The Ministry of Love

As children of God, we are to go out into the world and reach a lost and dying people by proclaiming “the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (See 1 Peter 2:9). God loved us enough to send His only Son to die for our sins, which was Jesus’ ministry of love for us. In order to continue His ministry of love, we must become fellow laborers in the mission of preaching the love of God and the salvation through Jesus to all the world. If we are honest with ourselves, it can be very frightening talking to people about Jesus. But God comforts us by saying, “…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). We are to acknowledge Christ before men and not fear what we should say, “for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12).

You will often feel that you are rejected by men when you preach the gospel, but “the one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). It is not us, the saints of God, who are rejected. We must change our thinking when we do our Lord’s good work. We should not fear that men will reject us, for it is really Jesus and God being rejected. So do not be ashamed of Jesus and his words; do not be ashamed of the gospel! (See Romans 1:16-17; Luke 9:26).

Practice Jesus’ ministry of love by showing love to your neighbors. Be like the good Samaritan who purposely went out of his way, even to the point of spending his own money and time, to help someone in need, even when the religious leaders wouldn’t (See Luke 10:25-37). Do not be so focused on religion that you forget to show love, mercy, compassion and grace! Jesus asks, “which…was a neighbor to the man…?” (Luke 10:36). We know the answer to be “the one who had mercy on him,” in which Jesus replies, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Go and be like Jesus to the world. Jesus never condemned, so we should not either! We must bear in mind that “Love never ends” (See 1 Corinthians 13:8). But that means that God never fails. God’s love never ends. But we as humans can fail to show that love to others. So let us not grow weary of doing good (See Galatians 6:9). Let us be fellow laborers with Christ for the ministry he established while on this earth. “Go therefore…”

From The Cradle To The Cross

Another one I wrote back around Christmas time

Jesus the Savior of the World was born into the world from a virgin mother. Approximately four hundred years elapsed from the last Old Testament prophet to the coming of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1). John the Baptist himself said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23). John the Baptist knew of the prophecies and that God would fulfill His promises. And all of the prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled.

These are some of the prophecies fulfilled (though many more were fulfilled): Jesus was born of the line of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6; Luke 3:31), born in the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:1), worshiped and given gifts by kings (Psalm 72:10; Matthew 2:11), worshiped by shepherds (Psalm 72:9; Luke 2:9), a flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:13-14), He would be called Lord (Psalm 110:11; Luke 2:11), and He will be declared the Son of God (Psalm 2:7; Luke 3:22). All these things and many others were fulfilled just as the prophecies foretold. The fact that all the prophecies were fulfilled is substantial to the story of Jesus. He became the perfect lamb led to the slaughter, born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem from the line of David, worshiped by Kings and shepherds; he was sought out by murderers and was named Lord and the Son of God. He came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

The true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with gift giving or celebrating pointless traditions; rather, Christmas should be upheld by Christians as a remembrance of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that led to Christ’s birth as well as the perfect life lived out by Christ all the way to the cross. The fulfillment of the prophecies must be remembered during Christmas time for it shows the majesty and power of God in all His infinite wisdom and goodness. Out of love, He sent His only Son to die for our sins in order to make us right with Him once and for all. Jesus’ death on the cross fulfilled God’s words in Genesis 3:15, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” On the cross, Jesus conquered sin and defeated Satan. During the Christmas season, search out the fulfilled prophecies about Christ and truly understand the grace of God. Do not put anything above God! This year exalt Christ, not Christmas!