Month: February 2022

We’re either in God’s Kingdom, through faith in Jesus Christ, by our choice, or we’re in Satan’s kingdom by default!

Who is Jesus Christ to you?…

Our whole spiritual life depends on our answer to this one question.

“Humble witnesses for the Savior proclaim His gospel, and people’s response to the Son of God determines their destiny.”
— Author Unknown

Who is Jesus Christ?

No fewer than twenty-three times in this Gospel Jesus refers to the One who sent Him, and John describes that in this paragraph.

John 3:34
“For He whom GOD HAS SENT speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”

Jesus comes from above…

He is sent from God (vv. 31,34).

Jesus is above all; he has all things in His hand (vv. 31,35).

Jesus speaks things He has seen and heard from the Father (vv. 31,34).

Jesus gives the truth to those who receive Him (v. 33).

Jesus gives the Spirit to those who trust in Him (v. 34).

Jesus is loved by the Father for He is the Son (v. 35).

Jesus can communicate life which is everlasting (v. 36).

The intimacy between the Father and the Son guarantees Jesus’ complete authority for universal reign.

He speaks the words of God, this time not logos but rhema—a message offered by a living voice.

The Bible is the Word inscripturated; Jesus is the Word incarnate!

If you accept Jesus as only a prophet or teacher, you have to reject His teaching and all the prophecies in the Old Testament that spoke of Him, for He claimed to be God’s Son—and to be God Himself (incarnate – God In the Flesh).

Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel (God is with us).”

The heartbeat of John’s Gospel is the dynamic truth that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Messiah and the Savior, who existed from the beginning and will continue to live forever.

Colossians 1:16
“For in Him (in Jesus) ALL things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. ALL things were created through Him and for Him.”

Jesus’ testimony was trustworthy because He had come from heaven and was speaking of what He had seen there.

His words were the very words of God.

This same Jesus has invited us to accept Him and live with Him eternally.

When we understand who Jesus is, we are compelled to believe what He said.

God gives the Spirit without measure or limit.

Jesus was always filled, empowered, and totally connected to the heart and mind of God.

Thus, Jesus was the highest revelation of God to humanity (Hebrews 1:2).

He always spoke the words of God.

And Jesus says that all those who believe in Him have (not will have) eternal life.

To receive eternal life is to join in God’s life, which by nature is eternal.

Thus, eternal life begins at the moment of spiritual rebirth.

John, the author of this Gospel, wrote to demonstrate that Jesus is the true Son of God.

Jesus sets before us the greatest choice in life.

John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

We each are responsible for deciding today whom we will obey (Joshua 24:15), and God wants us to choose Him and life (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

“God’s angry judgment” refers to His final rejection of those who reject Him.

To put off the choice means choosing not to follow Jesus.

Indecision is a fatal decision.
———

Sat, February 26
Heartlight Devotions

WHAT JESUS DID!

[John the Baptizer said to his disciples,] “For [Jesus] is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives Him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves His Son and has put EVERYTHING into His hands.”
— John 3:34-35 NLT

Key Thought
Jesus is THE authority!

[1] Jesus has the authority over life and death. He has the authority to reveal the truth about God.

Jesus has the authority over religion, faith, and spiritual experience.

Jesus has the authority over our lives and our destinies.

Why? Because He is sent by God. He has the Spirit of God without any limit.

He is loved by God as His Son. And, as we will see toward the end of Jesus’ ministry,

God has validated Jesus’ authority through the resurrection.

So who do you have in charge of your life?

Is it the folks that sell ads in the media?

Do your peers control your life?

Are your fears in control?

Only one truly has the authority and can speak for God, and His name is Jesus.

Are you listening to Him?
———

Come join the Adventure!

Skip 🕊️

We are told in the Bible (see 1 Cor 13:13) that when all is said and done, that there are three things that will remain — Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of all is Love…

The Bible also tells us that the very nature of God is Love, but what does that mean?

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) is a favorite Bible verse about love.

1 John 4:16 is a similar verse also containing the words “God is love.”

1 John 4:7-11
Knowing God Through Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:16

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

The Greek word used for love in all of these versus is ἀγαπάω agapaō, which is the God kind of love that comes with no strings.

To get the definition of what that kind of love looks like, we go to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; and please know that this is how God treats each of us.

In fact, each place you see the word LOVE you can substitute “God” and the meaning of the text would not be changed one iota.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Living Bible

4 Love (God) is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, 5 never haughty or selfish or rude.

Love (God) does not demand its (His) own way.

It (He) is not irritable or touchy. It (He) does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.

6 It (He) is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out.

7 If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost.

You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.
———

It’s a point in fact that this is how God treats each one of us, and if we will die to ourselves and get (self) out of the way, God desires to use each one of us as a conduit of His AGAPE love into all the dark places of this world.

Please note also that this agape love has absolutely NOTHING to do with our feelings, rather it’s all about us treating others based on the value God places on them.

There are two prayers offered by Paul, in the Bible, that I really like, which I believe expresses God’s true heart towards His Church.

Check it out…

Ephesians 1:15-23
Living Bible

Paul speaking: “…That is why, ever since I heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and of the love you have for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you.

I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that he has done for you.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future He has called you to share.

I want you to realize that GOD HAS BEEN MADE RICH because we who are Christ’s have been given to Him!

I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him.

It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader.

Yes, His honor is far more glorious than that of anyone else either in this world or in the world to come.

And God has put all things under His feet and made Him the supreme Head of the Church— 23 which is His body, filled with Himself, the Author and Giver of everything everywhere.

Ephesians 3:14-19
Living Bible

Paul speaking: “When I think of the wisdom and scope of His (God’s) plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God—some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth—

that out of his glorious, unlimited resources He will give you the mighty inner strengthening of His Holy Spirit.

And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high His love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.

And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.”
———

How do you not love a God like this, who gave so much of Himself (even His very life on Calvary’s Cross) in order to redeem His lost children and reconcile us back into His family

I believe the following quote is attributed to Augustine, and I think it says it best,

“that it’s impossible to know God and not love Him, and it’s equally impossible to love Him and not want to serve Him.
———

Tue, February 1
Franciscan Spirit blog
Live in love grow in faith

Notes from a Friar:
GOD SPEAKS TO ALL
Written by Jim Van Vurst, OFM

Someone once asked me how many languages God speaks. I quickly realized that the person needed a fundamental answer. Of course, God speaks all languages.

It is better to think of God as communicating, which opens up many more possibilities.

We humans communicate with more than words. In our human nature, we can communicate with a glance, a smile, a chuckle, and so many more ways.

Think of a mother who communicates with her newborn infant. She does that by a kiss, a caress of her infant in her arms, a tender stroke, or even by humming.

We know that infants who don’t receive this kind communication often miss an essential part in their emotional development.

It has been proven that such communication stimulates key hormones in the infant that aids in emotional growth.

Just think of animals that lick their offspring when they are just born. They are doing more than cleaning them up.

We humans cannot exist without relationships. The need for communication is part of our very human nature.

Having said that about humans, and defining God as love, we understand that God is the infinite communicator.

His very act of creation is an act of communicating his love to all he creates, but especially to us who are blessed with intelligence and free will.

NO LANGUAGE IS FOREIGN TO GOD

But we should not restrict God’s communication. God can and does communicate in ways we can’t imagine.

If a mother can communicate to her infant, would we ever say that God does not?

God is in communication with us by his very presence. It may well be an inspiration or a thought that comes to mind. It may be an impulse to do something good for another.

People who think God is “somewhere up there” have a misunderstanding of the reality of God’s presence.

God is infinitely concerned and connected with all of us. There is never a moment when we walk alone. God is always present to us.

I was chaplain for many years at a large retirement and nursing facility. I would visit our nursing home and Alzheimer’s unit.

To my own perception, many of these people were unable to communicate to staff or to one another.

But at the same time, I was convinced that God was as close to each of them as he was to the rest of us.

That’s why I think God knows all languages. I consoled many families with that thought and they realized that their loved ones were never alone or without the presence of God.
———

Come join the Adventure!

Skip 🕊️