Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. Amen.
 © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. Reprinted with permission.

Worry Not

 

 

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:25-33

 

 This passage from the Sermon on the Mount has a lot in it, but the main idea is being anxious, or worry. To be anxious means to be uneasy or uncertain from fear of danger, or greatly worried. The first thing to notice is how God cares for all of creation. He takes time to feed the birds and He causes the flowers to bloom. Think about this: if God cares enough for ravens to make sure they are fed, how much more does He care for the only creature made in his likeness?

 

When we seek God first above all else, we will have or be given all that we NEED. When Jesus says all these things, He is referring to food, water, and clothing; basic necessities. Never does He mention riches or a lavish lifestyle or health, in fact in the same sermon this is what He says:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14

Again, He never promised an easy life for those who follow Him, it's a narrow road, but He does promise to meet our needs. Our greatest need was taken care of on the cross when  Christ died and rose again to forgive our sins, and to give us life. Life is more than just food and physical needs, and our greatest need can only be found or fulfilled in Christ. He offers a deep, intimate, and eternal relationship that only He can give us. When we place our faith in Him, we trust in His provision as well, and we will not have to fret about our needs.

 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

 

 

No Greater Love

What does love mean or look like? How do you explain love? The world sees love as some ethereal, mysterious feeling that is felt. Worldly love is very selfish and extremely dependent on circumstances. Worldly love is all about what's in it for me? Worldly love just takes from others. The world pictures love in a strictly romantic, or even in a more pleasurable or erotic sense. In this case, love just becomes some new drug to be taken,  always looking for the next high. Of course, I am referring to sex here, and when love is just some feeling that is meant to be experienced, and is equated to sex, problems will arise. While sex is not bad, like anything else in this world, it all too easily is corrupted. First of all, sex is a very precious and intimate thing, not meant to be abused, and not meant for just anybody. Just like marriage, sex should only be between a man and a woman, and only married couples should have sex. While sex is very intimate, the main purpose usually is procreation. Neglecting these facts has many consequences, the biggest being unwanted pregnancy, and in this culture of no responsibility, and of making problems go away, along with the moral decay of society, and no wonder so many abortions are happening in this country. I really wanted to talk about true love. TRUE love. Real love. Sacrificing love. This is what love looks like to the Christian:
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

For the Christian, love is not a vague, ethereal concept or some feeling. Love is very tangible, and can be seen in actions. Not just any ordinary action, but with sacrifice. Sacrificial love is the truest love possible.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

As a verb, sacrifice means to make an offering of, or surrender or give up, or permit injury, for the sake of something else, and I would add, without expecting anything in return.
More than this, though, love is a Person. God is love and love is God and comes from God..In fact, we are only capable of love through Him, because of our fallen and sinful nature.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins….We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:7-10,18

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This is the greatest love: that God sacrificed everything in the case of sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, so that we could get everything, namely eternal life. This is really good news, because when we were unable to love Him, or give Him anything, and even though we did not  deserve anything but God’s wrath, He gave and loved us. So no matter how broken, or unworthy, or helpless, or sinful you are, He did it all for you. It is finished. Just turn from your sin and place your faith in Christ and what he did.