Religious Studies

Greater love hath no man than the love of Jesus,

Jesus Christ Crucifix

Image via Wikipedia

There is no greater demonstration of devotion, no greater sacrifice of love, than to lay down your life for another. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no one than this, that a man Jesus) lay down his life for his friends.” (KJV) The Christian faith is built upon this kind of love. Jesus gave his life for us: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

God gave man eternal life but our fore-parents forfeited their responsibilities. Their punishment, separation from God and eternal damnation. We inherited death and  destruction even before we were born, but God, through His loving kindness and His tender mercies gave us another chance, and pulled us back from the brink. John 3:16 says, “For Go so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”

The death of Jesus Christ on Calvary‘s has bridge the gap between us and God. Since there is no more gap between us and God, we have the privilege to renew our relationship with Him, so that we can experience lasting joy and peace. 1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (NIV)

When we experience God’s love and forgiveness, Christ becomes the center of our joy. It doesn’t seem possible, but even in the midst of great trials, the joy of the Lord bubbles deep within us and his peace settles over us: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 NIV)

But none of this would have been possible if were not for God’s unfailing love. He sent His only Son to take my place on Calvary. I am fully aware that: “It should have been me who was crucified, It should have been me who bled and died but Jesus took all for me and you.

Related articles

Love your neighbor as yourself

Bible Study (12) (1280x850)

Image by D G Butcher via Flickr

Who is my neighbor?

The command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” appeared eight times in the Bible. And according to (Mark 12:28-31 KJV), It is part of an answer to a question that a member of the scribes asked Jesus at one of His Bible studies: The big question however, is– Who is my neighbor? The answer to this question can be found in (Luke 10:29-37), where Jesus used the story of the good Samaritan to answer the question.

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him [Jesus], Which is the first commandment of all?

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31)

Who is this neighbor Jesus is telling me to love as I love myself?

Jesus answer this question in (Luke 10:29-37), where a lawyer tried to show Jesus up. “But he, willing to prove himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise”

It is safe to say that my neighbor is any person I come in contact with on a daily basis, irrespective of place.

Related articles

Stand Fast In The Liberty Of Jesus

Ary Scheffer: The Temptation of Christ, 1854

Image via Wikipedia

Believers stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). For if any man be in Christ, he is a new creäture: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Let your light shine like a beacon on top of a hill and walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. “For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

envying, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:13-26).

Jesus will calm the storm if you ask him to

Becoming a Christian does not insulate our lives from trials and tribulation. The Christian life is not an easy feel good road. And it sure does not come with a benefit package guaranteed to fix all of our problems.

But you can rest assured that if the ship of your life is tossing on that sea of strife and tribulation, Jesus will calm the storm if you ask Him.

Mark 4:35-40 proves my point: “On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.  And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”  And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

There are two other accounts of this story in the Bible, (Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25). Each author has a slightly different account of what had happened. However, the gist of the story remains the same in all three accounts: “Jesus will calm the storm if you ask Him to.”

Stop Talking And Pray

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a time to speak, and a time not to speak. Happy is the person who can discern between the two. In many cases silence is golden. Therefore, anything we say will only hinder the flow of what God wants to do, so it is best to: “Stop talking and pray”

Esther, formerly (Hadassah), Queen to king Ahasuerus, fasted and prayed and sought God’s timing before she approached her husband about a very important matter. Was she upset about what was happening to her people? Of course, she was. There was a lot at stake and she knew it. She didn’t run in and start arguing. Rather, she prayed first and then ministered to him in love, while God prepared his heart. The Lord will always give us the right words to say, and show us when to say them if we ask Him. Timing is everything.

I have known people who never miss a chance to use the excuse of “just being honest” to devastate others with their words. The Bible says: “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back” (Proverbs 29:11). In other words, it is foolish to share every feeling and thought. Being honest doesn’t mean you have to be completely frank in your every comment.

If you do have to say words that are hard to hear, ask God to help you discern when the person would be most open to hearing them. Pray for the right words and for the person’s heart to be totally receptive. I know that’s hard to do when you have a few choice words you are dying to let loose. But hard as it may seem, it is best to let God hear them first so He can temper them with His Spirit. This is especially true when talking has ceased altogether and shouting becomes the norm, and every word brings more pain…

It is time to stop talking and pray.