Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 (NIV).

Jesus loves the church (believers who live as his people under His authority) unreservedly, radically, second to none – like a bridegroom loves his bride. In fact He loves the church so much He paid the ultimate price: “… He gave up his life for her” Ephesians 5:25 (NLT). And His love doesn’t end with what He’s done. There’s what He’s yet to do. When He returns, He’s coming back for the church. He’s coming back to present the church to Himself in splendour (cf. Ephesians 5:27).

So if Christ loves the church, gave up His life for her, and is coming back for her, shouldn’t we likewise love the church and give up our lives for her? Most definitely. But how do we do that? How do we cultivate and nurture love for the church? Here are some things we can do:

Be genuine. Romans 12:10 says, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other” (NLT). There are flaky people around who put on facades or hide behind masks. One of the most practical ways you can love the church is simply be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Don’t pretend or put on an act. Be authentic. Be whom God made you to be. Demonstrate real affection, show respect, encourage one another, and do everything for the fame of Christ’s name.

Extend grace. We all blow it. Unless we say, think or do nothing, at some point all of us will say, think or do something wrong. One of the things that saddens me is a person with an unforgiving spirit. For some people, sorry is never enough. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 says, “… May his grace and peace be yours” (NLT). God wants us to extend grace to others as He’s extended it to us. When we were cut off from God – He brought us near. When we were strangers – He made us His friends. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, with our backs to God and Hell in our sights, He did what no other could or would do – He reached out and saved us. He extends grace for no other reason than that we need it. Shouldn’t we do the same?

Rejoice. God’s Word simply and profoundly says, “Be joyful.” 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT). But what is joy, real joy? It’s kind of like a long-lasting buzz that God dispenses that’s tied to being part of what God is doing. And it’s knowing that in loving others as Jesus loves you, the world is a better place. Do you have this kind of joy? Do you want to see lost people found, listless people come alive, and unloved people loved? If your answer is no, then you probably need to pray Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (NLT).

Are you one of God’s children? If you are, then love His church as He loves the church.

 

 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NIV).

Here are ten things to consider if you want to know God’s will for your life:

1. Read, reflect and respond to God’s Word. God speaks to us primarily through His Word. Know His Word and you’ll know His will. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” Psalm 119:105 (NIV).
2. Confess sin. Sin separates us from God. When we sin, God won’t listen to us and we won’t hear from Him. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” Isaiah 59:2 (NIV).
3. Do what He wants, not what you want. Who is the Lord of your life, you or God? If you’re not 100% convinced that God wants you to do what you’re thinking about doing, then you shouldn’t do it. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to Him, and He shall make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).
4. Act on what you already know God wants you to do. God is very clear about how we should, or should not, be doing many things e.g. no sex before marriage. If we don’t obey all the general things taught in the Bible, it’s unlikely that God will reveal specific things to us. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” James 1:22 (NIV).
5. Seek godly input. Our world view (values and philosophy) and direction in life is often a composite of the five people we spend the most time with. When you surround yourself with godly people they’ll be instrumental in helping you discern God’s plan for your life. “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers” Proverbs 11:14 (NIV). “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise” Proverbs 19:20 (NIV).
6. Pay attention to how God has wired you. God’s plan/purpose/will for you will always be directly related to the gifts He’s given you. “All (the gifts) are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” 1 Corinthians 12:11 (NIV).
7. Listen to God’s Spirit. Discern what God is saying to you by listening internally to the One who is in you.”But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26 (NIV).
8. Listen to your heart. God has already wired you to fulfil His plans and purposes for your life. In addition to listening to the Spirit, you must act on the desires that God has placed in your heart.”Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this” Psalm 37:4-5 (NIV).
9. Use common sense. If you’re all thumbs and no fingers, you’re probably not meant to be a carpenter! “Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense” Proverbs 10:13 (NIV).
10. Ask the Lord. Don’t miss the obvious. Sometimes we don’t know God’s will/plan/purpose because we didn’t ask! “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7 (NIV). “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” 1 John 5:14 (NIV).

 

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.          Mark 14:3 (NIV).

Toward the end of Jesus’ life there’s a stunning reversal. As men of rank and privilege conspire against Him, a woman expresses her love and devotion for Him. Women – not men – are the ones who remain faithful to Jesus in His final days.

Picture the scene in Mark 14:

Jesus is at the home of Simon the Leper, eating with a social outcast and sinner (another reversal). And around the table dipping their bread into a bowl of olive oil, the inner core of disciples, the men. The women were in the kitchen (culturally in their rightful place). When suddenly, in total disregard for social etiquette, a woman crashes their party. Before the men can object she approaches Jesus, breaks open a jar of spikenard, and pours it over His head. In stunned silence the men watch the oil run down Jesus’ face and into His beard. And as the sweet musky scent of the perfume is filling the room Jesus just sits there, with a trace of an untroubled smile.

The men begin to mutter indignantly. Here’s a woman who has rudely interrupted their supper and taken it upon herself to anoint Jesus. Who did she think she was? They’re flabbergasted. Her irrationality is mind-boggling, the most expensive perfume in the ancient world. What a waste!

But the men missed what the woman saw. On three prior occasions, Jesus had tried to warn the disciples that He must suffer and die. And each time He told them about the trials and troubles to come, they’d dismissed His warnings. Here was a woman who got it. Here was a woman who understood what may be inappropriate in some situations, may be appropriate in other situations. The opportunity to do the right thing comes and goes quickly. We must act when we can.

Here was the Messiah, in the flesh, in their midst. And He didn’t have long to live. Incarnations are fleeting. This woman knew she had to seize the day – to do something while she could. So she ignored the gender taboos, negated her savings and became a fool for love. It’s not surprising that the men were mad. And it’s not surprising that Jesus said, “Leave her alone” Mark 14:6 (NIV).

Messiah, the name literally means “Anointed One.” The men had seen Jesus heal the sick, feed the multitude, calm the storm, and raise the dead. They’d heard Him say, “I and the Father are One.” They’d been with Him for three years with countless opportunities to anoint Him King of kings and Lord of lords, but they didn’t do it. It took a woman, someone (according to Jewish culture) at the same level as a Gentile or a dog, to pour the oil over Jesus’ head and symbolically proclaim Him to be the Anointed One of God.

A stunning reversal. “Many who are first shall be last, and many who are last shall be first.” Jesus was anointed Messiah, not by a king, not by His disciples, but by a woman. The woman did what she could. She gave all she had. Will we do what we can? Will we give what we have? Will we remember? Author and speaker, Max Lucado says, “There is a time for risky love. There is a time for extravagant gestures. There is a time to pour out your affections on one you love. And when the time comes – seize it, don’t miss it.”

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV).

Why does God hate sin? More specifically, why, with every ounce of His being, does God totally abhor sin? To say that God abhors sin is not an understatement. In fact He finds sin utterly disgusting – describing it as a putrefying sore (Isaiah 1:6), a heavy burden (Psalm 38:4), contaminating filth (2 Corinthians 7:1), a binding debt (Matthew:12-15) and a scarlet stain (Isaiah 1:18). No matter how you slice and dice it, there’s no getting around it – God loathes, detests and unreservedly despises sin. This is true throughout the Bible. God doesn’t take pleasure in evil and with Him the wicked cannot dwell (Psalm 5:4).

Now isn’t it a bit heavy handed on God’s part to hate sin? How do we reconcile a view of God as One who is loving, nice or empathetic with One who is revolted by sin? To our ears a sin hating God sounds intolerant, unloving and certainly not inclusive. And if God hates sin, then where does that leave us because we’re all sinners?

Here’s why God hates sin:

Firstly, God hates sin because it ruins lives. “Like ripples on a tranquil pond that reach the farthest shore, our sins affect those close to us, and many, many more.” Sin not only ruins our lives, it also ruins the lives of others. As the Roman proverb expressed it homo homini lupus, “man is a wolf to man’. It all began with our common ancestors – Adam and Eve. They disobeyed God (Genesis 3) and the consequences have had a ripple effect from generation to generation. “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin” Romans 5:12. No wonder God hates sin. It’s set us Hell-bent on a course of self-destruction. It’s ruining our lives and the lives of many, many more.

Secondly, God hates sin because it rejects Him. Because of sin our natural inclination is to disobey God. Even from birth, in fact from the time when we were conceived, we go astray (Psalm 51:5). Sin makes us anti-God, stand in opposition to Him, suppress and reject the truth (Romans 1:18, 2:8). Even when we’re trying to be good, we don’t always do what we should (James 4:17). As Socrates observed, “Men know what is good, but do what is bad.” Disobedience is bad enough, but our rejection of God goes deeper than disobedience. When we ignore God, oppose God, or defy Him, we’re ultimately committing treason. Oswald Chambers said, “The essence of sin is the refusal to recognize that we are accountable to God at all!” So God hates sin because it ultimately usurps God and becomes our master.

Thirdly, God hates sin because it results in death. In the first few years of our married life we lived in a cottage that was plagued with rats. It was terrible. So I bought boxes of Rattex and placed them in the ceiling. The tasty night-time snack soon did its deadly work. What the rats thought was good, was actually deadly. That’s how it is with sin. It can taste really good at times, but the Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23 (NIV). And that’s what God hates. He detests the fact that sin separates us from Him in the here and now, and ultimately separates us from Him in eternity.

This is the heart of the matter for God. “He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT). And that’s why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the once for all sacrifice for our sin. God hates sin, and because He does, He did something about it. He “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness ” Titus 2:14 (NIV). Yes, sin ruins lives, rejects God, and results in death. But that’s not the end of the story. God hated sin enough to do something about it. He became the solution for what He hated. He died on the cross of Calvary, the righteous for the unrighteous. Then He rose from the dead, to “set us free from sin” Romans 6:18 (NIV).

 

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 1 Kings 18:38 (NIV).

I’ve been praying for revival in Canada, on and off, for 25 years. I pray because I want something greater than political promises, greater than a good standard of living, greater than living among tolerant people, greater than safety, and greater than social freedom. The good is not the best. I want to see spiritual captives liberated, idols demolished, life sanctified, the weak made strong, the blind to see, and Hell depopulated.

Let the fire fall. Canada desperately needs a visitation from God – a revival from sea to sea. It’s happened before and it can happen again. God visited Mt. Carmel in power (1 Kings 18) and when Elijah prayed God answered by fire and by rain. Baal, the god of storms and lightning, was powerless … he couldn’t produce a spark to light a fire and he couldn’t produce rain. That’s to be expected because the idols of this world are toothless. And here’s something we need to remember, in a world full of powerless gods our God is all powerful. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Who will call on God for revival? God can use a man or woman to change a nation. Elijah called on God and received fire from heaven. In faith he believed God can start a fire with water drenched wood! Prayer moves the heart of God. Elijah prayed fervently and God sent showers of blessing. There were two outcomes: the people turned back to God and the drought came to an end (1 Kings 18:39-40, 41-45). Do you want to see Canada turn to God? Do you want to see the spiritual drought come to an end? “If the Lord is God, follow him” 1 Kings 18:21. Repair the altar of your heart, pray earnestly, act on God’s command, and expect God to act.

His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:5 (NLT).

Christmas is about family. The reason why we’re alive, the reason why we’re breathing, the reason why our hearts are beating is because God wanted a family. You are not an accident. It doesn’t matter whether your parents planned you or not, what matters is that God planned you. There are no accidental babies. You were born because God made you to love you. He created you so He could love you and bring you into His family. And He wants to bring you into His family because He wants a relationship with you. This is what Christmas is all about. It’s about God doing everything possible to connect with us. It’s about God wanting you to know He loves you and wants a relationship with you.

Now you can miss the whole point of Christmas if you don’t know it’s about God wanting a family.

Thirty years ago I met a smashing woman named Karen Terhoven. We got to know each other and we fell in love. But getting to know each other and falling in love wasn’t enough. We needed a permanent relationship. On the 26^th March 1983 I stood in front of a packed church and said two words that changed everything – “I do.” “I do,” has bound Karen and me together in a permanent relationship.

Have you ever said “I do” to Jesus Christ? Jesus came to earth for a relationship. He didn’t come to found a religion. He didn’t come to formulate rules and rituals for us to live by. He came for a relationship. So the question is, have you ever said, “I do,” to Jesus? Have you ever said, “I want to be part of God’s family”? Have you ever said, “I need Christ’s forgiveness … I want to learn to love and trust Him … I want to live out the rest of my life for His purposes”?

If you’ve never said “I do,” I hope you’ll say it today. Christmas is about being part of God’s family and it begins by saying to Jesus, “I do.” You’re not here by accident. God wanted you here because He wanted you to know how much He loves you and how much He wants you in His family. Yes, God’s seen every tear, every hurt, and every heartache – He’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly – and He still loves you and wants you in His family. You are the reason for the season. Jesus wants a relationship with you. He wants you to say, “I do.”

 

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10 (NIV).

People believe strange things about God. While more than 95% of North Americans believe in God, many have a distorted image of God. That’s because people try to picture God in their image. But God isn’t meant to be a figment of our imagination or a creation of our desires. God wants us to know what He’s like. So He came to earth in human form, in the person of Jesus Christ.

When Christ was embodied in flesh He destroyed the stereotypes about God. He did this by living right and teaching what is right. John 18:37 says, “This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth” (NCV). By telling the truth He cleared up the misconceptions about God. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God. The only One, who is the same as God … has made him known” (NIV).

The Bible is very clear on this point: Jesus is God, with skin on Him. John 14:9 says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (NIV). Billy Graham said, “When I want to know what God’s like I take a long look at Jesus Christ.” This is what separates Christian faith from other world religions: When Jesus was born He was no ordinary baby – He was God in the flesh.

Furthermore, Jesus is also, “the light to reveal God to the nations” Luke 2:32 (NLT). Pay attention to the word “light,” and the phrase “to reveal God.” Light helps us see things as they really are. When we’re in the dark we become disorientated and confused. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why there’s Christmas. Jesus came as the light so that we would no longer be perplexed. He came to help us see what God is really like. And in so doing He made it possible for the blind to see and the lost to get saved.