We love Him because He first loved Us (Part 2 of 5)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of “We love Him because He first loved Us.”

Let’s continue our study with the second lesson: THE PRIORITY OF GOD’S ELECTING CHOICE…

We love Him because He first loved Us (Part 2 of 5)

It was really surprising to me that after I became a Christian and started reading the Bible, I found that these words are taken directly from Scripture: “We love Him, because He first loved us.”

What I didn’t understand then – but I understand now! – is that this verse isn’t speaking merely about the motive for our love. It is a profound statement about the grace of God that sovereignly secures our love and transforms us from God-hating enemies into adopted sons and daughters whose hearts naturally overflow with the purest kind of love. Not only love for God, but also love for one another.

“He loved us first”. That is exactly what our verse says. It is also the whole gist of what the doctrine of election teaches. God’s love for us precedes any movement toward God on our part – God loved us first. The apostle John is actually echoing something Jesus once said to him. That last night prior to the crucifixion, when the disciples were alone together with Jesus, after they ate the Passover meal together in the Upper Room, Jesus said to them:

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you – John 15:16

Now, John and the other apostles might have protested, “But that’s not true, Lord; we did choose You.” After all, they had left all to follow Him. Peter also said so explicitly:

Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You – Mark 10:28

They had made a conscious, deliberate choice to abandon their former lives, their loved ones, their livelihoods, and all they had – in order to follow Jesus Christ. They had indeed chosen to devote their lives to following Him. And in the case of John and his brother James, giving up their livelihood meant giving up the family fishing business, which by all appearances was a lucrative business for them.

John himself had met Jesus while John was under the discipleship of John the Baptist. As soon as he and Andrew understood that John the Baptist was pointing to Jesus as the promised Messiah, they left John the Baptist in order to follow Jesus. In a very real sense, they did choose Jesus. So what did Jesus mean when He said “You did not choose Me, but I chose you”?

He meant simply that whether they realized it or not, He had chosen them first. His choice was the decisive one. They would never have chosen Him at all had He not first chosen them. They loved Him because He first loved them.

Even if you are not completely convinced of God’s electing choice, you implicitly affirm this truth. You acknowledge it every time you thank Him for saving you. You know in your heart that you cannot take personal credit for your love toward God. You did not love Him first – “We love him, because He first loved us.” You and I are no better than the unbelieving people who still hate and reject Him. The only reason we love Him while they remain at enmity with God is that God’s loving grace has worked a miracle in our hearts to enable us to return His love.

The Apostle Paul asks:

 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? – 1 Corinthians 4:7

Do not think for a moment that you can take credit for your love toward Christ. If you love Him at all, it is only because He first loved you. That is the very essence of the doctrine of election.

“We love Him, because He first loved us.” In other words, God took the initiative in salvation. God is both the Author and the Finisher of our faith. He started the process and He finished the process. His love for us not only came before any love we have for Him; but His love is what secured our love for Him. That’s exactly what this text says – “We love Him, because He first loved us.”…

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate lesson #3…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><

Afraid or Lazy?

Are you afraid of the world? Does your fear prompt you to ignore the Bible or hide your faith?

Here’s a parable of a man who was entrusted with responsibility, but his fear resulted in a lack of productivity.

Matthew 25:24-29 ²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

The man told his master he was afraid and so did nothing. However, his master told him he was wicked and lazy. If he was truly just afraid, he could have done the bare minimum of putting the gold in a bank. I also wonder if the man was hoping his master wouldn’t return, and if no one else knew where the master’s gold was, then the man could keep it himself and do as he pleased.

Do you and I do the same thing today? Do we think Jesus won’t come back in our life time and so we can live our own way for now? Or, are we afraid of the world? Or just plain lazy? If the bag of gold (or talent) was the Bible, is your Bible hidden? Or is it on the shelf collecting dust? Or is it being read and used to produce fruit in your life and the lives of those around you? 

God has entrusted each of us with the Bible. Will it multiply in abundance in your life?

Or, because of fear or laziness, will blessings and rewards be given to someone else instead of you?

Alice

Being Green

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Romans 5:1-4

I was a Sesame Street kid (probably still am).  My mother made sure that what little television I saw was of that show.  One of my favorite lifelong lessons came from it and one of its main characters, Kermit the Frog.  When he was in a solemn mood, he would sing, “It’s not easy being green.”  Now many of us growing up thought it would be pretty cool to be a frog and maybe even green, but as I grew older, I understood the song was not about disdain for his color or being a frog.  It was about how his loving and caring personality often gets taken advantage of because either he was too nice or it seemed too convenient.  He did not shy away from being who he was.  After all, he’s a frog, and yes, he is green.  There is a lot to be said for someone who accepts the challenges that come with who they are and willingly embraces everything with it. 

A growing Christian faith is not always meant to be easy or comforting.  It is meant to be rewarding with the hope of God’s glory being revealed in one’s life.  While there are times our walk of faith will be fun, there are times God will ask of us to walk through something we do not want to face.  There are conflicts that I do not want to face, and sometimes, I run away because the pain or stress is too much!  Yet, God would look upon me, and nudge to tell me not to not give up and continue to fight knowing there is perseverance, character, and hope to be gained.  Our goal as Christians is not to fall into the comfort of a simplified faith.  It is instead to challenge ourselves, face our fears, and find true glory in our suffering for a wonderful and gracious God.

Our journey of faith is about persevering to the end.  No, it is not easy, but Dr. Brene Brown said it best saying, “You can choose courage or you can choose comfort.  You cannot have both.”  When we have shown courage to overcome fears, we will hear the verses of 2 Timothy 4:7 saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  Isn’t that what we should all aspire for?  What suffering must you persevere through today?  My prayer is that with our faith, we all can accept ‘being green.’  Amen.

Tues Devo: Appreciate the moment....afterwards...

Philippians 1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” (NASB)

Hello,

My kids love going to the zoo.  (If you have an hour or two to kill, just ask my son to tell you about his last trip – or any trip for that matter!) One thing you see there is everyone trying to get to the front. You see, the view is better of the animals from the front…you don’t have to strain to see around those tall people. We like to be in the front. We don’t just do this at the zoo, we tend to do this in everything. We want to see what is coming and be aware of whatever is in front of us. We feel like that is how we get the full appreciation of the moment. We take in the scenery and then try to remember everything that happens.

But with God, that appreciation typically comes after the fact. We step through things in life, and don’t usually get to appreciate the moments before or as they happen. But if we use our faith, and just step through while trusting God – we will be able to sometime later turn back and appreciate the moment afterwards.

I can’t promise when that afterwards will be. Paul got to see his while he was still on earth, seeing the Gospel spread and believers increasing in courage. But I am also sure there are things that he didn’t see or know of until he reached heaven, and could appreciate at that time.

Belief for salvation is not the only faith taking item in our lives – we must continually walk in faith. We should though periodically look back and appreciate what God uses in our lives – and it is the walking in faith that will allow those moments to come later.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill