Fresh Starts.......

There's nothing like springtime with new grass, colorful flowers, baby animals---everything seems so fresh and new! After a gloomy winter, spring is so refreshing!

Every day in the life of the believer is to be like spring. The Scriptures say that the L-rd's compassions are new every morning! (Lam. 3:22, 23) When we think of our lost condition before we were saved, to what we now have in Christ Jesus, we can have springtime in our hearts, even in the dead of winter!

II Corinthians 5:17 declares, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."

We are made new creatures in Christ upon salvation. As we grow older in the L-rd, we remain new creatures. The "newness" shouldn't wear off with the result that we become like old deadwood. That verse above says that all things are become new! That's present tense. It doesn't say that all things became new!

Every day, we should renew ourselves in the L-rd by immersing ourselves in the Word! Is not the Word likened to water? Ephesians 5:25b, 26 states that ".....even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word...."

I Corinthians 6:9-11 reminds us that before we were saved, we were pretty rotten folks. Even if we didn't actually commit these sins, if we had hatred in our heart, we were murderers; if we lusted in our hearts, we committed adultery. (I John 3:15; Matt. 5:28)

I doubt that there is a one of us that wasn't somewhere in this list of sinners: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners......but you know what---verse 11 is good news!!
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the L-rd Jesus, and by the Spirit of our G-d."

Wow! Did you get that?! Such were some of you! This is past tense! Present tense is that now we "are washed"!

We should allow the Word of G-d to wash us every day, to renew our hearts in love for the L-rd by shining its light on any sin---any dirt and grime that has crept into the corners of our heart. Without G-d's Word revealing our heart condition, we can grow pretty calloused to sin, not realizing how dingy we've become!

Allowing the Word of G-d to do its work in our hearts will keep us humble. We won't be so prone to compare ourselves with others, thinking that we are doing pretty well, or better than we are! We won't be looking under a microscope at others in a critical way, either! Most of us have enough weeds in our own gardens to take care of without trying to pull weeds in someone else's!

Oftentimes, because we are not in the Word, we allow the old dried leaves, deadwood, old weeds and such grow in our hearts and we forget to be thankful. We get our focus on ourselves or our problems and grow dissatisfied. Covetousness creeps in, sins that we put behind us find their way back into our lives. We forget to put on our armor and the enemy's darts find their target.

When winter creeps into our hearts, bringing a frostiness there, it kills our love for Christ. The ground of our heart becomes hardened to sin; decay sets in, and we don't desire to be in the Word for cleansing. We resist the Holy Spirit, and allow our old man to take over.

The way to prevent that from happening is to start fresh every day in the Word! It has been well-said that, "Sin will keep you from this Book; and this Book will keep you from sin!"

The good news is that it is possible to have a fresh start!

Let us pray with David, "Create in me a clean heart, O G-d; and renew a right spirit within me."

G-d's 401K

In these tough economic times, many are struggling to juggle budgets and stay afloat financially. For some, they have lost much of their retirement income; for others, it's simply that the dollar just doesn't stretch as far as it did a short time ago. This creates a lot of uncertainty and stress---it's hard to know what to do when the horizon doesn't show much change for the better.

One thing is certain, and it's something we can count on: G-d is always in control and nothing takes Him by surprise!

This past year, the L-rd has shown me something that is so simple, so profound, yet most of us fail to grasp it. Why? Because it is just the opposite of what we are conditioned to do.

I'm not talking about prosperity, gaining riches, acquiring success according to the world's view. But I do know the L-rd's plan for meeting our needs. I believe with all my heart that if we follow G-d's principles, He will provide, He will bless. We can count on Him to be G-d in our lives!

In studying G-d's Word, we find that there are "opposites", or opposing ideas, throughout.

In Isaiah 55:8,9 the L-rd reminds us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the L-RD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The wisdom of this world has taught us to think and behave a certain way. We have, often without realizing it, absorbed and adopted worldly reasoning, philosophies and values that have had a deep-rooted and profound effect upon our behavior at the most fundamental levels.

I Corinthians 1:25, 27-29 illuminates the contrast between G-d's ways and the world's:

Because the foolishness of G-d is wiser than men; and the weakness of G-d is stronger than men.
But G-d hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and G-d hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath G-d chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence."

Wow---G-d knows exactly what He is doing in making these choices and in establishing His ways! All is for His glory---man cannot share in that by any of his own cleverness or by contriving a "better way" to do things. One cannot expect success apart from doing things according to G-d's truths and His methods.

Here are some "opposites" in Scripture that illustrate this idea:

We must lose what we want to find: Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24

The last shall be first; the first shall be last: Matthew 20:16; Mark 9:35

The humble shall be exalted: Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14

Our liberty is used to serve: Galatians 5:13; I Peter 2:16

We are to love those who hate us: Matthew 5:43, 44

We are blessed when we are hated for the L-rd's sake: Luke 6:22, 23

Those who desire to be chief must be a servant: Matthew 20:26, 27

He that is least shall be greatest: Matthew 18:4; Luke 9:48c

To be honored requires humility: Proverbs 15:33; 18:12

In order to be strong, we must be weak: II Corinthians 12:10

And yes, even in the area of being blessed, the Scriptures instruct us that we must give if we are to receive!: Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35

Notice--we do not make arrangements with the L-rd that if He gives to us, then we will give to Him. We don't ask G-d to trust us and to take us at our word. It's the other way around!

The Bible clearly states, "Give, and it shall be given unto you....."!! G-d establishes the order. He wants us to prove Him in our lives. He wants us to take the step of faith in obedience to Him, learn to trust Him and take Him at His Word. He wants to prove to us that He will never fail in keeping His promises.

Malachi 3:7-11 explains G-d's plan so well:

"Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. "

Is that not how many of us find ourselves today? We have been living according to the world's rules and not G-d's principles.

"Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the L-RD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?"

Most of us don't realize what we've been doing; we think we've been pretty good Christians. Some of us....myself included.....have had no clue!! We may have been giving in the offering plate on Sunday, but we haven't realized the right way to view it or G-d's whole economy of working in our lives as a result!

"Will a man rob G-d? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?"

I daresay that most of us would recoil at the thought of robbing G-d! We would never think to do such a thing. We'd never steal from anyone, much less G-d!!

"In tithes and offerings." This is G-d's answer to that question! Plain, simple, direct!

The tithe, G-d's Word tells us, already belongs to G-d. It is His! Our offerings are what we are to give above that, from our hearts, willingly, out of love for Him.

"Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."

Are we there yet? Are you with me on this? Isn't this the truth? We can never seem to get ahead. Our whole nation is surely reaping this curse!

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the L-RD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

This is G-d's remedy for that curse! But it seems so opposite of what we naturally would do!!

If we are struggling financially, what do we usually do? We hold back, don't we? We hang on tightly to every penny and dime!

What do we put in the offering plate on Sunday? Nothing? [L-rd---I can't give---I don't have anything to give--I have to pay the water bill and the property taxes, and car insurance this week!] A dollar? Five dollars? Ten dollars? Do we merely "tip" G-d? [Well, as soon as I start making more money, I'll give more, we lie to ourselves.]

Did you know that every person who has ever told my husband (the pastor) that they will give the church a big offering when they get an expected large some of money has never done so? We literally cringe whenever anyone says anything like this, because their flesh is weak, and they don't follow through, and disaster always results for this person in time.

You cannot rob G-d; it's a serious thing to default on a vow to G-d.

"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes....."

Have you been plagued by the devourer? Have you been throwing good money after bad? G-d says that we are to prove Him regarding our giving and see what He will do to take care of our needs!

Paul revealed this truth of giving and receiving to the Philippian believers. We all like to quote Philippians 4:19 whenever we are experiencing trouble of this nature: "But my G-d shall supply all your need...."

However, we ignore the previous verses that reveal the context and conditions for this promise.

Verse 15 reveals the issue: giving and receiving, namely in taking care of the needs of G-d's servant, Paul.

Verse 17 reveals Paul's motive for using this situation to illustrate this fundamental truth to these early believers: "I desire fruit that may abound to your account."

Paul was not being selfish here. G-d would supply his needs with or without these Philippian believers, but he wanted them to reap the rewards!

Verse 16 reveals that the Philippians sacrificed to give to Paul---"a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to G-d." They didn't give because they had a bunch of extra stuff or money that they could easily part with. They gave out of their own necessity!

Verse 19 is to reassure these believers that the result of their giving would not impoverish them, but rather, G-d would take care of all their needs.

Have you ever considered that there is a reason why G-d loves a cheerful giver?

The L-rd wants to bless us! He loves us, therefore He desires to be able to pour out His blessings upon us.

It's we, ourselves, that hinder the L-rd blessing us!!

II Corinthians 9:6-8 reveals a very profound truth: If we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. But the converse is also true---give bountifully and we will reap bountifully.

The L-rd does, indeed, bless us in proportion to our giving.

This isn't a "prosperity gospel" thing at all. II Corinthians 9:8 tells us that when we follow G-d's principle of giving, then He will make sure that we "having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."

The purpose for which we need G-d's blessings to be poured out on us is not for selfish gain! It is to be able to serve G-d with liberty, without the constraint that lacking things brings. We want to be blessed in order to bless the L-rd by serving Him and being able to give more and more and more......with the result being that the more we give, the more G-d blesses us so that we can give even more and so on!

This way of thinking and living blesses others and blesses G-d! And in blessing others and G-d, we, ourselves, are blessed also.

The end all is not to GET something from G-d. It isn't to accumulate wealth or things to consume it upon our own lusts (James 4:3). If that is our motive, then we know why we ask and receive not!

Again, let us look at Malachi 3:10---

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the L-RD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

In other words, G-d is able to bless us so that all our needs are met. Why? Because in meeting the needs of G-d's work and His servants----"that there be meat in mine house", the windows of heaven are then opened to meet our own needs.

Just as in II Corinthians 9, we are told that G-d's blessing us is in order that we may abound to every good work----for HIS glory---yet we reap the rewards! It is to our benefit to be a cheerful giver!! G-d loves a cheerful giver so that He can pour out blessings upon us.

Isn't this so much better than our usual selfish, worldy-wise way of living?

Truly, this "opposite" is born out: It is more blessed to give than to receive!!

This is G-d's 401K plan for us. He wants to meet our needs, and when we do according to His methods, He will!

Because the greatest giver of all is our G-d!!

S-I-N

Have you ever noticed something interesting about the word, "SIN"?

There's a big "I" in the middle of it!

Basically, sin can be summed up in one word: SELFISHNESS.

If you think about it, every sinful act, thought, desire, impulse is screaming with selfishness. It's what "I want", how "I feel", what "I think" that motivates a selfish person. and what is at the root of all this?

P-R-I-D-E! [Notice that there's a big "I" in the middle of this word as well!]

Pride and selfishness go hand in hand. Our pride leads us to believe that we "deserve it", so we indulge ourselves rather than submit to G-d. We serve ourselves instead of considering others and how we affect them.

Paul instructed the believers in Romans 14:7 that, "None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."

What did Paul mean by that?

Simply this: We belong to G-d. If we live selfishly, we are sinning against G-d and against others as well.

How we live, the decisions we make, everything we do, affects our relationship with the L-rd. And with others. The verse after this one bears this out.

In these last days, we are finding that very few actually care how they offend a Holy G-d or how they affect others. Our churches would reflect a far different picture otherwise.

The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:13---"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."

All the works of the flesh that are listed in Galatians 5 are selfish. When we commit sin we are saying, in essence, that we do not have a regard for the L-rd and what He wants. Instead of our lives being a holy sacrifice unto G-d, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1), we settle ourselves on the throne. Instead of living for His good pleasure, we live for our own.

What a pitifully poor way to live! Not only do we rob G-d of what is due Him, we deprive ourselves and others of so much. Little do we realize what we do.

Recently, I read an account of the earthquake that occurred in New England in 1727, and what resulted from it. You can read the account here:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1727_11_10_hs.php

The result of this incredible, massive earthquake was a great revival. The first thing the Christians did after their initial shock was to run to their pastors and churches! Unbelievers sought out the same.

Their homes and possessions were not on their minds---G-d was on their minds, and they knew their own hearts were not right with Him!

Christians repented of their sin and others came to know the L-rd. But, in time, after the initial fear of G-d waned, people returned to their old way of thinking and living.

Do we see that kind of revival happening today when disasters strike? Sadly, I think not.

Instead of trials and testings humbling us, we find that people's hearts grow harder. Pride sears consciences.

It's a sad commentary on these last days that even we believers are so self-indulgent, self-righteous, self-absorbed, so full of "I".

Our sinful human nature does not want to submit to the L-rd. It does not want to admit we have done wrong; rather, we want to transfer our guilt onto someone or something else.

Repentance doesn't come easily to us.

Proverbs 20:6 says that, "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?"

Let's look at what the L-rd tells us will happen in the not-too-distant future:

Revelation 16:18-21---"And there were voices, and thunders, and lightenings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before G-d, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed G-d because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."

It's rare these days to find that people have soft, humble hearts that say, "I have sinned!" "It's me, it's me, Oh L-rd, standing in the need of prayer!" So, it's easy to see that people will be that hard-hearted during the tribulation. Instead of their great suffering turning their hearts to G-d, they will curse Him.

The Bible tells us that before this takes place, in the last days, that there will come a falling away first (II Thess. 2:3). I think we are there.

A cavalier attitude towards sin is the norm these days: "Well, everyone sins." "We all do things wrong." "It's really no big deal." So, we give sin a pass in our lives. There is little or no regard for how the L-rd views things.

One way to prevent or remedy that in our own hearts is to get rid of the "I" and replace it with "O"!

Let us have none of self on the throne.

Rather than S-I-N, let it be the S-O-N Who rules our hearts!

What If......

Do you struggle with making decisions? I don't mean regarding what to have for dinner or which color to paint the bathroom, but decisions that impact your life and the lives of others?

Sometimes we feel that we're between a rock and a hard place in our lives to the point that we just freeze, and don't do anything. Of course, indecision is, in fact, a decision of sorts, too.

But, I think that usually, when we get paralyzed by the "what ifs", we fail to see the opportunity to walk by faith that the L-rd is presenting to us.

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. had a saying years ago: "Do Right! Though the stars fall, do right!"

Let's consider some "what ifs" that have gone before us.

What if Esther had not approached the King? She could have analyzed her situation for three days:

"If I go to the King uninvited, he could choose to behead me. If I tell the King that I'm a Jew and my people are to be destroyed because of Haman, he could decide that I am to be killed along with my people. If I misspeak, Haman could outsmart anything I do, and all will be lost anyway."

And on and on, she could have rationalized herself out of doing the right thing, which was to pray, trust the L-rd, and make her stand.

But because Esther didn't get bogged down in the "what ifs", she walked by faith, and was obedient to the L-rd, no matter how daunting the task and situation she faced. Because she was faithful to do the right thing, she saved her people from annihilation! Because of Esther, there are now many Sephardic Jews back in their homeland!

How about Abraham. Suppose he reasoned like this:

"Oh, I just don't know about heading out of here into the unknown! What if I get lost? What if I lead all my family into a situation that turns into a disaster and we can't get back home? What if my wife's family gets really upset with me? If this turns out wrong, they'll never let me forget it! What if I lose everything?"

Because Abraham didn't get bogged down in the "what ifs", G-d promised him a son and an uncountable number of descendants! If Abraham hadn't simply obeyed without doubting, he and his family would have been robbed of immeasurable blessings, and he would not have been "the Friend of G-d".

What if Nathan had said, "Oh---I can't tell the King that he sinned! What if he gets so angry with me that he has me killed for treason?" But because Nathan did what was right, G-d was able to restore David, a man after G-d's own heart!

You see......when we get bogged down by the "what ifs", we not only affect our own selves, but the lives of our family, and others in subsequent generations! We are so short-sighted sometimes, that all we see is the situation at hand and the obstacles inherent in it, but we fail to see the victory the L-rd will give us and the blessings that follow for us and our loved ones if we will just do right and obey by faith.

Does that mean that everything goes smoothly; that no one gets upset with our decisions or that relationships won't be affected? No. Sometimes there is a cost to following the L-rd. But it is minimal compared to the rewards; and much less than the cost of disobedience and a lack of faith.

What if? What if not?!

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to G-d must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

How Do You Measure Up?

Paul loved Timothy as a son, and devoted two whole epistles to encouraging and exhorting Timothy in his ministry. One verse really stands out, and it's probably one you know very well: I Timothy 4:12 where Paul instructs Timothy to be an example of the believer in the following ways---in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Quite a list, huh? It follows that if Timothy was to be an example to other believers in these regards, the purpose of his example was that the believers should follow him, emulating his example, right?

How we behave and treat one another is very important to the L-rd; He would not have had Paul include this list in his letter to Timothy if it were not essential. In fact, throughout the New Testament, we are admonished regarding our behavior to one another as believers.

We live in an age where selfishness reigns. Society does that which is right in their own eyes, and we Christians are prone to "catch" that virus. Sometimes we just need to take stock and ask the L-rd to show us if we've caught that old "selfish" bug. Instead of "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." as Phil. 2:4 tells us, we get so introverted and focused on our own plans and lives.....forgetting others and how we affect them.

As believers and members one of another---in the body of Christ---what we do or don't do does indeed, affect others in the body. If the hand or the foot isn't functioning as it should, it hinders and cripples the body. The L-rd does hold us accountable for how we function within the body of Christ as a whole, and within our local church body; how we behave towards one another as believers will be judged. Do we do our part to encourage, admonish, pray for, sacrifice, give, and love one another, or do we expect others to carry that load, and then blame others for why we aren't fulfilled as a member of the body?

Here are some Scriptures.....it's a good checklist for us to examine ourselves:

Romans 15:14, 30
I Corinthians 1:10; 11:33; 15:58
II Corinthians 13:11
Galatians 6:1
Ephesians 4:32
I Thessalonians 4:1; 5:12, 14, 25
II Thessalonians 1:3; 3:1, 6, 13
I Timothy 5:1-3
Hebrews 13:22
James 1:2, 16, 19
James 2:1; 3:1, 10
James 5:7, 9, 10
I Peter 1:22; 3:8
I John 3:14, 16

Here is what our Saviour said in Mark 12:30, 31:

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

Wow---did you get that?! "There is none other commandment greater than these."

Pretty profound, huh?

What a difference we'd make if we really did what these verses say!

How Do We Know If We Really Love Him or Not?

How do we know if we really love the L-rd?

The "litmus test", if you will, is as Jesus instructed His disciples in John 14:15:

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

The L-rd reiterated this important injunction again in verse 21:

"He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me:
and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him."

That's pretty straight-forward, isn't it? Of course, the L-rd knows our hearts, whether we love Him or not. But He also knows that there will be evidence of our love! And too, how do we know that someone loves the L-rd, unless we see the evidence for it?

How is our love for our spouse, for our children evidenced? We desire to please them, don't we? We do things for them, care for their needs, spend time with them. We nurture those very precious relationships!

What if your spouse or children seldom considered you or your feelings in regard to how they lived or the decisions they made? What if they gave little notice or recognition for the things you did for them? Would you feel loved? Could they even convince you that they loved you?

When we see children neglected, we determine that they are not loved.

Contrast that with how we show our love for our L-rd!

How can we say we love the L-rd if we neglect Him, and neglect to obey Him?

Sadly, I believe most of us fall very short in this area. We put more thought and effort into the pursuit of our own happiness than we do the L-rd's. Our prayer life consists of a request list pages long, while giving little thought to what we can do for His good pleasure!

We are such selfish creatures. But you know, the word L-O-V-E does not have an "I" in it!

The proof of our love for the L-rd is in our obedience to Him, denying ourselves!

Notice the very precious promise if we keep G-d's commandments, thereby loving Him:

We will be loved by the Father and the L-rd Jesus will manifest Himself to us.

Wow---did you get that? The more love we show the L-rd by our obedience to Him, the more He reveals of Himself to us.

But doesn't that make sense? The more love someone shows us, the more we want to be with them, and the more we are willing to be "vulnerable" and share ourselves with them---right?

Except, it seems, when it comes to the L-rd. He showers His blessings upon us---over and above giving us our salvation; He proves His love to us every day! But we go merrily on our way, oblivious to the things of the L-rd, so caught up in our jobs, duties, pleasures, that we have little time for the L-rd!

Are you getting as convicted as I am about now??

Later on in verses 23, 24, the L-rd continues to explain about this cause and effect regarding loving and obeying:

"....If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

He that loveth Me not keepeth not my sayings...."

Boy, the L-rd doesn't mince words---pretty clear, huh?!!

The L-rd Jesus is very clear in spelling out the fact that if we do not obey Him, we do not love Him.

But, hey----we can't obey God's Word if we don't know what He says in it!
Daily Bible reading---really taking time to hear from the L-rd---is essential in being obedient to Him!

In Matthew 7:16 Jesus advised His disciples regarding others who claim to be of G-d,
"Ye shall know them by their fruits."

Verses 17-21 expand on this statement:

"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not everyone that saith unto Me, L-rd, L-rd,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

There is no middle ground, no gray area here. We know if we love the L-rd, and we know if others love the L-rd, if our/their fruit----the way we/they talk, the things we/they do, the beliefs and attitudes we/they have----line up with G-d's Word!

If someone loves the L-rd, they will be living and obeying G-d's Words.

It's as simple as that!

Do We Love Him?

"Do you l-o-o-v-e me?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you l-o-o-v-e me?"

"Do I love you?
With our daughters getting married
And this trouble in the town
You're upset, you're worn out
Go inside, Go lie down!
Maybe its indigestion."

"Goldie, I'm asking you a question....
Do you love me?"

"You're a fool."

"I know....
But do you love me?"

"Do I love you?
For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?".................

.........

"I know...
But do you love me?"

"Do I love him?
For twenty-five years I've lived with him
Fought with him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that's not love, what is?"

"Then you love me?"

"I suppose I do."

"And I suppose I love you, too."

So goes the conversation between Tevye and his wife, Goldie, in The Fiddler on the Roof.

This reminds me a little of the conversation between the L-rd and Peter in John 15:21-17.

Our L-rd had just dined with his disciples.....a close-knit group, especially after three years of following the L-rd together and going through the events of the crucifixion and resurrection. I'm sure it would be an understatement to say that the bonds that were forged went very deep and lasted a lifetime!

The L-rd Jesus put Peter on the spot:
"Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?"

Peter answered the L-rd, "Yea, L-rd; Thou knowest that I love Thee."

Jesus' reply to Peter: "Feed my lambs."

But, Jesus pursued this questioning further---
"He saith unto him a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?"

Peter's answer the second time:
"Yea L-rd; Thou knowest that I love Thee."

Jesus answers, "Feed my sheep."

The L-rd was not finished with His questioning of Peter's love for Him. Remember that Peter had earlier denied the L-rd three times. It was three times that the L-rd questioned Peter if he loved Him!

"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"

"Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me?
And he said unto Him, L-rd Thou knowest all things;
Thou knowest that I love thee."

Should it not, would it not it grieve us, too, if the L-rd had to ask us three times if we loved Him??

Jesus did not come up with a third option for Peter.
"Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

During the '70s, the big word in our society (other than "peace") was LOVE, sometimes written, LUV.

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of....", as the old song goes....

Churches picked up on that mantra, and soon the age of "easy-believism" burgeoned forth! Fewer pastors preached on sin, leaving behind the Ten Commandments (no wonder they were driven out of the schools!), giving way to sermons on social change and "loving" your neighbor. Holding hands, swaying to "Kumbaya", lots of hugs and shallow relationships.....this was the stuff of the 70's.

If anyone made doctrine an issue, they didn't have "love". Doctrine wasn't important....truth was cast aside in the name of "love". "Everybody get together. Try and love one another right now." That was the ultimate goal of the church in those days.

The focus was man-centered. Loving your fellow man, of course, would lead to pleasing your fellow man and all that implies. Somehow, though, the L-rd was relegated to second place in all that euphoric celebrating of "love".

What Jesus specifically told His disciples was explicitly ignored!

If you will recall, He reiterated to them the teaching of the First Commandment:

"The first of all the commandments is,
Hear O Israel; the L-rd our G-d is one L-rd:

And thou shalt love the L-rd thy G-d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

There is none other commandment greater than these."..............Matthew 12:29-31

How are we to really love others if we do not love the L-rd FIRST?! Sadly, I think our priorities get reversed. We love ourselves first, our families, our friends, and the L-rd is worked in there somewhere.

Do we l-o-o-v-e Him?

To be continued.......