Forgiveness 3

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Don Merritt

The Greatest Commandment and Our Response to it

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:9-12

What an amazing story this is on so many levels; that God loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us. I wonder how often any of us slow down enough to just let that sink in. We weren’t deserving, we hadn’t earned His favor; far from it: We were living in open rebellion against God, and yet He loved us that much.

That wasn’t the end of the story, not by a long shot. Through His great love for us, He forgave our sins, setting them aside entirely and entered into an intimate relationship with us. The real question here is how we should respond to his love.  For those of us who really grasp the significance of what He has done for us, it is only natural that we would develop a deep love for God, yet even that isn’t the end of the story.  We “ought to love one another” is John’s conclusion. Still, there is more at work than we might think at first: when we love one another, God is living in us, and in our love for one another, God’s love is made complete.

How is this so? It really isn’t very complicated, for God loves us and in response we love Him back. God also loves our brother and sister, and when we do the same for His sake, His love dwells within each of us and throughout the entire Body of believers, completing to cycle of His great love.

John states this about as clearly as it can be stated in 1 John 4:19: “We love because he first loved us.” Paul puts it slightly differently: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

That our love for God comes from His love for us would seem to be an established fact in Scripture. Thus, it is the greatest of all the commandments: Love God.

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Paul Advises Forgiveness

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Don Merritt

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Recently I received a call from a good friend who was having some problems with his pastor. He was seeking some advice on what he should do about certain things that the pastor had said, probably in jest, that my friend had found quite hurtful personally. While I am acquainted with both parties, I really had no more insight into the situation than what I was being told, which sounded pretty bad. Of course, you know how it is, this was only one side of the conversation that I was not a witness to, and often, when you hear the other side, you might have a different impression. My friend was asking what I thought he should do, and there was really only one bit of advice I could offer so I said something like, “Ask yourself how many times our Lord said we should forgive our brother, and I think you’ll know what to do.”

He laughed, and said “Well, I guess about as many times as it takes.”

Essentially, that’s what Paul is saying in these verses about the person who created all of the trouble in Corinth. As I am typing this I recall what President Lincoln told General Grant a few days before General Lee surrendered his army, effectively ending the American Civil War: “Let ‘em up easy General.” It was an amazing thing to say in a time when the entire North was demanding vengeance and retribution for four terrible years of war, especially coming from the man who felt deeply responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers and their families.

“Let ‘em up easy, General.”

Paul could certainly have wanted to get even for the pain this guy had caused, and in a way, he’d be justified. Yet, what would have been the point of inflicting more pain?

Jesus taught that we should forgive one another and pray for our enemies. While this isn’t always easy to do, Paul gave us a great example of doing just that in these verses, an example we should take careful note of, don’t you think?

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Photo of the Week: April 18, 2018

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Don Merritt

US Army Captain, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863… or pehaps this would be more convincing:

Either way, this was GEttysburg, PA…

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Forgiveness 2

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Don Merritt

God loves us in spite of everything

In spite of everything that had happened between humanity and God, God continues to love us.  He loves us in good times and in bad, even when we are having all kinds of problems, God still loves us, for His love cannot be shaken.

No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. John 16:27

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

God didn’t just sit back and pine for us, He didn’t just bemoan the fact that we rebelled− He did something about it. God sent His Son to redeem Mankind, in spite of everything that had happened.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  1 John 3:16

 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:9-10

Isn’t this interesting? God loved us, and then He made a loving response to the situation that separated Him from us, He took extreme steps to forgive us.  Yes indeed, there is a strong relationship between love and forgiveness!

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Accusations, Integrity and Travel Plans

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Don Merritt

2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1:12-14)

Paul begins the main body of the letter with these words beginning a section about his integrity in dealing with the Corinthian church. Apparently, someone has convinced a number of the members that Paul has not been honest in his dealings with them. Of course, in our time we should be familiar with this kind of tactic since we see it not only in churches, but in public life as well. Thus, in these verses, Paul is beginning his defense, almost as though he were in court.

Paul is telling them that he had been confident that his relationship with them had been one of mutual trust and respect, and he looked forward to being able to teach in their midst so that he  could expand upon the things he had written to them previously so that their understanding of the points he had made would be complete, but as we see in the text that follows, something happened…

Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? (1:15-17)

Paul had made plans to leave Ephesus and stop off in Corinth on his way to Macedonia, and then to stop off in Corinth on his way back for another and final visit before returning to Jerusalem. Apparently, he cancelled his second stop, and is being criticized for doing so by those in Corinth who opposed him. His point here is that he did not deliberately promise 2 visits and then drop one of them.

In the next paragraph, 1:18-22, he tells them that he doesn’t do things the way this world does, but rather as Jesus did. Jesus didn’t just change His mind over nothing but was always firm in His resolve to serve the gospel. Then, Paul tells them…

I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. (1:23-24)

It seems that Paul cancelled the second visit to spare them, so as not to challenge their faith… but to spare them what?

So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. (2:1-4)

This isn’t a great deal to go on, but here’s my best guess: Paul’s last visit to Corinth didn’t go well− it was a disaster brought about by those who opposed him. There was conflict, not joy. Paul moved on his way, and then in “anguish” wrote another letter that we do not have today. Things were said, things were written… Paul cancelled the trip so as not to bring it all up again. His opponents, on the other hand, jumped at the cancellation and used it once again to accuse him, and this is his explanation of his actions.

It is interesting that Paul writes about forgiveness in the next section.

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Forgiveness 1

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Don Merritt

God Loved Us

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1

You might wonder what love has to do with forgiveness, if so don’t feel bad, it’s a common question.  What you will discover as this study moves forward however is that love has everything to do with forgiveness, and forgiveness has everything to do with love.  The truth is that we really can’t separate one from the other.

In the Bible, the story of forgiveness and the story of love go hand-in-hand.  Why did God send Jesus to die for forgiveness of sins? Because He so loved the world! (John 3:16) Think about your own life, don’t you find it easier to forgive your loved ones than you do a complete stranger… or someone you really don’t like very much? I think you would agree that this is the case. Yes, maybe love has quite a lot to do with forgiveness after all.

In the verse above, John is telling us that God has so much love for all of us that He considers us His own children; that’s a lot of love. Look at the next sentence. It isn’t just that God “considers” us to be like His own children, in Christ we really are His own children because we have been born again of His Spirit; yes, His love for us is very great indeed.

Having been reborn of God, those of this world can’t always figure us out.  Some might think we are just crazy people always talking about loving others, following Jesus and forgiving people who have hurt us, and by the standards of this world we probably really are crazy.  But for us, having been reborn into God’s household, these kinds of things become second nature as we grow in our faith.

The whole reason for this study of forgiveness is to foster growth in each of us. It is a journey of sorts, more than just the accumulation of knowledge. It is a journey of discovery and understanding, a journey of insight, faith and freedom. When we reach the end of this journey, we might even discover that forgiveness is not merely a teaching, a doctrine or a moral value, for it is a release of things that bind us, hold us back and weigh us down.  In fact, I think we will discover that forgiving others will release us from bondage to our pasts that has held us back far more than we ever suspected.

God loved us first

From the very beginning, God loved Mankind. He created a beautiful environment for us, He breathed His own life into us and He gave us dominion over the earth.  Yet as we know, something happened; Adam and Eve rebelled against God and from that point forward they were at odds with Him.  In the fullness of time, God sent His Son Jesus to repair that relationship that had been so badly damaged by rebellion in the Garden.  God’s love was so great; He was willing for His only Son to die for the redemption of humanity.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John 13:1

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

With this sampling of verses it becomes clear that God loved us first, before humanity had any cause to love God.

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2 Corinthians Begins

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Don Merritt

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Whatever contextual confusion there may be in this letter, it begins with the typical opening of a first century letter written in the Greek style. Paul identifies himself as the author, along with Timothy, and addresses the contents to the church at Corinth. He continues into the second part of the greeting with a thanksgiving for the recipients as he does in all of his New Testament letters, with the exception of the one he wrote to the Galatians.

This is where the similarities with the others begins to end.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (1:3-7)

Do you see what is different here? Paul wins the prize for most uses of the word “comfort” in a single paragraph, six times as a noun and four times as a verb in this one paragraph. I might as well tell you now, he uses it five times more as a noun, and twelve times more as a verb in this letter: Clearly, “comfort” will be a big issue in 2 Corinthians.

I think it’s safe for us to assume right off the bat that Paul has gone through some troubles recently, and so have the Corinthians, and although things have been rough, God has provided them with the comfort they needed through trials. As Paul continues in the next paragraph, he makes reference to something more specific:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. (1:8)

Clearly something has happened, but what? Just as clearly, the Corinthians knew all about it, and since they were familiar with the subject, Paul did not need to spell it out, leaving us in the dark. Naturally there are theories about this, but in the end, we cannot know precisely what Paul is talking about, and maybe that’s for our benefit, for what is really important, the aspect of this that is enduring for all ages, is that even though Paul has gone through a time that caused to him to despair, God provided for his needs spiritually, and Paul came out the other side of his troubles stronger in faith than before, and since “comfort” seems to be the word of the day, we can surely take comfort reading this.

All of us endure trials in this life, trials that seem so big, sometimes they may seem bigger than can be endured; hopeless even. Yet our God, the God of all comfort will see us through.

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (1:9-11)

It seems to me that this is the greatest lesson Paul learned in his trials: But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (9b) We want to rely on ourselves, it is normal, it is natural to want to rely upon ourselves. Yet, self-reliance, even though it is often a very good thing, can also be a danger. After the resurrection of Jesus, many came to accept the gospel, yet many more preferred to rely on their own strength to keep the Law which ultimately brought about their destruction. Our faith in God is our hope, our strength. Some might see this as weakness, but in our weakness God is strong, and it would certainly appear that Paul is giving testimony to this great fact so that we will take it to heart.

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TLP Living: 4/16/18

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Don Merritt

Working for the Railroad

Happy Monday to you from the Heartland of America. I thought I’d share a little story with you today about two best friends…

Jack and Tom were best friends all through school. They played ball together, had adventures together… they were inseparable. When the day came for their graduation from high school, they both went to the railroad office near the place where they lived and filled out job applications. A few days later they were both interviewed and hired, and the following Monday they reported together for their first day of work.

Yes, Jack and Tom were the best of friends.

As time went by, both of the boys married their high school sweethearts and began families, and for some time they remained close friends. One day however, Tom was promoted to a new job in another town, and they saw less and less of each other after that. You know how it is, children come along, family is top priority, but it has to be balanced with your job and other responsibilities, and your youthful friends go their own ways, and before you know it, you’ve pretty much lost track of them. So it was with Jack and Tom.

Jack and Tom had been working for about 35 years when they met once again. Jack was a section boss near his home town. A section boss is an important man, responsible for the safe upkeep and operation of a section of the road. One day, he received notice that the new president of the railroad was coming by to inspect Jack’s section. When the day for the inspection came, a big black limo pulled up at the section house, and the new president got out of the car.

“How have you been Jack?” Tom asked, holding out his hand.

“Pretty fair sir” was Jack’s reply as he shook hands with his old best friend.

They went through the normal process of the inspection without a great deal of conversation. Tom asked a couple of questions, Jack gave a couple of answers and the time came for Tom to be on his way. Just as he was about to get into the car, Jack said, “Hey Tom, can I ask you something?” It was the first time that day that he hadn’t called Tom ‘sir’.

“Sure Jack, what is it?”

“Well, we grew up in the same town together, we were best friends; we even started our jobs together. How on earth did you go all the way up to president of the whole railroad, and I only made it to section boss?”

With the slightest hint of a smile, Tom said, “Jack, when you started here right after we graduated, didn’t you go to work for the paycheck?”

“Well sure I did; I needed a job just like you, Tom.”

“Yeah Jack, I needed a job all right, but you went to work for a paycheck; I went to work for the railroad. It was great to see you again Jack, please give my love to Helen and the kids,” and with that Tom shook Jack’s hand and got into his limo and drove away.

A great many people work for a paycheck, but only a few work for their Company, as any successful business person can attest. As I write this, I wonder if the same phenomenon happens when we accept God’s grace through faith in Christ. Can it be that some people accept God’s grace for salvation and forgiveness of their sins, while others do so to follow Jesus Christ?

I can’t say that I know the answer, but I’ve always wondered about it. Any thoughts?

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TLP Inspiration: 4/16/18

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Don Merritt

Harmony and Love

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

1Peter 3:8

A person who is always right carries a great burden with them; even more so if they know everything. Do you know anybody like that  no matter how wrong they might be they are always right? Even when they don’t know something, they have an opinion and you’d better agree; I don’t know about you, but folks like that just wear me out!

Harmony, compassion, sympathy, humility; these may not always come naturally, but they are empowering. These attributes will set you free from always having to know everything, of always having to be right, not to mention the arguments that follow.

The older I get, the more I come to realize that having the approval others in everything that comes up is really not that important. What does matter is whether or not I am a person who enables others to find the way of love, to build relationships of respect and trust, relationships that build the Body of Christ. Indeed, what really matters comes down to one simple question: When I encounter other people, can they see the love of Christ at work in me?

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Sunday Sermon Notes: April 15, 2018

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Don Merritt

Title: Your Spiritual Gift is the Gift of the Spirit

Text: Acts 2:38-39

Reader’s Note: This series is based upon my workbook “Your Spiritual Gifts Revealed” which is available for free download at my website.

Introduction

  1. The first and last commands of Christ: Follow Me and Make Disciples
  2. Why you should care about spiritual gifts.

So there you have it; you should care about spiritual gifts because an understanding of what they are and which ones you have will tell you a great deal about God’s plans for your life as a follower of Jesus Christ! Gone is resentment about why I do this and he gets to do that, and the baggage centering around holy obligation, duty and transactional love, for there is simply no greater joy in this life than to exercise our spiritual gifts to advance the building of the Body of Christ.

Body

  1. . All Christians have a spiritual gift.

          Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

1Peter 4:10

Note that Peter uses the word “each” so that includes everyone.  It’s very important that we recognize that the spiritual gift that all Christians receive is that of the Holy Spirit Himself. What we commonly refer to as “spiritual gifts” are actually the ways in which the Holy Spirit is made manifest within each of us. The most important question is this: Are we using our gift in ministry?

  1. Here’s how we know that for sure:

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 2:38-39

Conclusion

God gave us spiritual gifts to glorify Himself

God has given us gifts so that we might exalt His name, that we might do things that will glorify Him.

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:11

It is way too easy for us to get caught up in being busy or to build something up and forget that our purpose is to give glory to God.  When this happens, we sometimes get the idea that our ministry is ours and not His. The result is that we often come to resent anyone else becoming involved in it, and this is not how we make disciples, for making disciples always leads us to teach others to take our place!

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