“We know what love is because Jesus gave His life for us.

That’s why we must give our lives for each other.”

(1 John 3:16, NEW CENTURY VERSION)

 William Gladstone (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the reign of Queen Victoria), in announcing the death of Princess Alice (Victoria’s second daughter) to the House of Commons, told a touching story. The little son of the Princess was seriously ill with diphtheria. The doctors told the princess not to kiss her little son and endanger her

life by breathing the child’s breath. Once when the child was struggling to breathe, the mother, forgetting herself entirely, took the little one into her arms to keep him from choking to death. Rasping and struggling for his life, the child said, “Momma, kiss me!” Without thinking of herself the mother tenderly kissed her son. She got diphtheria and some days thereafter she went to be forever with the Lord.

Real love forgets self. Real love knows no danger. Real love doesn’t count the cost. The Bible says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

 “I’m [Jesus] telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with

 the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true

selves, your God-created selves”

(Matthew 5:44. THE MESSAGE)

During the American Revolution, there was a Baptist pastor named Peter Miller, who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. In Ephrata also lived Michael Widman, an evil-minded sort   who  did  all  he  could   to  oppose  and

humiliate the pastor. One day Michael Widman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller travelled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.

“No, Peter,” General Washington said. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”

“My friend!” exclaimed the old preacher. “He’s the bitterest enemy I have.”

“What?” cried Washington. “You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I’ll grant your pardon.” Washington granted Widman pardon and, with tears in his eyes, in front of his men, he thanked Peter Miller for the lesson in forgiveness and love. Peter Miller took Michael Widman back home to Ephrata–no longer an enemy but a friend.

Fruit is what the Father is looking for. It represents that  which God  would like to  produce  through  me.
Broadly speaking, there are three areas where God expects fruitfulness in your life and mine:

1. Christian Character: The Lord desires to see Christ’s character formed in us, that we should be “conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29). This means that the Father would like to see in us true humility and happy submission to His will, a genuine love and interest in others, as well as patience, flexibility, holiness in thought and actions, and self-control. What a challenge! Is our character becoming more like that of Jesus? The apostle Paul refers to these as “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22,23). If the Spirit of God is not free to move within us, we cannot produce this character fruit. Furthermore, unless our Christian character is growing, it becomes impossible to produce the other two types of fruit.

2. Worship & Praise: Through worship and praise we thank God for who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do. Some call this the highest type of fruit we humans can produce: “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name” (Hebrews 13:15). Are you a thankful Christian? Do you regularly worship and praise your Lord?

3. Service or Good Works: Concerning service and good works, Paul urges us to “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people” (Galatians 6:9-10). He prayed for the Colossians, that they would be “bearing fruit in every good work” (Colossians 1:10). He made an even stronger statement in Ephesians: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (2:10). We have been redeemed in order to serve Him. Our God now prepares good works for us to do. Are we looking for them? Do we happily engage in them?

Apart from Christ we cannot produce anything pleasing to the Father. If I am not living in communion with Christ, my worship is empty and my praise hypocritical. If I am not walking with Christ, my service in the church and personal sacrifices are just acts of my flesh. God the Father is not impressed. He finds no fruit in my efforts.

Life is too short and too precious to spend it producing twigs and leaves! A life in communion with Christ is indispensable to yield the fruit the Father expects from us: a growing Christian character, true worship and thankful praise, good works and sacrificial service. Whether we produce “fruit,” “more fruit,” or “much fruit” depends on our response.                     (PHILIP NUNN)

Is there anyone who hasn’t spent at least a little time contemplating if we are living in the last days? Most of the apostles surely did. Many new believers in the first century certainly  did.  Sometimes it seems  as if we  are obsessed
with the end times and what may come. What if there is famine? What if there is a problem with our water supply? What if our government is subjugated to a world power? What if we can’t buy or sell without submitting to evil? What if Christians will be persecuted, tortured, and killed? What if the stability that I have known in my life is gone in an instant? What if I become homeless? What if there is no electricity? What if there are no public utilities? What if food is scarce and controlled by evil men? What if? What if? What if?

There is this repeated theme of I am in you and you are in Me in John’s Gospel. We should not be surprised to find it again in John’s letters. But this time, we get a reminder that the Spirit of God that lives within us is greater than any spirit we will encounter in the world.

We are equipped with the Spirit of Truth and can denounce the spirit of error. But too many Christians live as if the Spirit within us is not adequately matched for the things that we encounter in the world—in life. We are sometimes timid. We sometimes do care what the world thinks about us. To whom do we listen? There are still false prophets today. And the people who belong to the world listen to them. But we belong to God. So what do we believe? Being a Christian these days is a tough, nearly impossible road to travel… Or… He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

That’s the question that we answer with our lives. Are we afraid to profess our faith before another? Are we afraid to bring the full tithe? Are we afraid to minister—truly get involved in the lives of those whom Jesus called the least of these my brothers? Can God really handle what this world will throw at me? Or do we know for sure that He who lives in us is indeed greater than he who is in the world?

How do we know? When we struggle, we don’t despair. Easter was the death of despair. When we pray, we know that Jesus knows what it is to be human and we trust His intercession as He asks God the Father for what we really need. We know that our hope is always in the Lord. We know because we rejoice in the day the Lord has made. That’s even if your old bones are hurting and the coffee is cold. That’s even if school is just really not where you want to be today. We live as fully as we can, even when that fullness includes suffering, and pain, and ridicule for we know that we belong to God and not to the world. And we live without fear of anyone or anything being greater than the One who lives in us. For He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Now let’s translate this into a first person statement. He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world.                (THOMAS SPENCE)

Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11: 1-5, 12: 11-19) King David gives into sin and sleeps with Bathsheba, another man’s wife. Bathsheba was the object of King David’s desire. Did she feel pressured because he was King or was she a willing participant? We don’t know, but through her story,  we see  that sin  has BIG  consequences  for King
David.   Life Lesson: The consequences of sin outweigh the pleasures of sin.

Woman of Faith (Matthew 9: 20-22) The woman we meet in Scripture has been ill for 12 years. Undoubtedly, she has tried everything to address her illness, but nothing has worked. She hears about Jesus and becomes convinced that He can help her if she  can  just  get  close  enough to  touch  His  cloak.
Through her tenacity, she gets to Jesus and touches Him. He feels the energy transfer between Him and the sick woman and tells her that her faith has healed her.   Life Lesson: Connecting with God and having an attitude that is full of faith is the answer to all of our problems.

Mary and Martha (Luke 10: 38-42) Martha is focused on the wrong thing. She is distracted by that which is insignificant. She has Jesus at her house. This is a once in a lifetime type opportunity to learn from Him…but she is focusing on the wrong things. We, too, worry about things we shouldn’t be concerned about. We are distracted too. Our focus should be on God.  Life Lesson: Don’t worry about insignificant things. Focus your attention of learning more about God.

Lydia (Acts 16: 13-15) Lydia was willing to receive the Word of God and when she did, her family responded too and opened their hearts. Her household was baptized into Christ because she, first, responded to the Word of God.   Life Lesson: Worried about your family and their lack of a relationship with God? Be like Lydia. Continue to be an example for them to follow.

Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8: 1-11) The woman who was caught in adultery was to be punished by being stoned to death. When Jesus asked for the person without sin to cast the first stone, no one could condemn the woman. We all have sinned. We should not harshly judge others. Jesus does not condemn us, but He expects for us to leave  sin alone.  Life Lesson:  Do  not
condemn or judge others. Christ has mercy on all of us. We all have the right to forgiveness. However, the Lord fully expects us to leave sin alone and do our very best to live a godly life as He has outlined in His Word.

The Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” We can only have Christ  in  our  hearts  by grace  through

faith (Ephesians 2:8). Every man should not only confess Christ but possess Christ in his heart. Some may have sincerely asked Christ to be their Saviour. However, they also need to make Christ their Lord too. Many people only want Christ to save them from their sins, but they would not want Christ to be Lord of their lives. They would only want Christ to be their Saviour but not their Master. To them, Christ must come when they call; and He must leave after their needs are fulfilled. Paul prayed that Christ must DWELL in our hearts. Christ must not be merely a guest to the heart, to come when needed and to disappear when not wanted. Christ must dwell within us and be a resident in our hearts. My friends, is there a permanent place within your heart for Christ? If not, why?

Perhaps, one of the reasons is that you may not have fully experienced the love of God for you; you may not have fully comprehended the magnitude of the love of Christ. Jesus has loved us with an everlasting love. The Son of God left heaven’s glory to take on the form of a lowly man out of His great love for us. His love for us led Him to the cross to lay down His life for His beloved: “There is no greater love than this—that a man should lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). One stanza of the hymn, The Love of God, goes: “Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.” God‘s love extends far beyond the widest ocean and tapestry of the open sky. Such is the wonder and matchlessness of the love of God!

My dear friends, our life on earth is a pilgrimage and will never be easy. Our physical body is fragile and can be easily broken by the storms in life. What we need to do is to root and ground ourselves deeply, not in the wisdom of the world, but in our Lord Jesus Christ. At times, when you felt lonely, remember that you are not alone, Christ is with you. Look to the cross and you will see His love. Root and anchor yourself in the love of Christ and you will no longer be easily shaken in the midst of the storm. You will remain steadfast in faith because you know that no one can ever take away the love which Christ has for you: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Be strengthened in the inner man by rooting yourself in the love of Christ.                                 (SHARON BIBLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH)

He was a humble black pastor of a small inner city Baptist church. He was in his late sixties and had been a minister throughout his adult life. His love for the Lord was so profound that it was reflected in everything he said. When he and his wife were told he only had a few months to live, they revealed no panic. They quietly asked the doctor what it all meant. When he had explained the treatment program and what they could anticipate, they politely thanked him for his concern and departed. The cameras followed this little couple to their old car and eavesdropped as they bowed their heads and recommitted themselves to the Lord.

In the months that followed, the pastor never lost his poise. Nor was he glib about his illness. He knew the Lord was in control, and he refused to be shaken in his faith.

The cameras were present on his final Sunday in his church. He actually preached the sermon that morning and talked openly about his impending death. To the best of my recollection, this is what he said:

“Some of you have asked me if I’m mad at God for this disease that has taken over my body. I’ll tell you honestly that I have nothing but love in my heart for my Lord. He didn’t do this to me. We live in a sinful world where sickness and death are the curse man has brought on himself. And I’m going to a better place where there will be no more tears, no suffering, no heartache. So don’t feel bad for me.”

“Besides,” he continued, “our Lord suffered and died for our sins. Why should I not share in His suffering?” Then he began to sing, without accompaniment, in an old broken voice.

I wept as this gentle man sang of his love for Jesus. He sounded very weak, and his face was drawn from the ravages of the disease. But his comments were as powerful as any I’ve ever heard. His words that morning were his last from the pulpit, as far as I know. He slipped into eternity a few days later, where he met the Lord he had served for a lifetime. This unnamed pastor and his wife have a prominent place among my spiritual heroes.
(DR JAMES DOBSON)

ONLY ONE GOD:  True Christian doctrine is that there is only one God who has ever existed anywhere, anyplace, anytime. There is no God formed before God; there will be no God formed after God (Isaiah 43:10). God doesn’t even know of any other gods (Isaiah 44:8). There is only one God in existence in the entire universe. Just one. This is called monotheism.

THE TRINITY:  God is a trinity of persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the same person as the Son. The Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the same person as the Father. They all are eternal, divine, and omniscient.
Objections to the Trinity are that it is not logical. Logic should not rule scripture. If it is from God, there will be things in it that are difficult to understand. Additionally, the fingerprints of God are seen all over creation. In Romans 1:20 it says that the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen in creation. Creation is made up of a trinity of trinities: time, space, and matter. Time is past, present, and future. Each “part” is different, yet they are all of the same nature: time. Space is height, width, and depth. Each “part” is different, yet they are all of the same nature: space. Matter is solid, liquid, and gas. Each “part” is different, yet they are all of the same nature: matter.

JESUS:  Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is both God and man. He is fully God and fully man (Col. 2:9). He was in the form of God, emptied Himself, and became a man (Phil. 2:5-8). As the God man, He is the mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus was not created (John 1:1-3), but is the creator of all things (Col. 1:16-17).

SALVATION:  Salvation, or the forgiveness of sins, is something that is given to you by God. It is a free gift (Rom. 6:23). The sinner is made righteous in God’s eyes solely by the faith that the believer has in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Justification, or being declared righteous, is accomplished by faith (Rom. 5:1). Our works play no part in salvation. If our works could play any part at all, then Jesus died needlessly (Gal. 2:21).

The truth is important not because it is simply true. It is important because truth is what defines who and what we believe in. Faith is vital. But faith placed in something false is the same as having no faith at all. Faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. That is why it is important to have the true Jesus -the one of the Bible. Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Especially about Jesus.                                                                (MATT SLICK)

Psalm 139: 23 -24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know
my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We search the scene when a crime is committed. We search for a cure when disease is devastating. We search for probable cause when disasters strike. Don’t we? But very often, we call for a search after the problem is apparent. But here in Psalm 139, David is calling for a search before a problem arises. He is searching for pre-problem purification.

1. SEARCH ME
Hebrew word for ‘search’ is translated explore, inquire, probe. So am I willing to volunteer as a subject of God’s thorough and diligent examination? Not one day but today?

2. KNOW MY HEART
This “Know” reflects the most intimate relationship possible between God and mankind. Ask God to be completely and personally familiar with our heart. This must give God access to every area of our lives. Do we really know God because He really knows our hearts!

3. TEST ME
Are there breaches of inner integrity in us? David knew that his future could be sabotaged by unseen compromises. Ask God to examine our lives for potentially fatal flaws. Will we pass the test with flying colours?

4. KNOW MY ANXIOUS THOUGHT:
Anxious thoughts! They show a restless mind influenced by whispers of fear. Sound familiar? It does to me! Our thought-life? Often an ongoing venue of unseen wrestling with worry. So invite God to be our coach and mentor today. Let Him wrestle with our worries! He is in control.

5. SEE IF THERE IS ANY OFFENSIVE WAY IN ME
Be concerned about anything that could hurt or offend God. Point out, Lord, anything in me that offends you. Let our lives reflect a longing to live in such a way that we never grieve God or the Holy Spirit. How are we doing with this?

6. LEAD ME IN THE WAY EVERLASTING
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.”
Saul took the way of man! David did not want to go down the same way. We don’t want to go down the same path either. So Lord, guide us please into Your ways. Guide us please with Your presence.

Search me, Lord. What are You going to find? What does my heart look like? Search me Lord!                                                                         (SUBIACO COC)