LOVE: The Bond Of Perfection!

Bear with each other, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against anyone: even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love (agape), which is the bond of perfection. [Colossians 3:13-14]

The sermon in our church this Sunday was on Love. It was a very good sermon that is needed in most churches today as well as our homes. There are so many scriptures that deal with this very topic. We have to love one another to be in that bond of perfection, so that at the judgment seat of our Lord we can say that love was the motivating factor of what what ever we did. Love thy neighbor as thy self. How much plainer can that be? If we cannot bear another’s burdens or forgive a person then where are we in our Christian walk?
The enemy (Satan) is always on the move, constantly attacking God’s people with many different things. Some of his most effective devices are anger, bitterness and not forgiving, which are most often based on reality, and sometimes deep, hurtful wounds that we have received from others in the faith, in other words Christians. In Paul’s writings we can read that we should not be ignorant of the enemy's schemes and how he will use these things to destroy our walk with the Lord. We can read in (2 Cor. 2:11) that Bitterness, resentment and un forgiveness give Satan the opportunity to quench the Holy Spirit and destroy the Christians fellowship with the Lord and other Christians. Just as Paul taught and urged restraint, forbearance, forgiveness, and above all else, the kind of love which our Lord Jesus showed to us; a love which covered our sins against Him, forgiving us and restoring our relationship with Him. This is not a love which is natural to us. Our nature is to hold on to offenses, to desire justice, recompense, or even revenge. We must realize that the love we need to truly forgive others for the wrongs did to us comes from another Source. The first and greatest commandment and the second greatest commandment symbolize and should embody something very dear, and precious in the Christian’s life, something which can be terribly damaged by an enemy you feel justified to hate.

Our memory ( what we allow to go round and round in our minds) is a constant temptation to nurture hate and un forgiveness. Is this how a Christian should want to live? Will a place transgression become a memorial unto hatred and revenge, or hardness of heart and a never-ending cry for "justice"? If so, you will find yourself bound to that hate forever, just as if you were chained and bound to it." "Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord, I will repay." So, not only can you afford to forgive and leave justice in His hands, but the freedom and joy of loving the way God loves, will also be yours. Jesus has forgiven us. We should forgive others as we've been forgiven. Let's cut choose forgiveness, in the name of Jesus Christ, and put on (agape) love. The kind of love that never fails!

FORGIVEN

Not far from Home, in a cemetery lone,

Close guarding its grave, stands a simple headstone

And all the inscription is one word alone,

“Forgiven”

 

No sculptor’s fine art hath embellished its form,

But constantly there, through the calm and the storm,

Its bearth this word from a poor fallen worm,

“Forgiven”

 

It shews not the date of the silent one’s birth,

Reveals not his frailties, nor lies of his worth,

But speaks out the tale from his few feet of earth,

“Forgiven”

 

The death is unmentioned, the name is untold,

Beneath lies the body, corrupted and cold,

Above rest his spirit, at home in the fold

“Forgiven”

 

And when from the heavens the Lord shall descend,

This stranger shall rise, and to glory ascend,

Well known and befriended, to sing without end,

“Forgiven”

 

HAVE YOU HEARD HIS PARDONING VOICE?

Victory In Jesus

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [1 John 5:4]

In this world today Christians are persecuted and put down by the political correctness that is going around as being right. We are called, by some, every name in the book. It is easy for a Christian to become crippled in his walk with the Lord because of all the political correctness that is going around if they listen to all the negative talk that goes around from the enemy. As I thought about this I was reminded about the story in the Bible about Mephibosheth.

In the second book of Samuel Chapter 9 there is a interesting story of David and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of the very first king of Israel, King Saul. After Jonathan's death on the battlefield, David wanted to show compassion and kindness to Saul's household. Mephibosheth was a grandchild and he had been lame since he was five. Mephibosheth lived just about his whole life as a cripple. When David calls him out and told him that he ( Mephibosheth) would eat at his table and be taken care of by him , Mephibosheth asked "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" Mephibosheth’s character and his identity was entirely based on his disability,is lameness. But the real facts facts of this story is this, he was the grandson of a king! He was royalty, but he had forgotten his royal lineage and his roots. He was living in his world of self pity and misfortune. But King David looked beyond his disability and seeing who he really was, gave him a place at the King's table.

In today's world I wonder how much time do we, as God’s children spend living in our own self pity, like Mephibosheth, crying about things that we struggle with everyday so much so that it becomes who we are! Satan would love nothing more than to keep us paying attention and focused on our disabilities so that we are preoccupied from the calling of God on our lives. Our Lord does not want us to have a "victim mentality". But instead let's not lose focus of the reality of who we are. In Jesus we are a chosen generation, part of a royal priesthood, and the King has offered us a place at His table! We are heirs of His great throne! He is coming for us and we will feast at His table. In Jesus Christ, we should have a victor’s frame of mind! If you are a child of the king take your rightful seat at the King's Table. What a day that will be when our Jesus we shall see!

Under The Shadow Of His Wings

All of us want to get to that point in our lives of trusting God completely for all our needs of this life just as Job did, who trusted God to the point that he said; “Though He (God) would slay me, yet shall I trust in Him”; or Abraham, who trusted God’s Word to the point of not doubting what God told Him to do; or Jesus Christ, who trusted His Father to the point of saying; “Not as I will, but as thou will”.
As the storms of life rage about us life sometimes gets so hard and no matter what direction we turn to it seems as if all the doors are shut in our lives and and as hard as we try we cannot open them. And the days grow longer and we keep sinking into a point of no return. Because we have exhausted all our worldly solutions and nothing seems to be the right answer. I have been there so many times! Every time I always tried to solve the problem myself it never worked or never lasted. It was only when I got down on my knees and surrendered all the answer came. The answer is we need the right key. It is only by Jesus that we can have the answers that satisfy our soul. Sometimes, because of different circumstances, our life seems to be hopeless, but we must remember and know that we are not alone. We must recognize and understand that God is with us. We must know in our hearts and believe that our way out of all the problems in this life is in Him and Him alone. When we remember that all things will change in our life! Weeping, grief, and worry may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalms 30: 5)
Who can help us when no one seems to even know what we are struggling with? Who can look into our innermost soul? Most people would rather condemn and laugh behind your back at the troubles facing you. That is the way most of the world is. Only a true friend will be there for you and there is a few of them, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Who can help us with our innermost problems? No one but God and God alone. It may be money problems, work related problems, marriage problems, family problems and you name it, but God can take that burden from you and solve the problem. He is the way maker. Why do people go through all the situations they do today and never call on the Great Problem Solver is beyond me.
Trusting in God requires us to have faith in Him and His Word, to have that assurance that He loves us. Our answer for a victorious relationship with God is by totally trusting in Him and our ability to believe that no matter what happens God will help us survive. Trusting in God will make those locked doors open. Our trust in God will change our life fully.
May We Live for Him and not for ourselves and may we always embrace the cross of our Savior Jesus The Christ. It is through the cross of Calvary and the perilous Blood that was spilled there that we can live that life of victory! He is still the master of the sea!

Who But The Ruler Of The Winds

It always fascinates me To read what the founding fathers and the people of old have to say about our country. Nearly every article that I read has always given God the Glory for the greatness of America. As I was reading this morning I found this article that was written by Ezra Stiles  He was the president of Yale College from 1778 to 1795. The article is a speech that was delivered to the governor and the general assembly of Connecticut in May 1783

 

In our lowest and most dangerous state, in 1776 and 1777, we sustained ourselves against the British Army of sixty thousand troops, commanded by the ablest generals Britain could procure throughout all Europe, with a naval force of twenty two thousand seamen in above eighty men of war.

Who but a Washington, inspired by Heaven, could have conceived the surprise move upon the enemy at Princeton, that Christmas eve when Washington and his army crossed the Delaware.

Who but the ruler of the winds could have delayed the British reinforcements by three months of contrary ocean winds at a critical point of the war.

Or what but “a providential miracle” at the last minute detected the treacherous scheme of the traitor Benedict Arnold, which would have delivered the American army including George Washington himself,, into the hands of the enemy.

Or the French role in the revolution, it is God who so ordered the balancing interests of nations as to produce an irresistible motive in the European maritime powers to take our part.

The United States are under peculiar obligations to become a holy people unto the Lord our God.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT - The True Christian

The true Christian is the true citizen, lofty of purpose, resolute in endeavor, ready for a hero’s deed, but never looking down on his task because it is cast in the day of small things; scornful of baseness, awake to his own duties as well as his rights, following the higher law with reverence, and in this world doing all that is in his power lies, so that when death comes he may feel that mankind is in some degree better because he lived.

Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure ourselves what that life would be if these standards were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals; all the standards toward which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves

From a statement by Theodore Roosevelt, twenty sixth president of The United States (1901 – 1909 ) The youngest man to hold the office.

Eleven Days Before Christmas

It was eleven days before Christmas, around 9:38,

when twenty beautiful children stormed through Heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious and their laughter filled the air,

because they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with so much joy they didn't know what to say,

and they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse;

"This is Heaven," declared a small boy, "and we are spending Christmas at God's house."

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus – their Savior – and the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled and they smiled just the same,

as He opened His arms and He called each by name.

In that moment was joy that only Heaven can bring,

when all those children flew into the arms of their King.

While they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at His beautiful face.

He knew fully all the questions she had,

so He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."

He looked down on America so far below,

and saw all of the hurt, the sorrow and woe.

He closed His eyes and stretched out His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!

May the country be delivered from the hands of fools,

and allow my presence back in the nation and back the schools."

He and the children stood up without a sound,

"Come now my children and let me show you around."

Excitement filled the space as some skipped and some ran,

all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"In the midst of the terrible darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

by Cameo Smith