Learning to Love

The Bible tells us over and over again that love is the key to living a Christian life.  The apostle John tells us:

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  1 John 4:8

Peter says:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”  1 Peter 4:8

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul warns:

“If I have all prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  1 Corinthians 13:2

We are called, in strong words, to love others, not only those who are agreeable or those who love us, but even our enemies;  even those who persecute us. (Luke 6:27).  It is the mark of being a Christian (1 Peter 1:22).  So why aren’t we doing it?  Why aren’t we at least trying to do it?  Love should be the goal of the process of sanctification.  Here’s how Francis Paget, an English theologian puts it:

“This is the great business and meaning of our life on earth:  that we should more and more yield up our hearts to God’s great grace of love;  that we should let it enter ever more fully and freely into us, so that it may even fill our whole heart and life.  We must day by day be driving back, in His strength, that sin that doth so easily beset us, and the selfishness that sin has fastened in our hearts;  and then His love will day by day increase in us.  Prayer will win and keep it;  work will strengthen and exercise it;  the Bible will teach us how to know and prize it, how to praise God for it;  the Holy Eucharist will ever renew and quicken its power in our hearts.  And so (blessed be God!) love and joy and peace will grow in us, beyond all that we can ask or think;  and He will forgive us for love’s sake, all the failures, all the faults in whatever work He has given us to do;  and will bring us at last into the fulness of that life which even here He has suffered us to know;  into that one Eternal Home, where love is perfect, and unwearied and unending;  and where nothing ever can part us from one another or from Him.”

Pray, read the Bible, receive the sacraments.  Learn to love.

For more posts on love see:

Little Children, Love One Another

Charity = Love

All the Loves

 

Against You Only

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.

These verses are taken from Psalm 51.  The inscription attached to this Psalm tells us that it is a Psalm of David, written after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his adultery with Bathsheba.  David knew he had done things that were very wrong.  He had sinned against Bathsheba by leading her into adultery;  he had betrayed the trust of her husband and then had him killed;  he had disgraced his people by abusing his power as King and setting a poor example for others.  He tried to get away with his sin, and he thought he had, but he was wrong. God knew, and ultimately the sin was about his disobedience to God.  That’s what stands out for me in this Psalm.

We can hide our sins from others and sometimes we even hide them from ourselves.  We ignore them, cover them up or deny them.  We tell ourselves that in the great scheme of things, our sins are petty and not worth worrying about.  This is what a Pastor I knew once called “stinkin’ thinkin’.”  ALL sins affect our relationship with God, and we need to repent and make things right with the people we have injured and with Him.  Whenever we sin, we sin against God.

Fortunately for David, and for us, God is forgiving.  1 John 1:9 tell us:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In order to lead a life of repentance, we must first, like David, recognize our sin– we must repent daily.  Then God is His lovingkindness will restore us.  He forgave David, and He will forgive you and me.

Good Stewards Travel Light

A friend at church loaned me a book I’ve been using recently for my morning devotional time.  It’s called “Lessons I Learned in the Light” by Jennifer Rothschild.  This morning’s chapter was titled “Carry No Baggage” and it got me thinking about how as good stewards, we need to travel light.  We can’t take care of God’s stuff if we’re too worried about our own stuff.  Maybe you’re thinking about now, didn’t the Lutheran Ladies say it’s all God’s stuff?  Well, here’s the thing …all the good things are God’s, but there are still plenty of bad things that belong to us alone.  They start with that little word SIN.  Do you notice what’s in the middle of the word sin?  The letter “I.”  Sin happens when we’re turned into ourselves, when life becomes all about me, me, me.

What baggage are you carrying around?  It might be selfishness (that’s a big one for me), failure to forgive, anger, destructive habits you don’t want to give up, pride, lack of trust  and more.  All these things weigh us down and keep us from focusing on God, the good gifts He gives, and the people He wants us to serve.

Thankfully there’s a simple way to get rid of that excess cargo.  Confess.  Let God take care of your stuff, and then you’ll be free to take care of His.  We get to do this every Sunday in our worship service, not as a work of our own, but as a reminder that God has already forgiven all our sins for the sake of His son, Jesus.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Confess so you can focus on the good things of God.  Travel light.

 

What is Sin?

What is sin?  In today’s culture, we often trivialize it.  We don’t even like to talk about it.  Rather than admitting to sin, we say we “made a mistake”, “used poor judgement,”  or “messed up.”  We blame it on factors we can’t control–our difficult upbringing, our desperate situation, our friends or our DNA!  Adam and Eve tried that, too.  Eve told God,

“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3″13

and Adam goes even further, seeming to blame God Himself:

“The woman whom you gave to me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I ate.”  Genesis 3:12

The apostle doesn’t mince words when he describes sin:

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness;  sin is lawlessness.” 1 John:3:4

A lawbreaker is a criminal;  a person who deserves punishment.  Someone who is lawless is a rebel — unwilling to obey authority.  I don’t like to think of myself this way, and you probably don’t either.  However, admitting what I really am (a lawless rebel) is the first step toward true reconciliation with God.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.”  1 John 1:8-10

Calling sin what it is isn’t easy;  but it is necessary.

Walking in Obedience

I am posting this for Becky, a Lutheran lady from St. Paul’s who does not use the computer, but likes to write.  She is one of our adult Sunday School teachers.  I hope you enjoy her thoughts on this month’s topic, obedience.

A Christian is called to obedience and discipleship.  God is to be loved and listened to and obeyed.

“The Lord our God is one Lord and you shall love Him with all your heart and soul and might” Deuteronomy 6:4 (the law of love)

Be exclusively devoted to God and learn His commandments and obey them.  Our entire being must be totally committed and obedient–our total being with love–our absolute devotion to God with all we have.  We need to seek the truth.  His word is truth and needs to be known and obeyed.  When we worship, we come together before a loving God to honor Him for His greatness and focus on listening to hear His Holy Word.  We have to be exposed to the Word and open our hearts to transformation through faith and obedience.  Willing obedience is the response of gratitude for the gift of eternal life.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  John 14:15

We respond to God’s promises and commands out of love and gratitude and devotion to Him.  In lifting our hearts to God and being instructed by Him, we express our love for Him.  God commands us to be consistent in our Christian conduct.  What we profess must be revealed in our actions.  Where words and deeds are in harmony, faith and works go hand in hand.

With the perfect obedience of Jesus, we, through faith and love can now in Christ obey God and be saved(Romans 5:19).  Christ’s obedience teaches us obedience through believing in His saving work.  We join with Him and receive the promise of eternal salvation.

“Who in the days of His flesh, Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.”  Hebrews 5:8

Doing good to others is part of our commitment to God.

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.”  1 John 5:2

Our walk of obedience to God gives us a heart guided and nurtured by the Holy Spirit in all areas of our lives to grow in our love for Jesus.  May we each offer ourselves to God in trust and obedience.

 

 

 

Why we should Forgive

“By this we are sure that we are in him.  Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:5-6

In addition to this verse, the Bible tells us to “clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) and to “fix …our eyes on Jesus”(Hebrews 12:12).  All of these phrases boil down to the same meaning …imitate Christ, he is our model.  We are to watch Him, to follow His example, to become one with Him.

So, think about Jesus and all the people he forgave:

He forgave the paralytic whose friends lowered him through the roof to be healed (Mark 2:5)

He forgave two tax collectors, Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10) and Matthew (also called Levi) who became one of the twelve disciples (Luke 5:27-32)

He forgave the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) and the sinful woman who anointed His feet (Luke 7:36-48).

He forgave Peter after he denied Him three times, and He even forgave those who crucified Him.

He forgave things that seemed unforgivable:  sinful behavior, betrayal, selfishness, greed, even murder.  If I want to become like Christ, shouldn’t I be willing to forgive:

the cashier at the store who was rude and abrupt?

my friend who forgot to call when she said she would?

the fellow church member who criticized me?

the neighbor who complains about everything I do?

Often the things I don’t want to forgive are truly petty.  Instead of feeling empathy for the people who offend me, I go over and over my own feelings of hurt and anger.  That’s turning in on yourself, the definition of sin, and it isn’t pleasing to God.

If I truly want to walk as He walked, I must forgive as he forgave.