took direction from his Heavenly Father and on this day Jesus was directed to go across the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gadarenes. As soon as he got out of the ship, there met him a man who was possessed with a legion of devil spirits. This man spent many years in this condition and was so out of control that no man could bind him.

                “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” (verses 3-5)

This man was in great torment and in great need of deliverance. As the record goes, Jesus casts the devil spirits out of the man. When the people of the city came and heard of what had happened with the man and the aftermath, they begged Jesus to leave. As he was leaving, the man who was once tormented wanted to go with him. 

“But he (Jesus) did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (verse 19)

                After reading this record, we realize that all this was done to save one man. To God this man was worth sending His son across the sea to save him. Remember that Jesus told the man to go back and show his friends what God had done for him. We can just imagine how long these friends had been praying for him to be set free. And God heard their prayers and sent Jesus. This record shows the lengths God will go to heal and deliver people from their  afflictions. It also is a great testament of how prayers for your loved ones do not go unheeded. God answers them.

                We are reminded of the parable of the lost sheep.

                “..if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? And if so be that he finds it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.” (Matthew 18:12 and 13)

The shepherd is caring for 100 sheep but one is lost. It is important to understand that outside of the sheep-fold, this sheep is in danger. He is susceptible to predators and injury. Alone he is unable to find proper food or water. He is helpless without the shepherd. This shepherd then leaves the 99 and scours the mountains for him - he’s got to be found. And when he finally finds him there is great rejoicing (also see Luke 15:6). This is a great analogy of how deeply God wants to find one lost sheep. God knows that without His protection and guidance, we become prey to the devil and his minions. In truth God doesn’t want to even lose one person. 

“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” (Verse 14) 

                God greatly loved the world so He gave the world the life of His son, so that NONE would be lost (No, not one). This is His greatest desire.

                “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)  

God loves people and He wants to be a Father to them all. We are God’s children and we desire to imitate our Daddy. 

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1) 

But how do we imitate God? Jesus was the ultimate example of how to imitate His Father. His love for people was astounding and he lived a life of service to bring God’s love to people. We are called to do the same. We are in the ‘people’ business. Remember God loves each one. Let us do good to all while we can. 

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,..” (Galatians 6:10) Why? Because God loves people and wants them all to be saved. Will everyone come to know God? No. But we don’t know who will and who won’t. So we are to do good unto all.

                “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matthew 5:43 and 44) These actions are so unlike what we see in today’s society but God’s ways are far above our ways.

               

           “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (verse 45) Even as God is blessing the righteous, the unrighteous may get blessed as well.

                “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) 

We are to be as perfect in our thoughts and actions as our heavenly Father is. This is the way Jesus Christ lived and we are encouraged to follow his example. Jesus loved people because God loves people. Therefore we cannot afford to treat people as a nuisance or a bother. Let us strive to be a blessing to all and not be a hindrance to them from seeing God living in us.

                                                                                                               

                                 Love Always, Ray

                “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Holy Spirit

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Family,

           Several years ago many people had bumper stickers on their cars that had the word “COEXIST” on them with symbols of all of the religions of the world. Among the “religions” was a symbol of the cross; which signifies Christianity. I personally never liked this bumper sticker because, contrary to what society says, Christianity is NOT a religion.  Religion is defined as what man does to try to get right with his god. Christianity is what God has done through His son to be the payment for our sin. Since the fall of man, sin had separated us from God, but He took care of this “sin problem’ by nailing all of our sins to the cross, in the body of Jesus Christ. 

             “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” (Colossians 2:14)

                So what is the biggest difference between all of these other religions and Christianity? God’s gift of holy spirit. From speaking with many people, I found that there seems to be a question as to who or what holy spirit is. Holy spirit allows us to have continual fellowship and access to God Almighty. It allows us to have connection to the “power source” so that we can ask for (and expect) the impossible to come to pass. (It must be understood that God Almighty is Holy and He is Spirit-He is the Holy Spirit. What we are referring to in this sharing is God’s gift of holy spirit that is given to all who believe). It is vital for every Christian to understand the importance of holy spirit if we want to live extraordinary lives and please our heavenly Father. Since the scope of this topic is so big, I am unable to cover it in depth, but here are some of the most important points to know about holy spirit from God’s own Word.

                -Adam and Eve were made “3-fold beings.” They were made body, soul and spirit. This separated them from all of the others of God’s creatures. All animals are born with body and soul (1. a physical body and 2. soul life, which makes them alive). Only man had the privilege of having been made with God’s spirit. This allowed him to communicate with God. When Adam sinned, he lost the spirit from God. This now made him just body and soul, and all others from his bloodline would be born with just body and soul (just like the animals).

                -Now whenever God wanted to communicate with man, He would have to do so by supernatural means; like an angel or a miraculous sign like a burning bush. Or he could choose certain men and women to place His spirit upon to communicate with His creation.

                -All of the great men and women in the Old Testament had spirit upon them. Notably   Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Esther and Daniel all had God’s spirit. This spirit that was upon these men and women was not permanent. If they displeased God this spirit could be taken away. King Saul was a great example (I Samuel 16:14). In fact after David sinned against God, he begged God not to take His holy spirit from him (Psalm 51:11)

               -John the Baptist had God’s holy spirit upon him from his birth (Luke 1:15). He was the only person to have this privilege.

-Jesus did not do any mighty works until after he received God’s spirit after he was baptized by John the Baptist.

It is obvious by studying these points above, that all people in the Old Testament recognized the importance of having holy spirit. This set you apart from all others and designated you as God’s anointed.

The day of Pentecost is historically recognized as the birthday of the church, because on this day, God poured out His holy spirit upon all mankind. The sign that they had received this spirit was that they “spoke in tongues”. Now anyone who confesses Jesus as their Lord and believes in their heart that God has raised him from the dead (Romans 1:9), receives this same holy spirit that the apostles had. Now we can ALL walk like Jesus Christ and do the works that he did (John 14:12). For we are sealed with holy spirit.

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”. (Ephesians 1:13)

            Now unlike the spirit that was upon men and women in the Old Testament, this holy spirit is permanent. It cannot be taken away like King Saul’s spirit was. When God gives this spirit, He does not take it back because we “born again” (born from above). This makes us children of God (Romans 8:16).

We now have another source of information to learn. Before salvation, all we had to rely upon to acquire knowledge was the five senses. Now we can receive spiritual knowledge that God can teach us. We have a distinct advantage over every other man or woman who are just body and soul, for God can teach us the mysteries hidden in His Word, the Bible. In fact you really can’t fully understand the Bible unless you have spirit.

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (I Corinthians 2:14)

                

          This is why Christianity is NOT a religion. Religion focuses on man’s actions to try and ‘earn’ God’s favor. Christianity focuses on what God has done and the sacrifice that was paid to, once again, give us access to God. We have this access through His spirit that he has given to us. 

               “For through Him (Jesus Christ) we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)

                Christians today can live exciting, joyful lives with purpose and power. God has given us His holy spirit, making us “supernatural beings” with Christ living on the inside. What a glorious time to be alive!

                                                                                                                                        Love Always, Ray

                “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Corinthians 2:21 and 22 NIV)