If you asked the average American what is the greatest kind of love, the answer most given would be:
The Love Between a Husband and Wife
Or
The Love Between a Parent and Children
Or
The Love of Family.
For Example:
7 out of 10 people say Christmas is about family.
21% of all books of fiction sold are romance novels.
More songs and movies about romantic love than any other theme.
In 2012 survey 2 out of 3 people involved in church said that love of family was the single most important thing in their lives.
Look at what God says in Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord appeared to them from a distance. I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. And so with unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.”
No one else loves me like that.
No one else loves you like that.
The story of Jacob and Rachel and Leah in Genesis is very interesting. It is a picture of why romantic love cannot totally satisfy us and why we need God’s love.
The story is that Jacob falls in love with Rachel and works seven years for the right to marry her.
In Genesis 29:20 we see the depth of Jacob’s love for Rachel. It says, “So Jacob served for seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.”
Wow, that is Hallmark sappy!
But in the very next verse, Genesis 29:21, Jacob says, “Give me my wife that I may go into her, for my time is complete.”
Not so Hallmark.
But Laban, Rachel’s father, decided that it would not be proper etiquette to give Rachel, the young daughter, in marriage before her older sister Leah got married. So Laban made a switch and gave Leah to Jacob as his wife. When Jacob figured it out it was too late. They were married and so he agreed to work another seven years to get Rachel as his wife.
Leah was unloved by Jacob and she knew it. She pursued ways to make Jacob to love her.
The names she gave her sons reflect her deep desire to earn Jacob’s love.
The first son was Rueben which means the Lord has seen my misery. Leah was feeling and living as a victim.
The second son was Simeon which means I am not loved so God gave me another son. Leah is desperate.
The third son is Levi which means my husband will become attached to me. Leah was doing all she could to get Jacob to love her.
But then a change occurs in Leah. She names her fourth son Judah. Judah means Praise the Lord. Leah stops seeking to get Jacob to love her and seeks God’s love.
Leah realized that even if Jacob suddenly realized that he loved her that would not satisfy her need to be loved. Only God’s love fills up the hole in our lives.
Another great thing about God’s love is that you don’t have to earn it. God loves you. He loves you all the time. He loves you no matter how you act. He loves you not based on you, but based on Him.
Then in Genesis 22 we have the story of Abraham and Isaac.
God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice his son Isaac. Isaac was the most precious thing in Abraham’s life. He was his only son. He was the son of the Promise. He was the son that God had promised and through whom God would fulfill everything He had told Abraham would happen.
So what was Abraham’s response? - FAITH!
Abraham showed faith by obey God quickly.
Abraham showed faith by telling his servants that he and Isaac would go worship and they both would return.
Abraham showed faith by telling Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice.
Abraham showed faith by putting Isaac on the altar.
God will always ask you to replace what you love most with Him. God will ask you to sacrifice ANYTHING that may come between you and Him.
God says in Exodus 20:3: “You must not have any other god before Me.”
God says in Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and mother.”
God says honor your parents, but WORSHIP ME.
In Mark 12 Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment. Jesus’ answer in verse 31 is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Jesus indicates that loving God must come before loving anyone else.
In Matthew 12 Jesus is told that His mother and brothers have come to see Him. Jesus is in a house teaching His disciples. In verses 48 through 50 we read Jesus’ response to that message. He says, “Who is my mother, and who are brothers? And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus elevates our connection by faith with our connection by biology. He is basically saying that Jesus’ blood connects us with each more strongly than human blood does. Following Jesus is what our marriages and families are to center around.
Jesus tells His disciples a truth in Luke 14:26 that must have rocked their world. He says, “You cannot be My disciples, unless you love Me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow Me unless you love Me more than you love your own life.”
Jesus makes it very clear to be a true disciple and follower of His, we have to love Him more than we love our parents, our spouse, our children (even our grandchildren), and even our own life.
Jesus in Luke 12:31 says that we are to seek His kingdom and then trust Him to provide what we need. We are to trust Him to provide not only the physical things of life but also the love we need.
Jesus is to be our IDENITY.
In Acts 17:27-28 Paul says, “He has done this so they would look to God, somehow reach for Him, and find Him. In fact, He is never far from any one of us. Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of Him.”
We are not to identify ourselves as the world does. We are to see ourselves as who we are in Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 Paul talks about who God is and how we can relate to Him. He says, “Even if there are so-called “gods” whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of those “gods” and “lords,” yet there is only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and though whom we live.”
God is Creator so we relate to Him as His creation.
God is Father so we relate to Him as His children.
God is Lord so we relate to Him as His servants.
Jesus is to be our EVERYTHING.
When Jesus is our everything He makes us holy and gives us joy.
Acts 2:28
You will teach me how to live a holy life. Being with You will fill me with joy.
When Jesus is our everything our life is in Him and we receive all that He has promised to give us.
Colossians 3:3-4
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with Him.
Worshiping in the Temple of Love with its gods of Romantic Love and Family will lead to:
Heartache
Disappointment
Depression
Those gods lead there because they can not fill up our need for love. You and I were created to be filled up with God’s love and no other love no matter how good, healthy, and big can fill us up. Those gods also lead there because their love is not perfect and God’s love is perfect and according to 1 John 4:18 perfect love drives away fear.
So Worshiping in the Temple of God, making Jesus your God leads to:
Hope
Completeness
Joy
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is allowing nothing, no matter how good it may look and feel, to come between us and God’s love for us. Nothing hindering us from loving God with all that we are.
The Temple of Love or The Temple of God - YOU CHOOSE!
Centered on Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Worshiping in The Temple of Power
POWER
It’s not a long word.
It’s not a hard word to spell.
It’s not a complex word.
Power is something that many people want.
Power is something that many people focus their lives on.
Power is something that many people will give anything to get.
Many people worship in the Temple of Power.
The gods in the Temple of Power are:
Achievement
Success
Money
In Scripture there were two men who worshiped in the Temple of Power.
The first was the Rich Young Ruler.
Matthew 19:16-22
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question - if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.” “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
The young man wanted eternal life. He wanted salvation. However, he wanted to do something so he could earn it.
He saw eternal life as another trophy. He probably had many. He saw salvation as an earned reward.
One of the most common gods of success people worship is following religious rules.
In Jesus’ lifetime the Pharisees certainly fit that description. They were all about the rules. Jesus harshest words were directed to them because they were not worshiping God. They were worshiping the power that came from following the rules and making others follow them gave to them.
Following rules doesn’t accomplish what God wants to do in our lives. Look at what Paul says in Colossians 2:21-23.
“Don’t handle this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t even touch that thing”? These rules refer to earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. They seem to be wise, but they are only part of a human religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.”
Jesus wants to transform your life. Religious rules can’t do that.
Jesus invited the rich young ruler to give up his wealth and follow Him.
The young man said no. He chose his wealth and possessions over Jesus. The wealth and possessions were his god and he didn’t want to exchange them for the One True God - Jesus.
As followers of Jesus, we must acknowledge our helplessness and need.
Salvation is not something we can ever earn or deserve. Ephesians 2:9 says, “It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.”
People who worship in the Temple of Power like to brag about their achievement in earning their salvation by following the rules.
People who worship in the Temple of God acknowledge that they are helpless and depend on God’s grace.
The second person is the Rich Farmer.
Luke 12:16-21
Then He told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger one. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and my other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’” Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.
Notice all the “my’s” in this passage. The farmer really thought it was all about him. He thought it was his achievement. He thought is was his success.
Many people view wealth with divine attributes.
They see it as their source of Security.
God’s Word says that wealth cannot be very secure and that we should not seek to be rich or poor.
Proverbs 30:8-9
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of God.
They see it as the source of Satisfaction.
Wealth can never satisfy because we will always want more.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.
They see it as the source of Significance.
Wealth cannot get us what truly makes us valuable: a relationship with Jesus.
In Matthew 16:28 Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Is earning wealth, achievement, or success worth my soul, who God created me to be?
When we worship in the Temple of God we connect with Jesus.
Jesus is our Provider
John 15:5
I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.
He produces the fruit for us and through us.
We exist for Jesus.
John 15:8
My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are My disciples.
Our lives are to honor the Father by following Jesus.
Jesus is all we need.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him,, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is our Provider.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore, don’t worry and say, “What are we going to eat?” or “What are we going to drink?” or “What are we going to wear?” Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Jesus will meet your needs.
Philippians 4:19
And the same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus provides for us in life and in death.
John 14:2-3
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places, if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
We have to depend on Jesus in death also because we are not going to leave here with any material things.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.
It makes sense to alot of people to save up enough:
Dollars
Brownie Points
Box Tops
Soup Labels
Chuck E. Cheese Tickets
Good Deeds
To try and earn salvation.
That is how it is suppose to work in America - we earn it, we make our own way, we pay for everything with blood, sweat, and tears. We are self-made people.
Jesus, however, defines success and achievement entirely differently.
It is stepping away from the wealth.
It is stepping away from the stuff.
It is stepping away from the business.
It is stepping away from the prestige.
It is stepping away from the position.
It is Matthew 5:3-10, it is being
Being Poor in Spirit
Mourning
Being Meek
Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness
Being Merciful
Being Pure in Heart
Being a Peacemaker
Suffering Persecution Because of Jesus
When you worship in the Temple of Power you think you can earn your salvation.
Paul says in the first part of Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” A wage is something you earn. When I try to the very best of my abilities I earn - DEATH.
When you worship in the Temple of God you know you are helpless to earn your salvation. You know that without Jesus and His death on the cross and His resurrection you have no hope. Then the second part of Romans 6:23 becomes your reality, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
YOU CHOOSE!
Acknowledging It Is Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
It’s not a long word.
It’s not a hard word to spell.
It’s not a complex word.
Power is something that many people want.
Power is something that many people focus their lives on.
Power is something that many people will give anything to get.
Many people worship in the Temple of Power.
The gods in the Temple of Power are:
Achievement
Success
Money
In Scripture there were two men who worshiped in the Temple of Power.
The first was the Rich Young Ruler.
Matthew 19:16-22
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question - if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.” “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
The young man wanted eternal life. He wanted salvation. However, he wanted to do something so he could earn it.
He saw eternal life as another trophy. He probably had many. He saw salvation as an earned reward.
One of the most common gods of success people worship is following religious rules.
In Jesus’ lifetime the Pharisees certainly fit that description. They were all about the rules. Jesus harshest words were directed to them because they were not worshiping God. They were worshiping the power that came from following the rules and making others follow them gave to them.
Following rules doesn’t accomplish what God wants to do in our lives. Look at what Paul says in Colossians 2:21-23.
“Don’t handle this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t even touch that thing”? These rules refer to earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. They seem to be wise, but they are only part of a human religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.”
Jesus wants to transform your life. Religious rules can’t do that.
Jesus invited the rich young ruler to give up his wealth and follow Him.
The young man said no. He chose his wealth and possessions over Jesus. The wealth and possessions were his god and he didn’t want to exchange them for the One True God - Jesus.
As followers of Jesus, we must acknowledge our helplessness and need.
Salvation is not something we can ever earn or deserve. Ephesians 2:9 says, “It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.”
People who worship in the Temple of Power like to brag about their achievement in earning their salvation by following the rules.
People who worship in the Temple of God acknowledge that they are helpless and depend on God’s grace.
The second person is the Rich Farmer.
Luke 12:16-21
Then He told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger one. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and my other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’” Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.
Notice all the “my’s” in this passage. The farmer really thought it was all about him. He thought it was his achievement. He thought is was his success.
Many people view wealth with divine attributes.
They see it as their source of Security.
God’s Word says that wealth cannot be very secure and that we should not seek to be rich or poor.
Proverbs 30:8-9
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of God.
They see it as the source of Satisfaction.
Wealth can never satisfy because we will always want more.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.
They see it as the source of Significance.
Wealth cannot get us what truly makes us valuable: a relationship with Jesus.
In Matthew 16:28 Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Is earning wealth, achievement, or success worth my soul, who God created me to be?
When we worship in the Temple of God we connect with Jesus.
Jesus is our Provider
John 15:5
I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.
He produces the fruit for us and through us.
We exist for Jesus.
John 15:8
My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are My disciples.
Our lives are to honor the Father by following Jesus.
Jesus is all we need.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him,, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is our Provider.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore, don’t worry and say, “What are we going to eat?” or “What are we going to drink?” or “What are we going to wear?” Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Jesus will meet your needs.
Philippians 4:19
And the same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus provides for us in life and in death.
John 14:2-3
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places, if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
We have to depend on Jesus in death also because we are not going to leave here with any material things.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.
It makes sense to alot of people to save up enough:
Dollars
Brownie Points
Box Tops
Soup Labels
Chuck E. Cheese Tickets
Good Deeds
To try and earn salvation.
That is how it is suppose to work in America - we earn it, we make our own way, we pay for everything with blood, sweat, and tears. We are self-made people.
Jesus, however, defines success and achievement entirely differently.
It is stepping away from the wealth.
It is stepping away from the stuff.
It is stepping away from the business.
It is stepping away from the prestige.
It is stepping away from the position.
It is Matthew 5:3-10, it is being
Being Poor in Spirit
Mourning
Being Meek
Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness
Being Merciful
Being Pure in Heart
Being a Peacemaker
Suffering Persecution Because of Jesus
When you worship in the Temple of Power you think you can earn your salvation.
Paul says in the first part of Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” A wage is something you earn. When I try to the very best of my abilities I earn - DEATH.
When you worship in the Temple of God you know you are helpless to earn your salvation. You know that without Jesus and His death on the cross and His resurrection you have no hope. Then the second part of Romans 6:23 becomes your reality, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
YOU CHOOSE!
Acknowledging It Is Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Worshiping in the Temple of Pleasure
You were created to worship God.
Psalm 150:6
Let every living thing praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
You were created to serve God.
Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
You were created to love God.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
We can measure what we worship, serve and love by looking at:
- What we spend our money on.
- What we spend our time doing.
- What we are devoted to.
When you look at this three areas of the American culture you will see that what we worship, serve and love is - Pleasure.
The culture says, “If it feels good do it!”
The culture says, “It’s my body I can do what I want with it.”
The culture says, “It’s my life. I can do what I want with it.”
But I hear the worship of pleasure even in the church.
The church says, “I deserve to have that.”
The church says, “I deserve to be happy.”
The church says, “Well, God wants me to be happy.”
We need to move from worshiping at the Temple of Pleasure to worshiping at the Temple of God.
How do we move from the temple of pleasure to God’s temple?
First, let Jesus be your portion.
Lamentations 3:24
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
As your portion He is your provision and security.
Psalm 16:5
Lord, You are my portion and my cup [of blessing]; You hold my future.
As your portion He is your strength.
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and Portion forever.
As your portion His is your refuge.
Psalm 142:5
I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
If you make pleasure your god then:
- You will be disappointed.
- You will wind up with a lot of hurt.
- You will not find satisfaction.
If you let Jesus be your God then:
- You will never be disappointed.
- You will experience peace.
- You will be satisfied.
Second, let Jesus be your satisfaction.
Jeremiah 25:31
I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and full refresh the souls of those who are faint.
Jesus will satisfy you by:
His Love
Psalm 90:14
When morning comes, let your love satisfy all our needs. Then we can celebrate and be glad for what time we have left.
His Good Gift
Proverbs 5:18-19
Let your own fountain be blessed, and enjoy the girl you married, when you were young, a loving doe and a graceful deer. Always let her breasts satisfy you. Always be intoxicated with her love.
Jesus will satisfy:
Our Needs
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you always: He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strength of your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Our Desires
Psalm 145:16
Opening Your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
When pleasure is your god it leads to:
- Emptiness (not being satisfied)
- Hopelessness (believing we will never be satisfied)
When Jesus is your God it leads to:
- Fullness
- Hope
Ephesians 4:13
Until we all reach the unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Romans 5:5
Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
In 1 Kings 18 Elijah has a country-changing contest with the false god Baal and his prophets. Elijah challenges them to a contest to see who is the true God.
In 1 Kings 18:21 it says, “Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, ‘How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow Him, if Baal is God follow Him.’” The people didn’t say a word.
Why didn’t the people say a word? They wanted both pleasure and Yahweh.
God wants to bless you.
God wants to pour out His love and grace and mercy and joy and peace and hope.
God wants you and me to experience pleasure.
But God will not bless us when the very things He is blessing us with are His rivals for our worship, service and love. He will withhold His blessing in the very area we lift up as false gods.
Inside the Temple of Pleasure gifts are turned to - Idols.
Following and worshiping those gifts turned into idols (false gods) will lead to pain.
Inside the Temple of God good gifts are recognized as gifts from God and He is worshiped, served, and loved.
Following and worshiping Jesus leads to joy and peace.
You Choose!
In the Temple of God Raising the Roof and Removing The Walls
Joe
Psalm 150:6
Let every living thing praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
You were created to serve God.
Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
You were created to love God.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
We can measure what we worship, serve and love by looking at:
- What we spend our money on.
- What we spend our time doing.
- What we are devoted to.
When you look at this three areas of the American culture you will see that what we worship, serve and love is - Pleasure.
The culture says, “If it feels good do it!”
The culture says, “It’s my body I can do what I want with it.”
The culture says, “It’s my life. I can do what I want with it.”
But I hear the worship of pleasure even in the church.
The church says, “I deserve to have that.”
The church says, “I deserve to be happy.”
The church says, “Well, God wants me to be happy.”
We need to move from worshiping at the Temple of Pleasure to worshiping at the Temple of God.
How do we move from the temple of pleasure to God’s temple?
First, let Jesus be your portion.
Lamentations 3:24
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
As your portion He is your provision and security.
Psalm 16:5
Lord, You are my portion and my cup [of blessing]; You hold my future.
As your portion He is your strength.
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and Portion forever.
As your portion His is your refuge.
Psalm 142:5
I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
If you make pleasure your god then:
- You will be disappointed.
- You will wind up with a lot of hurt.
- You will not find satisfaction.
If you let Jesus be your God then:
- You will never be disappointed.
- You will experience peace.
- You will be satisfied.
Second, let Jesus be your satisfaction.
Jeremiah 25:31
I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and full refresh the souls of those who are faint.
Jesus will satisfy you by:
His Love
Psalm 90:14
When morning comes, let your love satisfy all our needs. Then we can celebrate and be glad for what time we have left.
His Good Gift
Proverbs 5:18-19
Let your own fountain be blessed, and enjoy the girl you married, when you were young, a loving doe and a graceful deer. Always let her breasts satisfy you. Always be intoxicated with her love.
Jesus will satisfy:
Our Needs
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you always: He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strength of your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Our Desires
Psalm 145:16
Opening Your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
When pleasure is your god it leads to:
- Emptiness (not being satisfied)
- Hopelessness (believing we will never be satisfied)
When Jesus is your God it leads to:
- Fullness
- Hope
Ephesians 4:13
Until we all reach the unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Romans 5:5
Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
In 1 Kings 18 Elijah has a country-changing contest with the false god Baal and his prophets. Elijah challenges them to a contest to see who is the true God.
In 1 Kings 18:21 it says, “Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, ‘How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow Him, if Baal is God follow Him.’” The people didn’t say a word.
Why didn’t the people say a word? They wanted both pleasure and Yahweh.
God wants to bless you.
God wants to pour out His love and grace and mercy and joy and peace and hope.
God wants you and me to experience pleasure.
But God will not bless us when the very things He is blessing us with are His rivals for our worship, service and love. He will withhold His blessing in the very area we lift up as false gods.
Inside the Temple of Pleasure gifts are turned to - Idols.
Following and worshiping those gifts turned into idols (false gods) will lead to pain.
Inside the Temple of God good gifts are recognized as gifts from God and He is worshiped, served, and loved.
Following and worshiping Jesus leads to joy and peace.
You Choose!
In the Temple of God Raising the Roof and Removing The Walls
Joe
Sunday, January 12, 2014
There is Only One God
Everybody is looking for something to worship. Satan will help us to find things to worship. He will direct us to false gods. He presents thousands and thousands of false things for us to worship.
Part of the spiritual battle we face daily is a war of the gods for our affection and worship.
Satan tries to get us to worship him by worship other things.
There are two events in Scripture that show the truth of Satan attempts to get us to worship anything put the One True God.
One is Eve’s temptation in the garden.
Genesis 3:5
God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God.
Eve is being enticed to make herself her god. Eve would become own god.
The other is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Go away Satan! Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’”
Jesus was tempted to worship and serve something other than the Father.
The greatest temptation we have is idolatry.
Idolatry isn’t just one sin of many sins; it’s the one sin that all others come from.
Satan knows it is impossible for a human being to serve two masters.
Jesus says that in Matthew 6:24. He says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Here Jesus makes reference to serving God and money, but you could substitute anything in the place of money - success, sex, position, power, drugs, family or religion.
Paul also expresses concern about even followers of Jesus being drawn away from following Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3 he says, “I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ - in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies.”
We have to believe and live based on the truth that God is the only God. This is true based on Who God Is.
First, He is the only real God.
Exodus 3:14-15
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you.”
God is I AM. He is not I was, I will be, or I might be. He is I AM!
Other gods are not evil gods or lesser gods. Other gods are no gods. They are fake. They don’t exist. When a person worships and serves any other god but Jesus, he is worshiping and serving nothing.
Second, God is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Jealous means one and only, not having any rivals. God wants to be the only one you worship. God wants to be the only one you serve. God will not share your affection with any other god. God is jealous for you.
Third, God is a consuming fire.
Deuteronomy 4:24
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29
For our God is a consuming fire.
God is described as a consuming fire eight times in the Bible.
What is that telling us about God?
Consuming fire signifies that God is passionate about us, He places a high value on us.
We were created to love God and He wants us to love Him like He loves us - passionately.
Jesus tells the church in Laodicea that they have a big problem when it comes to how they are relating to Him.
In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus says, “I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm - neither hot, nor cold - I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.”
God wants us to love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength. Any thing less is unacceptable.
Because of who God is - Real, Jealous, and a Consuming Fire - He demands some things from us.
God demands to be our priority.
Exodus 20:2-3
I am the Lord your God, the One who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves. Do not have any god except Me.
There is no hierarchy - God is to be first and only.
God is not at the top the organization - He is the organization.
God is not the president of the board - He is the board.
Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that He knows they are a right believing, hard working, persevering church. But in Revelation 2:4 Jesus says, “But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
Jesus, not being morally upright, being religious, being theologically correct, being devoted to the church, has to be our only priority.
God demands to be exclusive.
Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make yourselves any idols: any images resembling animals, birds, or fish. You must never bow to an image or worship it in any way, for I, the Lord your God am very possessive. I will not share your affections with any other god!
God will not allow us to share our worship or our affections with any other “god”.
God owns all creation. That includes you.
God created you and He died for you so you could be recreated.
Also God is the only one who can:
Help you
Direct you
Satisfy you
Save you.
Which makes God the only one worthy of your worship and devotion.
God demands to be glorified by His creation.
Isaiah 42:8
I am the Lord; that is My name. I will not give My glory to anyone else or the praise I deserve to idols.
God created you to glorify Him.
Your mind was created to glorify God.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Your heart was created to glorify God.
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
You were created to glorify God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
All creation was created to glorify God. Humans are the only part of creation that does not glorify God naturally. We were given a choice. So, when we glorify God it makes Him smile with joy.
In Psalm 106:19-20 we are told that Israel traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass eating bull.
We in the twenty-first century have also traded our glorious God for equally stupid things.
We have traded God for:
A house we constantly upgrade
A promotion that comes with a raise
Acceptance by the popular group
A body that is trim & fit
A perfect adoring family
Religious traditions that makes us feel comfortable & superior
Anything can become an idol.
We need to remember the truth that Paul shares in Romans 5:6-8 that most of us would not even think about dying for a good person (I know my list of who I would die fir is very short). But Jesus came and died while we were still sinners.
We need to get rid of our idols and come to the One True God - Jesus, who loves you and proved it by dying for you.
What are you going to do in response to who God is, what He has done, and what He demands?
With Jesus as My Exclusive Priority Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Part of the spiritual battle we face daily is a war of the gods for our affection and worship.
Satan tries to get us to worship him by worship other things.
There are two events in Scripture that show the truth of Satan attempts to get us to worship anything put the One True God.
One is Eve’s temptation in the garden.
Genesis 3:5
God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God.
Eve is being enticed to make herself her god. Eve would become own god.
The other is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Go away Satan! Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’”
Jesus was tempted to worship and serve something other than the Father.
The greatest temptation we have is idolatry.
Idolatry isn’t just one sin of many sins; it’s the one sin that all others come from.
Satan knows it is impossible for a human being to serve two masters.
Jesus says that in Matthew 6:24. He says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Here Jesus makes reference to serving God and money, but you could substitute anything in the place of money - success, sex, position, power, drugs, family or religion.
Paul also expresses concern about even followers of Jesus being drawn away from following Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3 he says, “I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ - in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies.”
We have to believe and live based on the truth that God is the only God. This is true based on Who God Is.
First, He is the only real God.
Exodus 3:14-15
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you.”
God is I AM. He is not I was, I will be, or I might be. He is I AM!
Other gods are not evil gods or lesser gods. Other gods are no gods. They are fake. They don’t exist. When a person worships and serves any other god but Jesus, he is worshiping and serving nothing.
Second, God is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Jealous means one and only, not having any rivals. God wants to be the only one you worship. God wants to be the only one you serve. God will not share your affection with any other god. God is jealous for you.
Third, God is a consuming fire.
Deuteronomy 4:24
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29
For our God is a consuming fire.
God is described as a consuming fire eight times in the Bible.
What is that telling us about God?
Consuming fire signifies that God is passionate about us, He places a high value on us.
We were created to love God and He wants us to love Him like He loves us - passionately.
Jesus tells the church in Laodicea that they have a big problem when it comes to how they are relating to Him.
In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus says, “I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm - neither hot, nor cold - I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.”
God wants us to love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength. Any thing less is unacceptable.
Because of who God is - Real, Jealous, and a Consuming Fire - He demands some things from us.
God demands to be our priority.
Exodus 20:2-3
I am the Lord your God, the One who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves. Do not have any god except Me.
There is no hierarchy - God is to be first and only.
God is not at the top the organization - He is the organization.
God is not the president of the board - He is the board.
Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that He knows they are a right believing, hard working, persevering church. But in Revelation 2:4 Jesus says, “But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
Jesus, not being morally upright, being religious, being theologically correct, being devoted to the church, has to be our only priority.
God demands to be exclusive.
Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make yourselves any idols: any images resembling animals, birds, or fish. You must never bow to an image or worship it in any way, for I, the Lord your God am very possessive. I will not share your affections with any other god!
God will not allow us to share our worship or our affections with any other “god”.
God owns all creation. That includes you.
God created you and He died for you so you could be recreated.
Also God is the only one who can:
Help you
Direct you
Satisfy you
Save you.
Which makes God the only one worthy of your worship and devotion.
God demands to be glorified by His creation.
Isaiah 42:8
I am the Lord; that is My name. I will not give My glory to anyone else or the praise I deserve to idols.
God created you to glorify Him.
Your mind was created to glorify God.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Your heart was created to glorify God.
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
You were created to glorify God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
All creation was created to glorify God. Humans are the only part of creation that does not glorify God naturally. We were given a choice. So, when we glorify God it makes Him smile with joy.
In Psalm 106:19-20 we are told that Israel traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass eating bull.
We in the twenty-first century have also traded our glorious God for equally stupid things.
We have traded God for:
A house we constantly upgrade
A promotion that comes with a raise
Acceptance by the popular group
A body that is trim & fit
A perfect adoring family
Religious traditions that makes us feel comfortable & superior
Anything can become an idol.
We need to remember the truth that Paul shares in Romans 5:6-8 that most of us would not even think about dying for a good person (I know my list of who I would die fir is very short). But Jesus came and died while we were still sinners.
We need to get rid of our idols and come to the One True God - Jesus, who loves you and proved it by dying for you.
What are you going to do in response to who God is, what He has done, and what He demands?
With Jesus as My Exclusive Priority Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Miraculous Marriage
What is the toughest job you have ever had?
Mine has been and is being a husband.
Marriage is hard work so if you don’t want to work don’t get married!
It takes a miracle for a marriage to really work.
Now, let’s define a miracle. It is an extraordinary event that shows God is intervening.
You and your spouse CAN NOT make your marriage work and make it what it is meant to be.
It takes you, your spouse and - JESUS.
In Matthew 19:3-10 some Pharisees come and ask Jesus if it is “lawful” for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus tells them it was the Father’s will from the beginning that marriage be a life long relationship. That it is to be a relationship where the two people become one. God then has joined them together and no person has authority to separate them. The Pharisees ask Jesus why Moses then established divorce and Jesus tells them it was because of , people’s hard hearts. Jesus says, “That anyone who divorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples say, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
In other words the disciples were saying, “Marriage is too hard. It’s better to stay single.”
It takes a miracle!
What are the biblical characteristics of marriage?
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Characteristic #1: Honor
We are to honor marriage. The marriage relationship was established by God and we are to honor it.
We are each to honor our spouse. We are to see them and treat them as the most valuable human blessing we have. We are to treat them as precious.
We are to honor the God who created marriage. We do that by fulfilling the commitments we made to our spouse in God’s presence.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Characteristic #2: Intimacy
We are to have social intimacy with our spouse by sharing ideas and opinions.
We are to have emotional intimacy with our spouse by sharing dreams and goals.
We are to have physical intimacy with our spouse by sharing our bodies. We need to hold hands, hug, and have sex.
I am very afraid that the church has convinced many people over the years that sex is wrong and dirty. Well, when God told Adam and Eve to fill the earth, He meant have sex. It is the only way to produce children.
Please, remember God created sex and everything God created, when used in the way God told us to use it, is good.
Sex is awesome!
Also remember that if you are not building social and emotional intimacy, you will not have great physical intimacy.
Genesis 2:25
Both the man and the woman were naked, yet felt no shame.
Characteristic #3: Wonder
No, I don’t mean wonder like, “I wonder why they did that.” I mean wonder like WOW! I mean wonder like seeing your spouse in awe.
Your spouse needs to be your best friend. With them you share you deepest dreams, your deepest desires, your deepest secrets, your deepest joys, and your deepest fears.
You need to be constantly studying your spouse and learning about them. You need to work toward a PHD in knowing your spouse.
Each day should be a day when you thank God for the gift of your spouse. Yes, even those days when you don’t like their behavior or attitude.
Ephesians 5:22-24
Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church - He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church submits to Christ, as also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Characteristic #4: Respect
We normally read “wives submit to your husbands” and stop. When we do that, we miss the real truth of this passage.
Wives are to submit as we, the church submits to Jesus as our Savior. I don’t submit to Jesus out of fear, abuse or domination. I submit because I love Jesus so much for dying on the cross for my sins I want Him who loves me like that to have control of my life.
Wives are to respect their husbands out of a desire to show them how much they love them. A husband needs the respect of his wife. That is the number one emotional need of a man: to feel respected. When a wife respects her husband, it fills him up and makes him feel valuable.
This respect is unconditional. It is not a respect that has to be earned. Respect in the work place, in friendships, or in leadership is earned, but in a marriage relationship the wife should respect her husband out of faith in God and a desire to please Him.
Ephesians 5:25-28
As for the husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. He did this to present Himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. That’s how husbands ought to love their wives - in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself.
Characteristic #5: Love
Husbands are to love their wives. They are to love them, not any old way they want, but as Jesus loves His church.
This is unconditional love. Love that gives themselves to the other person. Love that put the needs of the other before their own. Love that sacrifices for the other person.
James 1:19
Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Characteristic #6: Communicate
Lead with your ears.
Follow up in love with your mouth.
Let anger straggle along way in the rear.
James is saying: communicate, communicate, communicate. Communicate is listening first and then speaking. You can never communicate too much.
The most frequently used illustration for the relationship that God wants with us as His people is the marriage relationship.
Your marriage Does Not belong to you: it belongs to Jesus.
The marriage problem we face in our culture is not one of:
Faithfulness
Compatibility
Love
Communication
The marriage problem we have in culture is one of surrendering to God’s will and obeying Him.
I personally know the awesome gift that marriage is. My wife is married to one of the most stubborn, work-focused, at times thoughtless men who exists. She has been my wife, when for 41 years; that‘s devotion. I know what is to neglect a precious gift of God and almost lose it. I know the joy of God healing, restoring and redeeming that gift and making it better than it has ever been. I know what it feels like to be genuinely unconditionally loved and respected beyond anything I deserve. I also know what it is like to love another person more than I love myself and to joyfully give myself to that person. All of this is not from Jan and Joe. All of this is from Jesus.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is Jesus make your marriage:
one that honors Him and each other
one that is intimate
one in which unconditional respect is shared
one in which unconditional love is shared
one where wonder and awe fill your days
one where conflict leads to communication
one where forgiveness is not withheld
one where snuggling on the couch is the norm.
Do Jan and I still have conflicts? - YES!
But because we are allowing Jesus to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls that conflicts are temporary, not fatal.
Together Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Mine has been and is being a husband.
Marriage is hard work so if you don’t want to work don’t get married!
It takes a miracle for a marriage to really work.
Now, let’s define a miracle. It is an extraordinary event that shows God is intervening.
You and your spouse CAN NOT make your marriage work and make it what it is meant to be.
It takes you, your spouse and - JESUS.
In Matthew 19:3-10 some Pharisees come and ask Jesus if it is “lawful” for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus tells them it was the Father’s will from the beginning that marriage be a life long relationship. That it is to be a relationship where the two people become one. God then has joined them together and no person has authority to separate them. The Pharisees ask Jesus why Moses then established divorce and Jesus tells them it was because of , people’s hard hearts. Jesus says, “That anyone who divorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples say, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
In other words the disciples were saying, “Marriage is too hard. It’s better to stay single.”
It takes a miracle!
What are the biblical characteristics of marriage?
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Characteristic #1: Honor
We are to honor marriage. The marriage relationship was established by God and we are to honor it.
We are each to honor our spouse. We are to see them and treat them as the most valuable human blessing we have. We are to treat them as precious.
We are to honor the God who created marriage. We do that by fulfilling the commitments we made to our spouse in God’s presence.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Characteristic #2: Intimacy
We are to have social intimacy with our spouse by sharing ideas and opinions.
We are to have emotional intimacy with our spouse by sharing dreams and goals.
We are to have physical intimacy with our spouse by sharing our bodies. We need to hold hands, hug, and have sex.
I am very afraid that the church has convinced many people over the years that sex is wrong and dirty. Well, when God told Adam and Eve to fill the earth, He meant have sex. It is the only way to produce children.
Please, remember God created sex and everything God created, when used in the way God told us to use it, is good.
Sex is awesome!
Also remember that if you are not building social and emotional intimacy, you will not have great physical intimacy.
Genesis 2:25
Both the man and the woman were naked, yet felt no shame.
Characteristic #3: Wonder
No, I don’t mean wonder like, “I wonder why they did that.” I mean wonder like WOW! I mean wonder like seeing your spouse in awe.
Your spouse needs to be your best friend. With them you share you deepest dreams, your deepest desires, your deepest secrets, your deepest joys, and your deepest fears.
You need to be constantly studying your spouse and learning about them. You need to work toward a PHD in knowing your spouse.
Each day should be a day when you thank God for the gift of your spouse. Yes, even those days when you don’t like their behavior or attitude.
Ephesians 5:22-24
Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church - He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church submits to Christ, as also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Characteristic #4: Respect
We normally read “wives submit to your husbands” and stop. When we do that, we miss the real truth of this passage.
Wives are to submit as we, the church submits to Jesus as our Savior. I don’t submit to Jesus out of fear, abuse or domination. I submit because I love Jesus so much for dying on the cross for my sins I want Him who loves me like that to have control of my life.
Wives are to respect their husbands out of a desire to show them how much they love them. A husband needs the respect of his wife. That is the number one emotional need of a man: to feel respected. When a wife respects her husband, it fills him up and makes him feel valuable.
This respect is unconditional. It is not a respect that has to be earned. Respect in the work place, in friendships, or in leadership is earned, but in a marriage relationship the wife should respect her husband out of faith in God and a desire to please Him.
Ephesians 5:25-28
As for the husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. He did this to present Himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. That’s how husbands ought to love their wives - in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself.
Characteristic #5: Love
Husbands are to love their wives. They are to love them, not any old way they want, but as Jesus loves His church.
This is unconditional love. Love that gives themselves to the other person. Love that put the needs of the other before their own. Love that sacrifices for the other person.
James 1:19
Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Characteristic #6: Communicate
Lead with your ears.
Follow up in love with your mouth.
Let anger straggle along way in the rear.
James is saying: communicate, communicate, communicate. Communicate is listening first and then speaking. You can never communicate too much.
The most frequently used illustration for the relationship that God wants with us as His people is the marriage relationship.
Your marriage Does Not belong to you: it belongs to Jesus.
The marriage problem we face in our culture is not one of:
Faithfulness
Compatibility
Love
Communication
The marriage problem we have in culture is one of surrendering to God’s will and obeying Him.
I personally know the awesome gift that marriage is. My wife is married to one of the most stubborn, work-focused, at times thoughtless men who exists. She has been my wife, when for 41 years; that‘s devotion. I know what is to neglect a precious gift of God and almost lose it. I know the joy of God healing, restoring and redeeming that gift and making it better than it has ever been. I know what it feels like to be genuinely unconditionally loved and respected beyond anything I deserve. I also know what it is like to love another person more than I love myself and to joyfully give myself to that person. All of this is not from Jan and Joe. All of this is from Jesus.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is Jesus make your marriage:
one that honors Him and each other
one that is intimate
one in which unconditional respect is shared
one in which unconditional love is shared
one where wonder and awe fill your days
one where conflict leads to communication
one where forgiveness is not withheld
one where snuggling on the couch is the norm.
Do Jan and I still have conflicts? - YES!
But because we are allowing Jesus to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls that conflicts are temporary, not fatal.
Together Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The Newness of Jesus
Ecclesiastes 1:9
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Nothing is really new. We use different terms and different wrapping, but most things are just recycled.
I did look up what some “new” things would cost.
New House: $152,000
New Mercedes-Benz: $75,835
New Harley: $11,000
New Adventure (going into space): $200,000
A New Relationship with Jesus: YOUR LIFE
Jesus did a brand new thing when He came. Jesus did an unheard of thing when He came.
GOD BECAME A HUMAN!
It was so new that the old systems could not handle it. Jesus tells us that we have to let Him make a new system because the newness of who He is and what He is doing will destroy the old system.
Mark 2:22
No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins.
Jesus brings newness.
Paul tells us that in Jesus, everything about us becomes new when we surrender ourselves to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
God gives us a new LIFE.
Ezra 9:9
We are slaves, our God has not abandon us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of God and repair its ruin, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Romans 6:4
By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might have a new life.
Two things will make up that new life.
New Praise
Psalm 40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
New Hope
Isaiah 43:19
See, I do a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
God gives us a new HEART & SPIRIT.
Ezekiel 18:31
Rid yourselves of all offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit.
Romans 7:6
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
A new heart means a new will to obey Jesus.
A new spirit means a new aliveness and freshness in life.
God gives us a NEW & LIVING WAY.
Isaiah 40:3
A voice is crying out: “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!”
Hebrews 10:20
By the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh.
That way is brought about by a New Birth.
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
This leads to us following a New Teaching.
Mark 1:27
Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “what sort of new teaching is this” they asked excitedly.
This allows us to experience a New Covenant with God.
1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people - an agreement confirmed by My blood.”
God gives us a NEW ATTITUDE.
1 Samuel 2:35
Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve Me. He will do everything I want him to do.
Ephesians 4:23
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
This new attitude leads to New Compassions.
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases: His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
The new attitude allows us to have New Treasures.
Matthew 13:52
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storehouse new treasures as well as old.”
God makes you a NEW PERSON.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image; in the God He created them, male and female He created them.
Ephesians 4:24
And clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.
The fact that you are a new person in Christ allows you to be One New Person. We don’t have to be everything to everybody. We can be who God wants us and created us to be.
Ephesians 2:15
He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so He could create one person out of the two groups, making peace.
As a new person in Jesus I have been given a New Command - to love others.
John 13:34
So now I am giving you a new command: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
The old is not working in:
Government
Marriage/Family
Finances
Life
We are given a promise by God in Revelation 21:5: And He Who is seated on the throne said, “See! I make all things new.”
Let Jesus make you new!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls will continue into a new year. I am expecting Jesus to do some new things in our lives. We can not produce those new things but He can. We can submit ourselves fully to Him and let Him produce awesome new things in us and through us.
As you end 2013 and start 2014, start fresh and new, putting the past behind and letting Jesus make you NEW with His Newness.
Newly Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Nothing is really new. We use different terms and different wrapping, but most things are just recycled.
I did look up what some “new” things would cost.
New House: $152,000
New Mercedes-Benz: $75,835
New Harley: $11,000
New Adventure (going into space): $200,000
A New Relationship with Jesus: YOUR LIFE
Jesus did a brand new thing when He came. Jesus did an unheard of thing when He came.
GOD BECAME A HUMAN!
It was so new that the old systems could not handle it. Jesus tells us that we have to let Him make a new system because the newness of who He is and what He is doing will destroy the old system.
Mark 2:22
No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins.
Jesus brings newness.
Paul tells us that in Jesus, everything about us becomes new when we surrender ourselves to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
God gives us a new LIFE.
Ezra 9:9
We are slaves, our God has not abandon us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of God and repair its ruin, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Romans 6:4
By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might have a new life.
Two things will make up that new life.
New Praise
Psalm 40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
New Hope
Isaiah 43:19
See, I do a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
God gives us a new HEART & SPIRIT.
Ezekiel 18:31
Rid yourselves of all offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit.
Romans 7:6
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
A new heart means a new will to obey Jesus.
A new spirit means a new aliveness and freshness in life.
God gives us a NEW & LIVING WAY.
Isaiah 40:3
A voice is crying out: “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!”
Hebrews 10:20
By the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh.
That way is brought about by a New Birth.
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
This leads to us following a New Teaching.
Mark 1:27
Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “what sort of new teaching is this” they asked excitedly.
This allows us to experience a New Covenant with God.
1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people - an agreement confirmed by My blood.”
God gives us a NEW ATTITUDE.
1 Samuel 2:35
Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve Me. He will do everything I want him to do.
Ephesians 4:23
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
This new attitude leads to New Compassions.
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases: His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
The new attitude allows us to have New Treasures.
Matthew 13:52
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storehouse new treasures as well as old.”
God makes you a NEW PERSON.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image; in the God He created them, male and female He created them.
Ephesians 4:24
And clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.
The fact that you are a new person in Christ allows you to be One New Person. We don’t have to be everything to everybody. We can be who God wants us and created us to be.
Ephesians 2:15
He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so He could create one person out of the two groups, making peace.
As a new person in Jesus I have been given a New Command - to love others.
John 13:34
So now I am giving you a new command: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
The old is not working in:
Government
Marriage/Family
Finances
Life
We are given a promise by God in Revelation 21:5: And He Who is seated on the throne said, “See! I make all things new.”
Let Jesus make you new!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls will continue into a new year. I am expecting Jesus to do some new things in our lives. We can not produce those new things but He can. We can submit ourselves fully to Him and let Him produce awesome new things in us and through us.
As you end 2013 and start 2014, start fresh and new, putting the past behind and letting Jesus make you NEW with His Newness.
Newly Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Monday, December 23, 2013
The Hope of Christmas
Hope is a confident expectation. It is a confident expectation based on the promise of God and His Word.
Hope is not wishing.
Hope is not fantasy.
Hope is the reality that Jesus is God.
Hope is the reality that Jesus is the Truth.
Romans 15:4 tells us that the Scriptures were written to gives us hope.
Ephesians 1:18 tells us that God desires for us to experience hope.
Romans 15:13 tells us that God wants us to overflow with hope.
Ephesians 4:4 tells us that we have one hope - Jesus.
When I think of Christmas I think of hope.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came as a baby.
Babies are weak, vulnerable, and needy.
We are weak, vulnerable, and needy.
Jesus came to totally identify with us. He came and lived facing all weaknesses and sharing all our temptations, struggles, and needs.
Jesus shared them, but He overcame them. He lived a perfect sinless life. He did that as a flesh and blood human.
Christmas is for children.
Matthew 18:3
And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Why is Christmas for children?
Why do you have to become like a little child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
Children are incomplete and incompetent.
Children are not finished yet they still have to grow and learn. We don’t let children drive cars, vote, or get married. They are competent to do these things.
We are not competent in ourselves either.
Paul reminds of that in 2 Corinthians 3:5. It says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”
Christmas shows us Jesus as a baby. He was like us, human and as a baby, helpless. He faced all the things we face and overcame them all.
Christmas gives hope because Jesus came to ordinary people.
Jesus came into the world in unimpressive circumstances. He was born in a barn.
Jesus came into the world to parents of no social significance. His parents were a carpenter and a housewife.
Jesus’ welcoming committee were shepherds. They were considered sinners by the religious establishment of that day.
Jesus came for sinners.
Mark 2:17 says, “When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they don’t have any flaws.’”
Christmas is for sinners - those who know they are sinners.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came as our peace.
Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Circumstances screw with our emotions and our feelings are all over the place, but if we are in Jesus we are in peace.
Jesus gave peace to His disciples as He met them after His resurrection.
John 20:19-20
Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” Then He showed them His hands and side.
Just as Jesus was peace for those disciples, He is peace for His disciples today.
Jesus = Peace
If we are anchored in the Rock (Jesus) and not in the shifting sands of feelings we can and will experience peace.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came to give us great joy.
Luke 2:10
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”
Joy in Jesus is discovering the true worth of Jesus.
In Matthew 13:44 Jesus tells a story of a man who found a treasure hidden in a field. The second part of that verse says, “And from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.”
The man saw that the treasure was worth much more than all that he had, so he gladly gave up all that he had to get.
Jesus is worth more than all we have or will ever have. Real joy comes when we understand that and give up everything for Jesus.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus gave us Himself.
In John 12:21 a group of Greeks, non-Jews, come and tell Philip that they want to see Jesus.
When the shepherds and wise men come, they come to see Jesus.
They didn’t come to see Joseph.
They didn’t come to see Mary.
They didn’t come to see a religious icon.
They didn’t come for the “experience”.
They came for the sole purpose of seeing - JESUS!
What we need most this Christmas is not more stuff that in a short time we will get rid of.
What we need most this Christmas is not more religious experiences.
What we need most this Christmas is not spending time with family.
What we need most this Christmas is to see Jesus.
Jesus is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.
1 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.
Jesus is our hope.
Colossians 1:15-23a describes who Jesus is.
He is:
the image of the invisible God
the firstborn over all creation
creator of all things
before all things
who holds all things together
head of the church
the beginning
firstborn from among the dead
supreme
the fullness of God
who reconciled all things to God
who made peace by His blood
who reconciled us by his death to the Father
who makes us holy
who makes us with blemish
who makes us free from accusation
That is the God who became human in the barn at Bethlehem.
That is the God who gives us hope.
That is why Christmas gives us hope.
My prayer for:
My Wife
My Children
My Grandchildren
My Faith Family,
and for unrighteous, confused, immoral sinners,
is to know Jesus and experience His love and forgiveness and for Him to become our hope and their hope.
In the Hope Christmas Brings Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Hope is not wishing.
Hope is not fantasy.
Hope is the reality that Jesus is God.
Hope is the reality that Jesus is the Truth.
Romans 15:4 tells us that the Scriptures were written to gives us hope.
Ephesians 1:18 tells us that God desires for us to experience hope.
Romans 15:13 tells us that God wants us to overflow with hope.
Ephesians 4:4 tells us that we have one hope - Jesus.
When I think of Christmas I think of hope.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came as a baby.
Babies are weak, vulnerable, and needy.
We are weak, vulnerable, and needy.
Jesus came to totally identify with us. He came and lived facing all weaknesses and sharing all our temptations, struggles, and needs.
Jesus shared them, but He overcame them. He lived a perfect sinless life. He did that as a flesh and blood human.
Christmas is for children.
Matthew 18:3
And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Why is Christmas for children?
Why do you have to become like a little child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
Children are incomplete and incompetent.
Children are not finished yet they still have to grow and learn. We don’t let children drive cars, vote, or get married. They are competent to do these things.
We are not competent in ourselves either.
Paul reminds of that in 2 Corinthians 3:5. It says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”
Christmas shows us Jesus as a baby. He was like us, human and as a baby, helpless. He faced all the things we face and overcame them all.
Christmas gives hope because Jesus came to ordinary people.
Jesus came into the world in unimpressive circumstances. He was born in a barn.
Jesus came into the world to parents of no social significance. His parents were a carpenter and a housewife.
Jesus’ welcoming committee were shepherds. They were considered sinners by the religious establishment of that day.
Jesus came for sinners.
Mark 2:17 says, “When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they don’t have any flaws.’”
Christmas is for sinners - those who know they are sinners.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came as our peace.
Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Circumstances screw with our emotions and our feelings are all over the place, but if we are in Jesus we are in peace.
Jesus gave peace to His disciples as He met them after His resurrection.
John 20:19-20
Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” Then He showed them His hands and side.
Just as Jesus was peace for those disciples, He is peace for His disciples today.
Jesus = Peace
If we are anchored in the Rock (Jesus) and not in the shifting sands of feelings we can and will experience peace.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus came to give us great joy.
Luke 2:10
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”
Joy in Jesus is discovering the true worth of Jesus.
In Matthew 13:44 Jesus tells a story of a man who found a treasure hidden in a field. The second part of that verse says, “And from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.”
The man saw that the treasure was worth much more than all that he had, so he gladly gave up all that he had to get.
Jesus is worth more than all we have or will ever have. Real joy comes when we understand that and give up everything for Jesus.
Christmas gives us hope because Jesus gave us Himself.
In John 12:21 a group of Greeks, non-Jews, come and tell Philip that they want to see Jesus.
When the shepherds and wise men come, they come to see Jesus.
They didn’t come to see Joseph.
They didn’t come to see Mary.
They didn’t come to see a religious icon.
They didn’t come for the “experience”.
They came for the sole purpose of seeing - JESUS!
What we need most this Christmas is not more stuff that in a short time we will get rid of.
What we need most this Christmas is not more religious experiences.
What we need most this Christmas is not spending time with family.
What we need most this Christmas is to see Jesus.
Jesus is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.
1 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.
Jesus is our hope.
Colossians 1:15-23a describes who Jesus is.
He is:
the image of the invisible God
the firstborn over all creation
creator of all things
before all things
who holds all things together
head of the church
the beginning
firstborn from among the dead
supreme
the fullness of God
who reconciled all things to God
who made peace by His blood
who reconciled us by his death to the Father
who makes us holy
who makes us with blemish
who makes us free from accusation
That is the God who became human in the barn at Bethlehem.
That is the God who gives us hope.
That is why Christmas gives us hope.
My prayer for:
My Wife
My Children
My Grandchildren
My Faith Family,
and for unrighteous, confused, immoral sinners,
is to know Jesus and experience His love and forgiveness and for Him to become our hope and their hope.
In the Hope Christmas Brings Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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