OFFERING GOD’S LOVE

Offering God's love to another person and inviting someone else to follow Jesus multiplies both the inner qualities of spiritual fruitfulness and the outward impact of service more than anything else we could possibly do.  Living fruitfully includes passing along the faith and creating spiritual life in others.  Fruitful living involves inviting others to the spiritual life.

Offering God's love so that others may accept God's grace bears fruit beyond what we can fathom.  Imagine if as a consequence of you following Christ and your invitation, a few other people explore the spiritual life who otherwise might not have done so.  Imagine if these people eventually embrace following Jesus themselves, mature in faith, and make a difference in the world through their service, mission and giving.  Imagine how the people you invite to faith intermingle with the lives of countless other people you do not know.  The fruit in your life multiplies in unseen and unknowable ways when we offer God's love.  The grace of God is replicated, repeated, and shared.  Seeds are scattered, some take root and bear fruit in ways beyond what we can comprehend.

-- Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Living”


#4266

THE THRONE OF GRACE

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV)

When you blow it, God still celebrates His Son in you. The litmus test of whether or not you understand the gospel is what you do when you fail. Do you run from Him and go clean yourself up a little bit before you come back into the throne room? Or do you approach the throne of grace with confidence? If you don't approach the throne of grace with confidence, you don't understand the gospel.

-- Matt Chandler


#4265

A GOOD NEIGHBOR

Jesus told a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.  (Luke 10:30-36 NLT)

We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need -- regardless of race, politics, class, and religion -- is your neighbor.  Not everyone is your brother or sister in faith, but everyone is your neighbor, and you must love your neighbor.

-- Timothy Keller in “Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just”

#4264

POWERFUL PEACE

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27 NIV)

Peace doesn’t come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat.

God does not want us to live in worry or fear. He wants us to live with bold confidence in His power. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) In the Bible, we see a pattern in which God rarely sends people into situations where their comfort level is high. Rather He promises to be with them in their fear. It is God’s presence -- not comfortable circumstances -- that brings people to the best version of themselves.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be”

#4263

STUBBORN JOY

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  (Psalm 30:5b NKJV)

We don’t like to admit it, but pain is a fact of life. Sooner or later the “p” word comes into everyone’s path. And when it does how do you deal with it? Do you let pain conquer your spirit, or do you stare it down, armed with a “stubborn joy”? Even in pain God is near. He wants you to grasp the peace that defies pain. He wants to be with you, facing pain with His holy joy. Only He can show you the path to a defiant peace…

Jesus embodied a stubborn joy. A joy that refused to bend in the wind of hard times. A joy that held its ground against pain. A joy whose roots extended deep into the bedrock of eternity.

-- Max Lucado in “Peace That Defies Pain”