Too Good Not to Share

[forgiven]

Journey With Jesus: A New Commandment
K.P. Yohannan
Gospel for Asia


In John 13:34–35 (NIV), Jesus said to His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”<br>
We’ve all had times in our lives when we have been hurt, perhaps by someone we know very well or someone we know just casually, and we find loving that person to be very difficult. Hurtful and trying experiences that cause much pain are part of life—even Jesus experienced them.

What is important is how we respond in those times, for that determines the growth that will or will not occur in our lives. In seeing Jesus’ response, we can gain the strength and grace to do the same and come one step closer to mirroring Him.



Steadfast Love



Imagine the topic of conversation among the disciples after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. I’m sure their minds strained to remember each event and how it related to what came to pass, recalling their times with the Lord, the days leading up to the crucifixion and the dramatic and prophetic unfolding of every moment.

Perhaps they recalled their own Judas, remembering how he left right in the middle of the Last Supper. By this time, the disciples knew that Judas was the one who had betrayed the Lord and that he had hung himself from the guilt of it. I can just hear one of the disciples saying, “I can’t believe Jesus didn’t just throw Judas out from the start! He had to have known all along that he was stealing money. And certainly He knew that Judas was the one who would betray Him in the end. Why did He let him stick around? At least Jesus could have told us that he was the one who was going to betray Him, so that we would have known to stay away from him.”<br>


And then I can hear someone like Peter speaking up, saying, “Well, I’m not surprised at the way Jesus treated Judas. Jesus loved us until the very end and that includes him. I betrayed Jesus as well; I denied Him—and not just once, but three times. With His own eyes He saw me turn my back on Him. Yet when He rose again, He specifically called out my name and said, ‘Go and tell Peter.’ When He found me I was ashamed, discouraged and backslidden. But when I first saw Him after the resurrection, all I saw were His love and His mercy. Not once did He bring up my turning away or reprimand me and tell me how wrong I was. He simply came close and asked, ‘Do you love Me?’<br>


“No, I’m not surprised He loved Judas. He loved each one of us. And we must never forget what He told us: that we must love one another as He loved us.”<br>


The disciples’ lives were completely transformed by what they saw in Jesus. They watched Him respond to beggars, hold little children and heal the blind. But what impacted them even more was what they saw in Him after the resurrection—the forgiveness and love after the betrayal and turning away, the betrayal and turning away, the joy with which He showed them the scars in His hands and side (see Luke 24:39) and the camaraderie displayed as He cooked breakfast for them on the beach after a long night of toil (see John 21:9).



I believe that the only reason the disciples were able to impact their world in such a great way and endure such intense persecution was because of the unfailing love they saw in Jesus. It was this love that enabled Stephen to suffer and die for the Lord in Acts 7, crying out for his persecutors just as Jesus did, saying, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60). “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8, NIV).



Only as we behold Christ, aware of His presence and remembering the ultimate love He always displayed, can we begin to reflect His love to those around us.



Love Is Costly



The story is told that when the apostle John was a very old man who could hardly walk, the believers would carry him and sit him before the congregation to share. It is said that the only thing he could say was repeatedly the phrase, “Love one another. Love one another.”<br>


In John 13, Jesus spoke directly to His disciples about loving one another: “A new commandment I give to you, that you one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Up until this point, the disciples had only seen how Christ loved them and those around them. This is the first time that He calls them to love one another just as they had seen Him love them. Jesus was essentially saying to them, “I’m just about to leave now. But I want you to understand this one thing—love each other. Love has been the foundation of everything I have done. So too it must be with each of you.”<br>


Love was the bedrock of Jesus’ life, the very reason He came to seek and save the lost. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Therefore, love must be the bedrock of our lives. No matter what good we do in life, it all must flow from the spring of Christ’s love within our hearts.



Yet even in the familiarity of Bible verses, we still find it difficult to love one another. Why is that? One of the reasons is because we do not want to pay the price. You see, love is always costly. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the

world that He gave . . . ” (emphasis mine). Gave what? What was the price of God’s love? His Son, Jesus. The cross was the price paid because of His love for us.



We can ask ourselves the same question: What is the price of our love? Put your name in that verse, “For __________ so loved that he/she gave . . . ” Gave what? The price of love will differ in form for each one of us, but God will always bring us opportunities to display His love to others. But remember, the price will always be costly—it will always involve saying “no” to self in some way. It could be quietly suffering and not defending yourself. It could be going the extra mile and taking the slack when somebody else didn’t do the job. But whatever it is, God has brought these situations into your life to make you more like His Son, enabling you to display His love through your life.



One of our missionaries in India showed incredible love for a man in a remarkable way. While working in a particular village for a couple of years, this missionary was continually opposed by one certain man. The man would adamantly hinder the missionary as he preached the Gospel and won people to Christ, even gathering groups of people to destroy the Christian literature and beat up the believers in the village.



One day, the man who opposed our missionary and the local church had a horrible accident in which both of his legs were broken. Deserted by all his friends, he lay in his hut, penniless and without help.



When our missionary found out about this man’s accident, he didn’t let out a sigh of relief, glad that this man could no longer oppose him in his work of the Gospel. Instead, our missionary decided to seize this opportunity to show the love of Christ to the very one who opposed him. He called together the believers in the village, and each donated a few rupees to pay for the man’s hospital visit. Then our missionary visited him in his hut and carried him on his back for seven kilometers to the main road, where they caught a Jeep to the hospital.



After a month, the injured man fully recovered from his accident. The first thing he said when he saw the missionary was, “I cannot persist. I cannot oppose you any more. Jesus and His love, which I have seen and experienced through you and your church members, are so real. Thank you so much for loving me even when I hated you and hated Christ.” This, my friends, is the love of Christ in action. Remember, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Could you love like this? Could you love the one who has hurt you deeply? Could you love the one who is opposing you? When you feel that doing so is simply impossible, remember Christ. Look to Him and allow Him to take you by the hand and give you the grace to love like Him. We can love others only because He first loved us (see 1 John 4:19). Genuine love comes from Him; as we stand in His presence, it will flow from us as well.

[Betty]

Thank you. I hope others will share too.

[Betty]

God's Word cannot die, nor is it weakened by severe circumstances or natural catastrophes. However, for it to become fully manifested within you, there must be an aggressive faith that is applied by you towards it. You must not only believe that God can do whatever He says, but you must also "trust your trust" in Him and what He has said.

You must "trust your trust" in His Desire to do what He has promised for you. As a matter of fact, His Promises have already been done for you, personally. God is not in the mindset "of withholding any good thing from His sons." You are God's son, right? You do believe this, don't you?

God cannot lie. But your distrust of the trust you should have in His Word will cause His Word to appear to be a lie, thus reducing it from a Powerful Truth to a hyped dream with wavering hope! God cannot lie. He does not withhold Himself "from Himself." When God speaks to you, He actually speaks to Himself. And we all know that God will not lie to Himself!

Belief vs. Disconnected Knowledge

You are being transitioned from the realm of simply "believing that God can do whatever He wants," to the realm of aggressively "trusting your trust" in God's Word, Life, and Purposes, regardless of what it looks like in the natural, the spiritual, or to the natural eye!

It's easy to believe a thing that you are not responsible for or even accountable to. This is not belief, but "disconnected knowledge." This is knowledge that produces no substance, change, or the revolutionary evolvement required to progress from mental infancy to "kingdomic" maturity.

Mastering the Battle that Comes as a Result of the Tension Between the Word and the Unbelief

When you truly believe a thing, you will become a product of the Thing you believe. You will become the essence of what you trust in. When you "trust your trust" in the Father, this says to Him that you truly believe and have an expectation of His Word, and will endure the onslaught of transitions that come to destroy the power of the Word that was sown in your heart and also into your personal experience.

Trusting your trust in His Word will produce the confidence you need to have between transitions and seasonal movements. Your confidence in the word will empower you to stay focused when everything else is going in the opposite direction. The Manifestation of the Promise will be seen when you master the battle that comes as a result of the tension between the Word and the unbelief!


by Undrai & Bridget Fizer
www.undraifizer.com

[Betty]

OUR DYNAMIC POWER SOURCE

. . . the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who
believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength
of His might . . . (Ephesians 1:19).

In Ephesians 1:19-21, Paul gives us a peek at the dynamic source
of our authority in Christ. He explains that the authority at our
disposal flows from the reservoir of power which raised Jesus
Christ from the dead and seated Him at the Father's right hand.
That power source is so dynamic that Paul used four different
Greek words in verse 19 to describe it: power (dunameos), working
(energeian), strength (kratous), and might (ischuos). Behind the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ lies the mightiest work of
power recorded in the Word of God. And the same power which
raised Christ from the dead and defeated Satan is the power
available to us to overcome the works of Satan in our daily
lives.

Paul opens our eyes to the expansive scope of Christ's authority
which is "far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but
also in the one to come" (Ephesians 1:21). Think about the most
powerful and influential political or military leaders in the
world. Imagine the most feared terrorists, crime kingpins and
drug barons. Think about Satan and all the power of darkness
marshaled under his command. Jesus' authority is not only above
all these human and spiritual authorities past, present and
future, but He is far above them. We share the same position
because we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, which enable
us to live in freedom and victory over demonic intrusion and
influence.

Don't be deceived. You are not under Satan's power or subject to
his authority. You are in Christ above all demonic rule,
authority and power.

Reigning with You, Lord--what a liberating thought! I praise You
today for the power You share with me.

Neil Anderson

[forgiven]

Persistence

Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

We have all heard the adage "Persistence pays." There is one striking example in Scripture, however, when persistence did more than pay. In the case of Daniel persistence prospered.

The golden years of the Persian Empire were those of Darius the Great. Darius extended the empire from India to the Danube River, even to Greece itself. He also commanded his governors to aid in the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 6:1-12). In his desire to rule well his kingdom, Darius set one hundred twenty princes over the whole kingdom as viceregents. Over these were three presidents, of whom Daniel was the first. Daniel's prosperity as first president evoked the jealousy of the other presidents, who sought to destroy him. So godly was this man that the only way he could be destroyed was through wretched trickery.

The presidents knew that Daniel would not forsake the law of his God and therefore they proposed an unalterable decree that no one should pray to any person other than the king for a period of thirty days. Unaware of their vicious intent, King Darius signed the decree.

Although Daniel knew that the law had been signed, nonetheless he continued his practice of kneeling before a window opened toward Jerusalem and giving thanks to the Lord three times a day. His envious colleagues laid in wait to catch Daniel forsaking the unalterable law of the Medes and Persians. When they advised the king that Daniel had disregarded his decree, the king was greatly distressed, for he thought highly of Daniel. Nevertheless, he followed through on the punishment for disobeying his decree and cast Daniel into the den of lions. A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den so Daniel could not escape. His death was inevitable.

Throughout the night the king could not sleep, nor could his mind be soothed with music. He arose very early in the morning and went quickly to the den of lions (Daniel 6:19). Much to his amazement, Jehovah God had spared the life of Daniel and shut the lions' mouths. The king was glad to receive Daniel out of the lions' den safe and sound. After punishing those who had accused Daniel, Darius wrote a decree to all nations that the God of Daniel should be revered and respected as the living God.

The persistent prayer of Daniel may be viewed as a foolish practice, given the law of the Medes and the Persians. But persistence in godliness is never persistence in foolishness. In fact, persistence in doing what is right always leads to prosperity.

A South Carolina man passing out tracts once stopped at a house and rang the bell. He heard noises inside and knew that someone was in there, but no one came to the door. He rang the bell persistently. Finally a man appeared, grabbed the tract from his hand, and rudely slammed the door in his face.

A week later the Christian returned to that door and this time the man received him immediately. After he entered the house, the man took him to the attic to see a rope dangling from the rafters with a box beneath it. The man of the house said, "Friend, when you rang my doorbell last week, my head was in that noose, and I was ready to jump! But you were so persistent that I decided to go down and see who it was. While reading your tract God spoke to me. Instead of jumping off that box, I knelt beside it and gave my heart to the Lord."

Like Daniel of old, who was persistent in doing what is right, this Christian's persistence in ringing that doorbell led to another man's salvation. Regardless of what men may think, persistence in doing what is right always brings the prosperity of God.

MORNING HYMN Truehearted,wholehearted,faithful and loyal, King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be; Under the standard exalted and royal, Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee.


Woodrow Kroll

[forgiven]

Title: A Big God

Author: Woodrow Kroll
Job 11:7
"Can you search out the deep things of God? Can
you find out the limits of the Almighty?"?
A Big God
As the people of Job’s day walked the earth, they
likely didn’t know that our world is 8,000 miles
in diameter, with approximately 198,980,000
square miles on its surface. It is unlikely that
they realized that this globe we call home is
composed of 264 billion cubic miles. Most surely
it was beyond their knowledge to compute that
even though Earth is big, Saturn is 995 times
bigger and Jupiter is 1,281 times bigger still.
Furthermore, they had no inkling that beyond the
few stars they could see there were at least 300
billion more.
Yet even without the benefit of all these
mind-boggling figures, the people of Job’s day
knew that God, the Creator of all they saw, was
bigger than anything they could comprehend.
Zophar the Naamathite, one of Job’s friends, was
right when he said that no one could plumb God’s
depths or find God’s limits. His thoughts run
deeper than any human wisdom; His power outstrips
man’s best efforts.
Some people object to the concept of God because
He is beyond their ability to understand. They
argue that if they can’t comprehend Him, then
certainly He must not exist. Others simply
dismiss Him as irrelevant because He fails to act
as they feel He should. Yet God says, "For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways
higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts" (Isa. 55:9). Who is man to try to
whittle God down to what he can understand?
Let God be God. Don’t try to shrink Him down to
fit neatly within your scheme of things. If He
were small enough for you to comprehend, He
wouldn’t be big enough for you to worship. The
fact that He is beyond your understanding is
confirmation that no situation will ever exceed
His ability to handle it. To live confidently,
you don’t have to understand God—you just have to
trust Him.
Only small people insist on a small God.
_____________________________________________________

[forgiven]

The Ultimate Race
Hebrews 12:1-3

Sports are a major part of American culture. It dominates many people's
thinking, influences their schedules, draws their money, and fuels their
pleasure. In fact, sports have been valued by societies since ancient times. New
Testament writers integrated sport metaphors into their letters to make a
spiritual point, as the author of Hebrews did in today's passage.

The key to running the race of life well is found in the first verse: endurance.
You may be one of those people who started well-you had lots of dreams and ideas
about what you wanted to accomplish. Yet perhaps somewhere along the way, you
faced tragedy, setback, or failure. As a result, you took your eyes off the
running path and away from those dreams. Now you've strayed from the path and
concluded you will not be able to find your way back. You have chosen not to end
well.

God has a path for each of us. And along that trail are weaknesses, pain, and
disappointments. But these things must not defeat us. The difference between
people who finish their life race well and others who do not is endurance. Those
who end well refuse to give up, in spite of any adversity threatening to blow
them off their God-given course.

Endurance does not mean sitting back and look for the easy way out of hardship.
Instead, it means deciding to put our faces to the wind and use the energy
granted by the Holy Spirit to persevere through the rough patch. To endure is
the only way to finish our race successfully.

Charles Stanley

[forgiven]

Title: The Heart of the Problem

Read Psalm 10:12-18

David cried out and said, "God, You've got to
take care of the situation." For several years
Saul had been pursuing him. At one point David
compared himself to a flea that was being chased.
Saul's problem was that he was listening to liars
in his court. Those who wanted Saul's favor were
saying, "David wants your crown. He wants your
throne. David said this, and David did that."
They lied about him, and he could do nothing
about it.

We have little control over the circumstances of
life. We can't control the weather or the
economy, and we can't control what other people
say about or do to us. There is only one area
where we have control--we can rule the kingdom
inside. The heart of every problem is the problem
in the heart. Once we get to that throne room
inside us and let God take over, we don't have to
worry about others.

David prayed in verse 12, "Arise, O Lord! O God,
lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble." The
word humble is a key word. What is humility? Is
it thinking poorly of ourselves? No, humility is
simply not thinking of ourselves at all. Humility
means admitting that I cannot handle my problem
by myself. God is going to have to handle it by
working in me and through me and for me. But
before God can work for me or through me He has
to
work in me.

If you want to get on top of your circumstances,
get beneath the feet of the Lord. Humble
yourself, and He'll lift you up.

We cannot control the circumstances of life, nor
can we avoid them. But we can take a humble
attitude toward God. He takes a special interest
in us and will help us handle our circumstances.
Have you examined the throne room inside lately?
Are you willing to let God work in you and
through you to accomplish His purposes?
Author: Warren Wiersbe
____________________________________________________________

[forgiven]

by Os Hillman

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Passing the Tests

The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your
neighbors-to David.
1 Samuel 28:17b

When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at
specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four
major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his
or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in
whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom.

Control-Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king
trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place
with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him. Saul was
a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being
rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness-Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one
time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed
Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas'
feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another.
God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an
offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power-Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven
and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to
remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and
influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? There is a
common phrase in the investment community, "He who has the gold rules." Jesus
modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed-This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for
either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of
destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many
leaders started out well-only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of
their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a
few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.
As leaders, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that
each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His
purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God's grace today to walk through
these tests victoriously.

[forgiven]

Endurance in the Race
James 1:1-4

The Christian life is an awesome journey that
brings fulfillment and contentment, along with great
rewards. Of course, if someone asked me about the
Christian life, I would also have to say that it
is full of hardship, difficulty,
misunderstanding, rejection, doubt, and failure. It is not all
pain, suffering, and heartache, but neither is it
all happiness. More than likely, someone is going
to ask, "Why would I want to be Christian if it's
going to hurt?"

The simple answer is that we will never be what
God intends until we trust Jesus Christ as our
Savior. No amount of riches, power, or success will
satisfy us like an intimate relationship with
God. Becoming a Christian does not suddenly dry up
all the present or future suffering in our lives.
The difference is that we now know the loving
Father who has absolute control over all we endure.
He promises to love us through it all and care
for us. And He promises to limit every trial so
that we can bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

With each trial, we mature in our walk. While
none of us likes pain, difficulty produces the
character qualities that enable us to stay on the path
God chooses. We will not become discouraged to
the point of quitting if we respond with endurance.
The result of endurance is that we learn to look
above the things that distract us-like criticism,
rejection, and setbacks-and we increasingly find
ourselves able to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

Charles Stanley

[forgiven]

DO IT ANYWAY
While we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).



After I had driven home the point that nobody or nothing can keep us from being what God wants us to be, one of my students gave me this nugget of truth from an unknown author.

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for the underdog anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you've got and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

Lord, I purpose today not to listen to my detractors or look to the left or the right, but to stay on the clear, sure path You have set before me.



Neil Anderson

[Betty]

A young, new preacher was walking with an older,more seasoned preacher in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rose bush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing any of the petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But, because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try and unfold the rosebud while keeping every petal intact . . . It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the young
preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem:

It is only a tiny rosebud.
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly,
Then, in my hands, it dies.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
The flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So, I'll trust in Him for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the Pilgrim's way.
The pathway that lies before me
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.
Author Unknown

[Sue]

forgiven said:

Journey With Jesus: A New Commandment
K.P. Yohannan
Gospel for Asia


In John 13:34–35 (NIV), Jesus said to His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”<br>
We’ve all had times in our lives when we have been hurt, perhaps by someone we know very well or someone we know just casually, and we find loving that person to be very difficult. Hurtful and trying experiences that cause much pain are part of life—even Jesus experienced them.

What is important is how we respond in those times, for that determines the growth that will or will not occur in our lives. In seeing Jesus’ response, we can gain the strength and grace to do the same and come one step closer to mirroring Him.



Steadfast Love

This part is so much like my life. Something is always happening and this I have read was very insiprational. Thanks alot. Sue