God’s Great Love
We have heard this over and over again. We sing songs about it, preach sermons about it and see it in the hearts and actions of others. What is this you ask? It is the love of God that surpasses all understanding. In the book of Ephesians 3:18-19, the Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians that his wish is that they might know the breadth, length, depth and height; the very knowledge of the love of Christ. Often, we give mental assent to this fact and would sing in the key of G, “yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.” But there is a difference between giving mental assent to a particular truth in the Word and knowing that truth as a personal reality. When you begin to realize the breadth, length, depth and height of God’s love on a personal level, your relationship with Christ will grow exponentially.
Let’s try this exercise; look up John 3:16 and begin to read it. Only, instead of reading the words “world” or “whosoever,” put your name in their place. For me, it would sound something like this: For God so loved Chris, that he gave His only begotten Son on Chris’ behalf, that if Chris would just put his trust in Him, Chris will not perish but will have everlasting life. It is one thing to see God’s love directed toward an enormous creation that spans approximately 6.5 billion people. But when we realize that Christ died for each of us as individuals, that when Christ took our place on the cross, He had you and me in mind; I know it is difficult to fathom but yes, God really loves me too! God saw you when He willingly allowed religious leaders to torment and crucify His only begotten son, Jesus. And Jesus willingly suffered and surrendered His life on your behalf and on behalf of those you hold dear.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before Him. I believe that joy the scriptures speak of refers to the joy Jesus has knowing that we will be with Him for eternity which is a reflection of God’s love for both you and me; personally. Be blessed this week.
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
Read more
Want Some Whine with that Cheese?
I saw an excerpt the other day from Stephen Covey about the 90/10 principle. It goes something like this: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, while 90% is decided by how you react to it. What does this mean? It means that we have control over 90% of what is currently going on in our lives by our attitudes and decisions from those attitudes. Here’s an illustration: You cannot control a red light (10%), but you can control how you react to it (90%). Just carry that example throughout everything that happens during your day.
What would happen if we did this in regard to how we treat people? Someone cuts in front of us in traffic (10%) and it ruins our day (90%). Think what would happen if instead of getting upset, we said, “That person must be in a real hurry, so I am going to pray they don’t get in an accident.” Someone does something we do not like, but instead of getting angry or rude with that person, we are kind and treat them in a manner we would want to be treated thereby making a friend rather than an unwanted stranger.
Philippians 4:6-8 is a passage that encourages and exhorts believers to have a positive outlook on life. Do not be burdened with unnecessary cares, be thankful for the good things, and think on the good report, not the negative one; if there is any virtue or any praise, think on these things. If you need more reasons to not be negative, consider that studies have shown that positive people live longer (on average 10 more years). Here’s another, positive work environments outperform negative work environments. Positive people attract others to themselves while negative individuals repel them.
Only 2 of the 2 to 4 million Israelites entered into the promise land; those two were Joshua and Caleb. They saw the difficulties of the land as no big thing for God, while everyone else consistently indulged in a whole lot of WHINE with their cheese. How about you? Remember, being positive is a choice. (Tip: negative people don’t think it’s a choice, they think it’s because of their circumstances or someone doing something they don’t like).
Be blessed and be grateful,
Pastor Chris
Read more
