We Are Saints (Eph. 5:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR5/31/2019 8:24 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  We are Saints

 

Bible Reading and Meditation                                                          Reference:  Ephesians 5:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks” (KJV).

 

            I promised to quote what Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote on Ephesians 5:3-4 in his commentary on the book of Ephesians and that is the reason that I used the KJV of the Bible, for that is what he used.

 

            We will be looking at a sub-section from his main section which covers Ephesians 5:3-14, and he entitled the main section “Walk As Children of Light.”  He wrote the following short introduction on this main section as follows:  “Since ‘God is light’ and we are imitating our Father, then we should walk in the light and have nothing to do with the darkness of sin.  Paul gives three descriptions of believers that prove his point.”

 

            “We are saints (vv. 3-4).  That is, we are ‘set-apart ones’ and no longer belong to the world of darkness around us.  We have been ‘called out of darkness into His marvelous light’ (1 Peter 2:9).  It is beneath the dignity of a saint to indulge in the sins that belong to the world of darkness, some of which Paul names here.  He warns us against the sexual sins (fornication, uncleanness) which were so prevalent in that day—and are prevalent today.  Sad to say, those sins have invaded the homes of Christians and brought grief to local churches too.  ‘Covetousness’ may seem out of place next to fornication, but the two sins are but different expressions of the same basic weakness of fallen nature—uncontrolled appetite.  The fornicator and the covetous person each desire to satisfy the appetite by taking what does not belong to them.  ‘The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes’ (1 John 2:16) would describe these two sins.  ‘Let there not be even a hint of these sins!’ said Paul.

 

            “In Ephesians 5:4 he warned against sins of the tongue, which, of course, are really sins of the heart.  It is not difficult to see the relationship between the sins named in Ephesians 5:3 and those of Ephesians 5:4.  People who have base appetites usually cultivate a base kind of speech and humor, and often people who want to commit sexual sins, or have committed them, enjoy jesting about them.  Two indications of a person’s character are what makes him laugh and what makes him weep.  The saint of God sees nothing humorous in obscene language or jests.  ‘Foolish talking’ does not edify or minister grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29).  Paul is not condemning small talk because much conversation falls into that classification.  He is condemning foolish talk that accomplishes no good purpose.

 

            “Jesting is a translation of the word that means ‘able to turn easily.’  This suggests a certain kind of conversationalist who can turn any statement into a coarse jest.  The gift of wit is a blessing, but when it is attached to a filthy mind or a base motive, it becomes a curse.  There are quick-witted people who can pollute any conversation with jests that are always inconvenient (out of place).  How much better it is for us to be quick to give thanks!  This is certainly the best way to give glory to God and keep the conversation pure.

 

            “A Christian woman attended an anniversary dinner in honor of a friend, not knowing that there would be a program of low comedy following the meal.  The so-called comedian tried to entertain the crowd with coarse humor that degraded everything that the Christian guest held to be sacred and honorable.  At one point in the program, the comedian’s throat became dry.  ‘Please bring me a glass of water, ‘he called to a waiter.

 

            “At that point the Christian woman added, ‘And bring a toothbrush and a bar of soap with it!’  To be sure, soap in the mouth will never cleanse the conversation, but she made her point.

 

            “Christians who have God’s Word in their hearts (Col. 3:16) will always season their speech with salt (Col. 4:6); for grace in the heart means grace on the lips.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to be like the Christian woman that Dr. Wiersbe spoke of in his commentary, and have the courage to speak out when things like happened to her happens to me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Humility is still on my mind, and I continue to pray that the Lord will continue to teach me more about this today and every day, so that my life will bring glory to my Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Verse that goes with yesterday’s quotation is Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

 

5/31/2019 8:55 AM

P T-4 "The Perversion" (Eph. 5:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2019 10:02 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  “PT-4 “The Perversion”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”  “3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. 4 And coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks” (HCSB).

 

            I promised to continue looking at the definitions of different Greek words as found in my John MacArthur commentary:  “Filthiness has to do with general obscenity, any talk that is degrading, and disgraceful.  It comes from the same Greek root as ‘Disgraceful’ in verse 12, where Paul says that such vile things should not even be mentioned, much less participated in, and is related to the term in Colossians 3:8, meaning ‘dirty speech.’ 

 

            “Morologia (silly talk) used only here in the New Testament, is derived from moros(to speak).  It is stupid talk, talk only befitting someone who is intellectually deficient.  It is sometimes referred to as low obscenity, foolish talk that comes from the drunk or the gutter mouth.  It has no point except to give an air of dirty worldliness.

 

            “Eutrapelia (coarse jesting), on the other hand, refers to talk that is more pointed and determined.  It carries the idea of quickly turning something that is said or done—no matter how innocent—into that which is obscene or suggestive.  It is the filthy talk of a person who uses every word and circumstance to display his immoral wit.  It is the stock-in-trade of the clever talk-show host who is never at a loss for sexual innuendo.  But the low obscenity of sill talk and the ‘high’ obscenity of coarse jesting comes from the same kind of heart, the heart given over to moral filthiness.”

 

            I suppose that one of the things that many believers need to work on is their speech, and to follow the things that Paul writes about in these two verses.  Sometimes we say silly things before we even know that we have said them, and that of course does not please the Lord.

 

            I think that instead of being involved in the kinds of things that Paul has written about in these two verses we should be giving thanks to the Lord for the great salvation that He has provided for us. 

 

            It is my prayer for myself that in the event I hear this kind of talk and then desire to put in my 2 cents worth, that I would either walk away or bring up Ephesians 5:3-4. 

 

            John MacArthur concludes “If Christians are known for anything it should be for love expressed toward God and others by unceasing thankfulness (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18), where the injunction is clear:  ‘In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus).

            It is my desire to give a rather long quote from the pen of Warren Wiersbe in our next SD on what he has to say about these two verses.  Warren Wiersbe put the cookies on the shelf where we can reach them.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To be loving and to be humble are two things that I need to work on in my walk with the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Humility is something that I suppose that I can learn about for a long time, and my prayer is that the Lord will continue to teach me more things about humility, and one of the ways that I can learn about humility is to continue to look and study the life of Jesus Christ while he was on earth, for His life was a humble life.

 

Today’s quotation is from Isaac Newton:  “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

 

5/30/2019 11:02 AM

PT-3 "The Perversion" (Eph. 5:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2019 8:49 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-3 “The Perversion”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”  “3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (ESV).

 

            I am not sure that I noticed the word “but” as the first word of these two verses, and as I think about that I believe that the word “but” is comparing what Paul wrote in the first two verses, as evidenced that verse three begins a new paragraph.  Not all of the Bible versions begin with that word.

 

            The following is a quote from John MacArthur that helps us understand more about our strong sexual nature, but first I want to talk about what a man said in a study I attended a few years back.  His name was Bill Glass, and Bill played professional football in the NFL.  He ended up with the Cleveland Browns, and while there it was his desire to become the next Billy Graham, but God had other plans for him as the Lord sent him into prisons to minister for the cause of Christ.  Bill is a large man and when he shook my hand, my hand disappeared.  One of the things that he stated came from, I believe a Psalm which says something like “whatever a man thinks in his heart he will be.”  Bill said that there was a time in his life that all he thought about were girls, and so he stated that he did not want to turn into a girl.  I understand where he was coming from.  John MacArthur writes “Because of the strong sexual nature of human beings, sexual sins are powerful and can become perverted in unimaginable ways.  If given free rein, sexual sins lead to complete insensitivity to the feelings and welfare of others, to horrible brutality, and frequently to murder—as news stories testify daily.

 

            “That is why the sins of immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be named among Christians, as is proper among saints.  Those sins cannot in any way be justified, and they should not in any way be tolerated.  The meaning of saints is ‘holy ones,’ and those who are holy have nothing to do with that which is unholy.”

 

            I mentioned the word “but” and as stated it goes back to what Paul was writing about in verses one and two which was about love, and love has nothing to do with these actions that he is talking about here in verses 3-4 as he continues his warnings that are against this perversion of love by then mentioning an extensive list of related sins that will surely cover every believer at one time or another.  There are many lists found in the Word of God, both good ones and not so good ones, and this falls into the not so good ones.  Christians should never engage in sexual sins of any kind, but they should never be guilty of “filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting” or joking. 

 

            We will begin to break down these words in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to pray that the Lord will keep my mind clean from any kind of sexual prevision, so that I can serve Him with a true heart.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will use humility to keep my mind clean of any sinful practice.

 

James 1:17 is the verse that goes along with our quotation from yesterday:  “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

 

5/29/2019 9:25 AM

PT-2 "The Perversion" (Eph. 5:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2019 10:41 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-2 “The Perversion”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”   “3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks” (KJV).

 

            As mentioned in our last SD I want to began by continuing to look at different Greek words that John MacArthur explains.  “Loss of sexual self-control leads to its opposite, which is ‘immorality’ and ‘impurity.’  Akatharsi (‘impurity’) is more general term than porneia, referring to anything that is unclean and filthy.  Jesus used the word to describe the rottenness of decaying bodies in a tomb (Matt. 23:27).  The other ten times the word is used in the New Testament it is associated with sexual sin.  It refers to immoral thoughts, passions, ideas, fantasies, and every other form of sexual corruption.”

 

            It is believed by many that the church is weak in today’s world, and I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that I believe that the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation are in chronological order of the church age and that would mean if you believe, and many people do believe that we are near the end of the church age.  If this is the case then the church of Laodicea would be the age of the church we are in.  I have also stated that there are places around the world where we can find each of the types of churches that Jesus spoke of in Revelation 2-3, but there was a time when each one of the churches were dominant in the world.  With that said let me quote what Jesus said about the churc of Laodicea from Revelation 3:14-22 “14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ’I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ’So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 ’Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 ’Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 ’Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 ’He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’" “  It is not my desire to talk about these verses from Revelation other to say that after looking at them and then looking at the world around us I believe we can see similar things happening.  We live in the day of a weak church for the most part and that means that the contemporary sex madness that is going on around us in the world today has even made its ways into the church, but as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 5:1-5 and also 6:13-20 he shows that there is no place for that in the Christian life. 

 

            John MacArthur writes “As mentioned under the discussion of Ephesians 4:19, ‘greed’ is inseparable from ‘impurity.’  Ever form of sexual immorality is an expression of the self-will, self-gratification, and self-centeredness or ‘greed.’  It is by nature contrary to love, which is self-giving.  ‘Immorality’ and ‘impurity’ are but forms of ‘greed’ in the realm of sexual sin.  They are manifestations of sexual covetousness and express counterfeit love (which is really hate, since love seeks the purity of others and is unselfish), masquerading as something beautiful, good and rewarding.  Because those sins seem so attractive and promising, spouses are forsaken, children are neglected, homes are destroyed, friends are disregarded, as no effort is spared to fulfill the desire to have the one who is lusted after—all of that in the name of love.”

 

            This subject we are looking at, as mentioned by John MacArthur is very prominent in the day we live in.  I have to believe that there are more than two reasons for this to be widespread in our society, but at this time I will mention two, and one of them I have mentioned many times in earlier SD’s.  Technology has much to do with this problem as TV, movies, computers, smart phones, and things like I-pads all make it so easy to watch sinful sexual things.  I remember an old cartoon when I was growing up called “The Jetsons” and one of the young characters would be watching TV on his watch.  Well this can truly happen at this time of history as watches can really do this now.  The other huge problem is the effects of evolution, and Darwin the so-called man who invented this impossible thing to happen, even at the end of his life he stated that it was not possible for it to happen.  Evolution is impossible, and that makes no difference to those that promote it.  Evolution states that there is no God, and therefore we are not accountable to God so we can do what we want, and we pretty much do, and the sexual revolution, in my opinion along with abortion are the results of 100 + years of evolution.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  By God’s grace He will spare me from any more of this sexual revolution.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  It is my desire to be open to the teaching of humility as God sees fit to teach me more about it and to live like Jesus did who was the most humble person ever to be on this earth.

 

Today’s quotation from Thomas A. Kempis:  “Glory not in wealth if you have it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God who gives all things, and above all desires to give you Himself.”

 

5/28/2019 11:22 AM

 

    

PT-1 "The Perversion" (Eph. 5:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2019 11:31 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-1 “The Perversion”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesian 5:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”  “3 But as for sexual immorality in all its forms, and the itch to get your hands on what belongs to other people—don’t even talk about such things; they are no fit subjects for Christians to talk about. 4 The key-note of your conversation should not be coarseness or silliness or flippancy—which are quite out of place, but a sense of all that we owe to God” (Phillips).  “3 Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. 4 Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect” (Message). 

 

            I thought that as we first begin this rather long section, probably at least five to six SD’s on this subject, that I would give you some different types of Bible paraphrase’s like the Phillips and the Message in order to help us better understand this important section.

 

            Let us first of all think about some wonderful things that God has designed for humans, thinks like true love, and perhaps eating, and I am sure that there are other wholesome things we could talk about.  Satan will take these things like true love or eating and will establish something counterfeit to go along with God’s good things.  Satan produces counterfeit love to go along with true love, and having people over eat to go along with what God designed for our diets. 

 

            MacArthur writes “In contrast to godly, unselfish, forgiving love, the world’s love is lustful and self-indulgent.  It loves because the object of love is attractive, enjoyable, pleasant, satisfying, appreciative, love in return, produces desired feelings, or likely to repay in some way.  It is always based on the other person’s fulfilling one’s own needs and desires and meeting one’s own needs and desires and meeting one’s own expectations.  Worldly love is reciprocal, giving little in the expectation of getting much.  Speaking of the kind of love, Jesus said, ‘For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same?’ (Matt. 5:46).”

 

            It is true that the world claims to really want love, but the kind of love the world wants is advocated and praised from every corner.  It wants romantic love and so we hear songs, and books, and movies, along with TV serials that continually exploit emotional, lustful desire as it were really genuine love, but this is not the case, as it is the fake kind of news that Satan is behind. 

 

            This kind of misguided type of fake love causes many bad things to happen, things like immorality and impurity, and the reason is that this kind of “love” is selfish and also destructive, which is a counterfeit of God’s love. 

 

            We will look at what MacArthur describes of the word used for immorality as seen in the NASB95 version as we end this SD.  “Pormeia (Immorality) refers to all sexual sin, and all sexual sin is against godly love.  It is the antonym of enkrateia, which refers to self-control, especially in the area of sex.  When Paul spoke before Felix and his wife Drusilla, ‘discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you’ (Acts 24:24-25).  Felix had stolen Drusilla from her former husband and was therefore living with her in an adulterous relationship.  The sexual self-control to the governor was that he was living contrary to God’s righteousness by refusing to discipline his sexual desire, and for that he was subject to God’s judgment.”

 

            Lord willing we will look at more of the Greek words and definitions in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Before I became a believer and was working as an hourly employee there was a man, and I know now a worldly man, who when talking about sexual relationships stated that “if God made anything better that He kept it for Himself.”  For a long time I totally agreed with him, but then after I became a believer I learned that God did make things better and that He did not keep it for Himself, but gave it to me and that would be salvation.  Sexual sin is very powerful.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Humility is something that I continue to desire to learn more about, and for God to teach me more about.  True love, God’s love involves humility as seen in Philippians 2:5-11.  It is my desire for God to increase my capability to love others as Christ loves me, and in do this will be part of my continuing desire for humility.

 

Verse to go along with yesterday’s quote is from Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

 

5/27/2019 12:15 PM

PT-4 "The Pattern" (Eph. 5:2b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2019 9:22 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                 Focus:  PT-4 “The Pattern”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:2a

 

            Message of the verse:  “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

 

            I suppose that if one looks at the OT sacrifices they would find that all of them were actually offered to God, and so as we look at the last part of this verse we see that Christ’s offering was also to God.  It was because that sacrifice demonstrated in the fullest and most ultimate was God’s kind of love.  As we look the words “for us” they indicate the personal expression of love directed at all who believe.  MacArthur adds that “this does not limit the provision of the atonement only to believers, as other Scriptures make clear. See John 1:29; 3:15-16; Rom. 10:13; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Tim. 2:4, 6; 4:10; 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 2:2; 4:14.”

 

            I mentioned about the OT offerings and as I continue to look at MacArthur’s commentary he also mentions some of the offerings that are described in the book of Leviticus. He writes “The burn offering (Lev. 1:1-17) depicted Christ’s total devotion to God in giving His very life to obey and please His Father; the meal (grail) offering (Lev. 2:1-16) depicted Christ’s perfection, and the peace offering (Lev. 3:1-17; 4:27-31) depicted His making peace between God and man.  All of those offerings obviously spoke of what was pleasing to God.  Of each, the Scripture says it provided a ‘soothing aroma to the Lord’ (Lev. 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9, 12; 3:5, 16).  Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was ‘acceptable,…well-pleasing to God.’  But the other two offerings—the sin (Lev. 4:1-26, 32-35) and the trespass (Lev. 5:1-19) offerings—were repulsive to God, because, though they depicted Christ, they depicted Him as bearing the sin of mankind.  The depicted the Father’s turning His back on the Son when ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf’ (2 Cor. 5:21), at which time Jesus exclaimed from the cross, ‘My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?’ (Matt. 27:46).”  I have always desired to understand how these OT sacrifices were pictures of Christ, and this small paragraph helps me to better understand that.  One thing that I do want to mention, and I believe that it is extremely important, and that is that Christ did not and never could sin, but He was actually the sin bearer, and while Christ was doing that His Father could not look on Him or even rejoice in Him, or be pleased in Him.  However after the Father raised Christ from the dead, the sacrifice that caused Him to become sin became the sacrifice that conquered sin.  So Christ became sin, but was never a sinner otherwise He would not have been qualified to die for us.  MacArthur writes “the sacrifice that caused Him to become sin became the sacrifice that conquered sin.  The sin that put Him to death was itself put to death, and that great act of love was to ‘God as a fragrant aroma.’  That ‘fragrant aroma’ spreads its fragrance to everyone on earth who will place himself under the grace of that sacrifice, and it will spread its fragrance throughout heaven for all eternity.  In all aspects, our lives should please God.”

 

            Lord willing we will begin looking at “The Perversion” in our next SD which will cover verses 3-4 of Ephesians chapter five.

 

Today’s quotation is from Benjamin Franklin who says “Do you love life?  The do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”

 

5/26/2019 9:46 PM

 

 

 

           

PT-3 "The Pattern" (Eph. 5:2a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2019 8:29 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  “PT-3 “The Pattern”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:2b

 

            Message of the verse:  “just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

 

            I mentioned that I would talk about lovelessness as we begin this SD, and lovelessness is not just a failure or shortcoming, it is a sin, without disobedience of God’s command and disregard of His example.  John MacArthur writes “To love as God loves is to love because God loves, because we are to ‘be imitators of God, as beloved children’ and because Christ also loved [us], and gave himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God.”

 

            As we look at God’s love we can see that it is not only forgiving and unconditional but is also self sacrificing.  Therefore to love as God loves is to love sacrificially, to love by the giving of ourselves as He gave Himself.  I have to say that is not the kind of love that a person can do on his own, but must be filled with the Spirit of God in order to love like that.

 

            Another difficult thing to do is to realize and remember that the Christian’s walk in love is to extend to every person, now this is where it gets very hard as it is to extend to believer and also to unbelievers as well.  God’s love reaches out to His enemies and we are to love as God loves so we are to do the same.  God loves His imperfect children with a perfect love, then how can we not love fellow believers, whose imperfection we share?  Another thing and that is if divine love led Christ to sacrifice Himself for the unworthy and the ungrateful sinners, then how can we not give ourselves to fellow sinful people, to unbelievers as well as to believers, in His name?

 

            Think back to when the Lord Jesus Christ was about to offer Himself on the cross for those who would accept the sacrifice He was making, and as you think of this think about what His disciples were doing.  They were being very selfish in talking with each other as to who would be the greatest.  What then did Jesus do to help them understand their selfishness?  We He took a bowl of water and a towel and begin to wash their feet.  This had to be a bit humiliating to these disciples, especially after the Lord rose from the dead and they then had the opportunity to think about this.  John MacArthur writes “After He finished washing their feet and returned to the supper table, ‘He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you?  You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.  I I then, the Lord and the Teacher, was your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.  Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him’ (John 13: 12-16).  Later He commanded them to love in this manner (John 13:24-25).”

 

Bible Verse that goes along with yesterday’s quotation is Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to pleas Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

 

5/25/2019 8:52 PM

PT-2 "The Pattern" (Eph. 5:2b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/24/2019 7:59 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “The Pattern”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 5:2b

 

            Message of the verse:  “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

 

            I stated in our last SD that I would talk about “puppy love” in today’s SD.  I think that we can define puppy love as romantic love or emotional love perhaps between a boyfriend with his girlfriend or even for a new bride of her new husband as there are ebbs and flows and even sometimes it disappears altogether.  In the case of romantic love in a marriage and when one thinks that it is over this is never an appropriate excuse for dissolving a marriage, because the love that God specifically commands husbands to have for their wives is agape love as seen in Ephesians 5:25; 3:19 as this is love like God’s own which is undeserved love for us, and this love is that which is based on willful choice in behalf of the one loved, regardless of emotions, attraction, or deserving.  This kind of love is not like what we described as puppy love.  I guess that most people can fall in love with a puppy, but the problem is that puppy will grow up and become a dog that perhaps will not be so easy to love.  John MacArthur states “Romantic love enhances and beautifies the relationship between husband and wife, but the binding force of a Christian marriage is God’s own kind of love, the love that loves because it is the divine nature to love.  It is the love of giving, not of getting; and even when it ceases to get, it continues to give.  Where there is the sacrificial love of willful choice, there is also likely to be the love of intimacy, feeling, and friendship (Philia).” 

 

            As we look at agape love we know that God gives us this kind of love and even though we are believers we will still sin and will fall short of His perfection and His glory, but God still loves us even when we forget Him, when we disobey Him, when we deny Him, when we fail to return His love, and even when we grieve His Holy Spirit.  In the little letter that Jude wrote he said “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21).  MacArthur states that “he was indicating the responsibility to stay in the place where that divine love sheds its blessing.”

 

            Since all believers are given God’s nature through Jesus Christ then the are commanded to love as God loves.  “In Christ, it is now our nature to love, just as it is God’s nature to love—because His nature is now our nature.  For a Christian not to love is for him to live against his own nature as well as against God’s.”

 

            We will continue on this subject of love and even begin to talk about lovelessness in our next SD, Lord willing, but I have to leave to go to what is called “Grandparents Day” at the school where three of my grandchildren attend.

 

Today’s quotation is from C. S. Lewis “Faith:  the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of you changing moods.”

 

5/24/2019 8:21 AM

PT-1 "The Pattern" (Eph. 5:2b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/23/2019 9:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-1 “The Pattern”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 5:2b

 

            Message of the verses:  “the same sort of love which Christ gave us and which he perfectly expressed when he gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice well-pleasing to God” (Phillips).  “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (NASB95).

 

            We have called this section “The Pattern” and the pattern of living the Christian life is to follow the life of Jesus Christ who perfectly lived that life while He was on earth.  The problem is that, in and of our own strength we cannot do this.  The solution is to allow God’s Spirit to pattern us after His Son.  Paul told us how this is done in 2 Corinthians 3:18 where he writes “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  Just as we cannot become a believer in Jesus Christ without having been given the effectual call from the Holy Spirit to be saved, so we cannot live the Christian life on our own, but we are in need of the Holy Spirit of God to transform us into the same image of our Lord as He does this from one glory to another glory.  We could say that Paul is speaking of progressive sanctification here.  When we first become a believer we are “baby Christians” and as Peter says we need to feed on the milk of the Word, and then after we have grown up more in the Lord we will be able to receive solid food from the Lord.  I have heard that in the Word of God there is everything from Pabulum (baby cereal) to porterhouse.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The summum bonum of Christ that we are to imitate is His love.”  The following is the definition of summum bonum from Wikipedia “Summum bonum is a Latin expression meaning "the highest good", which was introduced by the Roman philosopher Cicero, to correspond to the Idea of the Good in ancient Greek philosophy. The summum bonum is generally thought of as being an end in itself, and at the same time containing all other goods.”  MacArthur goes on “He loved us and gave Himself up for us.  Giving of oneself to others is the epitome of agape love.  Biblical love is not a pleasant emotion or good feeling about someone, but the giving of oneself for his welfare (cf. 1 John 3:16).  Divine love is unconditional love, love that depends entirely on the one who loves and not on the merit, attractiveness, or response of the one loved.  Christ did not simply have a deep feeling and emotional concern for mankind.  Nor did He sacrifice Himself for us because we were deserving (cf. Rom. 5:8, 10).  ‘While we were yet sinners,’ He gave Himself up for us purely out of sovereign, gracious love, taking our sin upon Himself and paying its penalty in our behalf.”  Now let us look at the verses that were spoken of in this quote:  1 John 3:16 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  Next Romans 5:8, 10 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  “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.”

 

            The love that God has, and also anyone else that loves like God is for the sake of giving, and not for getting, and there is a difference in this kind of love (agape) with conditional love, for conditional love loves if the conditions are not met there is no obligation to love.  If we do not get then we do not give.  God makes no conditions because His love to us and commands that we love others without conditions.  There is no way that we can earn God’s love or to even deserve it by reason of human goodness, it is just not possible.

 

            There is more to talk about from the subject of love as we continue looking in our next SD.  We may even take time to look at what is called “puppy love” in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I mentioned the love that God has for me is nothing that I deserve or could earn, and for me to love as God loves me, I cannot do on my own, for His love has to flow through me to others, and I surely desire to have this happen in my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I truly believe that humility and love go together as both must come from the Lord, also something I desire to be better at through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Bible verse that goes along with yesterdays quotation is from Isaiah 30:15 “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be you strength.”

 

5/23/2019 10:36 AM 

PT-4 "The Plea" (Eph. 5:1-2a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/22/2019 10:28 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                      Focus:  PT-4 “The Plea”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Eph. 5:1-2a

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 So then you should try to become like God, for you are his children and he loves you. 2 Live your lives in love,” (Phillips).

 

            We continue to talk about love, God’s love for others and also our love for others.  MacArthur comments “Just as the depth of God’s love is shown by how much He has forgiven, the depth of our love is shown by how much we forgive.”  Peter writes the following in 1 Peter 4:8 “8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”  MacArthur talks about the word “fervent” “The Greek word behind ‘fervent’ refers to a muscle stretched to the limit.  Our love is to stretch to the limit in order to cover ‘a multitude of sins.’  The greater our love the greater the multitude of sins it will cover in forgiveness.”

 

            As we think about the depth of our love it can also be seen by how much that we realize how much we have been forgiven.  The word that comes to mind in thinking about how much I have been forgiven is the word “ALL.”  All means everything.  There is a story found in the gospel of Luke 7:36-47, and if I am not mistaken, and I’m not Joseph Stowell wrote a book entitled “Why It’s Hard to Love Jesus”, and the book is based on Luke 7:36-47.  We will look at that passage at this time. 

 

“36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." 40 And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly." 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has

not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’”

            In Stowell’s book he writes in the preface about a concert that he went to where the “Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir” was singing, and he mentions a song being sung entitle “I’m Not Afraid Anymore,” and the man who sang the song was a person who lived in the city of Brooklyn doing crack cocaine.  He had a young daughter who witnessed to him and the result was that he gave his heart to the Lord, and thus was not afraid of that old lifestyle anymore because of His great love for His Savior.  He had been down to the pit of Hell and Jesus brought him up so that he now sings for the cause of Christ.  His story is similar to the woman in the story that Luke tells.  Both the singer and the woman were forgiven much, and thus they loved much.  I think that it would be easier for each of them to forgive others of doing them wrong than a person who had not lived the lifestyle that they lived, but that is no excuse for any believer not to forgive others for wrong doings.  As mentioned in an earlier SD it is harder, in most cases for the person who does not forgive than the person that they need to forgive. 

 

            John MacArthur concludes this section by writing “The person who sees the greatness of his own forgiveness by God’s love will himself in love be forgiving.  He forgives in love because his heavenly Father has forgiven in love and he desires to be an imitator of His Father.”

 

            If for some reason you think that perhaps you deserve the salvation that Jesus Christ offers, then it will probably be harder for you to forgive others, but if you really realize that there is no way, that on your own you can get to heaven, then perhaps it will be easier to love the Lord and be thankful for the wonderful salvation that He has given you, and then be willing to forgive those who sin against you.  Paul’s plea concerning love is loud and clear in this short section of his letter to the Ephesians.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to be more thankful for what the Lord has done for me, and desire also to be more forgiving to others, especially those I come in contact on the roads as I drive.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I truly desire to not only be a humble person, but to continue to learn more about true humility.

 

The quotation for today is from Thomas Carlyle who said “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves.”

 

5/22/2019 11:23 AM