As we turn the pages of our calendars over to greet a new year, I offer the following thoughts to encourage each of us to a commitment of renewal in our relationship with our Father.
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10
Renewal
As the last grain of sand slips from time’s hourglass;
Or the hand of the clock sweeps past the midnight;
Again we will witness another year pass
Into history as time hurries on in its flight.
Looking back on the old year at things that have been,
Wishing for chances to change some of them,
I’m seeing that some of my past includes sin,
Yet knowing my Lord says to bring them to Him.
I know my past deeds cannot be undone,
So I look to the future, to what lies ahead.
By putting my trust in God and His Son,
I’m determined to follow the Words He has said.
“Come unto me and follow My ways.
Show others the kindness you want to be shown.
Be a faithful disciple for all of your days.
Let My love be that by which you are known.”
“Let your light shine brightly to all whom you see.
And reflect God’s glory through the works that you do.
So others will know: you are following Me;
And be assured that My Father will glorify you.”
Yes, a new year begins with the tick of the clock
As the hand creeps past the twelve o’clock hour.
But my life is renewed by faith in the Rock,
As I live every day by the strength of His power.
tl 12/23/08
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A New Commandment
(And its Results)
In John 13:34 Jesus tells His apostles that He is giving them a new commandment - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
Nothing really new about love, though, is there? God has taught that from the beginning. Even loving your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18) Jesus calls it a new commandment, though. What is the difference, then? Well, Jesus has not merely given a command to love, but how to love - “as I have loved you.”
Think about it. Seriously. How do you love others in the Family of God? Not just a few but the whole Family. The poet said, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways.” How did / does Jesus love us? Let’s count a few of the ways. Sacrificially … openly … patiently … without prejudice … understandingly … without favoritism … forgivingly … as a friend … unendingly … unconditionally … whether we are poor or rich, pretty or homely, educated or uneducated … cross - culturally … without regard to age … compassionately … UNTO DEATH AND BEYOND! The list could go on and on. And that’s how I should love you.
Consider the words from 1 John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
In the first century people responded to the love of Jesus. People in the twenty-first century need to see that same love. I am convinced that people will respond to it, too. It is our responsibility to let the world see that love in, and through, the church. And the church is US!!
This is the kind of love that brings results. This is the kind of love that lets others know who we are. Jesus says in verse 35 of John 13, “By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
In John 13:34 Jesus tells His apostles that He is giving them a new commandment - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
Nothing really new about love, though, is there? God has taught that from the beginning. Even loving your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18) Jesus calls it a new commandment, though. What is the difference, then? Well, Jesus has not merely given a command to love, but how to love - “as I have loved you.”
Think about it. Seriously. How do you love others in the Family of God? Not just a few but the whole Family. The poet said, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways.” How did / does Jesus love us? Let’s count a few of the ways. Sacrificially … openly … patiently … without prejudice … understandingly … without favoritism … forgivingly … as a friend … unendingly … unconditionally … whether we are poor or rich, pretty or homely, educated or uneducated … cross - culturally … without regard to age … compassionately … UNTO DEATH AND BEYOND! The list could go on and on. And that’s how I should love you.
Consider the words from 1 John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
In the first century people responded to the love of Jesus. People in the twenty-first century need to see that same love. I am convinced that people will respond to it, too. It is our responsibility to let the world see that love in, and through, the church. And the church is US!!
This is the kind of love that brings results. This is the kind of love that lets others know who we are. Jesus says in verse 35 of John 13, “By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Absolute?
(ab-so-lute) - perfect in itself; fixed; irrevocable
Nothing is absolute! At least that is what some scientists say. Then, others talk about absolute quantities, formulae, etc. And there are philosophers who contend that nothing is black and white - everything is a shade of gray. This seems to be the popular way to think today. All things are relative.
One area in which it is popular to think there are no absolutes is religion. “What I feel is what matters,” say some. Let’s look at some absolute statements about God and what He wants. God Himself says in Exodus 20:23, “I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Jesus restated this when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness as recorded in Matthew 4:10. We can see, then, that we can have or worship no other god but Jehovah God. And Hebrews 1:6 says, “...for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” This would dispel the idea that some have about God being dead yet still trying to be religious.
Belief in, and worship of, the one true living God is something absolute. If we settle for less we cannot be pleasing to God. This absoluteness is also true concerning Jesus. Consider these absolute statements made by Jesus or His inspired writers.
Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” All men must, then, be taught of Christ. We must (absolute) receive the word before we can do anything else.
John 8:24 - “I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sin; for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins.”
Luke 13:3 - “I tell you, No; but except you repent, you shall also perish.”
Matthew 10:32 - “Whosoever therefore will confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.”
Mark 16:16 - “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that does not believe shall be condemned.”
John 15:6 - “If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
These are absolute statements. None can be neglected. If we accept Jesus as the Christ, we must accept what He says. Don’t you agree? He said, “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life…” in Matthew 7:14. It should be refreshing that there is something absolute for us to turn to - especially when it concerns the eternal salvation of the soul.
Another part of the definition of absolute is “the will or power of the Almighty.” Indeed, His will is absolute. It is for our good. However, we have the power of choice.
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
Nothing is absolute! At least that is what some scientists say. Then, others talk about absolute quantities, formulae, etc. And there are philosophers who contend that nothing is black and white - everything is a shade of gray. This seems to be the popular way to think today. All things are relative.
One area in which it is popular to think there are no absolutes is religion. “What I feel is what matters,” say some. Let’s look at some absolute statements about God and what He wants. God Himself says in Exodus 20:23, “I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Jesus restated this when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness as recorded in Matthew 4:10. We can see, then, that we can have or worship no other god but Jehovah God. And Hebrews 1:6 says, “...for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” This would dispel the idea that some have about God being dead yet still trying to be religious.
Belief in, and worship of, the one true living God is something absolute. If we settle for less we cannot be pleasing to God. This absoluteness is also true concerning Jesus. Consider these absolute statements made by Jesus or His inspired writers.
Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” All men must, then, be taught of Christ. We must (absolute) receive the word before we can do anything else.
John 8:24 - “I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sin; for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins.”
Luke 13:3 - “I tell you, No; but except you repent, you shall also perish.”
Matthew 10:32 - “Whosoever therefore will confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.”
Mark 16:16 - “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that does not believe shall be condemned.”
John 15:6 - “If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
These are absolute statements. None can be neglected. If we accept Jesus as the Christ, we must accept what He says. Don’t you agree? He said, “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life…” in Matthew 7:14. It should be refreshing that there is something absolute for us to turn to - especially when it concerns the eternal salvation of the soul.
Another part of the definition of absolute is “the will or power of the Almighty.” Indeed, His will is absolute. It is for our good. However, we have the power of choice.
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
