I will set you free from fear

As I sat down at my table to spend time with God this morning, this verse came to mind...

"If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

In wondering what He meant by the truth, I was then led to another verse...

"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me" (John 14:6).

So I will know the truth, that is Jesus, and he will set me free. Ok, so how do I come to know Jesus? John 8:31-32 told me that I had to obey his teaching and be his disciple. What does Jesus want me to do?

My mind was led to the next chapter...

"My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you (John 15:12).

If I love others just like Jesus loves me, I am his disciple. I will know the truth, that is Jesus, and He will set me free.

What will he set me free from? Many things, I am sure, but my mind was led to a particular verse...

There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18).

If you love others, just like I love you, you are really my disciples; you will know me, and I will set you free from fear.

I was really blessed by my conversation with God this morning and I hope you are too! :)

Are you paying attention?

A few weeks ago I was having a shower when God spoke to me and told me that I would not die, but live and proclaim what the Lord had done (Psalm 118:17).

Woah!

Today, as I was going about my day God gave me this message:

God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done (1 Peter 2:9).

Wow! Okay... so here I am!

Friends, I have passed through the valley of the shadow of death. I have doubted God, but even when I didn't sense it, God was loving me. He may not have been expressing his love in words, but he was in actions. He sent me people to love and protect and help me. Now the shadows have lifted and my faith has been restored. I am now going forth proclaiming what the Lord has done.

Friends, God never stops loving us. Sometimes we just aren't paying attention and are expecting him to show his love to us in our way.

Who is God? What is love?

Who is God?

What is love?

I've been thinking about these questions for awhile now.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes what love is, and in 1 John 4:8 John tells us that God is love, so...

God is patient.

God is kind.

God is not jealous.

God is not conceited.

God is not proud.

God is not ill-mannered.

God is not selfish.

God is not irritable.

God does not keep a record of wrongs.

God is not happy with evil.

God is happy with the truth.

God never gives up.

God's faith never fails.

God's hope never fails.

God's patience never fails.

God is eternal.

God is love.

Let's think about that.

To give credit where credit is due. 

These ideas I got from you:

https://tabletalk.online/02-what-and-who-is-god/

Where Does Love Come From?

Throughout history, people have often asked: Why is there so much pain and suffering?  If God is love, if God is all powerful, why does he allow so much pain and suffering?

I have been one of those people, and I have also asked: Why do some people experience a lot of pain and suffering and other people only little?

I couldn't make sense of it all and so, for the most part, I ignored the issue.

When I was coming out of the days of my deepest doubt.  When I no longer denied the existence of God but still questioned the nature of his character, a profound question emerged and burned into my consciousness:

Where does love come from?

Has that question ever occurred to you?  I have never heard anyone ask it before.

The Bible says that "God is love" (1 John 4:8).  Love, therefore, must come from God.  That's one explanation.  That is one supporting point for the existence of a God of love, for love has to come from somewhere.  How else can we explain the source of love?

Why?

Why do bad things happen?  Why is there so much misery in the world?  Why do some people experience a lot of loss and sorrow in their lives and others not so much?  Why...?

These questions have weighed heavily on my mind over the last year.  I have been frustrated in being unable to find adequate answers to my questions.  I don't know why my brother died so suddenly at such a young age...  

There are a lot of things that I don't know, there are only a few things that I do.  I am sharing them here in the hopes that they may bring comfort to people who are suffering.

First, we all have the freedom of choice.

Second, no person is an island.  The choices that we make impact the lives of those around us.

Why doesn't God intervene?

Sometimes he does.  

• He opened the earth to swallow up Korah, Dathan and Abiram when they rebelled.

• He raised Dorcas from the dead so that she could continue her charitable work of clothing the poor.
  

• He healed captain Naaman, a heathen Syrian, of leprosy.
  

Sometime he doesn't.

• Lazarus died when Jesus could have healed him.
  

• John the Baptist was beheaded.
  

• Stephen was stoned to death.

What if God never intervened?  We would all be ignorant of God's character.  Not to mention that we would all be lost.

What if God always intervened and stopped bad things from happening?  We would all be ignorant of Satan's character and couldn't make an informed choice.

Why does God make the choices that He does?  We do not know.  We do not know the mind of God.  We cannot judge his choices. [This raises other questions around the purpose of prayer which will not be addressed at this time].

However, we do know that in heaven Lucifer challenged God.  The Bible says that there was war in heaven and Lucifer, now Satan, was thrown out with one third of the angels.

This war has continued on this earth.  It cost the life of Jesus.

In his life and death Jesus demonstrated that God was right.  His way was best - a kingdom of love, joy and peace which can only come through freedom of choice.

Satan doesn't want love.  He doesn't want choice.  He wants to rule by force.  He wants to take control.

God wants people to make informed decisions.  We can only make informed decisions when time and freedom have been given for the consequences of decisions to be played out.  Forced decisions made with insufficient information will be made from the motive of fear rather than love.  God wants us to choose Him from love, not fear.

Are these answers adequate for me?  I'm not sure.  Are they adequate for you?  I don't know.  At least this is a start. Perhaps this is where trust comes in.

Next time we will look at the interaction between Job and God when Job asked: "Why?"

Eventually, the war will be ended and the message will be proclaimed:

"Now God's home is with human beings!  He will live with them, and they shall be his people.  God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away all tears from their eyes.  There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain.  The old things have disappeared." 

Revelation 21:3-4 GNT

ETA: You can share your remarks (comments) via Facebook or Instagram.  I would love to hear from you.

Characteristics of the Righteous

At the beginning of this year I was moving to a new town in New South Wales. In preparation for this, I decided to visit the local Seventh-day Adventist church. I arrived early but since no-one else was there yet, I spent a few minutes reading in my car. Unfortunately the content of the book was upsetting. Also, I got some dark looks from people when they saw my number plate (I still had Victorian registration plates on my car at that stage and Victoria had had a lot of trouble with COVID-19 infection control). As a result I needed to calm down before I could go in to the church and ended up walking in late. I slipped into a pew near the back. No-one greeted me, no-one smiled at me, no-one even acknowledged my presence. As I sat there I came ever closer to bursting into tears. Tears of anger and frustration. The comments of the leader contributed to my distressed state. Suddenly I got up and walked out. No-one followed me, no-one looked at me. I never went back. A few weeks later I received a leaflet in my letter box about Bible studies. What a joke. The impression that church had left on me was far from favourable. There was no way I was going back there, let alone study the Bible with someone from there. That was the coldest church that I ever experienced.

That experience along with similar experiences has caused me to think about Adventists. In general, Adventists pride themselves with having "the truth", with "keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus", with "keeping the Sabbath" and with "looking forward to Jesus' second coming" among other things. They think they are doing the right thing and yet they lack love.

When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the righteous people on his right and the others on his left. Then the King will say to the people on his right, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.'

The righteous will then answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.'

Then they will answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and would not help you? The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.' These then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46 GNT. 

God's people, the righteous, the ones who receive the reward of eternal life, are those who cared for the people who were in need.  How does this fit in with the verse often quoted by Adventists from Revelation about God's people?

This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus. Revelation 14:12 GNT. 

Adventists often apply these characteristics to themselves because they "keep ALL of God's commandments" including the seventh day as the Sabbath. However, what does it mean to obey God's commandments? What are God's commandments? This question has been answered by Jesus himself.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together, and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question. "Teacher," he asked, "which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself.' The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40 GNT.

So, to obey the commandments of God means to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbour as yourself and you demonstrate this love by the way you treat other people.  Truth without love is not truth.

Now I don't want to leave you with the impression that all "Christians" or all "Adventists" are unkind and unloving.  I have encountered some who have shown genuine love and care towards those who were in need.  I have been a recipient of some of that love and care myself.  I have also encountered people outside of the church who have demonstrated a lot of love and care towards me and my family when we were in need.  God doesn't need us to judge each other.  He needs us to be His hands on this earth to show love and care to all around us.  

Help to carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 GNT. 

AS Yourself

 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

- Galatians 5:14 ESV

Over the last few days I have been thinking of this commandment and I have particularly noticed the significance of one small word: as.  You shall love your neighbor AS yourself.  Not more than yourself.  Not less than yourself.  As yourself.  As much as yourself.

What does this mean?

The finer details are different for each person, but in general we can say that it means taking the time to look after your needs as well as the needs of others.  I will share an example.

We may be so focussed on helping others that we may neglect to take the time to care for our own health.  We may say "yes" to many good things and crowd our lives with busyness.  We may be busy with work (and view it as a mission field) and busy in the church and busy at home.  It is good to serve in all these places, but we need balance.  We can't say yes to everything.  We are only capable of so much.  There is only so many hours in the day.  Sometimes we have to say "no".  Sometimes we have to stop.  Sometimes we serve others at the neglect of ourselves.  In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes: 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

Everything needs to be done to the glory of God.  We need to take care of all aspects of our health so that we are able to be in the best possible condition to serve God and others.  Earlier in the same letter, Paul wrote:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 

- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

If our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, shouldn't we do everything that we can to keep it in excellent condition?

When we neglect to care for our own health in order to have more time to serve others we are breaking the commandment.  We are not loving others as ourselves, we are loving others more than ourselves and we are eventually going to wear ourselves out.

Usually when we think of this commandment, we think that breaking it involves us being selfish and loving ourselves more than others, but the opposite is equally bad.  God wants us to live balanced and healthy lifestyles that will bring glory to Him and be a blessing to others.  His instructions is simply this: Love your neighbor AS yourself.