Tag: love

Father?

Galatians 3
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

  • ⁠Paul is writing to people who were once labelled: Jew, Greek, Gentile, Male, Female, Slave, Free… But now they are made ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!! (Ephesians 2:11-22) They are ALL Abraham’s seed!! All God’s children of faith! Not divided, not joined but made ONE! In John 17 Jesus does not pray for a bloodline but a faithline. All have been adopted! All are brought into the family! All have the privilege to call God FATHER! It is only faith that can begin to understand and appreciate the application this. All of us sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Not “Christians”, not “Jews”, not “gentiles” but ONE in Christ! Hallelujah! What a faithful, consistent, unchanging Gospel!

Galatians 4
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

  • We have here a beautiful picture of the trinity: GOD THE FATHER, sent THE SPIRIT of HIS SON into our hearts!! Oh, let’s give that some thought! The Spirit of HIS Son whom He sent to bear His wrath in MY place because of MY SIN so that I/we can call Him FATHER!! Oh praise His mighty name!! Truly this is the Glory of God! This is the Gospel! This is God’s GLORY!! The Father has sent the Spirit of His Son into OUR hearts so that we might call Him Father! Hallelujah!
  • HIS Spirit cries out to HIS Father. Do we recognise that cry in our hearts? The cry of HIS life? The cry of a child in love with their father?
  • Consider here the parable of the prodigal. To be His slave in God’s Kingdom would be blessed enough!! But we are HIS SONS!

Luke 15
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

  • We are so undeserving, but we are so incredibly blessed!! Daily! It is right to feel unworthy, but it is sin to not accept The Father’s invitation!
  • May we have the faith to live as His child. Not as a slave to law, not as fatherless and undisciplined, but as SONS OF GOD!
  • ”If you go to God only by obedience, you are more slave than child.” The servant serves in the master’s household, but the child enjoys the Father’s embrace. The servant may please his master, but the child is the delight of His Father! The master provides for His servants, but He lovingly longs for and blesses His children! It is right fear God and to come before Him with reverence and humility but you will find that you pray very different when He is your Father as opposed to your Master.
  • Consider the joy of a child, the confidence of a child, the love, trust and admiration of a child. Consider also the dependence of a child, the obedience of a child, the beauty of a wise son. The Spirit of The Son Cries out FATHER!! It is His desire that we call upon Him! Call upon your Father for help, for HIS Life, for HIS Wisdom and blessing. Cry out to The Father to establish you in His Word and in His testimony! Enjoy Him!! Enjoy His love, His abundance and His presence!!

The Beauty of Holiness

Psalm 29
2 … worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

  • The beauty of Holiness is Jesus Christ! He is the fulfilment of The Law! He the Altogether Lovely One. HIS Life fulfils The Law, HIS Life abhors sin, HIS Life loves, serves, obeys, surrenders and trusts The Father! It is HIS Life within the believers who are clothed with HIS righteousness that worships The Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 93:5
“…Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever.”

  • Holiness adorns those with whom He dwells, those who are His living temples. People altogether set apart unto Him, circumcised of heart, abhorring evil and loving His Word, allowing HIS Life and HIS Love to flow through them. Holiness is utterly dependant and completely yielded to The Father, filled with His Holy Spirit and so naturally produces HIS fruit!
  • Holiness is rooted in Christ’s humility. It is a life of faith naturally producing works/fruits of faith. It is Christ within, living through, who is demonstrated in the way that the believer lives. Holiness is the fruit of His life, it can be mimicked by legalism but the beauty of holiness is Christ only and always!

Revelation 4
8 …and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

  • I cannot try to convey or explain the Holiness of God but it is amazing to meditate on. The word holy, at its root, means set apart. Truly our God is altogether set apart from creation! He is altogether above and beyond anything man can grasp or imagine! He is altogether Sovereign over all things, He is Light, He is Truth, He is without spot or blemish, He is The One True Living God! 
  • This is holiness and we are to worship The Lord in the beauty of that holiness. Jesus only is the beauty of holiness! How absurd it is to think that we could produce any kind of beauty through self effort in the flesh! However, “through faith”, through faithful obedience God’s Word and faithfully abiding in Him, The Spirit of God through our flesh produces the fruit, the beauty of Christ’s Holiness, HIS Life, His Heart, His Testimony! Hallelujah!
  • Legalism tries to mimic holiness but is rooted in pride and the elevation of flesh. It works hard to maintain standards addressing the appearance of the outward man. It focuses on the letter and on the keeping of laws in self and corporately in others. It is strife, contention, prejudice and pride. There is a great temptation to teach the law, it often produces quick results, but it does not produce Life. It is flesh breeding flesh and will only produce death!
  • Legalism is pride in the flesh and pride, like bad body odour, can sometimes be hard to detect in ourselves but surely stinks to others! Here are some considerations to help identify/discern our hearts.
  • May our lives be marked by HIS holiness, by HIS love that fulfils the law, not the flesh which strives to keep it. May we be vessels for the outflowing of HIS LIFE and the fruit of HIS SPIRIT! May we tend to our own root and trust The Holy Spirit to produce HIS Fruit in us and others. It is HIS LIFE so serve The Lord in the beauty of submission to HIS Life! 

Galatians 2
18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Asking For Trouble!

Song of Solomon 4
16 Awake, O north wind, And come, O south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant fruits.

  • Look at this request of the Shulamite bride. Why would she ask for the cold north wind to come with risk of frost, snow and death to plant life? Or why ask for the hot, dry wind from the south bring barrenness and thirst? Why would she ask for these? She is asking for discomfort, she is asking for lack of nutrients and hardship, she is asking to be disturbed, she is asking for the unpleasant…
  • What she is longing for is opportunity to share the fragrance of her garden for her beloved. It is the harsh and difficult conditions that stir up the fragrances. Just as love is not love until it is proved so the fragrance won’t flow until the winds blow.

2 Corinthians 2
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life….

  • Do we consider this when trials come, when our Lord brings us into those ordained hard seasons? Do we consider the testimony of Jesus and take comfort and joy in His fragrance being experienced? Is it our primary focus to consider how the Gospel might be better proclaimed? Is it evident to the world that our chains are in Christ? (Philippians 1:12-13)
  • Oh how I long to be a sweet fragrance of Jesus to Our Father! Oh Lord may You be seen in Your people! May we be an aroma of Christ! Lord blow upon our lives with your north and south winds and cause your fragrance to flow out. No matter the storm, I WILL YET PRAISE YOU! HALLELUJAH! I will praise The name of The Lord my God and cast myself upon Your goodness and mercy!

1 Peter 4
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you.
13 But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.
14 If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you].

  • We really can rejoice in suffering if we are in love with Jesus. He is forming us to be more like Him and causing His fragrance to be produced in us. From all that time spent in the secret place, reading His word, seeking Him in prayer… All that He has poured into these lives will start to flow out. HIS GLORY will be revealed in US!!
  • May we always be rejoicing in our beloved. No matter our circumstance, no matter the storm. May we seek to be as ravished with His love as He is with us! May we be joyful for opportunities to demonstrate and manifest His love in us to the world around us! May we have hearts that seek for the winds to come in order that His fragrance may flow out of our lives!

Is It Me?

John 6
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
…
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

Matthew 26
21 And as they were eating, He said, Solemnly I say to you, one of you will betray Me!
22 They were exceedingly pained and distressed and deeply hurt and sorrowful and began to say to Him one after another, Surely it cannot be I, Lord, can it?

  • What a truly precious response the disciples had to this claim from Jesus. Their immediate and first concern was to question their own failing flesh and consider their own lack of faithfulness. Each one understood that it could be them! They were not quick to accuse or question others. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?!
  • ⁠Jesus love is so wondrous and perfect that no one but Him knew that Judas was the traitor!! The disciples make no mention of Judas name, they do not doubt him or accuse him at all.
  • Knowing Judas’s heart all along, Jesus withheld nothing from him. Judas had the same access to fellowship and communion with the other believers; he was graciously blessed, taught and loved alongside his fellows; he served The Lord and his feet were also washed. Jesus did not exclude him in order to “protect” the fellowship of other eleven. Judas was in every meeting, taking part and treated equally with the other disciples!! Jesus knew!!… but harboured no fear, bitterness or disdain. Jesus was utterly yielded to the will and love of His Father.
  • Jesus withheld nothing from Judas and loved him no less! Jesus, who did not come to condemn (John 3:17-21), didn’t seek to intervene or protect Himself but left Judas to give account of His own life to The Father. (Matthew 12:36/Romans 14:12)
  • This love of Jesus Christ deserves much consideration. Is it this same love of Jesus that flows through us? Are we as utterly yielded to Our Father’s will? May we yield more and more to Our Father’s love and allow it to flow through us to those who would betray and reject us, for those who hurt us and set themselves against us. May HIS love be shed abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5) and may we consider our own failing flesh before someone else’s (Luke 7:47).

1 John 4
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God.

One Who Serves

Luke 22
25 But Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship [ruling as emperor-gods] over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors and well-doers.
26 But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.
27 For who is the greater, the one who reclines at table (the master), or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am in your midst as One Who serves.

  • Flesh loves to glory in the flesh. Whether it be a man, a ministry, a doctrine, a testimony, performance or experience, the flesh loves to recognise and revere itself. In the world and in the church we find that man looks to man.
  • May we be careful to glory in none but Christ! To “HEAR HIM” Luke 9:35. Our flesh is subtle and our hearts “deceitful above all things” Jeremiah 17:9. So let us be wary and careful of where our affections lie. God has chosen the low, weak and base things, the rejected, the unimpressive, the unqualified and unskilled… “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. God uses His people in powerful ways but may we be careful to glorify JESUS ONLY AND ALWAYS for His testimonies in men and women! The flesh life and its works end in death, physical or spiritual, no matter how religious or impressive.
  • We find Jesus when we are in the place of humble servitude. It is in being the least that we find fellowship in Him. It is in preferring others, giving way to them, in washing their feet… that we find the yoke of The Saviour. After all, it is HIS life within us that desires to serve. It is HIS life that longs to take the lower place and humble itself to lift up others. It is HIS Spirit within us that causes us to live like Him! Which member are we living under? (Romans 7:21-13) A worldly, fleshly heart loathes to serve or sacrifice in the menial, unnoticed and unappreciated. The flesh is utterly opposed to giving without gain or serving without appreciation. Such a heart isn’t looking for The Lord at all but rather self satisfaction and promotion.
  • Oh, Lord teach me to decrease. Transform me by the renewing of my mind to have a heart to serve, to live denying myself, preferring others and finding more of you in following in your example. May I be obedient and instant to remove any hindrance to your life and testimony flowing freely through me. Forgive me where I have been selfish, lazy and given to comfort and ease. Create in me a clean heart oh, God and renew a right Spirit within me that blesses your name and glories in your fellowship!

John 13
5 Then He (Jesus) poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the [servant’s] towel with which He was girded.

Matthew 20
28 … the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.