One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
Luke 10:25-28
As we move into this month that’s marked by a day dedicated to love, I felt there couldn’t be a better time to share a snippet of our upcoming Sonkist book entitledI Choose LOVE! As you may recall, I Choose JOY! is my most personal book yet-but this next volume in the I Choose series is the one I’m most passionate about. Why? Because it’s all about God’s love. The Lord loves me, and He loves you too. Here’s a little about that wonderful love for you to read right now:
I’ve often wondered if some people struggle with Jesus so much because they just can’t grasp how someone, even the Son of God, could possibly love them. For countless people around the globe, their tangible experiences with being loved have been shaky, at best. For others, the realities have been painful-being used and abused under the auspices of what another calls “love.” And many wonder how something that sounds so unfathomable, like the unwavering love of God, could ever become a reality in their lives.
But if these individuals could dig just a bit deeper into Jesus’ story, they’d find a man who experienced the same types of pain, losses, rejections, and suffering that they have had-yet His love overcame it all. Jesus left the wonders of Heaven to live an ordinary life, mistrusted and mistreated by those who should have welcomed His presence. He suffered and died because His desire is for everyone to be saved (II Peter 3:8-9).
The Greek word for Jesus’ compassion for mankind is “agape”-which is an unconditional love. I like to call it “just because” kind of love. The Lord has no strings attached to His love. There’s no tricky fine print. In other words, the Lord loves us “just because.”
This aspect of God’s gift of love seems too simple for certain individuals. There are men and women who would feel much better if they did something to earn salvation. As Scripture points out time and time again, we can’t do anything to win or gain eternal life. It’s a gift given in love that should be lovingly accepted.
We have been urged by the Lord to respond to His love in a unique way. In His discussion with the religious leader, Jesus explained God’s expectations for all of us: to love Him with our heart, soul, strength, and mind-and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In I John 3:23 we find this concept reframed this way: “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”
Again, we are faced with what our response should be to His loving gift. Why did Jesus place such importance on this? Because His love, while unconditional in every way, should change us! “Just because” kind of love should inspire us to love our Creator as well as everyone He has made. (from Chapter 3, “Love Thy Neighbor”)
We’ll keep you posted on when I Choose LOVE! will be available, but in the meantime, why not use this month as a great opportunity to reboot your thinking when it comes to love? It all starts by fully embracing the Lord’s gift of love and then multiplies as you reach out in love to those around you. Remember, you get to choose-that’s another one of God’s amazing gifts to all of us!
Thought of the Month
Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12
As we transition into this New Year, I thought we could consider tips for dressing successfully-but as you can tell from the verse above, this isn’t the way we typically think about how we should clothe ourselves. In the world we live in, success is often identified by a designer dress, a finely cut suit, or expensive accessories. And we’ve been “told” by society that if we hope to get ahead in life, we’d better dress the part.
Now I’m not saying that looking nice isn’t important, and I would be the first to admit that I have a weakness for cute clothes, snazzy shoes, and pretty purses. But the Lord reminds us in Colossians that there’s so much more we should be wrapping ourselves up in each and every day of our lives. Let’s take a closer look at each of these:
Compassion: this isn’t an ordinary “Oh, I feel for you” type of emotion. This word actually comes the Latin compati, which translates “to bear or suffer with.” In other words, it’s a deep empathy that urges us to want to bear the other person’s burden-and to help in some way.
Kindness: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, this word defines a state of being where “wanting and liking to do good things” and bringing happiness to others are the norm rather than the exception. Imagine how much better life would be if we all worked on this one attribute alone!
Humility: this descriptor about being humble makes even more sense when we look back at its Latin origin, humus, which is the word for earth. After all, nothing gets more basic, or lowlier, than the ground that we walk upon! This is the state Christ was born into when He left the wonders of Heaven for Planet Earth, and also how He chose to live while He was here.
Patience: the dictionary helps us understand why this term is also a noun that relates to someone receiving medical care. In other words, someone who is patient is also “able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people.”
Which attribute of God’s version of “dressing for success” do you feel is your greatest strength? Which one would you like to improve upon during this new year of life? Why not add compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience to your resolutions for 2015? After all, you are holy in God’s eyes, and He’d like to wrap you up in His love-the kind of love that changes you from the inside out!
Happy New Year to you and your family from the team at Sonkist Ministries!
Thought of the Month
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? Matthew 6:28-30
From the song Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Johann Sebastian Bach , lyrics by Robert Bridges
One of the joys of the Christmas season is the beautiful music that is played everywhere. Recently I heard the faint strains of Hark the Herald Angels Sing as I cruised up and down the grocery store aisles. Bing Crosby’s version of O Little Town of Bethlehem greeted me when I stepped into an elevator at a local mall. And when I tuned into satellite radio’s holiday station, I got to enjoy a melodious rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.
The lyrics of the song above might not be as familiar to some, but this last movement of a Bach cantata has been played at many Christian festivities since it was written in the early 1700s. In addition to Christmas, you may have heard it at Easter and at weddings. The lyrics that were later added by Bridges are also striking. They call for us to look to Jesus, the joy of man’s desiring. His wisdom and love speak to us, drawing us into an amazing relationship that allows our souls to soar!
Friends, this is what I love most about Christmas. In the days ahead, we can’t help but focus on Jesus. The decorations, wrappings, food, and festivities don’t have to be distractions-instead, they can be constant reminders of what this holy season is all about! And that’s what I long for: I want to really know Jesus more and more this Christmas. I think Paul said it best this way:
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death.
Philippians 3:7-10
Like the apostle, my heart’s desire is to know my Lord and Savior. I want to understand why He left the joys of Heaven in order to save us. I long to love the way He does, reaching out to both the saved and yet-to-be-saved-sharing with them about the joy that He has given me.
Much of the music of this blessed season reminds me of His truths. Let’s look at the final stanzas of Bach’s famous tune:
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.
Hope is indeed guiding us in this journey of life. Christmas and all its festivities merely
point us back to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. So, enjoy the music! Drink in the sights and sounds of the season, and celebrate with family and friends. Most of all, get to know Jesus more through every joyful moment of the days and weeks ahead.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Sonkist Ministries!
Thought of the Month
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
From O Little Town of Bethlehem by Phillips Brooks and Lewis Redner
“Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.” Jonah 4:5-6
What on earth does the prophet Jonah have to do with this month when we celebrate Thanksgiving? Plenty! Like so many of us, Jonah was blessed immensely by God-and in the passage above, we see how grateful he was for the Lord’s perfect provision in his time of need. But also like us, Jonah quickly forgot those blessings. In fact, when things got tough, this reluctant prophet got angry:
But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!” Jonah 4:7-9
It’s almost impossible to believe that this is the same individual who cried from the belly of the great fish for God to save him! After disobeying God, Jonah desperately prayed for help, even making promises to God: “But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone!” (Chapter 2, verse 9). One can’t miss the irony of a man, saved from death, wishing to die because a plant perished!
Yet if I take an honest look at my life, how many times has my gratitude shifted-sometimes dramatically-because I felt slighted by someone or even by God Himself? And when I might tend to judge someone like Jonah for being unthankful after all that the Lord had done for him, couldn’t others say the same thing about me? How often have I forgotten my blessings and instead focused on a particular problem or burden?
I’m not sure how you feel, but I want this season of Thanksgiving to be different. I don’t want to be appreciative for a day, like Jonah, and then slip into a spirit of ungratefulness when times get tough. I would love to grasp the bigger picture of what God is doing in my life and in my world. And I’d really like to remain consistent in my attitude of gratitude-not wavering because of some circumstance that goes awry or someone who doesn’t see things my way.
Where would you like to improve when it comes to thankfulness? How can you praise the Lord more for the good things He has done for you? And if God gives you something you don’t want-or takes away something that you do-can you still say “praise the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21b)?
The great news is that God can still use us, even when we’ve messed up on some of simplest lessons about gratitude. Jonah helped save Nineveh, a city of 120,000 people, despite his flaws. If the Lord can do that kind of work, who knows what He has in store for us this month-and in the months ahead!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at Sonkist Ministries!
Thought of the Month
“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.” Psalm 50:14
