Love Fulfills the Law

 

“The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

—Romans 13:9-10

“I won’t ever become a Christian,” my friend said over dinner one night. “I do not want to subject myself to a bunch of rules and regulations. I want to live free!”

I was not at all surprised by my friend’s assertion. A lot of people view Christianity through a cloudy lens. They see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. They think that Christians have to follow a long list of prescribed behavior in order to live as “good Christians.”

The truth is that the greatest freedom we can experience in this life comes from faith in the life-transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ. His death on the cross has paid the penalty for our sins. We are free—truly free—in a way that we could never be without God’s mercy, grace, and unfailing love expressed to us through the death and resurrection of His precious Son, Jesus.

So, instead of a long list of rules and regulations, Christianity offers just two simple instructions for holy living: love God and love others!

Yes, it really is that simple. And, not only is it that simple, God has even given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to do these two things that we could never really do by ourselves.

Take note of these words the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome, as recorded in Romans 13:9-10:

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In analyzing four of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20, the Apostle Paul—who described himself as a “Pharisee of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6; Philippians 3:4-6)—focuses on the very same ideas that Jesus expressed in Mark 12:28-31:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Throughout this new day, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do these two things: love God and love others. If we do that, God will surely use our example to draw those He wishes to call to Himself. And, won’t that be a grand thing, indeed?

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

“Well, Shut My Mouth!”

 

“Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”

—Proverbs 17:9

Has anyone ever told you something that you could hardly wait to pass along to someone else? Maybe it was a juicy piece of gossip. Maybe it was some news that put someone you didn’t like in a very bad light. Maybe it was a story that seemed funny, but actually reflected rather badly on someone or made them look particularly silly.

Whatever the motivation you felt to share this piece of news with someone else, STOP! Don’t do it! Just shut your mouth!

Why? Because gossiping is never right. It reflects very poorly on you and can prove devastating to someone else.

I know the minute I write those words some of you are protesting. “You don’t understand. The news was too juicy not to pass along. I rarely get the chance to feel important. Having this news and not sharing it would be tragic for my own sense of superiority and self-worth.”

Whatever excuse you may offer just won’t fly. Imagine what the world would be like if we kept to ourselves, without repeating, every so-called juicy bit of news that comes our way. Our world would be a so much more peaceful place.

It’s a known fact that people who stir up controversy among others contribute to a great deal of stress, whether it’s at home, in school, or in the workplace. Not every person likes every other person. There are a whole lot of reasons why some personalities just clash. But, why fuel the fire that may exist between two people by gossiping about them to one another. If you do that, you become an instrument of evil rather than an instrument of good.

King Solomon understood the importance of keeping one’s own counsel. Part of his greatness was his ability to get along with others. He often acted as an intermediary in very troubling times in the region where he lived. He could do this because he did not repeat bad things that people said about each other.

Notice what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:9:

Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

Love covers over an offense. That’s the kind of reality we should strive for as we begin another day.

Let’s speak a word of caution to our own selves. Let’s not repeat bad things about others. Let’s abstain from gossip. We will be so much better off if we keep our own counsel about most things.

When tempted to gossip, let’s each one of us say to ourselves: “Well, shut my mouth!”

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God Lives in Us

 

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

—1 John 4:11-12

When the Holy Spirit reveals to a person that, out of the depth of God’s love, He has given him or her the gift of salvation from his or her sins, through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that person acknowledges what God has done, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside that person. The reality of this supernatural event is a great mystery that we simply do not have the capacity to fully understand. Nevertheless, the Bible gives ample testimony that this is exactly what happens.

In fact, the Bible talks about this process that includes the Holy Spirit coming to live within us as “regeneration.” The ongoing Presence of the Holy Spirit causes the beginning of yet another process that makes believers become more and more holy. We call this process “sanctification.” As the person learns, more and more, how to bend his or her selfish will to God’s perfect will, he or she becomes more like Jesus.

I’ve written quite a bit of late in this blog about God-breathed love. One of the realities of this magnificent type of love is that it arises within us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. God lives in us. That’s a powerful truth. And, the Apostle John writes about this very truth in 1 John 4:11-12:

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Imagine the reality that God makes His love complete in us and, therefore, allows us to have the power necessary to love one another. That is a wonderful thought to cling to, as we begin another new day.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Who Shall Separate Us? No Thing and No One!

 

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.-”

—Romans 8:38-39

In yesterday’s blog post, I examined the question of whether or not love could ever become permanent. I suggested that with humans there was some evidence to support the idea that a definitive answer did not exist. While some people seem to love each other forever, others seem to love each other only for a season.

I explained how the Apostle Paul had posed this very question to the Christians at Rome. And, I hinted that in today’s blog post, I would offer Paul’s startlingly positive answer. Indeed, here’s what Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, the answer is, indeed, “Yes!” God’s love for us is permanent. He will never turn His back on us. He will never become a fickle lover. Instead, we can rest securely on the foundation of His love for both time and for eternity.

How does that change us? How does the permanence of God’s love shape our new world, once we belong to Him?

It gives us a love that we can surely pass on to others that will never fail. God-breathed love does not depend on our emotions. It does not depend on which side of the bed we got up on in the morning. It does not waver when someone behaves badly toward us, or hurts our feelings, or turns their back on us.

God-breathed love comes from the heart of the God who loves us with a love so rooted in His very nature that it can’t help but bring with it a power so enormous that no opposition from any other force can possible repel it.

Let’s rejoice today that God breathes His ever-enduring love into us, so that we might share that love with others.

Yes, God’s love can last. He will never allow us, His dear children, to be separated from His love.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Who Shall Separate Us?

 

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

—Romans 8:35

These days, breakups seem to be as much a part of falling in love as the falling in love itself. As a sometime romantic, it always seems sad when a couple who appear to truly love each other decide to go their separate ways.

One of the great mysteries to me, and I’ve alluded to this in previous blog posts, is the ultimate actions of Christian college classmates of mine who seemed so very much in love during their college days. They married soon after graduation. They began their careers, or enrolled in graduate school. They started a family. And, they seemed to be living in harmony and building a solid life together. Then, something happened. Sometimes it happened in just a few years. But, sometimes it happened after fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years or more.

I’ve never had the courage to actually ask any of these dear ones what happened. It’s obviously none of my business. And, in most cases, they were not truly close enough friends that I could justify intruding on their privacy—just people that I greatly admired, mostly from afar. In every case, though, they seemed to have a clear testimony of the life-transforming power of Christ. But, for some reason, their mutual faith simply could not hold them together.

Can love really last? Can love endure the hardships along the road of life? Can love actually become a permanent reality?

From a human standpoint, perhaps not. But, what about from a spiritual standpoint? Can God’s love endure? That’s exactly the question the Apostle Paul poses to the Christians gathered in the church at Rome, as recorded in Romans 8:35:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

In tomorrow’s blog post, we will read Paul’s answer. It’s a very reassuring one. But first, as we move out into a new day, we ought to pause and consider how the enduring love of God affects the love we have toward others.

Should the permanent nature of God-breathed love guide the permanent nature of our own love? That’s something worth thinking about as this day unfolds.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Again, and Again, and Again

 

“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

—1 John 3:11

If you listen to the radio or watch television, you have likely noticed that a key element of advertising is to drive the message home by repeating it over and over and over again. That’s something that modern advertisers have learned from classical Greek literature.

Whenever the Greek philosophers wanted to make a strong point, they would often set the stage by telling their readers what they were going to present. Then, they would make their point. Finally, they would tell their readers what point they had made. This three-fold repetition seemed to work. ¹

It’s no wonder that the writers of the New Testament, whose education had relied on many of the principles laid down by the ancient Greeks, continued this same method in their biblical writings. Certain themes appear over and over throughout the New Testament.

One of those oft repeated themes relates to the expression of God-breathed love from one believer to another and from believers to non-believers. A case in point comes from the Apostle John, who wrote in 1 John 3:11:

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

It is interesting to me in this age where some would have us believe that all religions are the same, that a careful reading of the Islamic scripture finds a starkly contrasting oft repeated message: kill all non-believers. This is so very different from the message of Christianity that I cannot fathom how anyone could think that these two very different religions are the same.

Followers of Christianity are strongly encouraged by their leader, the Lord Jesus Christ, to openly express God-breathed love toward all people, even their enemies.

Followers of Islam are strongly encouraged by their leader, Mohammed, to utterly destroy anyone who is not a believer.

We see this played out every day in the Middle East where Islamic Fundamentalists—they insist they are the true followers of Mohammed—brutally kill those who refuse to embrace their particular brand of Islam.

This day—this new day—let those of us who follow in the footsteps of Jesus do as He insists. Let us show God-breathed love toward all we meet. And, let us, therefore, proclaim the God of mercy, grace, and love to all who seek to learn of Him.

______________________

1 A long-demonstrated strategy for classroom instruction in the U.S. military requires the instructor to tell the class what he or she intends to teach in that day’s class. Then, the instructor teaches that instructional content. Finally, the instructor reviews for the class what he or she intended to teach. This repetitive methodology has become a classical way of conducting adult training because it works so well.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

This is Love

 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

—1 John 4:10

In recent blog posts, I’ve felt constrained to write quite a bit about love. I’ve shared that the greatest love is the God-breathed love instilled in us by the One who loves us. He gives us this love, so that we might reflect the love He shows us through the death of His Son, Jesus.

Christ died in our place on the Roman cross of torture at Golgotha. He died there because a righteous and just God demanded that a penalty be paid for the sin of humankind.

That sin began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and proceeded down through the intervening years from generation to generation. No ordinary human ever lived who did not have that stain of original sin. Furthermore, no ordinary human has ever lived who did not sin.

One and only one person, the Lord Jesus Christ—God Incarnate—entered this world without the stain of Adam’s sin, lived His 33-year lifespan without sinning, and then, on the cross, in obedience to His Father, took upon Himself all the sins of every human who had ever lived and who would ever live.

But, Christ’s death was effectual only for those whom God has called to Himself through the wooing of the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin and revelation of God’s mercy, grace, and love. This whole process remains a great mystery to us—one that we simply do not have the capability to understand.

Yet, God’s written Word makes it clear that this is exactly what has happened and continues to happen, as God reveals Himself to each human He calls to Himself.

As far as love is concerned—God-breathed love, that is—we have this testimony of the Apostle John who wrote these words recorded in 1 John 4:10:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The King James Version (often called the Authorized Version) translates the New Testament Greek word hilasmon as “propitiation.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “propitiation” as “to make (someone) pleased or less angry by giving or saying something desired.”

We find this word in Greek literature that is contemporaneous with the New Testament. In this literature, it refers to the various offerings the Greeks and Romans gave to their many gods.

In the case of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the word is well-translated in the verse above from the New International Version as “atoning sacrifice.” Jesus atoned for our sins by the shedding of His precious blood.

Thus, the gospel songwriter, Robert Lowry, has rightly penned these words:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain: Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

As we search for love at the beginning of this new day, let’s remember the greatest expression of love known to humankind: the death and resurrection of Jesus. God gave us His Son as the ultimate gift of His love.

Whenever we allow God to imbue us with His God-breathed love, we have the privilege of passing that love on to others we meet along the road of life.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Loving Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

—John 13:34-35

In the past few blog posts, I’ve shared some thoughts from God’s written Word about the nature of God-breathed love. One of the most important ways we display that particular kind of love is in the way we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We have Jesus’ own words to guide us, as recorded in John 13:34-35:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The kind of love that our Savior urges us to show toward our fellow “Christ’s-one” is none other than the very love that He has shown toward us. His love for us compelled Him to die on the cross in our place. In obedience to God the Father, Jesus gave up His own earthly life, so that we would have our sins covered by the shedding of His precious blood.

In our dealings with our fellow Christians, do we consistently show that kind of self-sacrificing, humble, and forthright love? If we don’t, perhaps we should obediently determine to do so.

As this new day begins, let’s meet each of our fellow believers with the mindset of Christ. Let’s consistently show His love toward them.

No matter what may happen in our relationships with the members of our spiritual family, let’s remain vessels of divine God-breathed love. That surely will set an unparalleled example for every person who may be watching how we live out our faith.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Ultimate Love

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

—John 3:16

Whenever anyone talks about love, we have to carefully examine the context. In our current sex-crazed culture, much of the talk about “love” really refers to erotic love. As important as erotic love is within the bond of marriage between a man and a woman, it is only one small part of the total expanse of genuine love.

In fact, the truest and most lasting love in a marriage comes from a melding of all four types of love: friendship, companionship, erotic, and most importantly of all, God-breathed love. That’s why it’s important for a marriage relationship to have the strength of all four love bonds.

In our spiritual lives, the most relevant and vibrant form of God-breathed love is revealed in the act of Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. This embodiment of love so far exceeds any other example, that it actually defines the essence of God-breathed love.

In meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus explained this great miracle of God-breathed love in these very familiar and oft-quoted words, recorded in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It is important to note that God’s love is pervasive: He “so loved the world.” Everyone is touched by God’s love. He does so through the lives and testimony of those individuals who follow Jesus. We are Christ’s ambassadors.

When we gather for worship, we bring together in one place a group, or body, of believers that have great power to show God’s love because the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

As we begin another day, let’s remember how magnificently God’s love has impacted our own lives. And, let’s live in such a way that we honor the sacrifice that Christ has made in our behalf.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God-breathed Love Is… - Part 2

 

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

—1 Corinthians 13:6-7

As Christians—“Christ’s-ones”—we have the opportunity to become instruments of God’s mercy, grace, and life-changing love. But, how do we do this when our natural inclinations always seem to turn us away from genuine love?

Fortunately, the Scriptures teach us throughout the Bible that God graciously imbues those He has chosen to belong to Himself with His divine, God-breathed love. This amazing, unchanging, unfailing love enables us, so that we can touch the lives of those people who show up along the pathway of our lives.

As I suggested in yesterday’s blog post, God’s love has some very definitive characteristics. The Apostle Paul continues to detail those characteristics, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:6-7:

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Certainly, we can acknowledge that it would not be at all possible for us to consistently love anyone throughout the course of our lives with a love that meets these high standards of characteristics. That’s why we cannot depend on the strength of our own wills. Rather, we must rely on God to breathe His undying love into us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As the sun rises yet again to begin another new day, let’s determine to ask God for His special love. Let’s open ourselves to receive His love and cherish it as a precious gift from Him. Then, with hearts full of His love, and in all humility, let’s share His love with all those He brings into our lives this day.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God-breathed Love Is… - Part 1

 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

—1 Corinthians 13:4-5

In yesterday’s blog post, I shared how God graciously imbues us with His love, so that we can touch the lives of those with whom we have interpersonal relationships in the most positive way possible.

His love has some very definitive characteristics. The Apostle Paul details them, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Most Christians would agree that these characteristics of love are highly desirable. And, most would agree that we cannot guarantee a consistent delivery of these characteristics on our own. That’s why we need God to breathe His love into us.

As we face a new day, let’s gratefully allow God to use us as vehicles of His love. Then, we will participate in one of the most important transactions that can occur this side of heaven.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Love Bearers

 

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

—1 Corinthians 13:1-3

As we draw close to the true time of the year where we should participate in a secular holiday that celebrates the love of a man for a woman—sorry, Millennials, but that’s how the holiday came to be (see Chaucer’s role in this by clicking here)—we Christians do well to explore the role “love” plays in our spiritual relationships, as well.

The most familiar passage of Scripture regarding loving relationships contains these opening words, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I have explained several times in various posts on this blog how the New Testament Greek language actually contains four words that translate into the single English word “love.” In this case, the Apostle Paul uses the New Testament Greek word agape (ah-gah’-pay) throughout this passage.

This is the word that indicates “God-breathed love” or love that flows to us from God. It is not a love that we can conjure up within us. It comes to us purely as a gift from the God who loves us and bestows—I much prefer “breathes”—His love into us because He has chosen us to belong to Himself.

It is this God-breathed love that He intends for us to manifest in all of our interpersonal relationships here on earth—acting as His ambassadors.

So, we show this agape love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to the members of our family, and to every person with whom we come into contact.

In a very real sense we are experiencing the reality of Romans 5:5:

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

As we turn out into the world on this new day, let’s remember that we are God’s “love bearers.” We carry His love with us and we manifest this God-breathed love in all our interpersonal relationships. We do so as His emissaries.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Growing Faith

 

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”

—2 Thessalonians 1:3

Following Jesus is a journey—a long journey. It begins the moment we recognize the gift God has given us of salvation from our sins through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross at Calvary. It continues for the rest of our lives here on earth. I also believe that our walk with Jesus will continue in heaven, as we explore the riches of God’s eternity and bask in the glory of His Presence.

It takes a response of faith to answer the gentle, or not so gentle, calling of the Holy Spirit when He reveals what God has done for us. It takes a response of faith to step out onto the pathway that God opens up before us. It takes a response of faith to persevere, no matter what trials and difficulties by come into our lives. It takes a response of faith to pursue our role as ambassadors of God’s mercy, grace, and love to a troubled and needy world.

Thus, our entire Christian walk is fueled by faith—hopefully, an every-growing faith. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul celebrated what he observed in the lives of the Christians gathered in the church at Thessalonica. Notice Paul’s words, as recorded in 2 Thessalonians 1:3:

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

Here we see Paul celebrating the growing faith of those long-ago followers of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were to receive a letter from Paul today that gave us a similar word of encouragement?

As we start another day, let’s thank God for the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives that prompts us to deepen our faith.

Let’s also seek to do those things that will cause our faith to grow: read and study God’s written Word, pray, put away besetting sins, consciously strive to live holy lives, faithfully gather for worship, extend love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, seek to share with others what God has done for us, and show the mercy, grace, and love of God to all those who cross our path.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Ultimate Respect

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

—Matthew 5:43-45

In our upside down culture today, many individuals, dissatisfied with a historical way of life, place an increasing emphasis on a celebration of diversity and the dissolution of any overriding cultural norms that might constrain behavior.

One of the methods they use to achieve their goals is to try to divide the people of our great nation into differing subgroups. They believe that if they can create division and dissatisfaction between different groups of people, in the resulting chaos, they will be able to dissolve any foundational beliefs that might prevent them from perpetrating evil.

This is the complete opposite of the approach that the Lord Jesus Christ urged upon His disciples. Please take note of His direct words, as recorded in Matthew 5:43-45:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Instead of a division—even a dividing of the people we like from the people we don’t like—Jesus instructs us to show love at every opportunity.

In place of creating a division, this prescriptive behavior will create unity. In fact, this purposeful display of God-breathed love will allow diversity to flourish, but also cause that diversity to exist within a love-bond of unity.

These are clearly marching orders for us on this new day. We should launch out into this day with the purpose of showing God’s love to all we meet.

Just as He allows rain to fall in order to water the crops of the righteous and the unrighteous, so we should allow the soft rain of His love to spill out from us on those we deem worthy and those we deem unworthy.

It is in this way that we will emulate the God who chose us to belong to Himself. We will, in fact, show God’s ultimate respect for everyone we meet.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

What Do We Chase After?

 

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.”

—Proverbs 21:21

Quite a number of years ago, I overheard a conversation while waiting for a table in a restaurant. Two gentlemen were watching the wide screen TV when a particular advertisement came on that showed a beautiful woman putting her arms around a man. One man said to the other, “I hate that commercial!”

“Really? Why?” the second man replied.

“It reminds me that no woman has ever pursued me in that way,” came the quick answer.

This conversation caused me to ponder about the state of our interpersonal relationships. And, even more so, it caused me to ask myself, “What do we chase after?”

If we are to believe the advertising on television, or the commentary on talk radio, or the articles in glitzy magazines, people in our culture pursue quite a number of selfish and quite temporal things. They pursue personal gratification through wealth, property, and even through their interpersonal relationships. It seems that such pursuit is rarely about others and more than often solely about them and their perceived needs.

King Solomon takes an entirely different viewpoint when he expresses these words found in Proverbs 21:21:

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity [or righteousness] and honor.

Solomon believes there are far more important things in this life to pursue than those things that might satisfy only for a moment. He suggests that pursuing righteousness and God-breathed love will result in finding true life—in other words, what life is really all about—as well as prosperity—or, in some manuscripts, righteousness—and honor. Imagine that! The way to find honor is to pursue righteousness and God-breathed love.

As we start off through another day, we should examine what we’re pursuing. Are we running after only things that might satisfy for a moment? Or, are we pursuing really important things that will last for eternity?

The answer should prompt us to either continue on the best pathway, or make a course correction this very day.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Utmost Faithfulness

 

“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

—Psalm 33:4-5

It’s a truly devastating blow when someone you trust with your innermost secrets betrays you and proves unfaithful. Whether this unfaithfulness occurs within the bond of marriage or the bond of sincere friendship, the pain is almost unendurable. In fact, having experienced this kind of unfaithfulness often produces scars that mark a person for the rest of his or her life.

Sometimes the hurt goes so deep that the person strongly resists trusting anyone again. Sometimes that lack of trust engenders a behavior in a person that pushes everyone away and makes it very difficult for others to connect with that person.

Even in the darkest hour of betrayal, those who follow Jesus have a connection to someone in whom they may always place their trust. The Psalmist understood how important it was for those caught in the pain of unfaithfulness to realize that God is always faithful. Note these words found in Psalm 33:4-5:

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

God is faithful in all He does. He bestows love that is unfailing. He will never prove unfaithful. He is completely trustworthy. We can never make a mistake when we put our trust in Him. He will never betray our trust.

At the start of a new day, the knowledge that we belong to an ever-faithful God should give us the kind of encouragement we need to launch out into this day with enthusiasm and hopefulness. May we be able to share His love with those we meet that they, too, may come to know this One who is always faithful.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Rock of Refuge

 

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

—Psalm 18:1-2

Not far inland from where I live along the shore of Lake Erie is the delightful town of Panama, New York. This small community is famous for an outstanding formation of very large rocks, a vestige of the Ice Age. These Panama Rocks offer visitors a rather spectacular look at the power of nature and at the permanence of these amazingly large rock formations.

It had to have taken an enormous pressure to heave these rocks upward from deep within the earth to their present position that towers over those who come to see them. One might easily say that such power is strength personified. The very nature of these rocks speaks to how firm and solid they are.

The Psalmist captured a similar image when he wrote about God, as recorded in Psalm 18:1-2:

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

God is our rock! He is our fortress, our deliverer, and our strength. In times of trouble and distress, we can take refuge in the shelter of His loving arms. He provides a stronghold around us that no evil can penetrate.

At the start of this new day, let’s celebrate the protection that God provides. We can rest secure within the confines of His shelter. We can renew our own strength by drawing from the strength that He provides. We can arise from our shelter and again enter the fray, knowing that God is unmovable in the solid place He has in our lives.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

An Antidote for Fear

 

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

—Psalm 59:16

Have you ever watched a cartoon character in a scary situation to see what they would do? Some, like our friend Scooby-Doo, jump into someone’s arms. Others begin to whistle softly or even sing softly to bolster their courage and fight back against the fear.

Singing is a very powerful force against evil—not just in cartoons. In fact, research has shown that people who sing may well have a much more stress-free life than those who don’t.

Years ago on Chautauqua Lake in western New York State, I got caught in a storm. I was in a small boat powered by a relatively low horsepower outboard engine. While traveling back to our rented cottage from the Chautauqua Institution, late a night after a concert performance in the amphitheater, lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and a very heavy rain began to fall.

I was terrified!

I could barely see through the rain. Even the lights on the near shore were significantly dimmed by the heavy falling rain.

In my fright, I began to sing. I sang at the top of my lungs. I sang every hymn and gospel song that I could remember. After nearly an hour, I reached the dock at our rented cottage: safe—safe at last! There is no doubt that my singing helped dispel my fear and strengthen my courage.

In times of trouble and fear, the Psalmist also turned to song. He memorialized that practice when he wrote these words recorded in Psalm 59:16:

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

By praising God in song, the Psalmist recalled from his own memory those times when God’s divine Presence made his failing courage turn around. That’s a good lesson for us, as we begin another day.

Even if we don’t really consider ourselves a singer, we can certainly sing when we’re alone. We can remember those times when God was the very present help in times of trouble, as the Psalmist celebrates in Psalm 46:1.

Let’s do that today. Let’s praise God for His Presence in our lives. It is part of our testimony—highlighting God’s mercy, grace, and love—that we must share with those we encounter during our walk along the pathway of life this day.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Wisdom? Start Here!

 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

—Proverbs 9:10

Through the research of Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, we have learned that God dispenses intelligence in a variety of forms. Since 1999, Gardner has identified eight intelligences: linguistic, logic-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Gardner is informally considering two additional intelligences, existential and pedagogical.

Over the years since Gardner first published his findings, many have written peer-reviewed papers analyzing his work and, in some cases, attempting to refine and re-characterize some of Gardner’s findings. No doubt this research will continue for many years to come. Gardner, who is now in his early 70s, continues to study this ground-breaking topic and encourage others to extend his research.

As an educational developer for the insurance company where I worked for 30 years, for the last nine years as Director of Loss Prevention Training, I often referred to Gardner’s earliest published papers as I tried to develop and refine a full-blown certification program for our 400 fire protection engineers. It was very helpful to observe the individual differences of students using a variety of observations and instruments, such as the Gregorc Style Delineator™.

But, I also learned that the application of knowledge requires both wisdom and understanding. It’s not enough to have a grasp of the factual information as artifacts of an intellectual exercise. The practical use of knowledge depends on the ability of an individual to understand the knowledge and the wisdom to apply it properly.

In one of my writing classes in college, a young high school senior—the son of a professor—had received permission to take the class. The class focused on writing radio scripts and this young man had an interest in radio. He had studied hard over the summer and taken the First Class Radiotelephone License exam from the Federal Communications Commission. Frankly, I was quite envious of this accomplishment on his part. I had long desired to achieve this license and had even spent a rather large sum of money for a correspondence course from the Cleveland Institute of Electronics in order to learn enough electronic theory to pass the portion of the exam dealing with radio frequency (rf) transmission. I needed this particular exposure because I already had a fairly broad knowledge of the audio portion of radio broadcasting.

The professor in charge of the class thought that this bright young man might be able to help out at the campus radio station and enlisted his assistance in making some repairs to the transmitter. But, when he showed up to work with some of us on this project, we realized that his knowledge was purely intellectual. He had no practical experience working on a transmitter. In fact, he didn’t even know how to use a soldering iron or other electronic tools. He knew what he had read in a book about test instruments, but he had never used one to take readings on the various circuits.

I learned a very important lesson or two from this experience. First of all, I should never be envious of anyone. Every person has gifts and talents and has achieved things that I will never achieve. Likewise, I have things to offer that others might not have. Being envious is a waste of time and energy. Secondly, I learned how important it is to seek both understanding and wisdom to go along with whatever knowledge one might acquire.

King Solomon knew quite a bit about wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. History records that Solomon was a very smart man. It also records that he was a very wise man. So, it is no surprise that Solomon wrote these words that appear in Proverbs 9:10:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

If we want to understand what life is all about, we must first seek to give the highest respect to the God who created all things. The word translated from the Hebrew as “fear” is unique in that it contains an expression of the greatest possible respect and the caution of approaching the object of respect with a full recognition of that being’s power and authority. That certainly fits how we should approach God.

We need to bow before God in humility and reverence. We need to extend every possible respect to God. We need to also overflow with gratitude that God has chosen us to belong to Himself and has paid the penalty for our sin to satisfy His justice by sending His one and only Son to die on the cross in our place. No greater love can be expressed than God’s love for us. No greater fear is owed someone than the utmost respect we owe God.

The more we open ourselves up to God’s will, the more we study His Word, the more we yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the more wisdom we will have. Imagine what we can do, as brothers and sisters in Christ, if we harness the power of this God-given wisdom to go forth and change the world.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

What Do We Chase After?

 

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.”

—Proverbs 21:21

Quite a number of years ago, I overheard a conversation while waiting for a table in a restaurant. Two gentlemen were watching the wide screen TV when a particular advertisement came on that showed a beautiful woman putting her arms around a man. One man said to the other, “I hate that commercial!”

“Really? Why?” the second man replied.

“It reminds me that no woman has ever pursued me in that way,” came the quick answer.

This conversation caused me to ponder about the state of our interpersonal relationships. And, even more so, it caused me to ask myself, “What do we chase after?”

If we are to believe the advertising on television, or the commentary on talk radio, or the articles in glitzy magazines, people in our culture pursue quite a number of selfish and quite temporal things. They pursue personal gratification through wealth, property, and even through their interpersonal relationships. It seems that such pursuit is rarely about others and more than often solely about them and their perceived needs.

King Solomon takes an entirely different viewpoint when he expresses these words found in Proverbs 21:21:

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity [or righteousness] and honor.

Solomon believes there are far more important things in this life to pursue than those things that might satisfy only for a moment. He suggests that pursuing righteousness and God-breathed love will result in finding true life. In other words, what life is really all about, as well as prosperity—or, in some manuscripts, righteousness—and honor. Imagine that! The way to find honor is to pursue righteousness and God-breathed love.

As we start off through another day, we should examine what we’re pursuing. Are we running after only things that might satisfy for a moment? Or, are we pursuing really important things that will last for eternity?

The answer should prompt us to either continue on the best pathway, or make a course correction this very day.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Greatest of the Greatest

 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

—Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“I only have time to obey one commandment. Which one should I obey? Which one is the greatest and most important?”

That may sound like a silly question, but it is a question that arises in the hearts and minds of many individuals. They are looking for an easy way to be able to say that they are good people. They do good in the world. Or, at the very least, they do more good than bad. They want full credit for doing their very best to do good.

But, following the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t really work that way. The reason devoted disciples of Jesus read His Word, the Bible, every day and meditate on what it says is so that they will understand more and more about God and learn what really brings Him joy.

In building the foundational structure of faith for God’s chosen people, the children of Israel, God had Moses write down a rather long list of rules and regulations that fleshed out the ten main laws God gave in what we call the Ten Commandments. In so doing, God instructed Moses to share these words with His children, as found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

But, Moses was not the only one to offer this instruction from God. The Apostle Mark records that Jesus, the one and only Son of God, quoted from Deuteronomy, as recorded in Mark 12:28-34:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Now, as this new day begins, let us go forth and demonstrate in real and practical ways this teaching from both the Old Testament and New Testament—the very Word of God through His servant Moses and the very Word of God through God the Son, Jesus.

Let’s love God with the totality of our being—all four human modalities—emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. And, let’s show forth God’s love to every person who crosses our pathway—our neighbors.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Finding True Love

 

“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.”

—Psalm 86:5

Television, radio, and the internet have many instances of countless services to help people find the true love of their lives. And, there’s no question that these sites have some success. Although it will be interesting to see if in the future some sociologist/researcher will make a name for himself or herself by studying the long-term viability of marriages that begin with on-line dating.

So, how do we find true love? And, what is “true love” after all? If we look for human love, perhaps there are many different answers to these questions. But, if we look for eternal love, I know for a fact there is one, and only one, answer. The Psalmist understood this very well when he wrote the words found in Psalm 86:5:

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

God is the one who abounds in love. He is the One who has such amazing love that He sent His one and only Son to die on a cruel cross of torture to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.

He is the God who, out of all the humans who have ever lived, has chosen certain individuals who He wishes to call to Himself and belong to Himself for all eternity. We humans don’t have the intellectual and spiritual capability to understand why God makes the choices that He makes. But, we can and do experience the result of those choices. For those He has chosen, He has revealed to them, by the Holy Spirit, the great gift He has given them of salvation from their sins through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The call of God on a person’s life is irresistible. His call is certain. His call is powerful. As the Holy Spirit reveals what God has done, there is a deep realization that arises within the heart and mind of a person that inevitably causes him or her to welcome, with great thanksgiving, the reality of what God has done for him or her.

This is what the Psalmist experienced. He came to know the God who loved him with everlasting love. His response was the words the Psalmist wrote in this Psalm.

Searching for some other human to love you? I cannot help you. Searching for an everlasting love from the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Creator of All, Ruler of All? For this search, I can easily offer a very hopeful answer.

You see the very fact that you are searching for God guarantees that He is calling you to come and receive His gift of salvation. On the other hand, if you already know you belong to Him, then you can validate exactly what I am suggesting. And, that dear ones, is the most comforting realization we can ever experience.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Patiently Gentle

 

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

—Ephesians 4:2

No one has ever accused me of being gentle. And, that’s a tragedy. Why? Because that’s exactly the way the Lord Jesus Christ expects us, as His followers, to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ and everyone else, for that matter.

In fact, the Apostle Paul made this point quite clearly to the Christians worshipping at the church in Ephesus when he wrote the words recorded in Ephesians 4:2:

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

“Bearing with one another in love” is another way of saying, “Putting up with each other, not because we deserve to be treated that way, but because the love of Christ so fills us that we treat others the way Jesus would treat them.”

I don’t know what interactions we will have with other people this day. But, let me be so bold as to suggest that we make a conscience choice to move out into this new day determined to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. That means we will approach others in a humble, gentle, patient way. And, that we will bear with them in God-breathed love.

If we do this, I’m quite certain we will make a difference in someone’s life today. And, that “someone” might well be our own selves.

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

After you! No, after you!

 

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

—Mark 9:35

Very few readers of this blog post will have ever heard of the famous cartoon characters, Alphonse and Gaston. But, as a small boy, my grandmother used to tell me how much she enjoyed reading their comics back near the time she gave birth to my dad in 1907. A long time ago, to be sure.

Alphonse and Gaston were the creation of Frederick Burr Opper. He featured a decidedly bumbling pair of Frenchmen who had a very distinctive penchant for extreme politeness.

Opper’s comic duo first appeared in William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper, the New York Journal on September 22, 1901, in a strip titled: “Alphonse a la Carte and His Friend Gaston de Table d’Hote.” What marked virtually every aspect of this renowned comic strip was some setup that required the pair to take an action that would inevitably be foiled by their insistence on being extremely polite.

One of the most famous of these comic strips featured the two trying to enter a doorway with each one insisting that the other precede him through the door. In fact, as they would bow to each other with particular grace, one would say, “After you!” To which the other would say, “No! After you!” This would go on for several panels, even several days.

My how times have changed. We live today in a decidedly inhospitable and discourteous society. Almost no one holds an entrance door for a woman anymore. In fact, just a few days ago, I held the door for a woman who I would guess was probably in her mid-thirties. She cursed at me and made it clear that she was quite capable of opening her own door. She was actually angry that I had extended courtesy to her.

Rarely when I say, “Thank you!” does the other party say, “You’re welcome.” If they say anything, it’s a corruption of the Australian phrase, “No worries, mate!” that comes out as “No problem!” I know I am an old geezer who is obviously out of tune with the young people in our society. But, I still believe that “No problem!” is profoundly different from “You’re welcome!”

As Christians, Jesus taught his disciples—and us, as well—that we must give preference to others, rather than ourselves. Notice these words of our Savior recorded in Mark 9:35:

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

The concept of “you first before me” pervades the entire philosophy of displaying the love of Christ to the world. Yet, I wonder if we get it?

As we start another day, let’s try, for at least one day, to truly put others first in everything that we do. After a day, let’s review and see what we’ve observed. Did our actions make things better or worse? Are you with me?

 

_{Copyright © 2017 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}