I help run an Intermediate Youth Group, and tonight we're having a Survivor theme night. Here is the talk I wrote for it:
The Christian life is a lot like survivor.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul says: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the (Olympic) games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
When Paul was younger, he had been an enemy of the Christians, hunting them down and killing them for a living. But God reached out of heaven, and let Paul know how real he was, and turned him around to help God instead. God promised Paul a great reward when his life was over, and he promises the same reward to everyone who believes in him.
So, what did Paul do? Did he sit around and watch TV saying "Yep, God is coming back real soon. I'll just enjoy myself and eat some potato chips while I wait"? No, he says that he "beats his body", or in other words, he takes charge of it, and he starts doing all he can for God. There is a verse that says, "Whatever you do, do it as if you were doing it for God" and this is what Paul does. He lives his life 100% for God. Thats where the Survivor metaphor comes in. He makes the comparison to olympic athletes. Whats an olympic sport? Well, if you want to be an olympic class athlete at that sport, you have to focus on it all the time. It takes years of training, and those who are the best are completely devoted to doing everything to be as good as they can be.
Well, Paul says it is the same when you are a Christian. In fact, he says that the olympic athletes compete "to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forver."
What Paul is saying there is that even though the olympic athletes may get a bit of glory for a while, and a cool gold medal to hang on their wall, what we get if we stick with God will never be lost. Who won the 100m at the Berlin Olympics? Who won the freestyle swimming at Moscow? Unless you are an historian, or someone who has researched this, you probably won't know. But, God promises that everyone who follows him, and gives their all for him, will never be forgotten. Their names will be written in God's Book of Life, and will never be erased.
I know a lot of Christians who gave up walking with God, and now live just like everyone else in the world. God loves them just as much as he loves you, and he always will, but if they don't finish the race, if they don't survive, they will never get the crown waiting for them.
Don't let yourself be voted off in the journey of life. Stick with it, do your best, and get that prize!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Magi Q&A
These questions were written by a prisoner somewhere overseas, to a family that correspond to him here in New Zealand. I have tried to answer them briefly but hopefully well enough to provide answers. From the style of the questions, its probably safe to conclude that English is not his first language.
Are the Magi people belong to believers?
Which religion they belong and what they worship?
Why they come and worship Jesus?
The Magi came from the east, probably from what was previously the Persian empire. In Old Testament, the Jews had been exiled to Persia when Judah was finally overrun. It was also in Persia that Daniel prophesied when the Messiah would appear (Daniel 9:25). Because the prophecy was so detailed, saying that the ‘Anointed One’ (Messiah) would come six nine weeks (years) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the Magi needed only to take notice of when the decree to rebuild the temple was given, and then calculate when the Messiah would come. Once the time when the Messiah was to come drew closer, they would have been on the lookout for any unusual signs (such as stars that appeared) to signal his birth.
When the exile in Persia ended, the Jews living in Persia were allowed to go back to Israel. However, as the book of Esther shows, some decided to remain in Persia. Because of this, there would have been Jews living in Persia even during the life of Jesus, and so the Magi could have been Jews, even though we don’t know for sure. If not, they could have simply been Persians who knew about Daniel’s God and the prophecy, and wanted to worship him. Either way, they knew the power of God, and wanted to honour him, so they must have had some knowledge about Judaism, and may have become believers through finding Jesus, although they wouldn’t have learned about his ministry then, as he still hadn’t done it.
Why people wait for Messiah but don’t recognize the Messiah?
Although the prophecy in Daniel was clear to those who recognized it, many people living in Judea probably did not understand the prophecy. Also, they were expecting the Messiah to act differently to the way Jesus acted. For example, the Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would come as a King, so they expected that the Messiah would destroy the Romans, and rule on a throne in Jerusalem. Because Jesus made no moves to become king, but stayed among the people, teaching them peacefulness and love, many people refused to accept him as Messiah.
Is it possible that the Lords angel can talk to us? I mean now?
Yes, it is, but now we don’t need angels to talk to us so much, because we already have God’s Word written in the Bible for us to read. Angels can also visit us without us realizing that they are angels (Hebrews 13:2). They often appear in order to protect people, and sometimes can only be seen by certain individuals. Some people planning to beat up a pastor in Africa saw six huge men guarding him, when there were no men there. They were angels.
If the magi people have now, do they have the knowledge to see the sign of Jesus second coming back?
Whereas Jesus’ first coming could be accurately predicted by the Magi, thanks to Daniel’s prophecy, the Bible says that ‘not even the Son’ knows when Jesus is coming back, ‘only the Father’ does. There are still signs that we can look for that let us know that Jesus’ second coming is getting closer, but we won’t be able to predict it as accurately as his first coming was.
However, the Persian empire was overthrown by the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, and Jews from there began to spread out across the world, and later gathered back together in 1947 when Israel was reformed as a nation. It is quite likely because of this that the Magi do not exist anymore, or are part of Israel if they do.
Are the Magi people belong to believers?
Which religion they belong and what they worship?
Why they come and worship Jesus?
The Magi came from the east, probably from what was previously the Persian empire. In Old Testament, the Jews had been exiled to Persia when Judah was finally overrun. It was also in Persia that Daniel prophesied when the Messiah would appear (Daniel 9:25). Because the prophecy was so detailed, saying that the ‘Anointed One’ (Messiah) would come six nine weeks (years) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the Magi needed only to take notice of when the decree to rebuild the temple was given, and then calculate when the Messiah would come. Once the time when the Messiah was to come drew closer, they would have been on the lookout for any unusual signs (such as stars that appeared) to signal his birth.
When the exile in Persia ended, the Jews living in Persia were allowed to go back to Israel. However, as the book of Esther shows, some decided to remain in Persia. Because of this, there would have been Jews living in Persia even during the life of Jesus, and so the Magi could have been Jews, even though we don’t know for sure. If not, they could have simply been Persians who knew about Daniel’s God and the prophecy, and wanted to worship him. Either way, they knew the power of God, and wanted to honour him, so they must have had some knowledge about Judaism, and may have become believers through finding Jesus, although they wouldn’t have learned about his ministry then, as he still hadn’t done it.
Why people wait for Messiah but don’t recognize the Messiah?
Although the prophecy in Daniel was clear to those who recognized it, many people living in Judea probably did not understand the prophecy. Also, they were expecting the Messiah to act differently to the way Jesus acted. For example, the Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would come as a King, so they expected that the Messiah would destroy the Romans, and rule on a throne in Jerusalem. Because Jesus made no moves to become king, but stayed among the people, teaching them peacefulness and love, many people refused to accept him as Messiah.
Is it possible that the Lords angel can talk to us? I mean now?
Yes, it is, but now we don’t need angels to talk to us so much, because we already have God’s Word written in the Bible for us to read. Angels can also visit us without us realizing that they are angels (Hebrews 13:2). They often appear in order to protect people, and sometimes can only be seen by certain individuals. Some people planning to beat up a pastor in Africa saw six huge men guarding him, when there were no men there. They were angels.
If the magi people have now, do they have the knowledge to see the sign of Jesus second coming back?
Whereas Jesus’ first coming could be accurately predicted by the Magi, thanks to Daniel’s prophecy, the Bible says that ‘not even the Son’ knows when Jesus is coming back, ‘only the Father’ does. There are still signs that we can look for that let us know that Jesus’ second coming is getting closer, but we won’t be able to predict it as accurately as his first coming was.
However, the Persian empire was overthrown by the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, and Jews from there began to spread out across the world, and later gathered back together in 1947 when Israel was reformed as a nation. It is quite likely because of this that the Magi do not exist anymore, or are part of Israel if they do.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Hacked off
Well, my links and email are back up again, but it took me a little while to figure out what had happened.
I realised something was wrong about a week ago, when I couldn't open my blog. Well, I could open the page but there was nothing on it. After trying to figure out whether something I had posted had somehow got a virus into it (and concluding eventually that it would be impossible for a virus to get into words I had written myself!) I looked into my blog template....
SHOCK! HORROR!! It was gone!!!!
I mean, GONE! As in: "Not there."
I don't get how that could have happened, but re-installed my template, and have spent a while re-creating my links etc. The best I can figure is that someone hacked into my blog and deleted my template. But that seems kind of random, and pointless....
Oh well, life goes on. God is good.
I realised something was wrong about a week ago, when I couldn't open my blog. Well, I could open the page but there was nothing on it. After trying to figure out whether something I had posted had somehow got a virus into it (and concluding eventually that it would be impossible for a virus to get into words I had written myself!) I looked into my blog template....
SHOCK! HORROR!! It was gone!!!!
I mean, GONE! As in: "Not there."
I don't get how that could have happened, but re-installed my template, and have spent a while re-creating my links etc. The best I can figure is that someone hacked into my blog and deleted my template. But that seems kind of random, and pointless....
Oh well, life goes on. God is good.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Integrity: Image of Gold or Feet of Clay?
An important, and often overlooked, aspect of Christianity is the matter of integrity. Integrity is being the same in public as you are in private, not having two standards, but a consistent one, so that those looking on can always tell your stance on things.
Unfortunately, nowadays integrity is not only less common, it is also less supported. A well-quoted saying is that “what people do in the privacy of their own homes is their own business,” and our culture in general seems to have taken a hold of that. Now, it doesn’t matter what we do in private, or when no-ones looking, as long as we act a certain way when in public. Integrity is relegated only to the work-place, not to the home.
Is it any surprise, then, that people are starting to lose their integrity altogether, both outside the church and within it? Now there are the problems of priests being sexually immoral, people stealing money from offerings, and others viewing ‘images’ online. As long as no-one finds out, the reasoning goes, then it doesn’t matter.
However, not only is this wrong thinking, it can seriously damage a person’s standing in the community if this character flaw is discovered, and, in the case of Christians, can seriously damage non-believer’s views of Christianity and God as well!
Just that statement alone should be enough to make us think about our values. The bible says that teachers will be judged more harshly, because they are responsible for instructing those who follow them in the right ways to go. The same applies for Christians who, by simply being a Christian, are giving an example to those around them of the right way to live. If they are not living the way they say they are living, then they will not only have to live with the consequences of their own actions, but with the repercussions this may have on those that look to them for examples of right and wrong.
I personally know how hard it is to be someone of integrity, and have struggled with being the same in private as in public myself, but I also know how important this aspect of life is, and so I am working hard to present a true image.
I want to reflect God as truthfully as I can. I don't want to have feet of clay, that will crumble if someone hits them. My faith has to be more real than that!
My God is far more important than that.
Unfortunately, nowadays integrity is not only less common, it is also less supported. A well-quoted saying is that “what people do in the privacy of their own homes is their own business,” and our culture in general seems to have taken a hold of that. Now, it doesn’t matter what we do in private, or when no-ones looking, as long as we act a certain way when in public. Integrity is relegated only to the work-place, not to the home.
Is it any surprise, then, that people are starting to lose their integrity altogether, both outside the church and within it? Now there are the problems of priests being sexually immoral, people stealing money from offerings, and others viewing ‘images’ online. As long as no-one finds out, the reasoning goes, then it doesn’t matter.
However, not only is this wrong thinking, it can seriously damage a person’s standing in the community if this character flaw is discovered, and, in the case of Christians, can seriously damage non-believer’s views of Christianity and God as well!
Just that statement alone should be enough to make us think about our values. The bible says that teachers will be judged more harshly, because they are responsible for instructing those who follow them in the right ways to go. The same applies for Christians who, by simply being a Christian, are giving an example to those around them of the right way to live. If they are not living the way they say they are living, then they will not only have to live with the consequences of their own actions, but with the repercussions this may have on those that look to them for examples of right and wrong.
I personally know how hard it is to be someone of integrity, and have struggled with being the same in private as in public myself, but I also know how important this aspect of life is, and so I am working hard to present a true image.
I want to reflect God as truthfully as I can. I don't want to have feet of clay, that will crumble if someone hits them. My faith has to be more real than that!
My God is far more important than that.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
St Valentine's Eve, and the sort of love that isn't printed on mushy Valentine's cards...
This is going to be a bit longer than most of my blogs, because it is actually a sermon I wrote to preach tonight at my church. I have edited it slightly to make sure it flows as a blog and is readable, but otherwise it is the same message.
If you aren't coming to the service, then feel free to read on. If you are coming, then don't spoil it but reading the sermon yet, wait until afterwards.
LOVE SERMON....
Today is unofficially a holiday, and I love holidays. Today is February the 13th, which makes it St. Valentines Eve, and tomorrow St Valentines Day. I have never actually celebrated St Valentines Day before, but I'm still looking forward to it, not because of the Valentines cards, the roses, or the little cherub angels that go along with the celebration, but because St Valentines Day is all about a very Christian concept – love.
Often people try to separate love and Christianity from one another, but it doesn't work. You couldn't have Christianity without love, and you couldn't have love without God!
Why is this? Haven't a lot of people who aren't Christians felt love? Maybe, but love comes from God. The Bible goes so far as saying that "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16 NIV). If you have ever felt love on earth, and this is true love, not just 'like' or 'luurve' – then you have felt what its like to be in the presence of God. Some people think that being in heaven with God forever would be immensely boring, but (bad pun) you'd love it!
Love is completely tied in with Christianity. You couldn't have Christianity without love. In fact, this is one of the aspects that makes Christianity unique. We are part of the only religion that is not about what we have done, but about what God has done for us. God chose to love us.
2 Timothy 1:9 says: God saved us and chose us to be his holy people. We did nothing to deserve this, but God planned it because he is so kind. Even before time began God planned for Christ Jesus to show kindness to us. (CEV)
If you can get a hold of this, it is incredible. Before God had even created the universe, let alone us, he loved us so much that he was prepared to die on the cross for us. C. S. Lewis puts it like this:
"God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing… the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath's sake, hitched up… Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves."
C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves, Pg 116
In any other religion the burden is on us, the creation, to try and attain perfection in order to get to God. There is no certainty of heaven to those in other religions, they are left to try and please God when it is impossible to meet his standards. For example, the Koran states: He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth (Surah al-Baqarah 2:284). Even if a Muslim lives a perfect life, he can still be condemned to hell, just because Allah 'feels like it.'
However, our God reached down from heaven to bring us back to him. Instead of sitting up there, watching people run around helplessly trying to live good lives, and then condemning them to hell anyway, He actively entered into our world to help us reach him. On earth, he showed us examples of how much he loved us, through his sermons, his miracles, and, most importantly, his death.
God didn't have to love us, and that makes his sacrifice even more incredible. We were fallen creations, we had no redeeming features. C. S. Lewis makes this second illustration:
"Suppose yourself a man struck down shortly after marriage by an incurable disease which may not kill you for many years; useless, impotent, hideous, disgusting; depending on your wife's earnings; impoverished where you hoped to enrich; impaired even in intellect and shaken by gusts of uncontrollable temper, full of unavoidable demands. And suppose your wife's care and pity to be inexhaustible… But what the extreme example illustrates is universal. We are all receiving Charity. There is something in each of us that cannot be naturally loved. It is no one's fault if they do not so love it. Only the loveable can be naturally loved."
The Four Loves, Pg 121
We are fallen. If any human could fully realise everything we've done in our lives, and everything we are going to do, then they would be unable to love us with a natural love. But God, who can see into our very souls, who knew us from conception, shows another sort of love, a love not just born of attraction to another person, but a love born of choice. There are at least four words in the NT that are translated as love, and the one that describes this 'God-love' is agape or agapao. Agape, roughly, means: The decision to care about another person unconditionally, regardless of the outcome, in spite of their response.
God may have known from before the beginning of creation that we were going to fall, and cause enough evil to completely corrupt this world, but he chose to love us so much that he was willing to create us anyway. He knew we would turn against him, ignore him, do disgusting things against each other, against ourselves, and against him, but he still chose to love us enough, that he was willing to go through the agony of the cross for us.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweated drops of blood in agony, full-knowing what was coming before him. At any stage he could have decided that we weren't worth it. By all accounts he should have. But he didn't.
As someone pointed out: The cross is the ultimate symbol of love.
If God is love, then for 3 years the disciples lived with love in their midst. Those who were close to him would have got an even deeper view of the love of Jesus than we could possibly imagine, and one in particular, John, knew Gods love so much that he is remembered as 'the beloved disciple.' This love transformed John's life, and he spent the rest of his life preaching about it to all who would hear. In fact, the word agape appears in the works of John 95 times, over one third of all occurrences in the bible.
Despite this, the first occurrence of agape in John doesn't come until half way through the third chapter. John first mentions love when he explains Jesus' ministry on earth: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 NIV).
God gave up his Son, his own life, for us. He never forces us to accept this sacrifice, but he promises that if we do, everything we have ever done wrong will be forgiven, and we will have eternal life. The bible promises that he will cast our sins as far as the 'east is from the west.' The world has a north pole, and a south pole, but there are no east and west poles. You can continue travelling east or west forever, and never reach their limits. Thats how far away God throws away our sins. They are gone, and we are redeemed, if we simply accept Jesus' sacrifice for ourselves.
Agape love is not a natural love. It is not something that we simply feel. It is a choice, and it is not a part of our fallen nature. But when we receive God's gift of agape love in our lives (Jesus' death for us), we receive a new nature, pure and holy before God. Now we can show this agape love in our lives, in two ways: towards God, and towards others.
Why do you serve God? Is it out of fear of hell, or is it the desire to feel good about yourself... You should serve God because you love him. Columbine martyr Rachel Scott recognised this. In an excerpt from her journal, published in the book 'Rachel's Tears', Rachel wrote about the reason for her decision not to go out and get drunk with her friends. She wrote:
"Well, I thought about it (as you know) and I thought that since you would forgive me anyways I may as well do it. Then I realized that you will always, always forgive, but you may not let it go unpunished. Then I decided not to do it strictly out of fear. Then I thought about it more, and thought that if I did it out of fear it would not be done because I loved you, I obeyed you, and I followed you. That is my reason for not going now. I know that I will always be faced with temptation, but because I love you, I obey you, and I follow you, I will not fall into the core of it. Thankyou, Father."
– Rachel Scott as quoted in Rachels Tears, by Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo, pg 49/50
Our love for God should be a reflection of God's love for us. It is our choice to love him, but he is also easy to love. Sometimes loving others is not so easy.
When we accept God's gift of agape love, we are redeemed, and we have the choice to show agape to others. We receive God's love-gift freely, but then we have to do our part, and our part is to pass this gift on. Remember, we as Christians are called to be salt and light in the world. As Pastor David said this morning, what good is salt in a salt shaker? It has to be out mixing with the food to make a difference. We have to get out there and let people see that we're different. Let them see the light, and the love of God within us.
But what about those annoying people out there? The ones who really frustrate us. It can be very hard to like people like that. Its the same with those who hate us, or hurt us, or ignore us, or sin towards us, or sin in general. We may absolutely hate them!
But we are called to love them! Remember, this is not the natural love, this is the spiritual love, the choice you can make. You don't have to like what they do, but the Bible instructs 'Hate the sin, but love the sinner.' Jesus reminded us this in Matthew 5:43-44:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (NIV)
"But, they don't deserve it!" Well, so what? Did you? Remember, the Bible says 'while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' We don't deserve it. God could have obliterated the world, and killed everyone on it, and he would have still been a just God. But he chose to give everything up to save you, and to love you. We need to do the same.
Now I want to make some challenges.
First, if you haven't accepted the love-gift of Jesus' sacrifice for yourself, and you want to, then I want to challenge you to do that. Take a moment, and think about the things you've done that you need forgiveness for. Then, in the quiet, ask Jesus to take the punishment of that sin for you, and ask him to cast your sins as far as the east is from the west. If you truly asked that, then you have been forgiven.
But tonight, I also want to challenge you to think about your response to this sacrifice. Jesus loved you enough to die for you. How well are you showing that love in your life? How well are you showing God that you love him? How well are you letting others see that same love of God?
If you aren't coming to the service, then feel free to read on. If you are coming, then don't spoil it but reading the sermon yet, wait until afterwards.
LOVE SERMON....
Today is unofficially a holiday, and I love holidays. Today is February the 13th, which makes it St. Valentines Eve, and tomorrow St Valentines Day. I have never actually celebrated St Valentines Day before, but I'm still looking forward to it, not because of the Valentines cards, the roses, or the little cherub angels that go along with the celebration, but because St Valentines Day is all about a very Christian concept – love.
Often people try to separate love and Christianity from one another, but it doesn't work. You couldn't have Christianity without love, and you couldn't have love without God!
Why is this? Haven't a lot of people who aren't Christians felt love? Maybe, but love comes from God. The Bible goes so far as saying that "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16 NIV). If you have ever felt love on earth, and this is true love, not just 'like' or 'luurve' – then you have felt what its like to be in the presence of God. Some people think that being in heaven with God forever would be immensely boring, but (bad pun) you'd love it!
Love is completely tied in with Christianity. You couldn't have Christianity without love. In fact, this is one of the aspects that makes Christianity unique. We are part of the only religion that is not about what we have done, but about what God has done for us. God chose to love us.
2 Timothy 1:9 says: God saved us and chose us to be his holy people. We did nothing to deserve this, but God planned it because he is so kind. Even before time began God planned for Christ Jesus to show kindness to us. (CEV)
If you can get a hold of this, it is incredible. Before God had even created the universe, let alone us, he loved us so much that he was prepared to die on the cross for us. C. S. Lewis puts it like this:
"God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing… the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath's sake, hitched up… Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves."
C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves, Pg 116
In any other religion the burden is on us, the creation, to try and attain perfection in order to get to God. There is no certainty of heaven to those in other religions, they are left to try and please God when it is impossible to meet his standards. For example, the Koran states: He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth (Surah al-Baqarah 2:284). Even if a Muslim lives a perfect life, he can still be condemned to hell, just because Allah 'feels like it.'
However, our God reached down from heaven to bring us back to him. Instead of sitting up there, watching people run around helplessly trying to live good lives, and then condemning them to hell anyway, He actively entered into our world to help us reach him. On earth, he showed us examples of how much he loved us, through his sermons, his miracles, and, most importantly, his death.
God didn't have to love us, and that makes his sacrifice even more incredible. We were fallen creations, we had no redeeming features. C. S. Lewis makes this second illustration:
"Suppose yourself a man struck down shortly after marriage by an incurable disease which may not kill you for many years; useless, impotent, hideous, disgusting; depending on your wife's earnings; impoverished where you hoped to enrich; impaired even in intellect and shaken by gusts of uncontrollable temper, full of unavoidable demands. And suppose your wife's care and pity to be inexhaustible… But what the extreme example illustrates is universal. We are all receiving Charity. There is something in each of us that cannot be naturally loved. It is no one's fault if they do not so love it. Only the loveable can be naturally loved."
The Four Loves, Pg 121
We are fallen. If any human could fully realise everything we've done in our lives, and everything we are going to do, then they would be unable to love us with a natural love. But God, who can see into our very souls, who knew us from conception, shows another sort of love, a love not just born of attraction to another person, but a love born of choice. There are at least four words in the NT that are translated as love, and the one that describes this 'God-love' is agape or agapao. Agape, roughly, means: The decision to care about another person unconditionally, regardless of the outcome, in spite of their response.
God may have known from before the beginning of creation that we were going to fall, and cause enough evil to completely corrupt this world, but he chose to love us so much that he was willing to create us anyway. He knew we would turn against him, ignore him, do disgusting things against each other, against ourselves, and against him, but he still chose to love us enough, that he was willing to go through the agony of the cross for us.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweated drops of blood in agony, full-knowing what was coming before him. At any stage he could have decided that we weren't worth it. By all accounts he should have. But he didn't.
As someone pointed out: The cross is the ultimate symbol of love.
If God is love, then for 3 years the disciples lived with love in their midst. Those who were close to him would have got an even deeper view of the love of Jesus than we could possibly imagine, and one in particular, John, knew Gods love so much that he is remembered as 'the beloved disciple.' This love transformed John's life, and he spent the rest of his life preaching about it to all who would hear. In fact, the word agape appears in the works of John 95 times, over one third of all occurrences in the bible.
Despite this, the first occurrence of agape in John doesn't come until half way through the third chapter. John first mentions love when he explains Jesus' ministry on earth: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 NIV).
God gave up his Son, his own life, for us. He never forces us to accept this sacrifice, but he promises that if we do, everything we have ever done wrong will be forgiven, and we will have eternal life. The bible promises that he will cast our sins as far as the 'east is from the west.' The world has a north pole, and a south pole, but there are no east and west poles. You can continue travelling east or west forever, and never reach their limits. Thats how far away God throws away our sins. They are gone, and we are redeemed, if we simply accept Jesus' sacrifice for ourselves.
Agape love is not a natural love. It is not something that we simply feel. It is a choice, and it is not a part of our fallen nature. But when we receive God's gift of agape love in our lives (Jesus' death for us), we receive a new nature, pure and holy before God. Now we can show this agape love in our lives, in two ways: towards God, and towards others.
Why do you serve God? Is it out of fear of hell, or is it the desire to feel good about yourself... You should serve God because you love him. Columbine martyr Rachel Scott recognised this. In an excerpt from her journal, published in the book 'Rachel's Tears', Rachel wrote about the reason for her decision not to go out and get drunk with her friends. She wrote:
"Well, I thought about it (as you know) and I thought that since you would forgive me anyways I may as well do it. Then I realized that you will always, always forgive, but you may not let it go unpunished. Then I decided not to do it strictly out of fear. Then I thought about it more, and thought that if I did it out of fear it would not be done because I loved you, I obeyed you, and I followed you. That is my reason for not going now. I know that I will always be faced with temptation, but because I love you, I obey you, and I follow you, I will not fall into the core of it. Thankyou, Father."
– Rachel Scott as quoted in Rachels Tears, by Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo, pg 49/50
Our love for God should be a reflection of God's love for us. It is our choice to love him, but he is also easy to love. Sometimes loving others is not so easy.
When we accept God's gift of agape love, we are redeemed, and we have the choice to show agape to others. We receive God's love-gift freely, but then we have to do our part, and our part is to pass this gift on. Remember, we as Christians are called to be salt and light in the world. As Pastor David said this morning, what good is salt in a salt shaker? It has to be out mixing with the food to make a difference. We have to get out there and let people see that we're different. Let them see the light, and the love of God within us.
But what about those annoying people out there? The ones who really frustrate us. It can be very hard to like people like that. Its the same with those who hate us, or hurt us, or ignore us, or sin towards us, or sin in general. We may absolutely hate them!
But we are called to love them! Remember, this is not the natural love, this is the spiritual love, the choice you can make. You don't have to like what they do, but the Bible instructs 'Hate the sin, but love the sinner.' Jesus reminded us this in Matthew 5:43-44:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (NIV)
"But, they don't deserve it!" Well, so what? Did you? Remember, the Bible says 'while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' We don't deserve it. God could have obliterated the world, and killed everyone on it, and he would have still been a just God. But he chose to give everything up to save you, and to love you. We need to do the same.
Now I want to make some challenges.
First, if you haven't accepted the love-gift of Jesus' sacrifice for yourself, and you want to, then I want to challenge you to do that. Take a moment, and think about the things you've done that you need forgiveness for. Then, in the quiet, ask Jesus to take the punishment of that sin for you, and ask him to cast your sins as far as the east is from the west. If you truly asked that, then you have been forgiven.
But tonight, I also want to challenge you to think about your response to this sacrifice. Jesus loved you enough to die for you. How well are you showing that love in your life? How well are you showing God that you love him? How well are you letting others see that same love of God?
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Return of the Bible College
Today I had my orientation day at Bible College, in preparation for starting back there next week. It was a long and relatively dull day of sitting and listening to the changes that have taken place in how the course runs, and it was far too hot to be listening to anyone for a long period of time (especially since this area has been experiencing a heat wave lately) but I still managed to enjoy it.
This could only have been because I enjoy what I do. I really enjoy my course, and when I was away in the holidays, I missed it. Now, things are starting up again: I am taking over the Intermediate aged youth group, and am helping run the 3rd form home group (the first one was last night) and absolutely love it.
Some people think that when you become a Christian you have to stop enjoying yourself. After all, the Bible does say that when you become a Christian, you have now died to yourself and are living for God. But, this doesn't mean that God is going to take away everything you love.
God has given you the gifts you have for a reason, and rather than ignore that, he would want to develop them, and you along with them. Thats why for me, a people-person, administrative, love-to-talk type guy, I find joy in what God has called me to: leading people, writing, etc.
And anyone would find the same thing if they gave their all for God. If you are doing what God wants you to do, no matter what it is, you will find joy and fulfillment in it, because why would God want it any other way? He loves you, and he wants whats best for you.
And he wants you to enjoy having the best for you, too.
This could only have been because I enjoy what I do. I really enjoy my course, and when I was away in the holidays, I missed it. Now, things are starting up again: I am taking over the Intermediate aged youth group, and am helping run the 3rd form home group (the first one was last night) and absolutely love it.
Some people think that when you become a Christian you have to stop enjoying yourself. After all, the Bible does say that when you become a Christian, you have now died to yourself and are living for God. But, this doesn't mean that God is going to take away everything you love.
God has given you the gifts you have for a reason, and rather than ignore that, he would want to develop them, and you along with them. Thats why for me, a people-person, administrative, love-to-talk type guy, I find joy in what God has called me to: leading people, writing, etc.
And anyone would find the same thing if they gave their all for God. If you are doing what God wants you to do, no matter what it is, you will find joy and fulfillment in it, because why would God want it any other way? He loves you, and he wants whats best for you.
And he wants you to enjoy having the best for you, too.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Effectiveness, or Spiritual Boredom?
I read something this morning that really spoke to me. It was from the Word for Today (although it was the Word for two days ago, actually), and it talked about spiritual boredom. The message was:
Do you ever get bored with church or your spiritual life? If so, consider this: hearing without doing becomes boring - every time!... You're bored because you're not doing what you've heard preached.
That really challenged me. Aside from doing this blog (which I only do semi-regularly, and even then am probably only reaching a small audience), what am I doing with my Christianity? Outreach is a very important part of our faith, and one that we can often overlook. To that end I have also written another letter to the editor, and made my first fledging steps at an outreach of sorts...
Remedy to Verbal Blather
Sir,
I always follow the creation/evolution debate when it turns up in this newspaper, and was recently ‘impressed’ by the entire page filled with correspondence on this subject (Mailbox, January 29), although I believe that some people out there would be getting sick of it all by now.
Both sides can have solid arguments, but others write without thinking through what they say, putting people off their opinions no matter which side of the debate they are on. Many of the correspondents would benefit from having someone to answer their queries, to look into the facts and respond to them, rather than boring the public with verbal blather. Therefore, I would like to offer my services in this area.
Rather than simply stating opinions, I would suggest that those involved in this debate (or interested in finding out the facts), email me at crevodebate@yahoo.com.au, which I have set up for this purpose. I don’t pretend to know all the answers, but will happily research them for you. I have my own opinions, but will attempt to only respond with “scientific “findings” not speculations (G Beardmore).” Feel free to advise anyone who writes in on this subject of my services.
This, of course, is only a start. Another small step is adding my new email to this site as well, and letting people talk to me (and suggest blog ideas). But, the biggest step is nothing to do with computers.
The only way for me to be really effective is to get out there and be effective. I am still being challenged by God to speak to people, and in the end, I know that doing that is the thing I must do.
Pray for me :-S
Do you ever get bored with church or your spiritual life? If so, consider this: hearing without doing becomes boring - every time!... You're bored because you're not doing what you've heard preached.
That really challenged me. Aside from doing this blog (which I only do semi-regularly, and even then am probably only reaching a small audience), what am I doing with my Christianity? Outreach is a very important part of our faith, and one that we can often overlook. To that end I have also written another letter to the editor, and made my first fledging steps at an outreach of sorts...
Remedy to Verbal Blather
Sir,
I always follow the creation/evolution debate when it turns up in this newspaper, and was recently ‘impressed’ by the entire page filled with correspondence on this subject (Mailbox, January 29), although I believe that some people out there would be getting sick of it all by now.
Both sides can have solid arguments, but others write without thinking through what they say, putting people off their opinions no matter which side of the debate they are on. Many of the correspondents would benefit from having someone to answer their queries, to look into the facts and respond to them, rather than boring the public with verbal blather. Therefore, I would like to offer my services in this area.
Rather than simply stating opinions, I would suggest that those involved in this debate (or interested in finding out the facts), email me at crevodebate@yahoo.com.au, which I have set up for this purpose. I don’t pretend to know all the answers, but will happily research them for you. I have my own opinions, but will attempt to only respond with “scientific “findings” not speculations (G Beardmore).” Feel free to advise anyone who writes in on this subject of my services.
This, of course, is only a start. Another small step is adding my new email to this site as well, and letting people talk to me (and suggest blog ideas). But, the biggest step is nothing to do with computers.
The only way for me to be really effective is to get out there and be effective. I am still being challenged by God to speak to people, and in the end, I know that doing that is the thing I must do.
Pray for me :-S
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