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Angel Envy

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I Peter
Meditation: I Peter 1:12

“Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!”

Shift Your Focus… Even before the Good News was announced at Bethlehem’s manger and authenticated at Calvary’s cross, rumors were spreading in heaven’s court that something big was about to happen. The Triune God had kept his plans for the salvation of mankind a secret from all creation—and it was really bugging the heavenly hosts. They were itching to know!

Little by little, as the time drew near, God began to release bits and pieces of the Good News, but never in completed form. The angels periodically announced to humans that something really big was coming, and the prophets prophesied the birth, suffering and redemptive work of Christ long before it happened, but always as if seeing “through a glass darkly.”

Then it came! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died as God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and rose again as Lord of life, Savior of the world, and Ruler of the universe. But even then, the Good News was still a bit of a mystery to the heavenly beings (as it still is to the unsaved world), because the only beings who could truly grasp this mystery were the one’s who had been redeemed by it.

You see, only undeserving sinners who have been redeemed from sin and death can truly appreciate salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Angels can’t—they can’t be redeemed because they can’t sin. Only humans have the free will to choose this amazing gift of God—and when they do, the mystery is grasped.

All the angels could do was witness it longingly from afar. They witnessed it when Jesus was born, when he died, when he rose, and when you received Jesus as your Lord. They know it is glorious beyond comprehension. But they can’t quite get their angel brains around it—and they envy!

How great a salvation you and I enjoy! No other creature can experience the greatest gift that God has made available in his entire universe. No other being but mankind can take part in the most powerful miracle of all—bigger than the creation of the worlds, bigger than the parting of the Red Sea, bigger than any other sensational miracle in the Bible—and that is the miracle of the new birth. God’s best miracle took place when you were born again!

Don’t take for granted this great gift God has bestowed upon you! Every heavenly being longs to understand what is now yours. On this day, take some time to appreciate God for “so great a salvation, so rich and so free.”

“There is no mystery in heaven or earth so great as this—a suffering Deity, an almighty Saviour nailed to a Cross.”  ~Samuel Zwermer

Prayer… Father God, forgive me for neglecting so great a salvation—for taking it, and you, for granted. Thank you for this indescribable gift. How privileged I am, above all your created beings, to be the recipient of this undeserved miracle.

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Church Bosses

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: III John 1
Meditation: III John 1:9

“Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.”

Shift Your Focus… It is a sad given that in most churches there are those who assume the position of “church boss.”  Perhaps they do so because of their years of service in the church. Maybe they believe their high level of financial support gives them spiritual clout. It could be they assume their success outside the church should translate into authority inside the church.  Or perhaps their natural talents and spiritual gifts, which give them more visibility than the average church attendee, provide them with the leverage to lead.

Whatever the reason, they assume a position of power.  They begin to call the shots.  They push for their preferences.  They oppose the direction of the true spiritual leaders of the church.  They make the flock miserable.  And they begin to squeeze the life out of the fellowship.

In far too many churches, “church bosses” (there may be several in one church) prevent the church from being a prevailing force in its community that God intends.  In those churches, a controlling spirit attaches itself to the fellowship through the foothold provided by these people, and Satan gains the upper hand.

The mark of authentic spiritual leadership in a church is not power, but humility.  The one who leads best leads from a position of servanthood and sacrifice.  True leaders deflect praise and acknowledgement back to God rather than grabbing it for themselves.  They care more about the unity of the Spirit rather than having their own way. They willingly lay down their life (their rights, wishes, preferences and position) for the glory of God and the health of the church.

“Church bosses” only maintain their position of power as they are empowered by the people.  So be careful with ascribing authority in your fellowship only to those who lead authentically—humbly, sacrificially and for the praise and glory of God.

It is not an overstatement to say that the life and health of your church depends on it.

“The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”  ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer… Father, may a spirit of humility characterize my fellowship through and through.  Remove any vestiges of pride, control and selfishness.  Make us into a church of servants, for your name’s sake.

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Discerning Love

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II John 1
Meditation: II John 1:5-6

“I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.  As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

Shift Your Focus… Love is more than just a feeling, although feelings of love are quite nice.  The emotion of love is only a small part of the love equation.  If you base your love on feelings and emotions, your love will be inconsistent and unpredictable—there one day and gone the next.

True love is much more than that.  The highest expression of love is to obey the commands of God.  And the commands of God are best summed up in the great commandment:  To love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength…and to love your neighbor as yourself.  (Mathew 22:36-40)

True love means to put God first.  True love means to give your heart and soul in full devotion to the Heavenly Father.  True love means to accept his Son, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  True love means to fully commit your life to God’s purposes.  True love means to lay down your life for other believers.  True love means to share your faith with lost people.  True love means to care about the things that God cares about.  True love is all of those things, and more.

But true love is not naïve.  True love does not mean accepting all things and all people.  True love does not mean blind tolerance and unlimited inclusiveness.  The truth is, there is evil in the world, and true love hates that evil.  And since evil is at its best when it masquerades as good, true love requires great discernment and constant alertness.  True love is required to oppose those who worm their way into the church with deceptive doctrines that have the potential to lead people away from the truth and thus destroy their souls.

That’s what John’s second epistle is all about.  Though very brief, his letter is powerful and pointed.  He is writing to the leaders of the church, exhorting them to continue to love, but to love with an eye out for ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing that are penetrating the fellowship, seeking to devour the flock.

God’s call to love is the same for you and me as it was for these people to whom John wrote.  We are to invest our lives in loving.  But our love isn’t true unless it is willing to reject falsehood and oppose evil people, especially when both try to pass themselves off as good.

By all means, love—but keep your eyes open!

“The safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”  ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer… Father, give me a discerning love!

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Secure In What God Declares

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I John 5
Meditation: I John 5:13

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Shift Your Focus… God does not want you to be insecure about your salvation.  He takes no pleasure in dangling you over the fires of hell on a rotten stick.  He wants you to know in your “knower” beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are saved and on your way to heaven.

No earthly father in his right mind would want his children to be insecure about his love for them; that he would protect them and provide for their needs no matter what.  Even when they misbehave, he doesn’t want them to feel as if he is going to kick them out of the house. A good father doesn’t love his kids one day but not the next.  His love is unconditional, and his children know that. Home is a safe place for them, and that’s why they are secure and well adjusted.

So it is with God. And so God wants his children to be: secure and well-adjusted in the safe love of God. And the Apostle John wrote that this is one of the very reasons why God gave us his Word:  To put into writing for all eternity that God’s children are eternally secure in their salvation.

Whether you feel saved or not, it doesn’t matter.  God’s Word says that when you gave your heart to Jesus, you were saved.

Whether you feel forgiven or not, the Bible says that if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Whether you feel the love of God or not, Scripture says that he loves you with an everlasting love.

Whether you feel God’s presence or not, the Word says he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Whether you feel he has heard your prayers or not, God’s Word says you can have confidence that if you ask anything according to his will, he hears you.

Whether you feel that heaven is your home after you die or not, the Bible says that Jesus is your resurrection and your life, and if you believe in him, you will never die.

So who are you going to believe: your feelings or God’s Word?

I think I will go with what God’s Word declares to be true.  I hope you will too!

“Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again.” ~St. Augustine

Prayer… Dear God, thank you for your Word.  It gives me security in my eternity, and nothing can tear that away from me.

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God Revealed

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I John 4
Meditation: I John 4:12

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Shift Your Focus… Ask a thousand different people for their concept of God and you will most likely get a thousand different depictions.  But the Bible makes it plain that the chief expression of God is love.  What does God look like?  He looks like love.

Not the sloppy, squishy, anything goes kind of love our world knows.  Not the ever-changing love that rises and falls with one’s current emotional state that far too many people today understand love to be.  Not the selfish kind of love that loves to the degree that love is requited.

No—real love is an unconditional love; it is a sacrificial love; it is a proactive love; it is a love that seeks out unworthy objects.  It is a holy and righteous love; it is a tough love; it is an unchanging love.  It is that kind of love that is at the core of God’s nature.  It is this love that is the essence of his being.

And though no one has ever seen God, he has made himself visible by the evidence of his love in this world.  Wherever you see this kind of love, there, in a very real sense, you see evidence of God.  Whether you see evidence of love in the wonder and majesty of nature or in the selflessness and sacrifice of humanity, there God has left his fingerprint of love.

But God is best seen in the lives of his redeemed ones as they live in loving community within the family of God.  Whenever you see authentic fellowship, spiritual unity, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, serving—you are seeing love in action; you are seeing God.

When you see God’s people reaching out to a lost world, loving the unlovely, serving the poor, preaching the Good News to the lost, laying down their lives so that hostile people can see the Father, there you have God’s love on display; there you see God.

And God is especially visible when his love is on display in you.  When you love with no thought of love in return; when you go out of your way to love; when you love in response to hurtful and hateful actions; when you suffer, but patiently love; when everyone else has given up but you stubbornly love anyway…

When that kind of love in action is displayed in you, there God is seen.

“Our love to Him is the proof and measure of what we know of His love to us.” ~John Newton

Prayer… Dear Father, I pray that your love will be on display in me today.

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What Love!

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I John 3
Meditation: I John 3:1

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.  And that is what we are!”

Shift Your Focus… Imagine that—you are a beloved child of God.  What incredible love the Father has lavished on you that he should make you his very own!  You were once outside the family of God, with no hope and no future.  You were an enemy of God, living in disobedience to his law, the deserving object of his righteous wrath because of your sinful nature.  You were a mess.

But then, God in his love sent his one and only son, Jesus, to rescue you from the helplessness and hopelessness of your sinful condition.  He took upon himself the wrath that you deserved, and he paid the full price for your pardon. He took your sin into his own body—he became sin for you—so that you could become righteous before God.

What love indeed!

Think about this:  You received a full and unconditional pardon from the penalty of death, and thus, you are no longer an object of God’s just judgment.  But there’s more; God’s love didn’t stop there.  You were not only pardoned, you were adopted into God’s very own family.  You who were once an enemy are now brought near to God’s heart and given a place in God’s kingdom.  A permanent place was set for you at the King’s table and you were given a position of purpose in his eternal plan.

What love indeed!

All because of God’s love, you were made a child of God.  What love the Father has bestowed upon one so undeserving as you.  And now you are called his very own.  That is who you are!

What love indeed!

“To use the grace given is the certain way to obtain more grace. To use all the faith you have will bring an increase of faith.” ~John Wesley

Prayer… Father, I am your child.  Nothing can change that.  No one can take that away from me. What love indeed, that you should call me your own.  And now, Father, what love I have for you, because you first loved me.

 

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Call It What It Is

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I John 2
Meditation: I John 2:4, 6

“The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him…Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

Shift Your Focus… An overwhelmingly high percentage of Americans claim Christianity as their faith, yet there is not a correspondingly high number of people who are walking as Jesus did. Obviously, this points to a fatal misunderstanding of what it truly means to be Christian.

Claiming to be a Christian doesn’t make you one anymore than going through the MacDonald’s drive-thru makes you a “Happy Meal.”  For too many, the only thing Christian about them is their claim.  Neither their internal character nor their lifestyles match what they say they believe.

I recently listened to a Washington insider speak of high profile elected leaders who claim Christianity as their faith, regularly attend Bible study, and share their faith with others, yet support causes that most committed Christ-followers would find reprehensible.  “How are they able to manage what seems to be mutually exclusive positions?” the insider was asked.  The leaders compartmentalize their Christian beliefs from their Washington world.

This is just one example of the kind of incongruence we now witness on a widespread basis in our society.  Yet these incongruent values are rarely, if ever, challenged by people of faith, who don’t want to come off as judgmental, narrow and intolerant.

I know I am on dangerous and unpopular ground in making a judgment about the authenticity of this type of so-called faith in Christ, but somebody’s got to say it…someone needs to point out that claiming Christ is only authenticated when we walk as Christ did.  In other words, sexual purity, moral fortitude, financial integrity, humility, kindness, and a thousand other virtues must distinguish both our inner being as well as our public identity.

There ought to be a distinguishable difference if we are going to claim Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Claiming him in name only won’t wash with God on the day we stand before him.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will do what I command.”  That—and nothing else—qualifies one to be Christian.

“Beside Jesus, the whole lot of us are so contemptible…But God is like Jesus, and like Jesus, He will not give up until we, too, are like Jesus.”  ~Frank C. Laubach

Prayer… Father, I pray for the courage and wisdom to confront the incongruent faith that is rampant in our land in a way that will open hearts and minds to what it truly means to be Christian.  Give me your compassion so that I will not be judgmental.  And Lord, help me to walk as Jesus did so that I can speak with authority before a world that needs to see the authentic Jesus.