2022-01-07
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There are numerous ways that God expresses His love (agape). Here are some of them: He reveals Himself to us; He gives us His word; He prays with us; He listens to all our prayers; He sanctifies us (dedicates us to Himself); He protects us; He shares His glory with us and gives us glory; He teaches us; He brings us ever-closer to Himself; He makes it possible for us to gain eternal life; He forgives our sins; He justifies us, and so on. These actions give us understanding of why He has so many names. This gives life to Christ’s words in JN 12: 34-35. “A new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. You must do this, and all will know you are My disciples.” Doing this means one is living a transformed life, one in which the Holy Spirit drives one’s decisions, perceptions, and actions.
For further illumination we need to look to 1 JN 3: 11-24. Let me begin by saying that our God, in His three personalities, is entirely trustworthy. 1 JN 3: 5-6, “But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. An in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” We must understand that God has adopted us as His children, members of His family. If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us. We have been given the insight to know that Christ has come from the Father and shares all His traits with the Father. There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out fear. We love first because He loved first loved us. Anyone who loves his brothers remains alive in Spirit, but anyone who hates his brothers remains dead and doesn’t have eternal life. We know that we are alive in Christ since Christ gave His life for us [JN 15: 13; 1 JN 3: 16]. To mirror God’s agape, we must not just love with words but also by our actions. We must demonstrate the traits of agape given above. Belonging to the truth is essential. We receive anything we ask because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. The Spirit within us let’s us know that He is living within us. When we are in God’s presence, we are at peace when we live in the truth.
We are imbued with God’s love our conscience will let us know if we are pleasing God. If not, we plow ahead with sinfulness and can cause a lot of broken relationships and grief. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, we are made aware if we are pleasing God or not this way. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor and teaches us what we know to forward our pathway to eternal life. No person living on earth has ever seen the Father. Yet, we know if He lives in us by means of the Holy Spirit. We can testify that the Father has sent the Son to earth, to teach us righteousness, to set an Example for how we can please God, to open the way to eternal life for us, and to demonstrate God’s love for us. We know that he who lives in God has God living in him. Whoever lives in God must love His brother. If we can genuinely declare that Christ is the Son of God, we can show that God sent Christ and Christ is in us. Our mutual union with the Trinity is real [1 JN 4: 7-21] and we know that because we have been given the Holy Spirit. We know we have the Holy Spirit because we only desire to faithfully obey God. We wouldn’t know or recognize agape without the Spirit.
The hope we have to gain eternal life doesn’t disappoint, for God has poured out His love by His Spirit, which is God’s gift to us [RO 5: 5]. The Holy Spirit lets us have faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Our hearts have undergone “spiritual surgery” which totally changes our way of looking at people, things, and events in our lives and how we interact with other people. We are no longer slaves to sin and death.
PRAYER: O Dearest Father, we come before Your mighty throne with heads and knees bowed in prayerful reverence. Surely Your power to do good and bring love to otherwise earthbound humans is unparalleled. You have not held back Your Son from us and created Him to obey Your directive to give His physical life on the cross opening the way to eternal life for us. When sin-bound, we can expect only death and destruction. When freed from slavery to sin, we can eagerly anticipate sweet fellowship and eternal life in heaven with You. You brought Christ to earth, to teach us, to set a godly example for us, and make eternal life possible for us. What great lessons Your word has for us—the lessons He and the authors of Bible have for us directly from You. We are grateful and offer You praise for loving us enough to create Your Son to be faithfully obedient. Sending us the gifts of the Holy Spirit is only one of many of Your acts of generosity. Forgiving us for our sinfulness releases us from the worst trap imaginable. We offer You eternal thanks and praise; we recognize the value of these gifts. You are the sweetest and best Lord we can have. These things we say in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about agape’s action next week. 2 ½ weeks from now, we will be gathering as family’s sometimes do at our Thanksgiving tables. I look forward to this meal each year not just because I love turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. Even the home-made pumpkin and apple pies aren’t the reason. Instead, it is the one time I get to express out loud why I’m thankful for the blessings God has given me. I live in a household of a traditional and observant Jewish family; I’m the only Messianic Jewish person at the table. I’ve been used to being a minority all my life and have encouraged my family to engage in a cultural exchange with me. I was raised as they are now, but the Father has chosen me to join the family of God by accepting His Son, Jesus Christ. This situation can be explosive, except for the intervention of Christ to calm it. We respect each other’s differences and celebrate each other’s beliefs. I’ve lived all over North America but my family has remained the whole time in CA. God’s call to me to spend my life serving Him in ministry has been yet another blessing; there have been so many! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved
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