Milk and Me

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides for ever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Do you remember the days when life was simple? The only thing you did was depend on your parents to do everything for you such as giving you a bottle, picking you up when you cried, and rocking you to sleep at bedtime. Actually, I cannot remember many of these moments very well. However, I do recall eating supper around the family table, telling mom and dad about tough situations at school, and being able to go to bed, sleeping peacefully in the security of my parents’ home. Looking back, it was a joyful time because my parents provided all of my needs and simply asked me to obey. How much easier could it get than that? Life then was simple.

Now, with a six-month-old in the house, I am relearning valuable lessons about loving God and family. Most mornings, I wait for Daniel to start crying when he is waking up in his crib. When I hear that he is stirring, I walk to his bedroom and bend down for his reaching arms. He normally has the brightest expression on his face when he sees me. It is in this moment I realize that all he wants is his mother or me. His love is raw, real, powerful, and intimate, and I know he is completely depending on me for everything. Once he is secure in my arms, the next thing he wants is a bottle of fresh milk. Of course, I give him what he needs and desires, as he rests in my arms.

As he continues to grow, he is beginning to enjoy watching cartoons, playing with remote controls, and exploring the world in which he lives through crawling. Sometimes, he gets distracted from me with the door stop or something on the coffee table, but at the end of the day, all he wants is milk and me, as he says, “da-da.”

Are you still depending on your heavenly Father every day? He was there the day you were “born again” into His family. He has provided for you every single day before and since then. Have you lost touch with Him? Have you forgotten that He is your “Abba, Father”? If so, let Him know how much have missed His intimate fellowship and are thankful for the gift of his Son. His Son died that we may live, and it is in Jesus Christ where we see the glory and reflection of the Father. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

Keep looking up to Him as the Psalmist reminds us, “I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2). As you look up to the Father, may “the LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). Knowing Jesus is sweeter than the radiating smile of a newborn babe reflecting from the face of a loving father.

Getting Your Hands Dirty

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-4, 14

Last week, my wife and I were privileged to go to the hospital and visit friends who had their first child. I was amazed at the responsibility of a child and thought through some of the differences a child would bring into someone’s life. When we arrived in the room, I was able to hold her while she quietly slept and occasionally yawned. She was easy to handle but quite fragile. There was a lot of attention being focused on this little girl. I kept my eyes on her most of the time while talking to the family. It was a precious moment! After a while, she was stirred to emotion and began crying. Of course, my wife had her in her arms by that point; I had already passed her off right before the cries started. It wasn’t long until she seemed to be at ease. She was quiet and still but emitted a little bit of odor. My wife graciously handed the baby over to her father, and he inspected her. There was a mess to be cleaned up; It was personal, private, and obvious.

Have you ever thought about how we treat relationships at times? It is easy to be friends with someone who always responds the way you want them to. It is easy to get to know someone who has the same interests, job, socio-economic status, cultural background, and ideas on life. What is hard is to engage and take initiative in building relationships with those who are different. Of course, relationships are built over time, vary in levels of trust, and at times can be tested. Should we walk away so easily when relationships get messy? There is a part of us that wants to be separated, isolated, and unchanging. However, there is also a part of us that yearns for contact. With contact, there will be conflict at times, yet we must change according to truth and adapt to show that we care. This is the only way to grow in the context of a community.

Have you ever thought about what God looked down on when He saw us walking around and living in our sin? He could have said, “I do not want to get involved in the mess they have created for themselves.” He could have remained distant, silent, and uninvolved, yet He didn’t. Galatians tells us, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” We were condemned by the law. It exposed the personal, private, and obvious sins in our messy lives. Like helpless babies, we are unable to do anything for ourselves. Actually, Paul told the Ephesians that they were dead men walking (Eph. 2:1-3).

However in spite of our filth, Jesus entered the world we live in. He got his hands and feet dirty. He felt the desert air on his face. He felt the sun beaming down. He rode on filthy donkeys, wore dusty sandals, and built things as a carpenter. He loved on children, rebuked false professors, and showed grace to the repentant. He calmed the disciples’ fears on the sea. He was betrayed by one of them, Judas Iscariot, and saddened by the rejection of one of his closest friends, Peter. He loved by initiating contact with sinners in their messes. He loved by confronting men and women with truth. He loved by never compromising his character—the nature of his Father that He declared and came to reveal (Hebrews 1:1-3). He loved on the cross by dying for the way, truth, and life. He entered our world so we might be born again and see His (John 3:1-6).

Jesus was the Word made flesh. He lived among real people in a real time and was full of grace and truth. He proved that God loved the world not in thought only, but in sacrificial action. He chose to love us, so He might display the greatness of His glorious grace. In His extravagant love, based on truth, He revealed the grace-filled life and died for the church—a community connected in Him and bearing the cross with grace, truth, and love. The church is not of this world. We are seated in heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 1:3), but we must love, be incarnate, and be His body to those who are wallowing in their mess. Who is it that you need to reach out to and love? Who can you show Christ to? Pray. Act (Don’t pass your opportunities on to someone else!). Live in the power of the Spirit. Enjoy God’s presence in being part of the body of Christ.

Alive in the Word,
Brian Johnson

A Love Letter

“Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. “Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it; if a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised.” (Songs of Solomon 8:6-7 NASB)

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and I am sure that you have been thinking about what you are going to give that special someone. Can you remember what it was like in elementary school when this day came around? My parents were accustomed to going to Wal-Mart every Friday Night after my dad came home from work. It was our shopping night and the night that I most often got in trouble for wandering around the store and trying to get $5 out of my dad for a toy. However when this time of year came around, my parents found it amusing I am sure that I wanted to buy a box of $2 cards and share them with my classmates. I loved to give, and most importantly at that time, get a card in return. Everyone in the class shared and was happy when the cards were placed on their desk. It was exciting, freeing and a rush of child-like love at least for one-hour on one day of the year!

Love letters have been passed around for hundreds of years. There is not a single one of us that has not received or written one to a high school sweetheart or to your husband or wife. Even before Shakespeare’s play of Romeo and Juliet, love has been a powerful force. Love unites and draws people together to the point of death but hatred divides and scatters. Have you ever seen a love that was as strong as death? The greatest story of love and redemption has been written by God when He revealed His love through the sacrificial and substitutionary death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He came to die on the cross that He might restore those who repent of their sins and trust Him by faith. His love letter was not written with ink from a pen, but with His precious blood that was spilt on Calvary’s cross.

The love of God for mankind goes beyond just saving us from the torments of Hell. Hell was prepared for the devil and His angels, yet those who continue to hate God and His Son will spend eternity there as well. Salvation by grace through faith saves us from ourselves and the sin that separated us from experiencing the priceless pleasure of God’s extravagant love. We can know God’s love today and be with Him for all of eternity. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

What do you think will make Heaven, Heaven? Will it be the gates of pearl or streets of gold? What about God’s throne or the sapphire, jasper, or emerald walls of the new city? If you are only looking for the gold and jewels of heaven then you have missed the point. Heaven will be heaven because God is there dwelling among His people. It will be filled with people from every kindred, tongue, people and nation. Oh, how we need God’s grace and love that we might share this good news with our enemies, acquaintances, friends and family members. If you find yourself needing to be lifted up and loved, read God’s love letter to you, remember what He has done on the cross and the promises He’s made and write an encouraging letter to someone else. Giving liberates the heart and whoever said that showing love has to be confined to one day. Remember its not the monetary price that you pay but the depth of your heart that you reveal.

Lavishing Love for God’s Glory

Jude 1:2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

What is the greatest story of love that you have ever heard about? I can recall hearing my dad speak about the love that he had for my mother when they were 17, and it has remained until now through thick and thin for 30 years this September. What about the love stories from the war? Do you ever think of the sacrifices that are paid each day and the desperation of being apart for so many days, months or years? The reuniting of soldiers coming home to their wives is breathtaking especially when the children are resting in the mother’s arms waiting for their daddy. There are many love stories that make Hollywood’s screen. Some are true and others are fictional but none compare to the greatest love story ever written…

At the end of basketball practice each day in college, I can hear the words of my coach echo into my ear as he closed us in prayer. He would always say, “Thank you God for loving me when I can be so unlovable.” Have you ever stopped to consider the strength, power, height, depth, length and width of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ? We have all been unlovable, unresponsive and unappreciative of God’s love for us. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We would have no hope of ever knowing love unless love pursued us. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The Gospel is the greatest love story of the King of Glory becoming a peasant and dying an ungodly substutionary death that the ungodly could be made “kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:6)

How can we distinguish between those who know love and those who are pretending to love? For many years before my conversion, I always tried to love other people, but it was a selfish love based on what I could manipulate others to do. God’s love is unselfishly lavished on sinners for no other reason than to reveal the beauty and glory of His love that is directed toward the unlovable. Do you remember the moment that “the love of God was shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us?” This is an amazing reality that many in the church have yet to experience… the awakening of the soul by the Holy Spirit to respond to the overwhelming flood of God’s love displayed through the cross.

Over the past few months, I have witnessed this love in many people who continuously love despite the unresponsiveness of others. Women who love their husbands though passive and unresponsive to the gospel, missionaries who lay down their lives for a rebellious people group, employees who work diligently and share Christ in the workplace, and students who give hope to their hurting classmates are setting an example. Every time you step out of your comfort zone and do something spontaneous and unexpected to those who are totally undeserving of your love, you are revealing God’s grace and truth to others. We are called to do to others what you would want them to do to you. If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy. (Luke 6:31-32, 35-36 NCV)

Loving the Enemy

(9-10-03 1:24 AM)

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

What a concept to debate
The challenges that ensue
Beware of the reprobates
You know what you are told to do

Treat everyone with kindness, love, and joy
No matter who they are
Or how much they annoy
In this, explore

Give it a try
Don’t ask Who, What, When, Where, or Why
Just love
It’s a commandment from above

First to God
With all of your heart, mind, and strength
Then to man
Pieces of clay, ever so weak

It’s time to quit being bitter
A disease of the heart
Satan’s the baby sitter
For one day, he’ll hear an Eternal Depart

You’ve messed with my people too long
You’ve helped them struggle through life
Allowing them to think they belong
In a world of sin, envy, and strife

What a liar?
The Wicked Despiser
He hates you, me
Especially thoughts of eternity

He’s the enemy of all enemies
Living only to please himself
With another dead soul
Not wanting to let go

I am his worst counterpart
And he is mine
However, his weapon is hate in the heart
Mine is Love that shines

We go head to head
Fighting for the souls of man
My God wants to make alive
Satan wants all to be dead

His soul is already lost
At what cost?
Pretending to be his own god
The prince of the air
Everyday devouring souls will plod

What can we take to the battleground?
Love that abounds
Will be enough
It will heap coals upon his head
The heat, He’ll feel is going to be rough

What a testing gauge?
Have you gotten Satan in a rage
By your actions?
He hates the reaction
You cause

Love’s applause
For Eternity
Is rubbing him raw
The love of the enemy