The Love of Jesus

 

                                                                     

                                   

Aloha Dearest Family,

                The other day my wife and I were studying I Corinthians; the wonderful chapter about the love of God.

            “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love (the love of God), I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:1-3 NASB)

            Even if I had all spiritual abilities and gave everything I had to poor people, if I didn’t have agapeo, the love of God in evidence, it would all be for nothing.

           “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (verses 4-8a)  

              To most, love doesn’t seem to be all that important when dealing with other people. But God considers it the most important quality that we could possess.

          “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (verse 13)

The people that demonstrate God’s love to others, also demonstrate these qualities in their lives. The qualities that are evidenced in an unconditional love – compassion, kindness, patience, acceptance.     

            I can think of no other person in history that demonstrated these qualities better than the Lord Jesus Christ. Of all the prophecies about the Messiah thousands of years before his birth, nothing could compare with meeting and getting to know Jesus in the flesh. Here was a man who loved God with everything he had and loved people with a love that no one had ever seen before. Let’s see him in action.

          This record from Luke is only covered in a few verses of scripture, but the true meaning behind it is astounding. 

“And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”(Luke 5:12)

Here is a man “full of leprosy”. Leprosy in the ancient east was a horrible, contagious and incurable disease of the skin. The individuals that contracted it were called the “walking dead’ because to be diagnosed with it was a death sentence due to the flesh rotting off the bones. As horrible as living as a leper was, it was just as devastating for the family of the individual. Families in the ancient East were very close and most times they would never see their loved one again. This person would be excluded from society including all feasts and other religious gatherings. Lepers lived far from society in leper colonies and it was unlawful to come within the vicinity of others without first crying, “Unclean, unclean!”

           So, when we read that this man was “full of leprosy” we recognize that he was in the advanced stages of this disease. The sight and smell of this man would be quite horrifying and to arrive in town to see Jesus, he must have had to endure continuous derision from all who saw him.

When the man saw Jesus, he fell on his face. This was a sign of complete surrender and he asked Jesus if he was WILLING to heal him. He already knew that he was ABLE, but he was asking if he wanted to heal him. What was said next must have thrilled his soul.

                 “And he put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.” (Luke 5:13)

 When it says he “touched him”, it doesn’t mean that he just touched him with a fingertip. The word touched used here means, “to attach oneself to” or “to embrace”. Can you imagine Jesus hugging this man that was “full of leprosy”? JESUS DID! Think of how much love he must have had for this man. Jesus looked past his appearance and his smell and saw his need. He wasn’t just a leper to Jesus. He was someone God truly loved. Once Jesus embraced him, Jesus told him “I am willing, be thou cleansed”, and the leprosy departed from him. Think of the stir this miracle would cause. Imagine word getting back to the other lepers; how there was now someone who could free them from this dreaded curse.

This is all possible because of the love of Jesus Christ. His continual, powerful, never wavering demonstration of God’s love set him apart from all others.

              Today we are called to walk like Christ. We are encouraged to put on the “mind of Christ” and demonstrate the love that he had for people.

  “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Philippians 2:15)

 Be compassionate. Do not judge. Be patient with those around you. Having the mind of Christ includes seeing others the way God sees them. To look past their infirmity and see the hurting soul inside, begging to be made free. Let us be willing to love like he loved. Be willing to love the unlovable and hug the leper. The greatest blessings do not come upon those we bless. The greatest blessings come from God to those who walk like Christ.

                     Love Always, Ray

 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” (I John 4:7)

Our Daily Bread

                                                                                                                   

Aloha Dearest Family,

            Today we will begin by looking at what is known as The Lord’s Prayer.

            “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-15)

            This is probably the greatest prayer in the Bible. Not that we should repeat, word for word, like a chant, but it serves as a model of what prayer to God should look like. Within this prayer contains the verse that will be the focus of today’s sharing.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

This prayer is repeated in Luke 11 when one of his disciples asks Jesus to teach them how to pray. One of the lines of the prayer is in verse 3, “Give us day by day our daily bread.”  This verse refers back to the days of ancient Israel when the children spent over 40 years in the wilderness.

If you remember, God brought His people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness to the promised land. The people were full of joy and confidence that God was able to bring them through the Red Sea. There was much joy and dancing. But three days into the wilderness, when they were thirsty, they started to complain and grumble against Moses. God miraculously gave them water to drink. A few days later, when they began to get hungry, they again started to grumble against Moses. God then does the impossible and invents a new type of food.

“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Exodus 16:4 and 5)

No one had ever seen anything like it before. In fact, the word Manna in Hebrew, means “What is it?” To provide bread for His people, day by day, God caused it to appear with the morning dew. Each family would gather just enough for that day’s meals. If they gathered more than they needed and tried to store some up for the next day, this portion would breed worms and start to stink. Furthermore, since the 7^th day was the Sabbath when no work was to be done, they would be allowed to go out on the 6^th and collect a double portion to last through the next two days. This was surely the original “wonder-bread.” In this way God was able to sustain Israel for 40 years in the wilderness. Through this time God would take care of the needs of His people, such as what they would drink, what they would eat and what they would wear (in 40 years their shoes and clothes never wore out. See Deuteronomy 29:5) God would provide, day after day, what they needed, and in turn His people learned to trust that when they went out to gather their “daily bread’, that it would be there. God never failed to provide for them in the entire 40 years. When they entered the promised land, the manna stopped.

When Jesus prayed that God would give them their “daily bread’, in essence he was asking God to once again take care of the needs of His people, day after day. Later on, in the same sermon, Jesus taught them that their needs would be supplied because God already knew what they needed.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Matthew 6:31 and 32 NIV)

The next verse provides the key to having God supply all of our needs.

“But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Verse 33NIV)

When we put God first and seek after His righteousness, God promises that He will take care of our needs. All we need to do is believe that He will be true to His promises. Just as Israel had to trust that God would provide their daily share of manna, we need to trust Him that He will supply our “day to day” needs. And He will.

                           Love Always, Ray

 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:19)

 

The Seed of Greatness

                                                                                                                       

 

Aloha Dearest Family,

                The seed is one of the greatest miracles God ever invented. Even today’s scientists cannot explain how a seed works. The seed has only one purpose - to grow. All the potential of the plant is in that one seed.

                The people of the Bible were very familiar with the way seeds worked and there are many, many examples of seeds and the growing of plants and trees in the Bible. Here are a few examples.

   -The prosperous tree (Jeremiah 17:7 and 8)

-The tree whose leaf does not wither (Psalm 1:1-3)

-The teaching of the good and evil trees (Matthew 7:17-20)

-The parable of the sower of seeds (Luke 8:5-8 - for the explanation of this parable see Luke 8:11-15)

-The parable of the tares in the field (Matthew 13:24-30)

-The teaching of Christ being the branch (John 15 15:1-8)

-Paul planting, Apollos watering (I Corinthians 3:6)

           …..There are many more. These are just a few examples.

 The point of seeds is that they don’t remain seeds. When planted in good soil, with the right amount of water and sunlight, this seed will grow. It can’t help it. This is what it was designed to do. The seed can be the smallest of all seeds but it can produce the greatest result.

         “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (Matthew 13:31 and 32)

         You may ask, “What do learning about seeds in the Bible have to do with me?” I’m glad you asked.

        If you have confessed Jesus as your savior and believed in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, (Romans 10:9) then the Bible says you are saved. At this time God placed within you His incorruptible seed.

         “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (I Peter 1:23)

  This seed in you makes you a child of God.

         “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (I John 3:1 NIV)

Being God’s children is not something that we aspire to be - it’s who we are right now!

God has placed His seed within us. And what have we learned about seeds? They grow. We all have within us the seed of greatness! God has destined greatness for our lives; in health, in wealth, in knowledge, in EVERYTHING! This is what God’s seed was designed to do in us. A seed never stays the same. If given the right conditions, it can produce incredible fruit in our lives.

But what can hinder a seeds growth? Not using the right soil, not enough water or sunlight or letting weeds grow around our seedling. In order to let our seed grow to its fullest potential within us, we have to be diligent. A farmer doesn’t just plant his seed in the ground and then comes back in a few months when the crop starts to come up. He is vigilant and tends to his crop. Remember a seed wants to grow so let’s provide the right conditions.

                When we renew our mind to God’s Word, obey the command to love God and love people, then the seed will grow and mature. We cannot allow weeds to grow around our seedling. Weeds are the thoughts and ways of this world that are contrary to God’s ways. They only hinder our growth. (Praying and conversing with your Heavenly Father is a great way to put life into the soil where your seed is planted).

                

Another aspect of a seed is that it grows up to be exactly like the original. When we are born again, God places within us holy spirit, His spiritual seed. This seed is also called the spirit of Christ ((I Peter 1:11) and Christ in you (Colossians 1:27). When we do God’s Will, love people and serve in God’s household, the seed within us can become fully mature and produce fruit.

                “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance…” (Galatians 5:22 and 23a)  

This is the same type of fruit displayed by Jesus Christ himself. When we allow the seed within us to grow and mature, we become just like Christ. This is what this seed was designed to do. And when we produce this fruit we bring glory to God just like our Savior did and still does.

                “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” (John 15:8)

                         Love Always, Ray