Sunday, June 26, 2011

God's Love Part 1

I have been thinking on God’s love for us and have decided to write down some thoughts on it. I hope you enjoy.

What amazing Love God had for us. Let’s take a look at this amazing love.

Romans 5:6-8-For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God showed his love to us, helpless, ungodly sinners, at exactly the right time.  That love was shown through Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins.

1 John 4:9-10 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God’s love was manifested, demonstrated, shown; that God sent His one and only Son into the World that we would live through Him. Then is verse ten we have an example of this love.  In this, in what? In God sending His son into the World so that we might live through Him. John goes on to tell us of this love. We did not love God. We wanted nothing to do with Him, but that He loved us and sent His one and only Son to be the satisfaction of God’s wrath against us for our sins. This truly is love.

1 John 3:16, 18-We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren… Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

We have knowledge of what true love is by the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us. We know how to love. In verse 18 it tells us something very important. We are not to love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. What if God had said I love the whole world and that’s it? What if He had not sent His Son to die on the cross? He didn’t do that. He gave us an example of love, by sending His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins; by His Son laying down His life for us. He didn’t just tell us He loved us, but He showed it with a deed that has changed the whole world. That He would willingly give up His Son to die on the cross for us so that we might not continue on the pathway to hell but that we might have a pathway to heaven to take. A path of eternal life. Now that is what I call love.

1 John 4:19-We love, because He first loved us.

1 Peter 2:21-24-For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,  WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

The reason we love is because He first loved us. That is the only reason we can truly love our neighbor as our self is because of the great example that the Father and the Son are to us. Christ suffered for us leaving an example for us to follow in His steps. Then in verse 22-23 we see an example of His love toward others. He committed no sin, He did not deceive, when He was insulted, He did not insult in return. When they make Him suffer, He did not tell them He was coming back to get them and destroy them, but He gave all of these things to the Father. He not only left us an example of love in all of these things but also in the fact that He bore our sins in His body on the cross. Our sins were nailed to the cross with Him. The reason He did this was so that we would die to sin and live to righteousness. We have been given a new start because of His wounds. All of these sins were piling against us, ripping us apart but when He went to the cross and took our sins there and died for us, that is when we were healed. For by His wounds we were healed. Is 53.

God has shown us the greatest example of love. That is the reason we can love our neighbors. He helps us to be able to do that. What amazing and great love our God had for us that He would send His one and only Son to die on the cross for us. That He didn’t just say I love you, but that He had actions to back up His love, to show His love to us. That is wasn’t some empty words but that these words are true and that we can see that these words are true through what He has done for us. Praise the Lord for the great love He has shown us. Looking at these things has made me love and appreciate God even more and I hope and pray that it will do the same for you.

God's Love Part 2- Loving your neighbors as yourself.  Coming soon!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Evangelism story: What is the Gospel?

I was talking to some Christian youth leaders from a local church here in town and I asking them to tell me what the gospel was. They told me Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That was the only thing they knew about the gospel. Then I asked them how does someone get to heaven? One replied repent and that was it. I continued to ask questions until the other one said Believe in Jesus. Then they asked me why I was asking them these questions. I told them that 90 % of people that claim to be Christians don't know the gospel. One of them though I was rude for asking and told me maybe I was asking the wrong question. That I shouldn't be asking what is the gospel. The other one didn't have much to say. I left them but I thought about what this person said about asking Christians about the gospel. As I thought about it verses came to my mind. I wondered what did this person think when she read the New Testament and the word gospel came up? I wondered if she even read her Bible, because if she had she would have known what I was asking when I asked about the gospel. The word "gospel" is used in the Bible 96 times. In Romans 1 we find the gospel mentioned 4 times. I look at this instance and I think about this and I wonder what these people are being taught. As I have met many young people in Helena who are trying to serve the Lord who have gone to church for most of their life and yet many of them know nothing about the Bible and what it says. It is sad. When I talked to these two youth leaders they were running a climbing wall for a church to give it publicity. It was a sad waste of time because they neither shared the gospel with the people that came nor gave them gospel tracts. It saddened me, but I am thankful that I can go out and share the gospel, though many others tell me that I am hindering people from coming to Christ by handing out gospel tracts and talking to people about my Savior. It is the Spirit that works in people’s hearts and I am told to go and preach the gospel so that is what I do. I cannot be hindering people if I am doing what my Lord commands. How can anyone keep this amazing gift from God to themselves? What an amazing Savior we have.

If you want to know more about the gospel go to:
http://cbf.thelivingword.us/Messages/StudyDays/Salvation/Salvation.html