Growth

Love ~ Key verses — GLORIFYTHELORD

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Love ~ Key verses — GLORIFYTHELORD

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  1 John 3:16 NLT

Love as demonstrated in the Gospel is a “giving-of-ourselves-impulse.”

Jesus did gave Himself for us and in doing so he created a new family.

Now in Jesus’ new family the church we have been made to be brothers and sisters with people outside the lines of our own blood and the law.

How shall we treat them?  How shall we move toward them?

With love.  With the “giving of ourselves impulse.”

I’m excited!  Where will love strike next?

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  1 John 3:16

(Key verses are great for memorizing.  So make a card, and review, review, review.)

Glorify ~ Key Verses ~ GLORIFYTHELORD

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“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

Growing up in a biology influenced family we had a few magnifying glasses around.  As a kid a magnifying glass was a wonderful thing.  With it the small things hidden to my eyes became visible –bigger.  Bugs are awesome!  And then from another perspective, the light of the sun could be focused in such a way to burn patterns on paper and leaves.  For me 1Corinthians 10:31 works that way.  It brings my life into focus and it focuses the light and majesty of God on my life.

Magnify God with my life.  My life lead by Jesus–the small decisions of daily life can reveal the glory of God.

Focus God on my life.  My life lead by Jesus–the intent to bring glory to God submits my life to the sometimes searing and burning intensity of God.  His Spirit and His Word create new patterns and burn at what is keeping me from Christlikeness.

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31

Mud on your face!… Momma is not going to like this!

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Jesus spit on the ground.

Made mud.

Put the mud on a blind man’s eyes.

And then told the man to go take a bath.

Of course! That’s how to do it!

The change was so profound the man’s friends

who had known him since birth didn’t recognize him.

He said, “I once was blind but now I see.”

The religious folk got mad because…

Jesus made mud…

on the Sabbath.

Neat and tidy

that’s how we want to package God.

He refuses.  Those who live (like this formerly blind man)

graced by the mud Jesus stirs up,

may get kicked out of neat and tidy places.

Take care at this point.  Our pride creates spiritual blindness.

God sees us: we are blind and guilty because we claim to see.

35When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”36The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”37“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”38“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.39Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”40Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”41“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.  John 9:35-41

You Are So Gifted!

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Wrapped or in a bag?

In the box or out of the box?

The size of the bag or box.

The beauty of the paper.

They don’t tell us the value of what’s in there.

My mentor Dr. Fray would say

he could look out across his congregation

and see a lot of unwrapped gifts.

Dear follower of Jesus,

You’ve been graced by Him.

He has graced you for His mission.

4For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.  Romans 12:4-7

“Having gifts… let us use them.”

What’s holding you back?

The Gospel is not the end of critical thinking.

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Every once in awhile one of my kids will do something

spectacular and triumphantly announce,

“Wahooo, Pro-Skillage!”

Thinking skills.  We need them.

The Gospel encourages us to become pro-skillage thinkers.

Nobody observes your thinking but they do observe the affect.

Notice how Paul connects the Gospel to critical thinking about the self.

3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.   Romans 12:3

Pro-skillage Gospel thinking means that we think about ourselves with faith.

Sober judgment: a plain, critical view of ourselves — weaknesses and strengths.

And then throw in a measure of faith from God.

Thinking with faith causes us to grapple with:

  • The foundation of the self; we are created in the image of God.
  • The grace and mercy of God in the Gospel; we are forgiven and deeply loved.
  • The call of God; we are called to share in His mission and the communion of His people.
  • And the depth of our conviction that God is able to do more with us than we could do on our own.