Christ’s Love Christ’s Friend

 

This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:12–14

Our love for one another is modeled by Christ.  Jesus paid the ultimate price for us in that he died so that we could have salvation and sanctification of our souls.  This sacrifice is an act of love that establishes each person who puts faith in Christ as Christ’s friend.  Jesus is making this connection that his love leads him to lay his life down.  He then makes the connection that we are to love one another if we are his friend.  Taken to the next step then to love one another in the greatest way possible Jesus, by implication, is saying we ought to lay our lives down for each other. 

When make a sacrifice to others then this is the highest form of love. Sacrifice is hard.  Often our flesh does not want to give up self-centered pursuits.  When we love our selves or when we love the worldly pleasures then we do not have this self-sacrificing love that Jesus is calling us to.  We have a higher calling and ought to be following the example of Christ in this way. 

Let put the challenge to you this way.  Get some time alone to pray to God.  Ask Him, “Lord show me what sacrifices I need to make and how I need to lay my life down in order to love those around me in such a way that it glorifies You and advances Your cause and purpose in my life and in the lives of others.”  Be prepared then to sacrifice self will and selfish pleasures in order to fulfill Christ’s purpose of friendship and love in your life. 

God Bless You

~BJ Olson

Dying to Self

Wild worlds live in the dawn of consciousness as I move from sleep to wakefulness.  Some of the worlds are insightful and profound others are simply wacky!  This morning though I came across something that I think is quite true. 

Dream of flowers and sacrifice.

The flower has the ability to give pleasure to us.  It is a collection of color explosions that can transmit to emotion like no other things we set our eyes on.  We give them at particularly emotional moments of our lives (good and bad).  They celebrate life.  They celebrate death.  Yet in all of this how do they accomplish this feat?  Sacrifice.  All flowers die in their season.  But the ones that share a special purpose with our lives must die an early death.  They must sacrifice themselves to bring pleasure to us.  It is self-sacrifice that leads to greater good.  I realize that flowers do not have a choice in the matter.  But we do.  What are you willing to sacrifice for the greater good?  Can you fulfill your special purpose by dying to self?

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1 (HCSB)

Have a Blessed Day

The Soul and Anger

It seems that most of the time the soul is often killed by anger.  Hurtful words, regret, fear, hatred, resentment, prejudice, loss of hope, rage and so on are all soul killers if we do not keep them in check.  In some ways anger is rooted in all of these.  It is no wonder that we grow up being taught to be guilty for our anger.  Look at all the damage it causes. 

This leads to a further frustration of feeling invalidated by someone saying "Don't be angry" or "You should not be angry" when in fact I am angry.  I can no more turn off my anger than to stop thinking about hunger when I have not eaten for most of the day.  Stuffing anger is not helpful because it will always come out in other ways (passive aggression, rage episodes, or depression).  So it would seem that you are stuck with no good options when it comes to anger.  I can think of that moment stuck between stuffing it or letting it all out and that hopeless feeling that no matter what I do it is not going to be good.  That is a soul killer!

Which leads me to the conclusion that:

...man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
James 1:20 (HCSB)

Yet we have this:

Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (HCSB)

I have read this passage and wondered, "OK, but how do I do that?"  Yet there is two immediate practical applications in this verse if we open ourselves to hear what God is saying

• Do not allow anger to fester "Don't let the sun go down" tells me that the time to deal with anger is in the here and now.  Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now.  However, it does not say go on the attack.  It just says deal with it now!!!!
• The motivation is a spiritual one.  Our anger can give the devil a foothold in our lives.  Unresolved anger is giving opportunity for spiritual downfall.

This passage is closely connected to this:

Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the Lord.
Psalms 4:3-5 (HCSB)

Continuing our list then:

• Know that your relationship with God sets you apart.  There is a peace that comes from knowing God.  In that moment know God and choose faithfulness.
• Call on the Lord.  Prayer in a moment of anger can release you from the bondage of misplaced passion
• Meditate (reflect) sort out, understand, your anger. 
• Be still!  There is a close connection between being still and knowing God (Ps 46:10)
• Selah which is most likely a musical term for pausing.  But in that moment of anger pause can be the most powerful thing you can do.
• Often doing what is right is a sacrifice.  Anger demands it's own.  Anger demands it's rights.  Anger demands others agree.  I am sure that you can think of other things that anger demands.  Righteousness often requires sacrifice and surrender.  These actions are in opposition to our anger most of the time.  At that moment think what is the righteous thing to do.  If it involves sacrifice or surrender then it is likely that you have stumbled upon the very thing that needs to be done in that moment. 
• Finally but certainly not least "trust in the Lord"  We repeat that phrase so often it is a cliché to us.  If "Trust in the Lord" has become a mindless phrase then take some time to examine why.  Trust in the Lord is a powerful spiritual truth that can find its way into the depth of your soul and move you from destruction to life. 

I have often said "Anger in and of itself is not good nor bad.  It is what you do with it that makes it good or bad."  I hope that some of these suggestions are helpful to you in your effort to "be angry and do not sin."

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (HCSB)

Have a Blessed Day

Meditation: Suffering Exalted Servant

Image by riccardodivirgilio via Flickr

Passage
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
This passage will take several posts.  This post deals with Isaiah 52:13-15

Context
Isaiah is discussing the salvation of Israel.  In the midst of this presentation he inserts the "suffering servant."  In the context of the whole Bible (Old and New Testaments) this suffering servant is Jesus Christ.

Key Words
My Servant, act wisely, raised, lifted up, exalted, disfigured, sprinkle, see, understand.

Message
Jesus is the one that acts wisely.  He was raised from the dead.  He has been lifted up and exalted. In His crucifixion He was so completely beaten up as to be unrecognized as being a human being.  What is so completely amazing to me is that He did that for me.  His suffering was for me.  To demonstrate His/God's love for me.  His suffering was for you.  Praise Jesus our Lord.  I exalt Him in my life.   Making Him the very center of my life my all in all. 

This suffering was the spilling of blood.  That blood is sprinkled on many people (nations).  The purpose of that sprinkling was for purification.  He shuts the mouths of leaders, He reveals truth and understanding to those that have not heard before.  There is a blessedness that comes from opening your mind and your heart to hear from God.  He tends to break in at the most interesting moments rarely when it is expected.  Overwhelming joy and peace that comes from God's revelation is unsurpassed by any earthly pleasure. 

God reveal Your Truth, Give understanding, cover us with the sprinkling that purifies our hearts.  Lead us into the way everlasting.  In Jesus Name AMEN.

Meditation: Waiting on the Lord

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Passage
James 5:7-11

Context
James the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ and leader of the Church in Jerusalem is writing those Christian Jews that have gone abroad.  The Church was undergoing great persecution and so he is offering this word of encouragement to the believers of that day. 

Key words
Patience, Wait, Suffering, Endure, Compassionate, and Merciful

Message
"You want me to wait?  But I don't have time!  What is more I don't want to.  Never mind I will take care of it myself!"

I am not so sure that any of us would say such a thing to God with our mouths, and yet we tend to say it with our actions.  Let's face it we do not like to wait.  I like this passage it uses three pictures to help us to understand waiting. 

The first picture is from agriculture.  A farmer works the ground, plants the seed, tends the crops, and then reaps a harvest.  His waiting is a act of trust and of work.  Crops do not produce themselves.  they are not instantaneous.  They require and investment of work and they require that the farmer wait for the right season to harvest.  I wonder what I have missed because I have not waited or been willing to invest in God's plan. 

The second is a picture of prophets of God.  It makes me think of this passage:

And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead-they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised,
Hebrews 11:32-39 (HCSB)

When I consider the suffering that other have endured for the name of the Lord my light affliction seems insignificant.  What more can I do to faithfully endure when surrounded by such incredible feats of faith, devotion, and love.  Lord forgive my whining. 

The third picture is of Job.  Job was a man that was afflicted by the Devil himself.   In the book that bears his name the account is given of how he became increasingly afflicted and eventually lost everything except for his life.  In the end he was restored and God richly blessed him.  He had to wait and endure great hardship to get to that place. 

If I ever become anxious or despise that I have to wait, then I would do well to remember the farmer, the prophets, and Job.  When I do my waiting does not seem so difficult a thing. 

Bless You

Happy Mother's Day

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Proverbs 31 is an acrostic using the Hebrew alphabet.  It is instruction on how we (men) are to honor our wives.  It also says a good deal about motherhood.  I rewrote the Acrostic using the English alphabet and modernized it.  Hope you enjoy!

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth more than jewels

Broad is her husband's confidence in her
He is a blessed man!

Continually she is good for him
Guarding him from pitfalls of life.

Diligently she seeks clothing
She makes certain her children are clothed

Every week she seeks out deals.
Buying groceries she never tires or gives up.

Food is always in the refrigerator.
Her family is never hungry.

Going and going she is always at work,
Her endurance lasts until evening and then into the night

Happy is she when she seeks and finds a good price
Her talent for this is beyond words

Investing time and money in her family,
She never quits or gives up.

Juggling her many chores and responsibilities
She gives her all and then continues.

Keeping busy, the laundry never ceases
The dishes do not wash themselves.

Load after Load, wash after wash
And yet she does this without many complaints

Most of the time she opens her doors
To what seems like all the neighborhood children.

Needy children she helps
To poor families she extends her hand.

Outside in the winter her children are not cold.
She ensures that they do not leave without their coats.

Pulling sheets off the bed and replacing them
In spite of her work she is always dressed in fine clothes

Quick are others to point out,
the benefit of such a mother and wife.

Reliable is she when she works
Her employers give her praise.

Strength and dignity belong to her.
In loyalty and good character she is not lacking.

Today, hopefulness is in her eyes
She does not despair for the future

Unending are her wise statements
Her good advice refreshes the soul.

Victory belongs to her home
She never ceases in guarding her family

Wealthy is the woman whose children give many thanks
And when her husband cherishes her great worth

Xerox produces many cheap copies
But your wife and mother are priceless and irreplaceable

Young beauty fades, Charm is shallow
But a woman that follows Christ should be praised

Zealous in giving her honor, we should be.
We should honor her in public as well!

Happy Mother's Day!

Missing the Mark (Friendship Defined)

Sometimes I think we have this whole friendship thing backwards.  Is a friends someone who supports you?  Are they a person that comforts you in a time of need?  When your back is against the wall do they stand with you?  Apparently not! 

Jesus, in the last instructions before going out the the garden of Gethsemane, called the disciples friends (John 15:15).  These are the same 11 men (Judas had already left) that would in a matter of hours abandon and deny Jesus.  They did not support Him, comfort Him, nor stand with Him.  And yet Jesus called them friends.  How could that be? 

First Jesus was able to see beyond the night into their possibilities.  So often we look to people as they are or that we anticipate how the will be over the short term to define our friendship.  Jesus looked beyond this to their potential.  All too often we look to see what can be offered in this relationship or what we feel we deserve from this relationship as a measure of friend.  It is a great thing to have a friend who does not see you as you are, but as you could be.  This is powerful, but notice something.  Friendship is defined by what you do and not what the other does for you.  In essence you choose your friends by see their inner potential. 

Second Jesus was about to make the greatest sacrifice one can make for another person.   He said that laying down one's life was the greatest act of love that one can express (John 15:13).  In this respect Jesus was defining friendship again by what He was doing rather than who his disciples were.  We again often look to see what can be given rather than what can be given up.  Acts of love, service, and sacrifice are given to friends.  If you do not do these then that person is not a friend.  Notice:

You are My friends if you do what I command you.
John 15:14 (HCSB)

Jesus is plainly saying that friendship is based on our actions toward the other.  In this case obedience to His commands.  This makes me think of:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.
Matthew 22:37-40 (HCSB)

Also of:

You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don't even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (HCSB)

Jesus has called us to a different idea of friendship than the world has to offer.  His calling is one of service and sacrifice.  Demanding our own is not part of the equation.  Our friends may hurt us, abandon us in our time of need, but we can continue to be their friend in spite of their short comings.  Don't get me wrong, Jesus plainly sets boundaries with people who are not good for us to have fellowship with.  Often this is when they would lead us into either legalism or licentiousness (both being forms of disobedience to God by the way).  However, I do not see Jesus defining friendship in terms of what they can offer us, but rather in terms of what we can offer them. 

You see friendship is yours to define by how you serve others.  Jesus is our ultimate friend based on His sacrifice.   We become His friend when we act in the same way loving God and loving others.  Man I have some work to do!

Blessings to you.