Today's post is by guest writer Joanne Beckley.

Whenever we are “struck” with attraction toward another (whether we are young or old!), we need to identify that attraction for what it is. In today’s terms we identify differences in this attraction as affection, sexual infatuation, and love. Each are various degrees of love. We all recognize a caring, warm feeling of affection toward one another (John 21 Peter’s substitution for “agape” love), but when this drifts into a feeling of being sexually stimulated, we need to identify it for what it is and make a conscious choice. Do I allow it to increase? Or with will power strike it down? When we want to please God, it will be the latter until it can be acted upon in marriage.
 
When we talk with our young people we need to help them identify the difference between infatuation and love. Can we? Do we ourselves have a clear understanding? So lets talk about it.
 
"Infatuation love" refers to a strong, often intense feeling of attraction or interest towards someone. It is usually based on a superficial level of connection, physical appearance, or excitement of a new relationship. This level is often short-lived and not as deep or committed as true love. Infatuation is essentially a quick and passionate crush that may not stand the test of time.
 
“Infatuation creates illusions, and illusions are dangerous people. They have no flaws.”
 
On the other hand, love identifies and acknowledges differences as individuality, accepting the other as a whole. Love looks to celebrate these differences and build a connection that allows both people to thrive as individuals. It may require intentional work and effort to come together toward a mutual goal. Love is a choice.
 
Consider the relationship between Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:9-16). Joseph recognized her sexual attraction toward him as infatuation and and acknowledged that acting on it was not right in God’s eyes. He ran!
 
Amnon did not run, but rather acted with absolute determination to have his sister Tamar. (2Samuel 13). King David did not run (2Samuel 12) and let his sexual need rule his heart and head. Both destroyed any possible good.

Whatever love there is in man, whether toward God or toward our fellowman, love has its source in God (1John 4:7, 19). The highest form of love implies a clear determination of the will and judgment. When we read through 1Corinthians 13, it is obvious that love demands considered action whether toward God or man. Love is an earnest and anxious desire in the well-being of the one loved. How it is shown will depend on circumstances and relationships.
 
Love should be “without hypocrisy” (Rom 12:9). There should be no pretense about it. It should not be a thing of mere word or tongue, but in deed and truth (1John 3:18). Real love will find its expression in service to man. “Through love be servants one of another” (Gal 5:13). Love bears the frailness of the weak, seeking their welfare (Rom 15:1-3; Phil 2:21; Gal 6:2; 1 Cor 10:24). One gladly forgives (Eph 4:32) and honors the one loved (Rom 12:10).
 
Love is an intense feeling of deep affection
Infatuation is an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone.
 
Love develops over time
Infatuation is instant
 
Love lasts a long time.
Infatuation is temporary and never develops.
 
Love accepts the imperfections of the other.
Infatuation only sees or imagines the perfections.
 
Love is more than a physical attraction.
Infatuation is mostly a physical attraction.
 
Love doesn't make a person irrational.
Infatuation can make a person act irrationally.
 
We must learn the difference if we ever hope to have a lasting love.
 
Joanne Beckley

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Jer 8:4  “Shall men fall and not rise again?  Shall one turn aside and not return?”
 
            We would be astonished to see someone trip and fall and not get up. Probably, we would rush to his aid, thinking he was seriously injured. But we would be totally confused should he say, “No, I am all right; I decided not to get up because I like it down here.” 
            God sent his prophets to warn the people of Israel that they were as foolish as that man. They fell into idolatry and sin and rather than admit their mistake, they said, “I like it down here.” Bible students know that God caused his people to be carried into Babylonian captivity for their sin. Finally, they awakened from their sin-induced stupor and did a U-turn in their hearts, so God returned them to the Promised Land.
            In our society, many seem to be like the man fallen on the ground who proclaims, “Life is great down here; get your head out of the clouds and join me.”  Anyone with any moral standards left at all can look about and see many reasons for God to bring judgment on this wicked society – fornication abounds to the extent that when one sins with the same partner for more than a week, it is a “relationship”, babies older than John the Baptist who “leapt for joy” in Elizabeth’s womb (Lk 1:44) are murdered every day, the judicial system protects criminals who prey on society from the justice due them, etc. How can we not fear that a Day of Judgment from God is about to be unleashed upon us? Even the religious leaders, who should be crying aloud for repentance, plead for acceptance of sinners who refuse to repent and who continue to grow worse and worse, “The prophets [evangelists] prophesy falsely and the priests rule by what profits them and MY PEOPLE love to have it so” Jer 5:30-31).
            God’s good news is that we have a savior who will help us to our feet, who will brush the dirt of our evil desires from us, and who will turn us from the ways of the world into the old paths that lead to God.
 
Jer 6:16 “Thus says the LORD: Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”
 
Or as Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:28).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Joanne Beckley.

Forgiveness can never be deserved, for man cannot remove his own sin which has created a barrier between him and God. Though forgiveness is on God's part an act of pure grace prompted by His love and mercy, and though He forgives freely all those who comply with the condition of repentance and obedience and abandonment of sin, this does not ignore the necessity of an atonement. Jesus’ death and resurrection made it possible for God to forgive you and me, Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. We will never deserve forgiveness for our sins, yet we can be forgiven when we believe and obey His Son, and trust in His ability to do so.
 
But what about man toward man? (Or should I write woman toward woman?) Do we ever deserve to be forgiven of sin? Must man forever carry the guilt of what he has done toward another? No! We forgive primarily to honor Christ. The other person is merely the recipient of our obedience to God. On the other hand, whatever hurtful thing we have done must be realized, accepted, grieved over, and then asked to be forgiven. Until the other person wholly forgives, we will carry the unrelieved burden of grief and guilt buried deep within. If unforgiven, we will feel the other does not believe forgiveness is necessary or deserved. Everyone sins (not just “oopsies”). It is love that will cover sin. 1Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
 
What about our own ability to trust another’s forgiveness when we know we have deeply hurt that person? Do we feel that we can never deserve to be forgiven? There must be the knowledge that accepting love in the form of forgiveness is something we cannot afford to ignore or discard. Forgiveness and accepting forgiveness are absolutely necessary to bind two human beings together.
 
We have a very strong example of this dilemma in Genesis 45-50. For many, many years Joseph’s brothers carried their guilt concerning what they had done to their father and especially to their brother. When they were finally able to express their sorrow to Joseph and hear Joseph’s words to try to reassure them that he had already forgiven them, they were not reassured. This was evident a number of years later when their father Jacob died and they were still fearful of Joseph’s forgiveness. They didn’t feel they deserved his forgiveness. They didn’t trust Joseph’s truth of being able to forgive or their right to be forgiven. Joseph learned to forgive while being refined and tested by God while in Egypt (Psalm 105:19); his brothers had to learn to accept with thanksgiving.
 
Now to ask a very important question. Can you believe and trust when someone forgives you? Or do you still carry your guilt and grief around with you? Do you resurrect it in your mind and in your speech year after year? No? Consider the husband/wife relationship. What tends to happen in an argument that gets heated. “You always, you never!” A lack of trust cannot heal.
 
One more question. God has said he has forgiven you. Do you believe His promise? Or do you continue to feel you do not deserve to be forgiven? God thinks you do! We must learn to trust in His forgiveness throughout the years by reading the Scriptures, acknowledge that He has answered our prayers, trust in His promise to wipe our slate clean, and always give thanks. What a gift! True peace.
 
Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joanne Beckley

Today’s post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Psychologists have long argued over the topic of "Nature vs. Nurture," what makes a person who he is. Which makes a bigger impact, the inborn traits inherited from parents and ancestors (Nature) or how he was raised and the environment he was exposed to at an early age (Nurture)? One of their favorite tests is to study the personalities of identical twins who, for whatever reason, were separated at birth and raised in completely different environments. Both have the same genetic inheritance from their parents, so how did the different types of child rearing philosophies, economic strata, and/or geographical locations affect who these people became? It is an interesting debate and I have my personal theories, but what is truly intriguing is that God weighs in on the matter. 

God's attitude seems to be that the whole question is moot. Regardless of what you have inherited or what you've been through, you had better live righteously, or else.

Let's take the "Nature" side of the argument first. What if I were to say to God, "I've inherited these tendencies; it's in my DNA; I can't help myself?" What would God's reaction be?

Interestingly, someone did say something like this to God. Ezekiel 33:10 "And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, "Thus ye speak, saying 'Our transgressions and sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?'" They believe they are swallowed up in their sins and can't change. "How then can we live" speaks to their mindset, as does "we pine away in them". They know they are sinning, they know the consequences, yet they feel that they just can't change. "This is just who I am!"

God’s response is “Turn from your evil ways.  O why will you die?”  His attitude toward this seems to be, "Well, I don't like how you are, so change." Apparently, he doesn't think that DNA controls our every action. Remember, he knows more about DNA than any scientist. After all, he created it. Apparently, he expects us to learn to control the tendencies that our DNA has programmed into us. (Rom 7) 

"But my Daddy was a bad man and he trained me to believe in and do bad things. It's not my fault, it's just how I was raised!"

Ezekiel 18 answers this with the hypothetical story of three generations: a righteous man who has a wicked son who in turn has a righteous son. The two who are righteous aren't punished for the wicked, the wicked isn't saved by the righteous, and the son of the wicked doesn't get a free pass because he was raised in a bad environment. He is judged the same as the others, based on how he lived his life. The circumstances don't seem to matter. How we live our lives is what matters. Our Lord said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." He didn't discuss the type of tree and whether this strain generally yields as well as that strain. Neither does he discuss the type of soil the tree is planted in, nor whether it has rained recently, nor the amount of sun the tree has received. All he mentions is the fruit borne by the tree.

As Christians, we must hold OURSELVES responsible for our sins. While there may be a lot of circumstances and pressures and other reasons that led to our sin, we need to realize that, bottom line, we've sinned. God isn't happy with us. We need to change. No one is saying it will be easy. Change never is and some of us have a lot more obstacles to overcome in our efforts to change than others of us do. Still, we need to realize that our sins are OUR FAULT, not Dad's fault or circumstances’ fault, or society’s fault, or anything else's fault except ours, and "man up" (1 Cor 16:13).

If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For ye died and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things sake comes the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience; wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things: but now do ye also put them all away: wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: lie not one to another seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings and have put on the new man, that being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him, Col 3:1-10.


Lucas Ward
 
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Normally in Florida, oak leaves fall in January and February and pollen and new leaves come in a week or two. But, this year after I finished blowing, raking and bagging, we were sitting on the patio and watching green leaves fall from the trees. It's not that unusual to see the grass turn brown or flowers wilt, but when the trees start dropping green leaves, one knows he is in the middle of a drought! Just as the human body shuts down the extremities under extreme trauma, the plants wilt or the trees shed green leaves in attempt to save the life of the tree itself.

When members start falling away, we must ask one question, are they dropping off because the body is not getting enough water of life? Many of the members may be wilting in the pews, attending every week but no fruit borne from relationships with the other members. Failure to develop relationships with sinners with a goal to convert them is a dangerous symptom of a lack of life giving sustenance. The knowledge level of the members stays about the same year after year and faith actually declines. The hearing that produces faith requires applying and living the words heard. Attendance may be fine and truth may be preached but churches are shedding green leaves all over the country during spring season.

Positive preaching that never offends anyone creates a false sense of security. The word was preached. The members heard it and everyone is happy. We have close fellowship and interactions. All is good. Nothing false is preached and challenges are even offered in a kindy way. The green leaves keep on falling.

I sometimes wonder if people read the gospels like they were some sort of saintly fairy take with no meaning for real life. Not even Jesus could preach without words that seem harsh and overly demanding to our sensitive ("itching"?) ears. In the Sermon on the Mount alone, Don't pray like the hypocrites; Don't give like the hypocrites; Don't cast out motes like a hypocrite who has a beam in his eye. To those who would follow, he offers demands, Leave everything for me; Let the dead bury the dead; Whoever loves Father or Mother more is not worthy. To those who followed closest, her reserved the harsh, "O you of little faith;" and he called Peter, "Satan."

The apostles learned even though modern applauded preachers have not, Peter accused his first two audiences of murder, Stephen called his audience "stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears;" Paul shook the dust from his feet against the chosen people of God after his second sermon to them.

So, all teaching does not need to be sharp and demanding, but if you have not felt the call to make major sacrifices in your lifestyle, or to repent of sins, or to get out of the pew and go to work for God, maybe the sermons lack water. If you have not felt a touch of the fear of hell, maybe you are better than I or hearts have become calloused by a positive, unoffensive gospel, " which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."

When green leaves start falling, the life of the tree is in danger.
 
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can you, except you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for apart from me you can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned John15:6.
 
Keith Ward
 
 

Today's post is by Robert F, Turner

Alone! Alone! What a stark, bleak, terror-filled word. Solitary confinement is one of man's most dreaded and destructive punishments. Who has not felt the agony of being excluded and left alone? Bold and strong Elijah wilted under its lash and cried out, "It is enough; now, 0 Lord, take away my life; ... I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts ... and I, even I only, am left" (1 King. 19:4,10) No wonder God examined his creation and said, "It is not good that man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18). Nor is it surprising that Jesus gave special attention to his disciples when it was time to leave them. He assured them that they would not be left alone — orphans (Jno. 14:18). "I will pray the Father and he will give you another comforter" — one called to the side — "that he may abide with you forever" (Jno. 14:16).

God provided for man so that he would not have to be alone. First, he put man in the family. To Adam he gave "a help meet for him." — or a helper suitable to his needs. Family was endowed with the strongest and closest human ties — a refuge against being alone. Likewise, God gave the nation to meet man's social needs for "no man lives to himself." Finally the local church was designed to put together men of like faith and hope in God. God knew that in spiritual matters "it is not good that man should be alone." Few — if any — can make it alone. We are members "in particular" but solidly joined to the other members. None stands alone.

By design, the family, nation, and the local church should support and protect a man as he strives to serve God. Often that is not the case. The Lord prepared his disciples for being outcasts from family and society. And churches run by men like Diotrephes "cast out" righteous men. Even so, he is not alone. "At my first answer no man stood with me... notwithstanding the Lord stood with me:" (2 Tim. 4:16). We always have an advocate — a friend by our side.

When "all men forsake" us, we must not allow that to distort our values and perspective. Elijah did. Things were not as black as he painted them. "I only am left." There were seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal. His perspective was warned. "Take my life" shows his values are out of focus. Many decide to go to hell with a crowd rather than stand alone.

Yet there are places we must go alone. No comrade can stand at our side. In the garden, Jesus prayed alone; the disciples were left behind. They could not share his pain or his prayer. He was alone in his sorrow. We also must meet sorrow alone. Our friends encourage; they want to help. They weep with us, but it is ours alone in the last analysis. We say, "There is nothing you can do." Again, duty stands us alone. Brethren exhort but I alone can do my job -- "For every man shall bear his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). And at last consider the final judgement where I stand alone even in so great a crowd. Churches and crowds are not judged here, but "every man ... receiving the things done in his body ... good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).
 
Robert F Turner

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand." And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the LORD said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it." And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Ezek 9:1-5.


            In Ezekiel’s vision did you notice who was marked out to be saved? Those "who sigh and groan" over the sins and wickedness they saw all around them in their society. Everyone else was killed. This implies that there might have been those who did not participate in the sins, but who turned a blind eye to the sin around them, who might even have found it entertaining.  They were not spared either.
            This makes me consider my dedication to righteousness. No, I don't participate in the sins that go on around me, but when I hear about some wild party do I mourn the wickedness or am I leaning in to catch every word, laughing along with others at the stories about the drunks?  Do I turn off the television or am I one of Nielsen’s ratings?  Do I mourn the hedonism around me or do I silently wish I could join Jimmy Buffet in Margaritaville instead of joining my brethren in worship?
            I think too often some of us wish instead of mourn. When we see the rampant sin around us we should, as a holy people, be repelled, not attracted. We should sigh and lament the judgment that is coming for those sinners, not idolize their lifestyles.
            New converts might have problems developing this attitude; it won’t come immediately. But for those of us who have been Christians for 20+ years the concept of being holy like God is holy should be pretty well imprinted on our brains.

"Blessed are they that mourn ...”
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."  Who has not heard someone say this means we should all be working to love God more and more until all our obedience is from love and none from fear? And further, that if we fear, we do not really love God the way we ought, "for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 Jn 4:18).

However, this view does not pass the test of fitting the rest of the New Testament doctrine on the fear of God. Peter says, "Fear God" (1Pet 2:17). Many interpret fear to merely mean reverence or respect. Jesus himself refutes that with, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt10:28).  The place that Jesus says is so bad one should tear out his eyeball rather than go there inspires the terror definition of fear. Also, the Hebrew writer declares that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (12:28).

Finally, that interpretation of one phrase does not fit its context.  Six verses before, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1John4:11). Two verses after, "for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." And the next verse is the famous, "We love because He first loved us."  We love who? The context primarily concerns loving our brothers which John makes clear is inextribly bound with loving God as we continue reading through 5:3. Therefore, the fear John expects us to lose "when perfect love casts out fear" is the fear of demonstrating our love to both God and his children, our brethren—even when persecution will result, or ostracism, or...

No one should ever stop fearing God, so that cannot be the point.

Jesus was not ashamed to use fear as a motivator for serving God. Neither was Peter. Some want to wash fear out of the gospel with some smarmy warm feeling definition. The result is that many sit around with a warm fuzzy feeling toward God but do little to repent or to actually serve God in inconvenient ways.

Knowing that "Judgment begins at the house of God….which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" we should, "pass the time of [our] sojourning in fear, If [we] call on him as Father" (1Pet 4:17, 1Tim 3:15, 1 Pet 1:17).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Joanne Beckley.

When we wake up each morning, what are our first thoughts when we look in the mirror?  Euw! Look what the cat dragged in. . . or . . . Well! Maybe there’s hope for you. . .
 
Why do I ask this? For a while now everywhere we turn we have been hearing or reading about self-image. It is considered if we are successful we have a good self-image. If we have a bad self-image everyone automatically believes this is the cause of our unhappiness and failure.  Obviously, this being the case, a lot of people are concerned about their self-image.
 
Should we be concerned about our self-image? Yes, because how we view ourselves will influence every area of our lives, including how we relate to others and how we deal with personal inner conflicts. Our feelings of inferiority (or over-blown pride) or a healthy self-respect will dictate our words and our actions–and therefore how others view us.
 
We hear the doctors tell us that if we feel inferior, lowly, substandard, then it is because (1) our parents have played out a heavy hand, and (2) we were obviously rejected and abused, even though we may not remember the occasion(s). But this is the reasoning of man. God has given us a different path of reason. "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free", John 8:31,23.
 
TRUTH frees us. Frees us from what? The slavery of Sin, Romans 6:18. When we accept that Jesus’ blood will free us, including our feelings of inferiority, we can see ourselves in a different kind of mirror, a truthful mirror. James 1:25 “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” Yes, this mirror will help us tear down and build anew.
 
Perhaps we are struggling with frustration, even anger concerning what we see in ourselves. We might be having thoughts such as: Does God understand who I really am? Yes, I have been buried in the waters of baptism, but I am so very sinful. There is basically no hope of any real freedom. We might not verbalize these deeply hidden thoughts, but we might be living them. Let us go back to Romans 6:18: “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Therein is the rub. Putting off the old man of sin is not a stopping place, but rather through major efforts we are to follow God’s instructions of putting on Christ, correcting and training our vision to see God’s mirror in its true image and go on to accomplish every good work, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
 
The real question is, do I believe Jesus can help me correct my bad vision? When we come to Him and desire to be set free, we must accept where we are coming from, what we have inherited. Each of us entered this world without choice in several areas. Life itself, our physical appearance, who our parents are, and the society that had its part in teaching us– they all play their part in who we are. God also gave us natural abilities and intelligence. If we reject any of these gifts, we will not be able to see our real selves. They are a part of who we are. An African man described it thus: “If we remove the sticks from the kraal (cattle enclosure), we destroy ourselves.” Loss of cattle is serious stuff for this identifies how this man views himself and how he respects his ancestors. Obviously, we are not to worship our ancestors, but we too must not try to remove our heritage. Let us build on and improve the gifts God has given us.
 
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe-all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life.”
 
What bends our view of God’s mirror? Sin. A lack of faith. It is like there are two mirrors. Yours and God’s. When we are baptized, if we are not careful, we will try to retain our old mirror that should have been destroyed by faith in God’s power to change us. Instead, we drag out the old mirror, thinking we are looking at God’s mirror. Why is it so difficult to change? Because we want our comfort zone. We have adopted this image of feeling worthless and have invested many years in tearing ourselves down. Throughout the years we have compared ourselves to others and been found wanting. We have set unrealistic goals instead of working toward a useful destination. We continue to moan and excuse ourselves over a past that cannot be changed.
 
How do we change our attitude toward our lives? We must do just as the alcoholic must do–one day at a time, facing our addiction, learning truth about ourselves, our Lord and our God. Let us admit our failure to trust God, asking Him for forgiveness, never doubting. When we find ourselves whining in self-pity, we must stop, and verbally admit what we have just done. We can learn to be thankful, voicing our thanksgiving not only in prayer, but in our words and actions. Let us reach out to serve God and one another, even our enemies. By
DOING good works, we CHANGE our negative attitude to one of positive joy.
 
1John 5:3-5 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
 
My sister, Glenda Schales, has written a song taken from Isaiah 60 that you have probably sung yourself. I pray, may you “arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you...Lift up your eyes round about and see...and be radiant and your heart will thrill and rejoice...because He has glorified you...and you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel...You will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.”

Joanne Beckley

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

One of my personal rules of exegesis is that if something is repeated in multiple accounts of an event or if the same concept is repeated several times, then it must be more important than usual. For example, the Gospels record Jesus healing on the Sabbath at least 5 different times. The Holy Spirit was probably trying to emphasize something there. Or if multiple Gospels record the same event and one phrase is repeated word for word in each account, there is probably a point of emphasis there.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention the same thing when telling of Judas coming to the garden to betray Jesus into the hands of the priests, et al, who wanted to kill Him. They all say that he was "one of the twelve." What is the emphasis? The level of betrayal. We've all heard the story so many times that some of the emotional impact may be lost. But Judas was one of the twelve. This wasn't the betrayal of an outlying disciple, one of those few hundred who were around much of the time, this was one of the twelve. This was a man who had been selected from among those disciples and exalted to a higher position. This was one who had been given the power to heal and cast out demons. This was one who was always with Him. When Jesus fled the crowds to have a period of peace, He took Judas along. When He went into Phoenicia and Caesarea Phillipi, He took Judas along. Judas was there, privy to the most private aspects of Jesus' life. Judas had access that few others could imagine. Judas betrayed Him. 

Am I any better? 
Heb 10:26-29 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that has set at nought Moses law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, do you think, shall he be judged worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 

I have access to God that the faithful who lived prior to Christ would be astonished at (Heb 10:19-22), yet all too often I decide that I'm going to do what I want to do rather than living for my Lord (who died for me). When I do that, I count His blood as an unholy thing, something common and not worth any effort. I trample Him, to get to my desires. 

Am I any better than Judas?

Are you?
 
Lucas Ward