The Devotional – 1065 – Love, Joy and Peace

The Devotional – 1065 – Love, Joy and Peace

What might be the thoughts that race through you mind when you see the words – LOVE, JOY and PEACE put together? Frankly! If you are bent on living life in accordance with your own will, these words are quite foreign to you and have no REAL or I should say LASTING definition. In fact, within a short time you will have forgotten and moved on to some personal quest that may or may not provide you any comfort at all. So then the best for me to say to you is “Happy New Year” this is the common response of those around your circle of influence who within that same short time have forgotten themselves to be happy. Again frankly! Happy New Year and we’ll see you next year which is less than twenty-four hours away. (A SHORT TIME)!

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – VARIOUS SCRIPTURES

John 14:25-31 – "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

John 15:9-17 – "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 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. These things I command you, that you love one another. 

Love, Joy and Peace are more than just WORDS in those verses of scripture above. These are the ever-lasting attributes that belong to a PERSON whose name is Wonderful or Counselor, for that matter both Words are His Name since He is the Mighty God, (Isaiah 9:6). Just a week ago we said of that Baby (who was born over two thousand years ago) that He was and is Immanuel which in all languages is – God with us. The point – no one hates a baby, do they? The world though hates God! Think about this in the coming year, our actions speak louder than words… so I hope we will all seek to express LOVE, JOY and PEACE in Christ our LORD. May our New Year be full of His attributes.

The Devotional – 1064 – Foot Steps in First Corinthians, on going

The Devotional – 1064 – Foot Steps in First Corinthians, on going

A week or so ago I referenced a man who thought it was his mission in life to kill the captain of our ship. His claim was that God, (more likely “a god”) informed him to do this. Another individual was sent to a hospital ship for mental evaluation after running throughout a ship I was stationed on with no clothing on. To keep people from apprehending him he had found a very sturdy length of chain and was swinging it to keep people at arm’s length away from him. When he was finally subdued he was hearing voices and answering those voices as if he were in a normal conversation. You may be thinking that these are extreme cases of psychopathic behavior. True it is the label we assign to people who are mentally out of control, but in many, these evaluations are limited and do not go beyond a chemical imbalance or some other applied – medical diagnosis. We mainly are willing to accept the diagnosis because, we have little knowledge of these actions, in other words we assume human medical terms over supernatural ones.

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 1 Corinthians 14:6-19

The LORD Jesus Himself did not refer to those whom He cured as having a chemical imbalance – Luke 13:10-17. Even Luke the physician did not re-diagnose the woman’s condition of “infirmity” as being weak of malnutrition, or some other chemical or functional disability. Luke agree with the LORD that Satan had bound this woman to the infirmity for eighteen years. The term infirmity here in this text is not absolutely physical, but it is a sense of being defeated in life. (Feebleness of body or mind).

So here is the rub! Scripture most always interprets scripture; in fact I take more confidence in this than I do in any other means of interpretation. Look at what the apostle says in 1 Corinthians 14:6c. “What shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation (Ephesians 1:17), by knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:1-5), or by teaching (Titus 2:11-15)? Also there are those objects in life that have (no life), these cannot think or act without the input of human life. If you or I are behind the “trumpet” and it makes a sound that is not noteworthy, do we not say embarrassingly… excuse me; knowing that we are expressing “bad air”! And if I were behind the trumpet it would all be bad air!

What about language, do you know a language well enough to read it and write it? Congratulations! There are many, even millions who have no knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Honestly, can you speak to them, or would you even try? No you would not try since all of the languages of the world are not without meaning. There is specific significance in EVERY language and the tongue you say you have has little significance or meaning, so we tread on very thin ground. Ground that Satan possess to destroy life. Abundant Life does not come from the first half of John 10:10 it comes from the second half.

Also I would before closely off this morning have us look at 1 Corinthians 14:15-19 intently. The apostle starts with section with the words; “What is the result then?” Namely this; most all of those who claim they have the gift of speaking in tongues say they are praying to God, we ought not deny this since we have no significant proof or meaning to measure by. Yet the apostle does say that he has this ability but also says that he would rather speak FIVE words of intellect (understanding), than ten thousand words in a tongue without understanding. That is logical, is it not! It is very clear that to ignore scriptural teaching of this is that we are willingly “self ignorant” or "arrogant"!

The Devotional – 1063 – Foot Steps in First Corinthians, on going

The Devotional – 1063 – Foot Steps in First Corinthians, on going

Ever chase after something; that is, desire something and that always seems to be just a bit out of reach? Of course you have, most of this desire may seem okay, yet the apostle James clearly states that this sort of effort is sin. Speaking through the Holy Spirit to his readers he uses the desire to be prosperous financially as an example; he says that the desire to plan for the future without including God in those plans is sin (James 4:13-17). Yesterday while watching Dr. David Jeremiah’s In Touch program he covered this topic very well, yet it was food for thought for me concerning our walk through First Corinthians in that much of what we do as believers in Christ may fall into the category of the flesh rather than the Spirit. Chapter fourteen of First Corinthians speaks to all of us regarding our personal walk with the LORD among His children.

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Most often we desire spiritual gifts, in fact the apostle clearly says: “desire spiritual gifts” remember words in italics are not in the Greek text, but implied. These are added to suggest the intent of the one who is given the spiritual ability to prophesy or some other expression of the Holy Spirit within the church.

Let me also say that these gifts that the apostle has referenced are temporal, meaning that these Spiritual expressions were more active at one point in time but are less active today. The way I like to look at this is that the “church age” or the dispensation we live in today, yet being a mystery is complete. We need no additional revelation or special word from God, the next event of God’s Plan is to complete the mystery and return the Holy Spirit along with the church back to heaven. We ought to comfort one another in this; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Going back to 1 Corinthians 14:1 – did you notice that I missed something? I did that on purpose, you see our desire to be “something” spiritually overrides the main expression of the God the Holy Spirit. We are to “PURSUE” or to “chase after” THE Spiritual expression (gift) of the Love of God. What good is any prophesy or any other expression of God the Holy Spirit if we do not understand the LOVE of God which is the greater part of the “mystery” of the “grace dispensation” Ephesians 3:1-7 and John 3:13-17.

Now you may believe and it is true, we received the “love of God” when we were saved, yes we did, but did we fully understand the love of God, the answer; no we did not. I for one do not and it is the main search of my study of the Holy Bible, it should be yours too. I see the love of God, I feel the love of God and I expect confidently that the love of God has been made complete in me through the Person and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ my LORD. YET, have I chased after the love of God to fully express any of the temporal gifts of the Spirit of God as the apostle suggests? God will be the judge of this.

The scripture as I read it is clear and literal, “he who speaks in a tongue, DOES NOT SPEAK TO MEN but to God. So if one loves God accordingly, why should (he) openly expose his gift to another man if the words are only good for the ears of God? Remember the words of comfort I referred to in the second paragraph, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18? I see that the apostle Paul says that it is far better to speak within a prophesy of scripture and comfort one another rather than to speak in a tongue.

In Christendom today many are confused about the Spirit of God simply because they seem to be chasing after God for His gifts without first including God. 1 John 4:12-16 makes it clear that we have not been perfected in the LOVE of God if we are not first abiding in Him, for God is LOVE.