UNMERITED LOVE

God’s love is unmerited.  It can be best seen in the story of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman found in Luke 7: 36-50. Simon had invited Jesus to dine with him. While Jesus was in Simon’s house, this undesirable woman came into the house. For a moment she stood back of Jesus.  What must have raced through her mind, standing there so close to beauty and she so ugly with sin?  We know as she began to cry.  Finally, she knelt down and let her tears fall upon the feet of Jesus. She loosened her hair, letting it fall down until she could use her hair to wipe the feet of Jesus.  She kissed His feet. She anointed His feet with ointment which she brought to pay respect to Jesus.

As Simon the Pharisee watched, he thought to himself, with disgust, (too big a coward to say it out loud) “If Jesus was a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this woman was who was touching Him. WHY SHE IS A SINNER.”  Everything dirty, ugly, worthless is packed into this word, “sinner.”

Jesus knows the feelings and thoughts of Simon and asks him, “If a certain man had two men who owed him money, one owed five hundred dollars and the other fifty dollars.  Neither man could pay their debt.  Now, the man forgave both men so the question is, “which man do you think would love this man more?”   Simon said, “I suppose (he knew) the man to whom he forgave the most.” Jesus told Simon  that was right.  Jesus then told Simon to “look at this woman, see what she has done for Me.  You have done none of these courtesies.
Therefore, her sins, many as they are, are forgiven: for she has shown Me so much love.  But the man who has little to be forgiven has only a little love to give.”

Who has little to be forgiven?  Simon was conscious of no need of forgiveness therefore felt no love and so received no forgiveness.
All need forgiveness equally “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  Jesus shocked Simon by His acceptance of the questionable woman.  This woman is forgiven because she expresses her need in her humility before Christ.  She realizes her deep sinfulness and acknowledges this before Jesus.  She finds in Christ’s forgiveness, love for herself and Christ.  LOVE IS BORN OUT OF FORGIVENESS.  LOVE DOES NOT BRING FORGIVENESS RATHER FORGIVENESS BRINGS LOVE.”   “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Forgiveness is unmerited or it is  not forgiveness at all.  Forgiveness is extended ‘in spite of” rather than ‘because of.’
Accept God’s love for you by responding with your love for Him.

ONE SOLITARY LIFE

“He was born in an obscure village.  He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.    He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held an office.  He never had a family or owned a house.  He didn’t go to college. He had no credentials but Himself.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that have ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.”

Must we admit that Christmas is only a fairy story, heart-woven and dream spun, and that the gray shadows which life casts over us are the grim truth?  Is it no more than a day of make believe, tugging at our hearts, with the pull of playtime?

Listen the story of the birth of Jesus is not tinsel and baubles.  It is more than sparkling trees, mysterious packages, smiling faces and laughing children.  It is not cash registers and gaudy gifts.  It is the simple, unchanging truth that “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”

Let’s hear the Christmas story once more:  “And the angel said, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people, The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.  And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  Luke 2: 10-12   (New Living Translation)

Joann and I want to wish you and your loved ones the many blessings of Christmas and best wishes for a rich and rewarding year to come.  We pray that you will know that Christmas is Christ and that to be a part of Christmas, you must be a part of Christ.
We love you and keep you in our prayers.

OUR BEAUTIFUL GOD

A story is told concerning the ugliest man killing his beautiful god. When he was asked why he killed the beautiful god, he replied, “he had to die.”  Yes, he did have to die for you see the beautiful god is intolerable to the ugly man. He would not change his ugliness to beauty and he could not change the beautiful god into an ugly one.  Thus, he could only kill the beautiful god to try to rid himself of the beauty of his god and the pain of his own ugliness.

Our situation is somewhat like this.  Our GOD is beautiful, beyond compare.   Our God is altogether holy, pure and righteous.  And when we are confronted by His beauty, we see ourselves for what we really are.  Then, we cry out like Peter when he saw the Lord, “Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Or with Isaiah who saw God in the smoke filled temple and cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips.”

God is so far above and beyond us that we cannot help but feel our ugliness in His presence.  Therefore, what did sinful man in history do?  The same thing as the ugly man in the story, they killed the beautiful God in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Everything about Jesus  was intolerable to sinful man, His love, mercy, perfection.  To rid themselves of the pain of His beauty, they killed Him.

But, increasing the loveliness of our God, God permitted the death of His Son in order to help man understand how much He loves mankind.  Furthermore, our beautiful God does not stay dead but He through the resurrection comes back and says to us, “I am He whom you feared and hated, but behold, I am alive for ever more.  And because I live you can live also.”

This is what our beautiful God has done for us so we might be able to come into His presence feeling accepted by Him.  His holiness, justice and perfection is made acceptable to us by the expression of His love and grace.

“Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every blade of grass a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though spread from sky to sky.”

WAR AND PEACE

One of the greatest novels ever written was the massive book, “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.  It is some 365 chapters long, around 700 pages, written at the dawn of the 19th century. It is fictional, but a realistic story, against the historical background of the invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte.  No matter it’s brilliance or its length, it is a story of human struggle in the midst of war.  We know something about war.  September 11th was our generation’s Pearl Harbor.  November 11th was Veteran’s Day.   We are face to face with war.  Everyday more American soldiers are being killed.

William Tecumseh Sherman in his march to the sea, while Atlanta, Georgia burned on November 15, 1864 said, “War is Hell.”  The next day the fires raged through out Atlanta.   Sherman and his soldiers cut their ties to the North and headed eastward to the sea. Total war erupted as a path 60 miles wide through Georgia bled the Confederacy to death.  Someone as disputed that this statement was first made by Sherman.  It is said that Robert E. Lee was the first to make this statement.  The South had won several battles, his officers and men were elated.  They were feeling invincible.  As the story goes, General Lee then said to them, “War is Hell. We should never grow fond of it.”   No matter who said it, it is horribly true.

Lust, evil desire, selfishness have made this earth one great battlefield.  In the Revolutionary War, we fought our forefathers. In the Civil War, we fought our brothers.  In World War I and II, we fought our neighbors.  But, one war we have not fought too successfully and that is the war that rages within our selves.  The cause of war is a desire for selfish indulgences as James writes: “Pleasures (evil desires) that war within your members.”  James 4:1   Fightings within are caused by pursuing selfish ambitions rather than the path of common good.   The cause is an unholy desire for anything such as power and authority over others for self-glorification.  Such contention is seen in self-advancement rather than advancement of the Kingdom of God.  Seeds of distrust and discord are sown out of our selfishness, to get what we want.

Peace can only be obtained as we war against hostile, aggressive, evil, selfish desires within us.

Peace can only come when we seek the spirit of Christ which is the spirit of humility and love.

CHRIST IS THE ANSWER TO PEACE.

LEARNING TO LOVE

On many occasions I have listened to an eloquent speaker rise to the heights of oratory, and have thought, “How I wish I could preach like that man.”  How often I have listened to a learned man and said, “I wish I were that well educated.”  How often I have seen heroic missionaries go out to lands of darkness and danger and said, “I wish I had that kind of faith.”  But, have I ever asked as I looked at Jesus, “I wish I could love like that man.”        WE NEED TO LEARN TO LOVE.

When you study the life of the Apostle Paul, you learn theology, the study of God. When you look at the life of James, you learn ethics, practical Christianity.  But, if you want to learn to love, you must look at the life of the Apostle John.  Of all the 12 Apostles, there were three who seemed to form an inner circle, closes to Jesus.  Those were: Peter, James and John. And of all three, John came the closes to Jesus.  Several times in the Gospel of John, John is referred to as “the one whom Jesus loved.”  He is called the “beloved.”

John was not always so loving.  In fact, he had a violent temper, asking Jesus to burn up a town because they would not allow the Jewish disciples to pass through.  John was extremely jealous and intolerant.  John did not know a man doing Jesus’ work, so wanted to stop him. John was very selfish. He and his brother asked Jesus for the favorite seats beside of Jesus in His Kingdom.

How did John change into such a loving person?  His close fellowship with Jesus.  Out of that heart to heart relationship with Jesus, came a beautiful life, a sensitive spirit, an apostle of love.  Love has to be worked at, it doesn’t just happen. We become like those we associate with the most.  When we walk with Jesus, when we are in tune with Him, when we keep His company, WE BECOME LIKE HIM.  He grows on us.  He rubs off on us.  We become loving when we allow the love of Christ to dwell in us.

Loving God and loving one another is the greatest commandment of all.  The Church, Christians, are in the loving business.
Listen to this bit of verse:
“A bell is not a bell until you ring it.
A song is not a song until you sing it.
Love in your heart is not put there to stay.
Love is not love until you give it away.”

THE PRODIGAL WHO STAYED HOME

Most of us have heard of THE PRODIGAL WHO LEFT HOME but few have been taught of THE PRODIGAL WHO STAYED HOME. The 15th chapter of Luke, where these stories are written, is a very important chapter.  The whole chapter tells of God’s search for sinful mankind.  Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.  All of us are either lost or saved.

The first born son is furious when informed that his brother had returned home.  He feels betrayed by his father and bitterly complains. He won’t even claim his brother but judges him. He has a pity party. Resentment is not a pretty picture.

The greatest commandment is to love God and love others.  This elder son has broken both of them.  He stays home, out of trouble, obeying the rules, outwardly he is the perfect son but inwardly he was far from home.  He served, did his duty so he could get what he thought he deserved.  He did not love his father or home.  His heart was wrong, interested only in what he could get.  He refused to join in the celebration for his brother being home.

Who was the older brother? Jesus had a certain group of people in mind which were the Pharisees.  These were the self righteous experts in Jewish law. They accused Jesus of fellowshipping with sinners.  That is absolutely true, all kinds of sinners, those who waste their life in a far away country or those who stay home but are self righteous.  What a wretched thing it is to call ourselves Christian and yet be a stranger to the Father’s love for everyone of us.  If we do not have the spirit of Christ, we are none of His.  Pride may well be our greatest sin.  It was the sin of the elder son.

Salvation requires more than just outward proclamation; there has to be an inner change.  We can stay outside and miss the party or we can enter our Father’s house and commit our lives to Jesus and to His work of seeking to save the lost.  Will we accept the Father’s love and love like He loved?  Will we share and participate in the joy of welcoming sinners back home?

Remember this word: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”   2 Peter 3:9