Imitate His Love

Being a visual learner, I need a word picture.      When I see the ocean, I think of God's love.    God's love is deep, wide.      He loves us with the same love that He loves His beloved Son, completely. (John 17:23)  We are His children.  (I John 3:1)

Amazing!   As sinners, we deserve death. Yet, His perfect Son willingly died on the cross, so we might have life.   We received what we did not deserve.   This is love.   (I John 4:10)


What does this mean for us?  

John 15:12   
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

We must love others in the same way God loves us.    Generously and unconditionally.

Freely you have received, freely you must give.  (Matthew 10:8)

Who is sufficient for these things?  (2 Cor 2:16)
Paul says we are not.    In our own strength, we can not genuinely love others.

But, there is hope.   God is love and He lives in us.    God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.   (Romans 5:5)    When we ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit and love others through us, He will!!!   (I John 5:14-15)

Beloveds, be quick to confess your inability to love, and by faith, ask God to love others through you.

And when you do, you will become as a fragrant tree of life to those around you.
(Ephesians 5:1-2; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Warning:

Sometimes, loving others the way Christ loves you will be challenging.   Some people will sin against you; repeatedly.

Memorize and meditate on Romans 12:9-21. 

These scriptures will give you the power you need to obey God.

We are commanded to love others, even our enemies.
We must be holy as God is holy, merciful as he is merciful, and perfect as he is perfect.  (MH?)

Jesus loved us, undeserving sinners, with free and generous love.     Paul says, "imitate His love".   

Let this be your prayer:

I Thes 3:12

"...may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for ALL".....

Beware of Suckers

In botany, suckers are a secondary shoot produced from the base of a woody plant that gives rise to a new plant.  (thefreedictionary.com)

Suckers are typically undesirable, because they absorb the nutrients from the host plant.   Consequently, the plant bears limited fruit.   

How does this relate to becoming a tree of life?

Do we have suckers?    We do.    They are called idols.    The idols of our heart are like suckers on a tree.   Just as a tree's energy is diverted to the sucker, the Christian's energy is diverted to the idol.  

So, what is an idol?

Typically, we think of idolatry as some bizarre practice from ancient times.    However, idolatry is much more than that.

Freedictionary.com gives this definition:   one that is adored, often blindly or excessively.

Excellent description!

We are blind to our idols, because our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick.   (Jer 17:9)   Our hearts try to convince us we are doing nothing wrong.    We may even justify our idols by saying they are for the glory of God.

Excessive, because we tend to have an inordinate love for our idols.   They absorb our time, our energy, our money, and even our emotional well being.

In short, idols suck the life out of us!  

Tim Keller has this to say about idols:

“It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “codependency” but it is really idolatry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” (Taken from Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods)

Beloveds, ask God to search your heart and see if there be any "suckers" in your life.     If God brings something to mind, yank it out from the roots!

But beware, if you yank it out, it will come back.    Someone once said:   Our hearts are idol factories.    It's so true.    We think we're rid of them, only to find them reappear out of nowhere.    Idols cling to us and we cling to them.     Our hearts don't easily let go!  

So, what is the answer?

Daily, moment by moment, we must offer up our idols.    It's not a one time thing.   Confess it every time you become aware of your sin.   And then walk by faith in the Son of God, who loves you and gave Himself up for you.   (Gal 2:20)    His blood covers that sin.

If it continues to be a struggle, get accountability from a mature believer.    Stubborn sins loose their power when we confess to others.     (James 5:16; Ps 66:18-20)


Idolatry in our hearts will lead to a barren waste land.    Be wise and stop serving idols, so that you may bear fruit for all eternity.    

How Do We Get Rooted!

As noted on the previous page, the key to the tree's success is it's root system.

Christians also have a root system.   We are planted "in Christ".    Christ is the great "I Am".   He is the sustainer of life.   He is living Water.    He is the bread of life.   So, because we are in Christ,  we have life,  even in a barren world.

In contrast, unbelievers do not have a root system.     They are not in Christ, so when the drought comes and the storms surge, they die.  

So, how do we go from being not rooted in Christ to being rooted in Christ?

Step 1:   Realize you are a sinner.

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:10-12

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

Step 2:   Realize God is holy and hates sin, so He punishes sin.    Because you are a sinner, you deserve death.

Romans 6:23   

For the wages of sin is death

Unbelievers are separated from Christ, not only now, but for all eternity.   Revelations speaks of a lake of fire as an eternal consequence for unbelievers.

Revelation 20:15:

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Beloveds, I pray that none of you or our descendants experience hell for all eternity, although we deserve it!

Step 3:   Realize that God loves you and wants you to have life, not death, so He sent His son to die in your place.   

Romans 5:8

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And not only did He die for you, but he was buried and he was raised on the third day (I Cor 15:3-6),  so that anyone who believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

Just to know and believe these facts is not enough.    These last two steps are the means for being rooted in Christ.

Steps 4 and 5:     Repent, and by faith, receive Him as your Savior.

Repent:   Turn from your sin to God.

Acts 3:19

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out....

By Faith:   Receive Him as your Savior: 

John 1
To those who receive him to them he gives the right to become children of God.


Revelation 3:20 
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him"

Beloveds, if you have not already, turn from your sin and by faith run into the arms of your Savior.   He is waiting for you. 

You can do that through prayer:
Admit you are a sinner, deserving hell.  Thank Him for coming to die in your place, and ask Him to be your Savior, your Lord, and your King.    Surrender your life in full.   


When you genuinely repent and by faith receive Christ, you are "in Christ", permanently.    You are rooted in Him for all eternity.

The Fruitful Christian Will Be Rewarded For His Faithfulness

Finally, one day, fruitful Christians will be rewarded.

Yes, when we take God's word seriously, when we get serious about bearing fruit, we will be rewarded.

Revelation 14:13:

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”


Beloveds, rest is coming!    But, until it comes, we must labor diligently.   We must bear fruit while we can.     Jesus told his disciples:



John 9:4

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

So, don't wait to labor for the Lord.   Bear fruit now.  Night is coming, and then it will be too late.


If I precede you in death (and I hope I do), I hope to hear God say to each of you upon your arrival in heaven,

Matthew 25:21

‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Hallelujah!

The Fruitful Christian Uses His Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are the means God uses to empower you to bear much fruit.    When the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our hearts, He gives us gifts. All Christians are given gifts, yet not all Christians use them.    When we do use our spiritual gifts, it's a sign of maturity.  

The gifts are a supernatural ability empowered by the Holy Spirit.    Their purpose is to bring God glory and build His church.     And let's be clear,  these gifts are not for us.   They are not about us.   They are for God's glory and for God's church alone.  

The gifts are many.   Here are some:  prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leading, mercy, evangelism.  

Each gift is used in various ways and to various degrees, according to God's sovereign plan.    Billy Graham preached the Gospel to millions.   Some preachers will only preach to hundreds.   You may only preach to a few.    One is not more important than the other.   Our job is to be faithful to God's plan for our lives.

Beloveds, my prayer is that you will fan into flame the gifts God has given you, so that you may bear fruit for all eternity.    (2 Timothy 1:6)      Not for your glory, but for His glory alone.


I Peter 4:10-11
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God (utterances in the NAS); whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.


Romans 12:3-8
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity;the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

The Fruitful Christian Wins Souls

 Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

If our attitudes, our deeds, and our words are fruitful, we will be as a tree of life to a barren world
Just like the tree in Bahrain, we will be an attraction to all those whom God is drawing to
Himself.

While in college, I was captivated by two Christian women in my sorority.    The sorority was
probably 180 strong, but those two young ladies stood out.   I would watch them from a
distance.   They talked differently and they lived differently.   The fruit of the Spirit oozed out of their lives so much that you wanted to be near them.

Like a magnet, God was using them to draw me away from the world and into His kingdom.

May God's fruit be so real, so ripe in our lives, that God will use us to capture souls.   Just like
 He captured me.

The Fruitful Christian's Speech

Proverbs 10:11    The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.

Beloveds, like a flowing fountain, our speech should give life to those around us.     Wisdom, grace, and truth should flow freely from our mouths.

Proverbs 13:14

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:4

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Beloveds, in order to have fruitful speech, one thing is needful:   our hearts and minds must be saturated with the Word of God.......

Luke 6:45

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Therefore, daily eat the Word of God.   Delight in it, so that it might spring up and overflow into the lives around you.  




May your words provide shade for the weary, food for the hungry, and water for the thirsty.

Matthew Henry:
 A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue.