Loving Jesus!

Hello Family!

Have you ever asked a little child ... “How much do you love me?”

Usually the little one being asked raises his or her hands together, a few inches apart. You ask again, “Is that all you love me? Okay, one more chance, how much do you really love me?”

And then, the child smiles and flings their arms wide open to show just how much they love you! This brings the response we have all seen ... great joy & happiness! The questions we need to ask then are these: “Do we love Jesus?” & “How much do we really love, Jesus?”

We tend to use different artificial means to express our love for Jesus. You know what I am talking about here and can probably think of a few! Ever seen the bumper sticker, "Honk if you Love Jesus"? How about the chrome bumper fish that adorn many a car?

Have you ever been at a concert and heard the announcer or the artist use what I call ... “The Jesus Pep Rally Call”? Many emcees & bands resort to this at times in desperation to get the crowd going ... “If you love Jesus, give me a "J" "E" "S" "U" "S"! Admittedly, these are pretty weird ways to express our love for Jesus. But even stranger is how Jesus showed His love for us!

1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

“Atoning sacrifice” simply means "to be set before." When God judged the sin on man on Calvary, we were the target of God’s wrath and judgment. However, God placed His Son before us so that Jesus, the Son of God would take the blow of judgment. In this came a payment (atonement) of our sin, a transaction (forgiveness) to remove our sin, and the debt of sin is cancelled (justified)!

Another word for this is propitiation! Now, I don’t know about you but I like the word propitiation! When we think about that little baby in the manger this time of year, we really should do so with the idea that he is our substitute ... he IS OUR propitiation!

I want to love Jesus for what He has done for me. And I want to do anything that He asks me to do in return! My question is this, “Is Jesus looking for bumper stickers or chants as expressions of our love for Him?” I don't think so! I believe that Jesis is looking for motion and action, after all, faith without works ... ain't breathing, right?

We need to quit seeing love as just an emotion and start seeing it as the motion behind what we do in response to the love of Christ. Loving Jesus is obeying Him as seen clearly in John 14:15, 21 & 23-24! Jesus doesn't allow love to be lowered into a sentimental or emotional love, but obedience. To Jesus, real love is not an easy thing.

Jesus asks ... DO you Love Me? then ... keep My commandments! He told us taht the Father loves those who love Him. We know that the Father loves those who do the words of Jesus, and that those that do not keep the commandments do not love Jesus.

Jesus showed His love of the Father through obedience and, consequently, we show our love for Jesus through obedience. We are to be obedient in all the things that we are asked to do in the course of our ministry to each other!

In John 21:15-17 Jesus asks Peter this question, "Do you love Me?" This is a penetrating question and it seemed to irritate Peter. I think that was because it's being aimed at him. Remember Peter had said he would die for Jesus, and yet he denied him three times.

Did Jesus doubt Peter’s answer that he loved Him? Have we ever wondered if Jesus doubts our answer? Jesus’ answer back to Peter in the three affirmations of love was "feed & tend" My lambs and sheep. I believe he was telling Peter and for that matter, all of us, “If you love Me ... serve Me. Don’t love Me in the lip service of the crowd. But love Me by serving me so as to care for My own. Jesus asks ... "Do you love Me?"

Wow! Do I need help! We all do! And ... that’s good! God doesn't intend for us to conjure up the love He desires and expects from us! He wants us to love with His love, so He’s standing by in the form of the Holy Spirit, waiting for us to simply ask for His help!

John 14:16-18 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

God knows we are not capable in and of ourselves to love in this capacity. He gives us a Helper. The Helper is one who is called in to assist us in our weaknesses. Let us all pray to God, asking the Spirit to lead us to love Jesus by "knowing, obeying and serving" Him. We are all the ministers of the Gospel! Some of us are licensed by government, yet we are all ordained! This means we all have an opportunity to feed & tend His sheep! Are we ready?
Are we willing?
In His Grip,
pastor samme