love

Not a project. I hold you in my heart.

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IMG_57506And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6-8 

I’ve always loved the promise held in verse 6: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. Jesus will complete what He has started. Its a promise for each one of us.

Its also the longing of the servant of Jesus who has poured her or his heart into the life of another. “Ok, Jesus, that’s the end of me. I’m not there 24/7. You keep doing your work from start to finish, its all about you.”

Notice Paul’s affection for these followers of Jesus, “I hold you in my heart!” “We have a share in the same grace!” “You have been part of my struggle.” “I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

The Disciple-making lifestyle let’s people get under your skin. In fact, you let them into your heart. Who is Jesus giving you? Who are you making room for in your heart?

For years I have prayed, “Lord, enlarge my heart for loving people.”

This kind of life is a matter of prayer.

What if we were not afraid?

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25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  John 11:25-27

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” …53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.  John 11:45-50, 53

Identity Issues

After Jesus made this extraordinary admission of his identity he proceeded to the tomb of Lazarus and called him out. Jesus radiates His glory in word and deed:

The Resurrection: Whoever believes in me, though he dies, shall live.

The Life: Whoever believes in me shall never die.

The body will fail us. Jesus will not.

The spirit of a person made alive in Christ will live though the body dies.

 A Threat to the Status Quo

The healing of Lazarus solidified the opinion of some people that Jesus was a threat. Can you imagine? What if the followers of Jesus were not afraid of death? For those authorities who rely on violence to retain their honour, their position and their influence a people who do not fear death is intolerable. So these authorities take a posture against Jesus and His people.

So, what if we were not afraid?

“You can kill the body, but the Lord will raise me up.” “To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.” “You decide, is it better for us to obey people, or the Lord?” “Jesus is Lord.”

Where would we go? Who would we love? What convictions would remain? What trivial pursuits would we abandon?

So, what if you were not afraid?

What if heaven, our Lord, and His call loomed larger than death itself?

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.)

Eavesdropping on Love

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:16-18

16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Observations:

Peter affirms that they were not making up their message about Jesus.  They were eyewitnesses to his majesty.

The saw and they heard the honour and glory from God the Father on the mountain when He announced his love, relationship, and delight.

Application:

The human experience is by design one in which we discover the most about us from those who speak into our lives.  This is why rejection is so powerful.  This is why announcements of love are so powerful.  Some forms of spirituality reject this reality by determining to find meaning only within oneself.  But we were designed to hear the deepest truth about ourselves from outside of ourselves.  Our identity in Christ Jesus is restored through the Gospel so that we know, “I am loved.”

We pay lots of attention at weddings and movies to declarations of love.  For the Disciples these were words of divine affirmation and love overheard between the Heavenly Father and Jesus:  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Peter wants His readers to have confidence in the Gospel message:  Jesus is who he says He is, and He is uniquely qualified to announce the Father’s love to us.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, In this moment I am trusting you and your Son.  But in other moments I lose my mind and am not so aware of my true identity.  Fill me with your Spirit.  May the greatness of Jesus be seen through my weakness.  May you cause my confidence in the Gospel to grow.  AMEN.

The fear of offence never wins.

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Scripture:  1 Peter 4:14-19

14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”  19Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Observations:

We are blessed when insulted because of Jesus’ name.
Avoid suffering as a murderer, thief, evildoer, or meddler.
Glorify God when you suffer as a Christian.
There is an urgency about life:  God rightfully judges all people.
Keep entrusting your soul to our faithful Creator even while doing good.

Application:

Several times a week here at UBC I am having to evaluate the statement “I don’t want to offend or shame another person.”  I do believe it can be a sincere desire motivated by love.  However, when self-preservation and the fear of people inform our reluctance to move forward in love, service, and witness we are living without the urgency of God’s big-time and righteous view of our lives.

Love is our best motive.  This is how the Spirit of glory and of God works in our lives.  The presence of God is bigger than the face of our neighbour and our fearful imaginations.  The fear of offense creates defensive positions and never wins.

The standup and improv comedian is taught in his or her craft “to move into the fear.”  I wonder if that’s what we must do as well as followers of Jesus when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel and identifying ourselves as His disciples.  We move into the fear; we serve; we speak up of God’s wonderful love in Christ Jesus.

To lean into this fear we must entrust our lives to God:  “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I entrust my soul to you.  Empower me today to do good.  By your Holy Spirit pour your love into my life and give me courage to serve and to speak up in ways that are consistent with your will, your Son, and your Gospel.  AMEN.