The power of true love is almost incomprehensible…
It’s power to makes us feel complete and heal relationships is matched by its power to make us vulnerable and feel pain.
Sacrificial love will make us surrender our pride…our safety…and sometimes we’ll feel our sanity.
It’s this type of love that has led people to stay in abusive relationships (which I’m not excusing, just explaining.
I’m saying all that to say this. If you find yourself challenged by loving someone that you don’t understand, remember this…
You don’t have to understand someone to love them.
And, also remember that when we hurt the ones we love, it doesn’t mean we don’t love them. I just means our love isn’t perfect.
Notice the behavior of perfect love as God so eloquently describes through the Apostle Paul… 1 Corinthians 13 (NKJV)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift ofprophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body [a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not[b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there areprophecies, they will fail; whether there aretongues, they will cease; whether there isknowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [d]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
None of us have perfected this.
We aren’t perfect and neither is our love…but God’s is.
WHAT’ IS THOUGHT TO BE A CURSE OF OLD AGE IS A BLESSING TO SOME…
Years ago I used to do nursing home ministry. I would visit two nursing homes, once each month. As I walked down through the halls I would see the same faces. There were some residents who had regular visits from family and friends, but unfortunately, there too many who never got a visitor…ever.
There were also varying levels of mental health. One lady in particular at one of the nursing homes would say the same thing during every visit. She would sit in her wheelchair in the entrance to her room as I walked by…smile and say, “I’m going home today”. No, she wasn’t going home. She was one of the residents who never had visitors, and her family had moved on with their lives. At first I felt sorry for her because her situation seemed so hopeless…but then God gave me an awesome revelation.
In her hopeless situation…her dementia was a blessing!
Blessing? How was her dementia a blessing?
In reality, she woke up every morning WITHOUT hope of going home.
But through her dementia, she woke up every morning WITH hope of going home.
God gave her a reason to smile EVERY DAY.
God gave her something to look forward to EVERY DAY.
God gave her HOPE in a HOPELESS situation.
She spent her last days with HOPE.
What many may think of as a CURSE, was actually a BLESSING to her.
God’s wisdom is amazing!
He can can pull HOPE out of HOPEless…
FORTUNE our of unFORTUNALTE…
Stop and give God praise for His unfathomable wisdom. Paul was right in Romans 11…
Romans 11: 33-36 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
What do people say when confronted with doing what God expects of them or has called them to do?
Why don’t you go to church?
Let’s go feed the homeless.
Let’s go visit and minister people in prison and hospitals…
Why don’t you give the firstfruits of all your increase to
God?
Usually before we make an excuse, we usually give a big BUT…
“I would, BUT the people in church aren’t right themselves…”
“I would, BUT those homeless people will just spend it on drugs,
cigarettes and alcohol…”
“I would, BUT I can’t afford to…”
“I would, BUT I don’t have time to visit…”
“I would, BUT my kids have sports…”
Yeshua, Christ Jesus, gave us a parable to illustrate how
much He hates our excuses. He let us know how much He hates our BIG BUTS…
Luke 14:18-24 (NKJV)
18 BUT they all with one accord began
to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I
must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I
have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have
me excused.’ 20 Still
another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and
reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry,
said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,
and bring in here the poor and the[a]maimed and the lame
and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you
commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into
the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my
house may be filled. 24 For
I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my
supper.’ ”
Notice that each of these excuses addressed the same excuses
we give today.
BUSINESS. WORK. CAREER
“I bought a piece of ground…”
“I bought a yoke of oxen…”
SPOUSE. CHILDREN. FAMILY
“I have married a wife…
These excuses made the master of the house (Jesus) angry.
So, He invited the very people who those who were initially invited were called
to serve instead.
He then said those who makes excuses and rejected His
invitation will not ‘taste His supper’ (will not enter His Kingdom).
Jesus hates our excuses! However, the enemy loves our BIG BUTS! He loves our excuses.
Don’t let your BIG BUT keep you out of the Kingdom of God!
Throughout the history of the world people have committed horrible atrocities to one another.
In His sovereignty and for His ultimate purpose, whether it be for example or judgement, if you believe in God, just as with Job, you have to accept that God allowed those atrocities that were provoked by the devil to happen.
The devil has to submit to God’s power, and he gets no access unless God allows it.
Job 1:12 NKJV
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Even today, the most vile, evil and remorseless people are being influenced by the devil, the adversary…Satan.
There’s a world of evil, crime, oppression and opposition that many people like me only know about from the news or movies.
So, when we get upset at how the devil is allowed to frustrate our lives in many ways…our families… our jobs and careers… our finances… we must stop and thank God there are horrible levels of evil that God doesn’t permit the devil to release into our lives.
This isn’t meant to diminish any level of resistance someone may be facing right now, but for most of us… it could always be worse.
Stop right now and thank God for how He restrains the devil and His emissaries from your life.
Stop and thank God for YOUR angels who minister to you and fight for you in both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Hebrews 1:13-14 (NKJV)
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:
(A)“Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
14 (B)Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will (C)inherit salvation?
And, remember to release prayers for those who are under a more severe level of attack than you.
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
8 Be [a]sober, be [b]vigilant; [c]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NKJV)
7 For (A)the [a]mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only [b]He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
John 1:9 (NKJV)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
As a man of faith in God, I enjoy many of the benefits that have come through science. But, when it comes to the origin of the universe, how life began on earth and many other things, science and religion are at odds. In those instances, I like to define science as the attempt to give a physical explanation to the spiritual world.
Even though they are at odds, the Bible and science agree in at least 3 areas.
1. LIFE BEGAN IN AFRICA/MESOPOTAMIA
Science
Most archeologists call eastern Africa the cradle of humankind. ‘Pre-historic’ remains have also recently been found in Morocco, which is still Africa.
The Bible
Scripture also affirms that life began in Africa. Notice the location given for the Garden of Eden…
Genesis 2:10-14 (NKJV)
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river isHiddekel;[a] it is the one which goes toward the east of [b]Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Wikipedia describes the location of these rivers…
Genesis 2:10–14 lists four rivers in association with the garden of Eden: Pishon, Gihon, Chidekel (the Tigris), and Phirat (the Euphrates). It also refers to the land of Cush—translated/interpreted as Ethiopia, but thought by some to equate to Cossaea, a Greek name for the land of the Kassites.[22] These lands lie north of Elam, immediately to the east of ancient Babylon, which, unlike Ethiopia, does lie within the region being described.[23] In Antiquities of the Jews, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus identifies the Pishon as what “the Greeks called Ganges” and the Geon (Gehon) as the Nile.[24]
2. ENERGY CAN’T BE CREATED OR DESTROYED
Science
First of all in science, laws are absolute. They are non-negotiable. Even if we try to challenge or resist them with technology, the laws will always win. That being said, THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but only transferred from one form to another.
The Bible
God is absolute. He is non-negotiable. Even if we try to resist or challenge Him with our technology, God will always win. God is an all-powerful Spirit. He is eternal. He was not created and can’t be destroyed. And yes, He can be transferred from one form to another.
Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV)
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
Philippians 2:6-7 (NKJV)
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [a]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
To me, The Law of Conservation of Energy sounds like science’s attempt to define God.
3. LIFE SPREAD FROM WATER TO LAND
Science
Most of us remember from school that our science books taught that the earliest and smallest life on earth was first in the waters and then on land.
The Bible
Whether you believe Genesis is literal or symbolic, a literal week or thousands of years, all believers in God agree that He created the heavens and the earth in the exact order of Genesis. And in that order, God created the waters and the creatures in the waters first, just as science teaches…
Genesis 1:20-21 (NKJV)
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living [a]creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the [b]firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both the Bible and science agree in such foundational areas. Here’s the thing. God created those brilliant scientific minds that contend He is not real. And, who can really prove that the sun is 93,000,000 miles away, or that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Who can travel that distance or speed to prove it? It takes faith in the formulas and scientists who ‘discovered’ these scientific ‘facts’.
GOD SOMETIMES DESCRIBED HIMSELF ANTHROPOMORPHICALLY TO HELP US RELATE TO HIM…
God is a Spirit…
John 4:24 (NKJV)
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God is invisible…
1 John 4:12 (NKJV)
12 No one has seen God at any time.
God is not male or female…
Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
God does not have a face, hands, feet, arms, legs, a mouth, a heart or a brain…
God doesn’t breath…
He is a Spirit.
He’s 100% God.
The earth and universe cannot contain Him.
1 Kings 8:27 (NKJV)
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
He does not need time…He is outside of time…He is eternal.
Jesus is THE image of and represents the invisible God bodily.
Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 2:9 (NKJV)
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
He was there in the beginning. Elohim is a plural noun.
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
He appeared several times before He took the form of the Son of God…Mary’s son.
Daniel 3:25 (NKJV)
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
He took on the form of sinful flesh, using a body as a male.
Romans 8:3 (NKJV)
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
He is 100% God and was 100% man.
Philippians 2:6 (NKJV)
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
He and Yahweh (God) are ONE (Elohim).
Angels are Spiritual beings that minister to God and to saints.
Hebrews 1:14 (NKJV)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
They occupy different celestial bodies, but can take human form.
Isaiah 6:2 (NKJV)
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
They are neither male nor female…just like God.
When they take human form, they HAVE to use a male or female body.
Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV)
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels
Your spirit/soul/essence/consciousness, or however you want to say it, is invisible.
You can’t see it.
He places it in a male or female body.
Genesis 5:2 (NKJV)
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
We are placed within time, for now.
You are 100% spirit and 100% human, for now.
You can be a father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister, manager or subordinate…all at the same time, yet be one person.
You as a father won’t relate to others in the same authority as you do as a brother, or a boss, or a coach, or a preacher. Each ‘person’ within you has a different authority, but you’re still one person.
Because we are 100% spirit and 100% human…
Aren’t we mind, body and spirit?
Because we have several authorities, or ‘persons’ within us, yet remain one person…
THEN…
It shouldn’t be so hard to understand that the authorities in ONE God can be ONE.
‘Trinity’ is just a word used to describe the essence of God.
He is not three God’s; He is one, just as we are person…
That’s what it means when He made us in His image. Not that we physically look like Him, but that we can have His essence. That we can communicate with Him. That we can feel as He feels, and LOVE as He loves.
God sometimes describes Himself to us anthropomorphically (ascribing human characteristics) for our benefit, to help us relate to Him…to help us understand Him.
The more we understand God, the easier it is for us love Him and help explain Him to others.
If this blesses you, please share it with someone else whom you feel it will bless.
Please do me a favor. Do your best to AVOID BLINKING AS YOU READ THIS POST. I will make this short and sweet.
Many times we classify blessings as LITTLE and BIG. God has blessed us so abundantly with our wants, that sometimes we get our WANTS and NEEDS confused.
So, I encourage you to stop right now and thank God for the LITTLE THINGS in life that we sometimes overlook, look past or just don’t see…those things we sometimes take for granted. Many are right before our eyes.
If you’re having trouble thinking of any LITTLE THINGS…go ahead and blink your eyes now if you already haven’t.
Doesn’t that feel better?
Looks like the little things aren’t that little after all:-)
Psalm 103:1-2 NKJV
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
To prevent hurting someone’s feelings when they weren’t really funny.
How many times do you fake laugh? How often do you type LOL when you didn’t really laugh-out-loud?
How many times do you say, “THAT’S HILARIOUS”… but you aren’t really laughing?
So, if it’s not really funny, and you pretend to laugh…is that considered lying?
Now, we all know that David pretended to be crazy to save his life, but I can’t find an example of someone pretending to laugh.
1 Samuel 21:12-14 (NKJV)
12 Now David (A)took these words [a]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So (B)he changed his behavior before them, pretended [b]madness in their hands, [c]scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?
Nearly everyone is familiar with Leonardo Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER.
It’s an iconic and well-loved work of art among many who call themselves believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), and it’s recognized among those who don’t. It’s been displayed in churches and homes for centuries.
The painting portrays the evening that the Lord ate the Passover meal and instituted the Lord’s Supper with His disciples before He was betrayed.
Remember, Jesus Himself told us that God is a spirit and demands to be worshipped in spirit and TRUTH…
John 4:24 (NKJV)
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We also live in time when people claim to love THE TRUTH and reject FAKE NEWS.
So, with all that being said, what’s wrong with the famous painting, THE LORD’S SUPPER, based on these scriptures according to the Complete Jewish Bible translation…
Mark 14:18 (CJB)
18 As they were reclining and eating, Yeshua said, “Yes! I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.”
Matthew 26:20 (CJB)
20 When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim;
According to the scriptures as well as the context of culture and time…THEY WERE NOT SITTING. THEY WERE RECLINING.
Of course there will be some who say, “Why does this matter?”
Those of us who claim to be Christians can be the worst at sometimes deciding ‘that doesn’t matter’ when it threatens our traditions and what we choose to believe.
So, why does it matter?
Because the painting does not depict the way it happened, and that’s not truth.
Because every painting or picture intended to portray Jesus has influenced thought for centuries.
Because every painting and picture intended to portray Jesus has shaped what and how people believe and has had an influence on the faith.
Because it shapes the way people ‘experience’ their faith and what they think is correct and incorrect.
Do you want people publishing images of you depicting an event in your honor wrongly, falsely or inaccurately? Of course not. Why should our Lord and Savior be any different?
The fact is that when you present some people with the truth, they are reluctant to, or refuse to accept it because they have been influenced by art that very well MAY NOT have been commissioned by God.
Maybe this is why He clearly commanded in regard to likenesses of Him…
Exodus 20:4 (NKJV)
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
It’s okay to want things done the way you think to be correct. It’s okay to be particular…to be a perfectionist…it’s okay to be detailed.
It’s okay to provide constructive criticism, but it’s not okay to be petty or hypocritical.
It’s not okay to hold people to a higher standard that you hold yourself.
It’s okay to try to maintain control in your life, but not everyone else’s.
Remember how Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. Read the entire chapter for context, but check out this verse…
Matthew 23:4 (NKJV)
For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Jesus rebuked them for being ‘nitpicky’ and overly critical hypocrites. They were obsessive about criticizing others and expressing their expectations while not holding themselves to the same standard.
People are much more willing to hear what we have to say if we aren’t nitpicky over every little detail in regard to them. We can get to the point to where people won’t even listen to us when we are right.
People not only will avoid your good advice. They will avoid you.
People will view you as obnoxious, nasty, and overly opinionated…even those closest to you.
The term for this obsession, derived from Freudian psychoanalysis, is referred to as anal-retentiveness, or simply ‘anal’.
Don’t be so ‘anal’ that you become an a**
Remember what the Apostle Paul said…
Romans 12:18 (NKJV)
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
BE BLESSTIFIED! 