Tag: image

The Greatest Love

What is the greatest love? It is Jesus’ death on the cross and his willingness to give up his life so that we might live more abundantly. He didn’t want us to go on in the same life we’d been living.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. -Jesus John 13:34

Ephesians 5:25-33 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

If we follow his humble example… let’s think of how that scenario plays out. If we are to live like he lived and love like he loved, that’s a tall order! Think how he didn’t condemn sinners – (the woman at the well, the woman the people wanted to stone, and others) but he didn’t party with them or hang out, he was working, living set apart*, he was there to deliver, to minister, not to participate, much like a physician administers a cure, Jesus did the same.  He had the cure, the purest love, with no conditions, except that the person turn from sin. Even when they don’t, he still loves them and is there for them/us when they/we do. Yet he does condemn sin. Jesus doesn’t look down on the ‘scourge’ of the earth, as some might call the unfortunate or the lowliest people, he forgave their sins, and he healed them. He looked beyond their frailties and saw their potential. He looks beyond our faults and sees us as he created us, in his perfect image.

His image covers our faults, our sins, our shortcomings, our inabilities to do things the way others want, our inability to love deeply or to show love freely to others. He sees himself instead of us, because he sees us covered by his blood, not the way we look without his transformative power. That’s what his blood will do, it will wash away all our impurities. It’s good for us to remember that his blood washes our lives clean and makes us look as pure as he is. He loves all of us – the church. Have you thought of how unkempt the church is? Have you looked around and seen the mess many are in and how needy? They were during Jesus’ time also, just different people and different circumstances. So don’t think he has given us an impossible task, because with God all things are possible. He wouldn’t give us anything he couldn’t do. But in our human selves, apart from God, most of us fall short, and we must go back to his reminder, to love each other as he has loved us, with his greatest love. We must Allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, our words, and our actions towards others, then we may also show the greatest love. But it is only by submitting weekly, daily, and hourly to the Holy Spirt and let him be in in control of our thoughts and attitude to share the greatest life and love.

 

*set apart: He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. – Hebrews 7:26

A Beautiful Soul

Have you ever had a friend whom you didn’t think was particularly attractive in the worldly sense, but you were drawn to them in some way? Or have your friends chosen mates you didn’t find attractive? Perhaps you’ve had friends who were more popular than you, yet you felt you were more intelligent or attractive, or both. Maybe, we are looking at others with the wrong eyes, and not with God vision. And maybe our friends and acquaintances who are attracted to these others, are seeing beyond what we see. I have noticed some people have a glow about them, they emanate a joy or a confidence that others don’t. I hope that I do. It’s knowing that God has you. It’s knowing that no matter what, we have a place to turn. We have hope. I think this glow, is the light of our redeemed soul.

Have you ever thought how easy it was for Jesus to slip away in the crowd when he needed to? There were times he needed to be alone and when his time hadn’t come. He easily slipped through crowds, unnoticed. Would you know Jesus if you saw him? I hope I would, but would I? I believe if I was allowing The Holy Spirit to control my vision I would. There is a verse in Isaiah that was describing how the Messiah – Jesus would look.

Isaiah 53:2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

So if Jesus could just blend into his surroundings, he had no majestic countenance or beauty about his appearance, what made him draw so many to him? He had a beautiful soul and he loved us all! What is it that makes others beautiful to us? Is it their outward appearance or their soul? Because even the harshest soul can be transformed through the love of Jesus. So the next time we think someone is unattractive, I challenge you and myself to look beyond their outward appearance and look to their beautiful soul or the possibility of a transformed one! Everyone has a beautiful soul, it just needs to be redeemed. In that light, everyone is beautiful. 

 

 

Women in ministry

I received much of this teaching from Jonathan Welton, who I trust and agree with. I hope I have explained it as well as he did.

1 Corinthians 11:5 NLT “But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or PROPHESIES without a COVERING on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head.” (My emphases.)

1 Corinthians 14:34 “Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.”

Don’t those verses sound like a contradiction? It’s okay for women to prophesy in the first verse, but that she can’t speak in church in the second verse? That’s because they’re not instructional verses, they’re quotations of a letter written to Paul.

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The book of 1st Corinthians is a response to a letter the Corinthians wrote to Paul. In 7:1 it says, “Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter…” and then, he’s answering their letter, which pertains to their culture in the first century. He writes, alternating between quotes and instruction. Unfortunately, most English translations have lost the indication of when he is quoting; which leads to misinterpretation. In the Greek, there are 42 quotes that are bracketed in the 2 books of Corinth, by a grave accent, that are Not in quotations or brackets in the English translations.

In the Greek, it indicates that what he is about to say is a quote from their letter, not his instructions. In 11:5 he mentions covering their heads; which was to set themselves apart from the temple prostitutes. The prostitutes would wear heavy makeup, jewelry, and adorn their hair in braids and jewelry. The prostitutes prophesied falsely and mixed in sexuality with witchcraft. So in that culture, the women put a covering over their heads to keep down the confusion. Chapter 12 talks about the spiritual gifts and 13 is the love chapter. In Chapter 14 he instructs until he gets to verse 34 and in the Greek there is a strong quotation before 34 and after 35 indicating that what he is saying in 34 & 35 is a quotation from the Corinth letter. If you read from vs 33 & skip to vs 36, it says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people… Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.” So he is rebuking them for thinking they know the only way to conduct the church and service and restricting women to speak.

Now read Romans 16, also written by Paul, where he praises his co-workers. The word of God does not contradict itself. Please understand what I’m sharing and take it to heart, with an open spirit. Don’t let religiosity get in the way of realization. Some of Jesus’ most ardent followers were women. Some of the ministers in his time were women, why would it be different today and why would he say he makes no difference between men and women as there is also no division in race? Jesus’ death, burial, & resurrection took us back to God’s original purpose which was to be equal as man and woman.

Genesis 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Galatians 3:26-28 NLT
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.