Quick Note – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – Driven by Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is everything.  As Christians, it can be easy for us to get caught up in the ministry of doing things for God.  We serve others by ushering them to their seats or setting up the sound before church; we teach Sunday school or Wednesday night Bible studies; we lead small groups or children’s church.  We go about doing the things we should.  But how many of us consider why we are doing these things?  We give of our time, our effort, and even our finances to help the church, but are we doing it for the right reasons? 

Paul in the opening of one of the most famous chapters in the Bible – 1 Corinthians 13 – the Love Chapter, wrote that without love whatever he did was meaningless.  He said this three times in three different ways in the first three verses of this chapter.  First, he said that if he speaks in an angelic tongue (which was valued by many Christians at that time) or many languages, it would just be like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal if done without love.  In other words, speaking in languages that could impress but without speaking in love for the purpose of building and encouraging others would be as worthless as a child banging upon pots and pans without any discernable rhythm.  Love should drive his speech. 

Second, he said that if he had the traits that would impress any Christians like prophetic powers, an understanding of all the mysteries of God and the world, and even the faith and power to bring about miracles, he would be considered nothing if he didn’t have love.  Regardless of whether he had what people valued as important, he would be considered worthless if he had all these traits without the love of Christ.  Being valued for his skill sets meant nothing if he had them without love. 

Third, he said that if he gave away all his possessions and even his life but did it without love, he would gain nothing.  When someone gives, one usually expects a return.  If one gives of his or her life, one expects that the life traded for will be lived in a worthwhile manner.  When something is given up, a gain should be returned.  However, Paul said that if he gave everything but did it without love, there would be no gain at all.  It would be worthless.  To give without love would lead to no benefit. 

That is why we as Christians should be careful to understand why we are serving in the ministry.  Are we doing it for the recognition of others?  Are we doing it for our own internal fulfillment?  Are we doing it because we feel like we are obligated to?  If we are serving God but doing so without love being the primary reason driving it, then it is worthless.  We should be serving God out of love for Him.  We should be serving others with the love of Christ dwelling in us.  We should be growing in Christ, because we love Him.  If we do anything, let us do in love.  Let our lives be driven by love.

Quick Note – Luke 18:35-43/Luke 19:1-10 – Two People Unafraid in Jericho

Luke 18:35-43 – ³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 19:1-10 – He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Peer pressure is a powerful thing.  It can make you do things that you should never do like take drugs and get drunk.  That is why parents often tell their children, “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you also do it?”  They say this phrase to get their children to think about their actions and what motivates them – to remind them that they shouldn’t do stupid things just because the crowd tells them to.  Moreover, peer pressure can also be used to dissuade people from doing things.  It can prevent people from doing what is right.  Have you ever read The Scarlet Letter?  In that book, a red letter A was forced to be worn by Hester Prynne for having a child out of wedlock.  From that point forward, all her neighbors would treat her like she had the plague.  Rather than showing compassion and care for a person who made a mistake and needed to be shown love, she was avoided.  Peer pressure kept people from doing what was right. 

In our two passages today, two people near or in Jericho could have allowed the crowds to keep them from seeing Jesus, but they did not allow others from preventing them from seeing the Lord.  They pushed through any obstacle that would keep them from Jesus and experienced the grace of God firsthand.  To them, nothing was more important than Jesus Christ. 

The first person mentioned in Luke 8:35-43 was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.  Because he was blind, the only way he could make a living was to beg on the highway to Jericho.  To his surprise, that day, Jesus was walking by.  He must have heard of all the miracles that Christ had done, so when the crowds told him, Jesus was coming, He began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  When the crowds found him annoying and told him to be quiet, he only yelled louder, because he knew that Jesus was the only one that could heal him.  He wouldn’t allow the people to stop him from seeing Jesus.  He wouldn’t allow his pride, his “manners,” or even his disability to keep him from getting to the Lord.  Jesus, hearing Bartimaeus and seeing his faith, called to him, and healed him. 

The second person mentioned in Luke 19:1-10 was a tax collector who lived in Jericho named Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a very short person, so when Jesus was coming into the town, he was unable to see him due to his height.  Rather than letting the crowds keep him from seeing the Lord, he climbed up a tree (which was not appropriate for a man of his social stature) just to get a peek at Jesus.  Jesus, seeing him in a tree, called him down and told him that He would stay in his house that day.  Zacchaeus overjoyed then repented and turned to Christ.  Just as with Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus did not let the crowd stop him from seeing the Lord. 

This is the question I ask you to contemplate today – “What is stopping you from seeing the LORD?”  Are you allowing the world to keep you from coming to Jesus Christ?  I know that many people choose not to give their lives to Jesus Christ, because they are afraid of what others will think.  They fear what their parents, their family, their friends will say.  They are afraid of how others might see them compared to their past, so they refuse to turn to Christ.  These two men on the road to and in Jericho show us that we shouldn’t allow how others perceive us to prevent us from finding Christ.  Our pride and our status in the sight of man should not stop us from coming to the Lord.  Be unabashedly bold, unafraid to know the Savior of the world.  You won’t believe the amazing miracles He can and will do in your life when you place your trust in Him. 

Quick Note – John 6:24 – Seek Jesus

John 6:24 – So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

When I am looking for something, I look high and low, far and wide for the thing that I am seeking, whether it be my car keys, my glasses, or my phone. I will scour the places that I thought I might have left it behind and continue to look for them there until I am certain that it isn’t there. Then, I will go to another place and look there. I will search as quickly as possible, because every minute counts to prevent me from losing that thing I am looking for forever. The question I have for you today is “When you realize Jesus is not where you currently are, do you immediately leave that place to seek Him?”

In our passage today, the people who were following Jesus went with him to a desert place. After preaching to them, Jesus not wanting them to go away hungry fed them with five loaves and two fish. He fed 5000 men not counting the women and children. This was a miracle! So when the crowd that was following Him realized that He could do this, they wanted to make Him king. Jesus then withdrew to a mountain, sent His disciples on a boat to the other side, and prayed. That evening after spending time with His Heavenly Father, Jesus walked on the water and joined His disciples on the boat. So it wasn’t until the next day, that the crowd noticed that Jesus was no longer there, and according to our passage, when they noticed that, they left that place to seek Jesus. They knew that nothing of value was there, if Jesus was gone, so they sought Him.

Now, in the later verses, we come to find out that the crowd only followed Jesus, because they wanted the free food, which is not why we should seek Him; however, we can still commend the crowd for realizing that without Jesus, there was nothing for them there. We can follow their example of leaving wherever we are at in life if He isn’t in it, in order, to seek Him. When I mean leaving wherever we are in life, I mean our careers, our relationships, and even our dreams and goals. If it isn’t God’s will for you to be in those things or to chase after them, then you need to leave those things and to seek Him. The only thing in life worth pursuing is a relationship with Jesus Christ, for He promises that anyone who comes to Him will have eternal life. Don’t seek Christ for what you can get from Him like the crowds did, but seek Him for who He is. So drop everything that takes you away from Him and seek Him!

Quick Note – Mark 8:27-30 – Who Is Jesus to You?

Mark 8:27-30 – ²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Being that I grew up in a Christian family, I have gone to church my whole life. I went to a Christian private school; I attended Sunday school almost every Sunday; I was taught to read the Bible every day; I watched Christian TV shows and movies, read Christian books, and had Christian friends. My relatives believe in God. My parents believe in God. My father is even a pastor. I have been surrounded by Christianity my whole life. I was always told who Jesus was, is, and will be. So knowing who Jesus Christ is, knowing the facts about this Person, knowing about God was not hard, but making it personal was. From birth till I was about a teenager, Jesus was someone I knew in fact but not in relationship. I knew all about Him, but I didn’t know Him.

However, when I was around 14-15, I personally gave my life to Jesus Christ after having some internal struggles as to whether I truly wanted to place my faith in Him. After a personal night of struggle, which I can recall another time, I chose to make Him my Lord and Savior. Jesus was no longer only my father’s God, my mother’s God, my teacher’s God, my friend’s God; He was mine. And that was when I truly became a Christian. That was when I could say, “Jesus, You are the Christ.”

In our passage today, Jesus asked His disciple first, “Who do people say that I am?” The answer to that question was that some thought that He was Elijah, a prophet of the Old Testament reincarnated. Some thought that He was a resurrected John the Baptist, a preacher of repentance who was beheaded. Some thought that He was one of the prophets of old. Everyone at that time had their opinion on who Jesus was. None of that was true. But interestingly, Jesus didn’t immediately take that time to correct these false assumptions about who He was; instead, He asked His disciple, “But who do you say that I am?” It didn’t matter what others thought about Him, Jesus wanted the disciples to realize the only thing that was important was what they personally thought about Him. Who did they believe Jesus to be?

It was then that Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” To Peter and to some of those disciples, Jesus was their Messiah. It wasn’t, because what they thought about Jesus defined Him. No, He was the Christ regardless of who placed their faith in Him. But He wanted them to realize that a relationship with Him was personal. It should not be dependent on others. It should be a decision, a relationship, a personal faith in Him.

Christianity is not something you inherit. It is not something you believe in because others pushed you to it. Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is you choosing to answer the question, “Who do you say that I am?” with the words, “You are the Christ. You are my Christ.” Jesus saved each and every individual on this earth who has been and will ever be. He is the Savior of the world, the Good Shepherd, the Son of God. He loved you so much that He died for you. He resurrected three days after His death. And He promises that those who put their trust in Him will be saved. These are all true facts about Him. These are all things said about Jesus Christ. But it doesn’t matter if you know the facts. What matters is that you truly believe it. That you personally choose to make Him your Christ!

Some in this world say Jesus was a great teacher, a miracle worker, a prophet. Some in this world think of Him as simply a man. Others who have already placed their faith in Him, see Him as the Savior of the World, the Messiah, the Christ. But who do you say that He is?

Quick Note – Psalm 69:13 – Deliverance at an Acceptable Time

Psalm 69:13 – But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.

I must admit that I am pretty weak.  When troubles or hardships come into my life, I tend to fold fairly easily.  And I, most certainly, can’t live with pain.  If my head even feels a tinge of aching, I immediately take an Advil or Excedrin.  If not, within a few hours, that headache becomes a full-blown migraine.  So I know that when it comes to difficulties, I don’t have much perseverance.  I cave in quickly.  This is why I was impressed when I read Psalm 69. 

In this psalm, David described the trouble that he was in.  In the first few verses, he says that he was sinking in the mire, that the floods were sweeping over him, and that he was weary with crying out (vs. 1-3).  He said that the enemies that surrounded him were as many as the hairs on his head, and not only were they abundant but they were also mighty (vs. 4).  He mentioned how he had borne so much reproach that even his brothers considered him a stranger because of shame (vs. 7-8).  People mocked him (vs. 12); people slandered him (vs. 4); and people were looking to bring him down (vs. 21).  And he suffered all this not because of his own sin or foolishness but because of his love and faith in God (vs.7, 9).  He said it was his zeal for God’s house that this was happening.  He was suffering the reproaches of those who reproached God.  He was dishonored and reproached for God’s sake (vs. 7).  He didn’t deserve this hardship, but it still came. 

This is why I was surprised that David could still say in vs 13, “But as for me, my prayer it to you, O LORD.  At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”  I’m not surprised that David called out to God for mercy and grace and love, because God is certainly the One we should turn to when we are in trouble.  But I am surprised that David could say, “At an acceptable time.”  David could wait for God’s deliverance in God’s time.  Although he was tired of crying out in pain, although he was suffering in despair, David could still say, “God, save me, when it is the right time to do so in your eyes.”  He trusted that God’s love, God’s faithfulness would come through at the right time.  He didn’t doubt God.  He didn’t fear that God would not be faithful.  He trusted Him completely.  That is why David could end the psalm by telling the earth to praise the God who deserved it.  That is why David could confidently say that the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His people.  David was delivered by God from trouble many times in his life, and he knew that his God was faithful. 

When we are suffering, it can be hard to wait on God.  It is easy to question why God doesn’t deliver you from the trouble immediately.  But like David, we must continue to pray and to trust that God will deliver us at an acceptable time.  We must only wait for Him.  When the Israelites were running away from Egypt and were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army, they were told to simply stand still and see the salvation of God (Exodus 14:13).  They needed to wait.  When Joseph was suffering through slavery and wrongful imprisonment, he needed to faithfully follow God until he was put in Pharaoh’s good graces.  He needed to wait.  God will work in our lives in His time.  So wait for God’s deliverance.  He will deliver you at an acceptable time.