Monday, June 24, 2013

6/24/13

A friend recently asked me about a verse he considered to be out of character with the message of God’s grace in the New Testament. I Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone does not love the Lord – a curse be on him.” 

Granted, it is pretty succinct and direct. And this kind of ultimatum is becoming more and more distasteful in our post-modern society.  It is involuntarily resisted these days.  We don’t like straight talk; we like politically correct speech.  We don’t like limited options; we like choices.  We don’t like truth; we like opinions.  We don’t like One Way talk; we like to believe that there are many paths to God/heaven.   But, like it or not, God’s Word says that the road forks in front of each and every one of us and we determine the life we will live in the flesh and the destiny of our souls.  Pretty simple: Love the Lord or not? If, not…you will bring down a curse on yourself.

But to love the Lord begs the question… How?  How do I demonstrate my love for Jesus Christ?  There are 5 simple ways to show our love according to the book, The Five Languages of Love.  These apply not only to our horizontal love for one another, but also our vertical love for the Lord.  They are: 
  • Acts of service – Serving others in his name…the primary channel for this service is in and through His church.
  • Affirming words – Praise/worship and prayer…Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks [or sings]. 
  • Gifts – Investing at least the first 10% of our income in building His kingdom, instead of our own. 
  • Time – Having some margins in our lives to be in His presence. 
  • Touch – Drawing near is a privilege and blessing.
 Pray with me… Father, You know our hearts.  You know that we love you imperfectly, but truly.  We pray the evidence of that love will be demonstrated to You and to all who know us.  We desire to see Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  We know that can only happen as more and more people come to know and love You, coming under your loving Lordship, coming under the canopy of Your grace.   In Your majestic name, amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Ken

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