FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

For the love of God. Where is the love of God in the world today? Is love reserved only for our family members? Should we only love those who we agree with or only people who look like us, or act like us? Should we only love those who commit sins we can relate to? Is a certain sin worse than another just because we have never committed that one before? 

We all need to ask ourselves these questions, and ask Jesus to change our hearts of stone into hearts that overflow with love for every person on the planet; No matter what religion they practice, no matter their social status, no matter the color of their skin, no matter how they may treat us, and no matter what degree of sinner they may be. 

We don’t have to agree on everything to love each other. We don’t have to look alike to love each other. God made us all, and God loves us ALL, and he commands us to love each other. Look what Jesus said in the book of John.

John 15:12
12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.

He also said we are to love our enemies. 

Luke 6:27
27 But I say unto you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,... 

Brother Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Love is the only thing that can turn an enemy into a friend.” How can love do that? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 answers that question.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love is patient, and is kind; love is not jealous; love does not boast, is not prideful, 
5 Love does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; 
6 Love does not rejoice in sin, but rejoices in the truth; 
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 
8 Love never fails:

That’s a beautiful truth. “Love never fails.” Love is the answer. It always has been, and it always will be, but a love that “covers a multitude of sins” is hard for humans to grasp (1 Peter 4:8). In the same way that disagreement doesn’t equal hate, loving everybody doesn’t mean you have to agree on everything. That’s where people are confused. True love is balanced, and it can only exist in our hearts if the God of Love puts it there. 

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UNDERSTANDING BIBLE TRUTH

I’ve been reading the Bible since I was very young. I’ve known it was God’s book for a long time, but I didn’t really understand exactly what that meant. When I got older and learned how to properly study the Bible, it came alive to me. I realized that what I once thought was a big book of collected stories from many different writers, is actually one big book containing one story about God and his people, and although the words were written down by over forty different men, it all came from one source, God himself.

It’s not only a history book, but a book of promises for us, now, and for the future. It’s an instruction book on how God wants us to live and treat each other. As anyone can see, many who don’t follow God’s instructions, contained in the Bible, do whatever they want, violate every command given by God, and cause countless innocents to suffer.

What’s even worse, there are many who claim to follow biblical teaching, but often have the same mindset as those who don’t. Part of the problem is the interpretation, or should I say, the “misinterpretation” of scripture. This leads to all kinds of problems; from simple disagreements, to split congregations, new denominations, split families, and even total rebellion against God.

Everyone thinks their interpretation is right, and that’s understandable, but most will not even consider the possibility they might be wrong, even when shown from the holy word of God. Almost every denomination believes it’s the only one who has the truth.

In giving Bible studies, I’ve studied with and talked to many people over the years. I’ve studied different denominations and what they believe, and I’ve arrived at one conclusion. No denomination that I know of has all the truth. Most of them have some true doctrines, and some have mostly true doctrines, but they all teach something that is contrary to the Bible. It seems the Truth is scattered throughout the earth.

Before I go any further, let me say that I’m not a Bible scholar, and I don’t know everything there is to know. I’m not claiming to be perfect, nor to have divine wisdom. I’m a sinful wretch saved only by the grace of God. I have believed strongly in certain Bible teachings only to discover I was wrong, and as I continue learning, I expect to find more things in God’s word that I didn’t know or maybe even misunderstood. I’m not claiming to be smarter than anyone else, but when the Bible clearly teaches something, and a church or an individual is doing and saying something totally opposite, it doesn’t take a scholar to see the contradictions.

So what should we do, stop going to church? No. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day didn’t have everything right either, but that didn’t stop him from going. Sometimes it may be serious enough that we have to move to a different congregation or even change denominations, but we have to realize that God’s true Church is not a certain building, or denomination anyway.

The true church is made up of believers all over the world who have been born again; Those who follow God wherever he leads, and obey his Commandments (Luke 17:21). They pray and study his word every day. That’s the key. Bible Study; Not just reading, but studying; Treating the entire Bible as one book, comparing scripture with scripture (Isaiah 28:10), and being willing to change our minds when we see we are wrong. That’s called growing.

There’s only one Truth, and it’s there in God’s word for all of us to see. There are so many denominations today because there are so many different interpretations of God’s word. Too often, people will develop their own views, and when they come to the Bible, they look for evidence to support their beliefs. This is the wrong way to study the Bible.

Another mistake we make when studying God’s word is one that we often ignore because we don’t really think about it. When we read something, we understand it based on how we think and what we’ve learned. Even our understanding of word definitions color our thought process.

When reading the Bible, there are several things we need in order to understand it properly. One is a desire to know the truth. The other is an understanding that there are words and phrases in the Bible that meant something different when they were written than what they mean now. A good Bible Concordance will help with this. I also recommend the Free computer program called e-Sword, which has a Concordance, and a ton of other helpful Bible Study tools, including many free versions of the Bible. There’s also an app for iPhones and Androids which does cost a few dollars, but it’s worth every penny.

The Bible usually interprets itself, and the King James Version has a built-in dictionary. The more you study, the better you understand. We should always come to the Bible as little children, with humble, teachable spirits, and again, we must be willing to change our beliefs when they are different from God’s Truth. We should always pray and ask God to guide us in our understanding of scripture. Who better to help us understand the word of God than the One who inspired the men who wrote it (2 Peter 1:21).

When we do this we’ll see the Truth more clearly. The Bible will become to us the book that God intended it to be from the beginning, and we’ll join the ranks of those who make up the true church scattered throughout the entire world; The ones who know the Truth, and have been made free by it.

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© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
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WORSHIPING GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

Another subject of controversy is the ability of humans, as individuals or organizations, to worship God any way we want. It seems every denomination has a different idea of how to worship God. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Does it really matter? Does God have any guidelines, or can we worship him however we choose?

In Matthew 15:9 Jesus said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

So, if we can worship God in vain, it DOES matter how we worship him.

In John 4:24, Jesus says, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We’ll come back to worshiping in spirit, but first, let’s focus on the second part of the verse; Truth. What is truth? Pilot asked Jesus that question, but apparently, he didn’t wait for Jesus to answer him. In John 17:17, Jesus, talking to God, said, sanctify them through Your truth: Your Word is Truth.

We must follow the instructions in God’s word, the Bible, in order to worship God In truth.

Revelation 20:12 says, The books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

What books do you think will be opened? Well, there is a Book Of Remembrance mentioned in the book of Malachi. The Bible doesn’t explain much about it but, I’m sure it’s one of the books opened for the judgment, along with the Book Of Life. What other book could we possibly be judged from?

In Psalm 40:7 the Lord said, Lo, I come: In the volume of a book it is written of me.

In John 17:17 Jesus said, Sanctify them through your word…

In John 12:48 Jesus said, Those who reject me and do not receive my words, have one that judges them: the word that I have spoken will judge them in the last day.

Another book we’ll be judged by is the Bible; The Word of God. So we need to follow the instructions in God’s book.

Revelation 22:7 says, Blessed is he who keeps the sayings of this prophecy of this book.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul said, You have received from us how you should walk and to please God.

Revelation 22:14 says, Blessed are they who do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The instructions provided and preserved for us by God in the Bible are very important since we will be judged by them. There is a certain way to worship God, and according to Jesus himself, if we don’t worship according to these guidelines, our worship is in vain.; Useless, and worthless.

Remember what Jesus said, in Matthew 15:9. He said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

Notice that these were people who were worshiping God, but, they were following the commandments of men for doctrines. They were worshiping him in vain. The same thing is happening today. People are teaching doctrines, they cannot show scripture for.

In Matthew 15:6, Jesus said, to the Scribes and Pharisees, You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your traditions.

Traditions must be laid aside when there is no support for them in the Bible. We can’t worship God a certain way simply because we were raised in that manner if the Bible says otherwise.

In Genesis 2:15-17, God told Adam he was not to eat from the Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil. Satan entered the picture with lies and deception, and the couple disobeyed God. What did God do then?

Genesis 3:24 says He drove them out of Eden, and put angels there to keep them out forever. We can learn an important lesson from this account. If we don’t obey God and do according to his word, he can not let us into heaven, and just as all the wicked people on earth were destroyed by water in the time of Noah, the disobedient will be destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of this world. We must live our lives according to God’s Word, not the traditions of mankind.

Exodus 20:17, as well as chapters 25 and 28, show how particular God is. When he told Noah to build the ark in Genesis chapter 6, he didn’t just say build a boat. He didn’t say, build it however you want. No, God told Noah exactly how to build it, what kind of wood to use, where to put the door and the window, and he even told him the exact measurements to make everything. If Noah had decided to change anything and build it differently, the ark would not have saved them. Genesis 7:5 says, Noah did according to ALL that the Lord commanded him. So he and his family were saved. God tells us how we are to worship him, in his word, which he declares to be the Truth.

Now to the spiritual part. In our original scripture, John 4:24, Jesus said, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

He was talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He told her that the time was coming when people would no longer have to go to a certain place to worship God. What did he mean? Look at what he told Nicodemus in John 3:3-6.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, Truly, I tell you, Unless a man is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I tell you, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

When we are born again the Holy Spirit comes to live in our minds to guide us in the path of righteousness. This is being born of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes to live in us we become the temple of God, and our worship becomes spiritual instead of physical.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you?

We don’t have to go to a temple to worship God today. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to atone for our sins. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. He died once, for us all (1 Peter 3:18).

To be born of water is to be baptized in water (Romans 6:4). Jesus, as our example, received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized (Mark 1:10, Acts 2:38). To receive the Holy Spirit, we must obey God.

Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commandments live in him, and he in them, and this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Obedience is essential to receiving and keeping the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11). Sacrifice is still part of worship today, though it is not animals we sacrifice.

Romans 12:1  So I urge you, brothers, through God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; which is your reasonable service.

So offering our bodies in service to God is part of worship. Praise is another.

Hebrews 13:15 So, through Jesus, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God; the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Psalm 29:2 Give to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcised, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Jesus Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Obedience, praise, and sacrifice are key parts of worshiping God in spirit and in truth, as a church, as a family, and in our everyday worship as individuals. There are other aspects as well; such as thanksgiving, prayer, giving, singing, etc. Bible reading and Bible study are also very important parts of worship (Luke 4:16). God’s word has all the answers. It’s where we always need to look for the truth. We need to READ and STUDY the Bible to see what God really wants from us. By searching through his instructions, we can see how he wants us to act, and what he wants us to do, and in this, we will learn to worship him in spirit and in truth.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
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BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US

When I was twelve years old we had a week of revival services at our church. The visiting preacher was Brother Gann. I listened to his sermons intently, night after night. As far back as I can remember, I always loved listening to preaching and hearing stories from the Bible. I knew about God, and I believed he existed. I read the Bible from time to time, but I didn’t really have a close relationship with God.

I went to church and to Sunday school, and I was in all the Christmas plays, but other than that, I didn’t really spend much time with God. I played outside with my sisters and went to school. I watched TV, listened to the radio, and my music collection, which was Country and Pop. That was basically my life at the time.

Close to the end of the week of meetings, Brother Gann took me into the Men’s bathroom and talked to me about salvation. He had me repeat a prayer, then asked if I felt like God had done anything for me. I was a very shy kid, and I was terrified of men, especially in a bathroom. I wanted to get out of there, and back to my grandmother, as fast as I could, so I told him what I thought he wanted to hear.

I didn’t feel like God had done anything for me or changed me in any way, but just to be done, and get out of there, I said, “I think so.” I was baptized, with several other people, that Sunday night, and became a member of that little church. As I stood there in the front of the church with my heart pounding, and my hair still wet, the congregation all came by to welcome the new members into the family, with hugs, and handshakes. But, nothing had really changed for me. I was no more saved than I had been a week earlier.

Four years later, I was further away from God than I had ever been. Oh, I still prayed, when I needed something, or when I was afraid, but, I had stopped reading the Bible, and I had stopped going to church. I was drinking, and doing drugs, and all the bad things that come with that lifestyle. I was still lost. I didn’t know Jesus at all. I knew myself, though. I knew I was lost. I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I hated myself for it. I hated who I was, and what I was. I was miserable inside. I hated everything about myself. I hated everything I did, and everything I thought. I tried to do good and be a good person, but no matter how hard I tried it wasn’t enough. I was still the same miserable person inside.

Then, when I was nineteen, I started going back to church, but not where I was baptized seven years earlier. I was ashamed to face those people because many of them knew what kind of life I had been living, and I was afraid of what they might say to me.

In my new church, I began to learn more about God, and what he expects from us. I wanted to do right. I was sick of my life, and I was sick of myself. I started reading the Bible again. I started studying and comparing scriptures. I started to understand God and his love. I knew myself well, and I knew I didn’t deserve anything good, but I began to see that God loved me anyway. Me! The vilest sinner alive. Wow! Realizing that was so amazing. There are no words to describe it. I got to thinking, if he loves me so much that he would come to earth, suffer, and die in my place because he wanted me to be part of his family, and be with him forever, I should accept him as Lord of my life, and serve him. So I did.

I began to understand why Christians love him so much. I began to see how they could still serve him even when things are not perfect. I saw why Peter, Paul, and the other early Christians, and the reformers were all willing to die rather than denounce Jesus and his truth.

The awesome love that our creator has for us is beyond words. Even though we’re such sinners, and we reject him time and time again, he still loves us. When we come to understand the love he has for us, it causes us to love him. When we truly realize how wretched we are, and how vile, and sinful we truly are in God’s sight, and then to see the depth of love that he has for us anyway, it’s amazing. That’s why I love him. That’s why I serve him. That’s why I want others to know him. John said, “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He’s such a great God, and he wants to be with us and spend time with us.

Many people have been baptized and joined a church, but they’re still living just like the world. They’re not really following Jesus. Why not? It’s because they don’t know him. When you truly know him you can’t help but love him. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments“ (John 14:15).

If we love him we will WANT to keep his commandments. People have to experience God’s love before they can love him. I want the world to know that God is real and that he loves them beyond all human understanding. I want people to love Jesus, and obey him, and keep his commandments. That’s the main difference between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t. They don’t love him, so naturally, they don’t want to obey him. They don’t want him telling them how to live their lives. They don’t realize that he only wants what’s best for us and that he wants us all to be happy. They don’t know that obeying God will bring true happiness. God loves us. God is love, and spending time with him, and getting to know him, puts love in our hearts for him, and for others, as well.

That’s how his followers can love people that others might not; Those who have committed horrible, sinful acts. Those that society has labeled as “worthless” or “a lost cause.” That’s how we can forgive someone who has committed terrible acts against us, or people we love.

It’s not just because we know how bad those people are, or what they have been through. It’s that we know how bad WE are, and God loves us anyway. I like to think of it as seeing them through God’s eyes. He loves them with that same unconditional love he has for us, and he wants to save them as much as he wants to save us. It’s not always easy, though. We’re still human. The ability to love, and forgive can only come from God.

If we’re honest with ourselves, about ourselves, we will not judge others. If we truly see how sinful we are, we’ll realize that another person’s sins are no worse than our own. They may commit sins we might never imagine doing, but sin is sin, in God’s eyes. It’s important to understand that we would still be out there living just like the world if it wasn’t for the grace of God. That same grace is available to everyone, no matter how bad you are. No matter what you’ve ever done, God is willing to forgive you and save you.

So, if you don’t know Jesus, get to know him. He IS real. If you don’t believe, ask him to show you. If you’re sincere, he’ll reveal himself to you. Don’t be afraid. He loves you so much that he died for you. You can trust him with your life.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6