Lincoln

I encourage you to be loveable for Christ’s sake

We don’t think of it often, yet being loveable is a much needed quality in the Christian life. We all enjoy being loved, however we equally need to express love. Still, it remains a peculiar characteristic of the human heart in that we often do not make it easy for others to love us.

The world often distorts and misrepresents love by promoting physical beauty and sexual allurement as the main component of being loveable, how wrong they are. An equally bizarre twist of humanity is that those who need love the most are often those who reject the people who can best give the love they need.

Imitators of a better love

But not so for Christians. As believers we are to “be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). God is so lovable because He is so very loving! And the zenith of His love is seen and experienced through the giving of His Son Jesus Christ to be sacrificed in the place of sinful man.

Therefore, as God’s children, we too should be easy to love as we love others Gods way. Just as love is an intrinsic part of God’s nature and language, so selfless love is an inherited and spontaneous part of the Christian’s life. Qualities that best express God’s love are the best qualities for attracting love. By loving others the way God loves, we make it easier for others to reciprocate with love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is possibly the best known Bible passage detailing love’s character. Yet how often do we examine ourselves with a humble and honest attitude with a willingness to change for Christ’s sake. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” (NIV). Emulating God’s love affirms His good, while simultaneously rejecting the useless and bad which cause such great pain in our lives?

Love or Self

I draw your attention to the phrase in 1 Corinthians 13:5; love “is not self-seeking” (NIV), or, love “does not insist on its own way” (ESV). This love is God’s antidote to the destruction caused by selfishness and self-righteousness. It’s also the heart of the gospel, and is one of the many qualities which make the Lord so loveable. When we are characterised by demanding to have our own way, others are repelled and our hearts swell with indignation that refuses to be humbled.

The point is this, the name of God and the reputation of the Church hinges on how others perceive God’s love in us, or not. If we don’t love well, we don’t make it easy for others to love us. At salvation, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Therefore, God has equipped us for the mission, and enabled us to do that which does not come natural.

I encourage you as followers of the Lord Jesus; “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). Therefore, yield to His controlling influence. Christ will be glorified, others will be sweetly blessed, and you will be assured of your security in Christ.

 

I encourage you to recognise God’s love is different from worldly lust

We live in a world that confuses lust with love at almost every level. Impulse seems to trigger behaviour more often than right motive or wisdom. Desire is openly permitted to run head-long unchallenged and without examination or accountability. Consequently, society gives evidence to the social and family decline caused by the absence of love that elevates truth to the top of its priorities.

The point is this; it’s remarkably easy to wrongly evaluate God’s love by the world’s deficient standards, concluding that His love falls short of our self-centred expectations. Once we understand that with God lust only gets His negative attention, pride and ego are not on His ‘cool’ list, plus our prejudices and personal preferences fail to appear on His importance schedule, we naturally begin developing animosity towards God. So, for many, this is how sin grows within them; always working against God and leading it’s volunteers away for the Lord.

Culture and selfishness

For the average person in our culture, when they think of the Lord Jesus Christ, the instinctive question that dominates their thinking is; “What can God do for me?” Secondly, their self-defence mechanism kicks in quickly by asking; “What pleasures will I be required to give up?”

Fortunately, as God has engaged with humanity throughout history, one of His consistent operating principles has been “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).

Therefore it shouldn’t surprize us when we read in God’s Word, that a Christian should “not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

In fact, the genuine believer has chosen to be captivated by passions this world fails to understand. “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

A great exchange

Oh, how simple life would be, and how powerful the Church’s testimonies, if every professing Christian lived like this! Fleshly lust would be exchanged for Christ exalting love. Believers would joyfully take ownership of their place in this world to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Compelled by the selfless love of Jesus Christ, we would be inspired to speak well of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Because “according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Today, be encouraged to recognise that God’s love is vastly different to worldly lust. Turn to Christ with all your heart’s affections in surrender and a faith that dies to self and lives to Christ.

 

I encourage you to be trusting of God with the impossible

For every believer there are times and circumstances which demand a trusting of God with things that seem impossible to us. History is replete with occasions when God’s people looked to the Lord for things which man is incapable of resolving, and God answered according to His will and always for His glory.

Sooner or later, most of us become embroiled in circumstances which seem so far outside of our control that we despair. Often, it’s in these times that the old serpent tells us that there is no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel; ‘you’re wasting your time and you might as well just give up’ he mutters. But remember; “what is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). We Christians surrender our fears, doubts and suspicions to the Lord “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

An example of trusting faith

Joseph realised that the many years of severe suffering that resulted from his brother’s spiteful treatment of him actually was intended and used by God for His purposes. Towards the end of the saga, Joseph explained to his brothers that although “you meant evil against me, God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). The Lord has a rich history of using the most extraordinary circumstances for His good. Sometimes we get to see and understand the details of His plans and sometimes not. Yet His sovereign will is undeniable and unstoppable in spite of our inability to perceive His providential workings.

As mortals, we struggle to grasp the enormity of God’s power and the infinite nature of His being and mind. Consequently we rob ourselves of the options of trusting in the Lord. This is precisely where faith steps up and grants us access to a realm of interactions with God that the world denies. Faith ignites trust in the God of infinite resources, opening our eyes to unlimited possibilities that are readily available and only at God’s disposal.

Trusting submission

Trusting, dependent, and submissive faith looks to the Lord as “him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).  Faith activates patience as God works out His will in and around us. It enables the child of God to “be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalms 46:10). Faith looks for answers and results that exalt God more than simply giving us relief from discomfort.

It is this faith that enabled David to sing of the Lord; “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psalms 40:3-4).

Today my friend, I encourage you to stop yourself thinking like the world thinks towards God. Rather, be trusting of our loving and gracious Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. Yield to Him and He will lift you up for His pleasure, His glory, and your blessing.

 

I encourage you to be trustworthy for Christ’s sake

To be considered trustworthy is a valuable quality which finds favour with both people and God. It’s true that at some point, and to varying degrees, most of us have done things which would disqualify us from the halls of trustworthiness fame. However, it’s equally true that by God’s grace this status can be reversed.

When calling Israel to repent of her sin by exchanging corruption for righteous living, the Lord invited them to consider His ability and willingness to transform them. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Herein lies humanity’s only hope; God’s ability to wash away sin through forgiveness and to cleanse repeat sinners. Repentance should always be our initial response to God’s invitation for transformation; this begins with rationale thinking that aligns itself with God’s thinking.

When we think of God, we are to recognise “the works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy” (Psalms 111:7). He is utterly dependable, totally reliable, and consistent in all his thinking, values and actions. In fact, the Lord is incapable of being anything less than holy and trustworthy. Likewise, “the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalms 19:7 NIV). God’s Word expresses His perfections and His gracious salvation which brings spiritual regeneration for the reader who surrenders to Him. This is true wisdom; inviting God’s restoration through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Surrendered reality

However, reality teaches us that in spite of our best intentions, we won’t get obedience right all the time. Sadly, some of us will fail the Lord and others terribly. It’s this inner struggle with sin that Paul confessed; “when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Romans 7:21-23). Paul was a realist, knowing the battle that follows a life that has turned from self and sin to being under the cleansing and lordship of Jesus Christ.

Paul also recognised his life of service for the Church as an entrusted responsibility from the Lord. As such, Paul reminds us that “it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy” (1 Corinthians 4:2).  Even though we are terribly inconsistent, the Lord’s grace upholds the relationship He has with us. Even in times when “we are faithless, he remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13).  The Lord’s faithfulness convinces us of His trustworthiness, and His trustworthiness inspires our enduring loyalty and devotion to Him. So, in times of personal disappointment, we focus on Christ by repeatedly turning from failure in preference of loving obedience.

Today, I encourage you to persevere in faithful service for Jesus Christ. Don’t allow the difficulties and struggles of life to deter you from a trustworthy life for Christ. Do not allow critics to slow you down in the race of Christian living. Run for Christ, the finish line of eternal life will materialise His reward soon enough. Your trustworthiness will honour the Lord and encourage others in God’s faithfulness to them and His worthiness of their faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I encourage you to overcome disbelief by trusting in God

Trusting can be a complex process, usually because of past relationship failures. Trust is a sophisticated mechanism bringing both comforting assurance and awareness of caution when needed. It ideally works hand in hand with conscience, forming a powerful component of who we are. 

However, as with all matters of the heart, trust can be deceived and damaged. It can become so abused that it ceases to operate correctly. Damaged trust can be a difficult thing to recover from, often leaving scars with debilitating effects. 

Trust by nature is vulnerable, meaning it has softness permitting misinformation which in turn may mislead, particularly when done by those less reputable. As such, trust functions at both the conscious and unconscious levels, being both spontaneous and thought through. 

Damaged, yet trusting

When it comes to trusting God, it’s sometimes challenged by those who are untrusting by nature, or have never recognised God’s trustworthiness. Some people only view mankind’s bad behaviour from a human perspective which leads them to misinterpret, then transfer blame for those bad experiences to God accompanied by mistrust.

It’s all too easy to forget the Lord’s intrinsic nature, “for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes” (2 Chronicles 19:7). In other words, God is nothing like us! He is holy to such a degree that we can’t even imagine the extent of His infinite perfections.

When referring to the Jewish nation, the apostle Paul questioned; “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means!” (Romans 3:3-4a). Paul’s point is simple; just because people are faithless and therefore do and believe wrong things, does not make God like them. Nor does mankind’s disbelief in God actually change God’s character. God is God! In spite of what people say about Him, God remains eternally present and utterly holy. 

Our wisest choice

For our part, we’re wise if we say like Moses, who told the nation of Israel; “I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).

My friend, regardless of your past, in spite of life’s anxieties, no matter how many years you have held your present beliefs; God, through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of your absolute and unreserved trust. This trusting must Begin with your need to be spiritually born again (John 3:3). 

Job, though once extravagantly wealthy, and having lost everything within 24 hours, summarises faith and trust well. He said that those who disbelieve in God should “not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment” (Job 15:31). In other words, if you believe in nothing, nothing will be your reward for eternity. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:17-18). 

Choosing to believe in nothing only seals your fate in the cement of eternal judgement under a Holy God. Whereas “those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10). Reach out to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness; He will fully pardon you of all sin. Confess that He died the death that you should have died for your sins on the cross 2000 years ago. He will never disappoint. He will never fail you. He will be your trust and security for all eternity.