Digging Deep

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. As God works in us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure we are to work that transformation out in newness of life. In Luke 6, Jesus taught that as His disciples set their mind on things above, they will understand their present circumstances from and eternal perspective. He also taught if their hearts are sourced in heavenly love, it will be manifest in word, intent, and deed even to those who hate them. There are to be no Christian Pharisees, but rather disciplers who are forgiving, not condemning; constantly discerning and humbly dealing with their own faults in the presence of a holy God, before they may be used by God to help remove the specks of fault in their brothers. Only as our hearts and minds are transformed by Christ will we have any treasure to share with those around us. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NKJV) The religious person who is not willing to go deep with Jesus, to the heart of every matter, will only build a life of superficialities that will not withstand the trials of life. If our relationship with Christ is digging deep into our “willing” and our “doing”, He is founding our lives upon His bedrock and we shall not be moved when trial come. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, NKJV)

Greatest Lovers

Galatians 5:6 says, “...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”(NIV) Romans 5:5 assures us that, “...the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit...” Looking out for the interests of others, not just my own interests, (Phil. 2:4) requires a willingness to love sacrificially, but we are not always willing. In stories of the old west, we celebrate as the hero is making his escape...
Then one of the bad guys says with a sneer, “I’ll just head em off at the pass!” In the same way, our love for others is sometimes headed off at the pass. Any sin can function as a love-stopper as it refocuses my concern from your needs and desires to my needs and desires. Lust turns love from caring about someone to objectifying them as a source of meeting my desires. Envy does the same... James 3:16 “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”(NKJV) The King of the love-stoppers has to be pride. Pride puffs me up and de-values you. 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 proclaims that “love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked...” Love is in harmony with Philippians 2:3s instruction “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Love remembers the humility of Christ, who, “being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8. Since Jesus said in John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” is it any wonder that if we are to love like Jesus loves, we must humble ourselves as He humbled Himself?
1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,” We have the love of God. Let us therefore be humble and express our faith through love. 1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”(NKJV)