The Faithfulness of the Love of God

As the High School Bible Teacher at Quisqueya Christian School, I often have the opportunity to speak at QCS's Secondary School Chapel Services. On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, I spoke on The Faithfulness of the Love of God. Click the play button above to listen to the complete talk on our school's Soundcloud.

Visit Quisqueya Christian School's Soundcloud page for other chapel messages here: 

https://soundcloud.com/quisqueyachristianschool

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” –Jeremiah 31:3, NASB

“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, NIV

For the Power Point for this talk, please click the following link:

drive.google.com/file/d/0B2730FU8…view?usp=sharing

For a handout with reflection questions related to this talk, please click the following link:

drive.google.com/file/d/0B2730FU8…view?usp=sharing

How to Raise a Callous Child, Guest Post

Photo from wikimedia commons

The following is a guest post by my friend Kathleen Caron. Kathleen blogs at Full of Life: Soul Food at kathleencaron.com. Kathleen lives and works in Northern Virginia with her husband and three children. She writes about food for the body and soul and sometimes she rants.

How to raise a callous child, a Guest Post

Guest post by Kathleen Caron  

How furious would you be if you found out your teenager broke into somebody’s home, invited 300 of their closest friends to a huge party, vandalized the house, and live-Tweeted drunken photos and profanity-laced descriptions of their delinquency?

Really mad, right? No doubt your child would be grounded until they were old enough to qualify for the senior citizen discount. And of course, you would promise the homeowner that your child would pay back every penny of the damage.

You’re obviously not the parents of the 300 teenagers who broke into former NFL player Brian Holloway’s farm house in Stephentown, New York, some of whom are now threatening to sue Mr. Holloway for posting their children’s names on his website helpmesave300.com.

Teenagers broke in while the Holloways were in Florida and held a drug- and booze-soaked party, inflicting an estimated $20,000 in damage on the beautiful farmhouse. They smashed windows and doors, urinated on the carpet, spray painted walls and stole family memorabilia from the home.

A three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XX veteran, Mr. Holloway told ABC News, “Parents have threatened me. Your kids are in my house breaking and stealing my stuff and you are mad at me because I posted pictures that they took and posted themselves of them partying and tearing things up?”

Why would a parent defend such defenseless behavior? And how did these parents so utterly fail to instill in their children any sense of decency or honor or kindness or empathy?

How to raise a nihilistic, callous child:

1. Let your child do whatever they want, with no consequences whatsoever.  Be sure they hold you, their parent, in utter contempt.
2. Give them the distinct impression that you don’t give a rat’s rear end what they do.*
3. Do not deprive your child of anything their heart desires, whether it’s Beats by Dre, a new Jeep Wrangler or the latest iPhone, because if you do, they might not like you any more.  Worst of all, they might think you’re not cool.
4. Never talk to your child about anything profound or meaningful, so that they will grow up believing life is all about the party.
5. Do not allow your children to inconvenience you beyond taking them to the mall and handing them 20 bucks when they ask for it.  Don’t feel that you need to trouble yourself with such boring drudgery as spending time with your kids, disciplining them or providing structure in their lives.
6. And, of course, sue anyone who threatens to hold your delinquent child accountable for their reprehensible actions.

*helpmesave300.com

On the other hand, Mr. Holloway’s response to this teenage terrorism has been nothing less than remarkable. He set up the website helpmesave300.com in part to find out who was involved, but his bigger concern is for the future of the wayward teens.

“Hopefully we could get some help in restoring the damage,” he wrote on his site. “But first, I’d like to have a family village conversation…I want to [set] aside the very strong emotions I’m feeling and focus on the one thing that is extremely clear: the lives of these 300 students. I want them to live. I’ve seen too many young people die because of [excessive] partying, drugs and alcohol.”

Mr. Holloway held his own party, inviting all Stephentown military personnel and their families to a “Family Reunion of Champions.” He also invited the 300 miscreants who trashed his house.

“Please help! Come out and help set up, fix up, bring food, and picnic stuff, so we can honor these real HEROES. I’m here. Come now. Take a stand for your future. This is called redemption,” he posted on his site.

If my child was one of the infamous “300,” that’s one party they would definitely be attending.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

What would you do if you found out your child had broken into someone’s home and held a wild party? Please share in the comments.

Encouragement

You Can Do It, photo by stevendepolo from Flickr

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” –Hebrews 10:23-25

When was the last time you stopped and considered how to move someone towards love and good deeds? When was the last time you encouraged someone? What was this experience like? Was it easy to encourage? Did it come natural or was it complicated? How did it make you feel to see the other person succeed or move forward?

Often times we shy away from encouragement, because it may seem pushy or it may seem “salesperson” like. Encouragement can feel like provocation, and maybe it is. We tend to view the word provocation as a negative term. But if the subject of the provocation is toward love and good deeds, then the provocation is actually positive and is an act of love and encouragement.

The author of Hebrews uses the word spur when asking the Hebrews to consider how they may “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” This word can come across as negative as well. Like provocation, spur is aggressive and it indicates an element of force or heavy persuasion.

The New King James version of scripture says, “Stir up love and good works.”

The Message translation of scripture says, “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out.” It then goes on to say, “spurring each other on.”

The point is this: we should be creative in encouraging one another, provocative even. We should be persistent and we should not give up on one another. We should try and bring out the best in others through meeting with them and encouraging them, whatever the cost.

Let us “spur one another on toward love and good deeds!”

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit, photo from here

“The Christian life, the fruit of the Spirit, is a constant reckoning of the flesh as dead and a constant relying on the present Spirit of Christ to produce love, joy, and peace within.” – John Piper

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” –Galatians 5:22-25

The fruit of the Spirit is fruit a believer bears as a direct result of the Spirit of God at work within them. God’s Spirit works in us, through us, and despite of us. If we bear any of the fruit of the Spirit, it is God who is at work bearing that fruit.

If we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must not live according to our sinful or fleshly desires. We must die to our self-centered passions and desires if we are to live in the Spirit and keep in step with God’s Spirit. Those who crucify the sinful nature and keep in step with the Spirit bear the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit on our own; it is the Spirit’s fruit.

A tree can be known by its fruit

“Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” –Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus

Jesus stated this plainly, “Every good tree bears good fruit.” If we are walking with Christ, and keeping in step with His Spirit, we will bear good fruit. If we are walking according to our sinful or fleshly nature, we will bear bad fruit. As Jesus clearly said, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” We can clearly see where we stand with Christ and how we are relating to God by the fruit we bear in our lives.

We cannot bear fruit on our own

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  –John 15:5, Jesus

“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” –Galatians 2:20

We cannot bear fruit on our own. Scripture is clear on this. If we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must abide in Christ and live by faith in Him. If we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit, but if we do not abide in Him, we can do nothing.

Paul also stated in Galatians 2:20 that the lives we now live, we live by faith in the Son of God. We cannot live to our sinful selves and keep in step with God’s Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit. We must walk in faith and keep in step with the Spirit of God to bear the fruit of His Spirit.

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the fruit of the Spirit and perfectly lived out the fruit of the spirit for us to observe. It is only in Christ, and through the Spirit of Christ in us, that we can bear the fruit of the Spirit.

The word embodiment can mean personification, picture, example, or expression. Jesus certainly embodied or personified the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus is also the perfect expression of God’s Holiness and the fruit of God’s Spirit. In Jesus we see the perfect picture of the fruit of the Spirit, through the perfect work of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot look to Jesus as merely a picture or example, which we must follow, however. No. We must be taken over and Jesus must control us. We must allow God to be God and submit to His Lordship over our lives. We must allow God’s Spirit to indwell us and to produce the fruit of His Sprit in us. It is in Jesus Christ alone that we are able to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus embodies these fruits in us by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

The following is the fruit of the Spirit God produces in us by His Holy Spirit:

Love: We have love in Christ alone we

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  –1 John 4:8, John

• Jesus is the embodiment of love 
• We love because God is love 
• We love because He loved us first

Joy: Our joy is in Christ alone

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” –John 15:11, Jesus

• Our joy is complete in Christ alone
• Jesus is the embodiment of Joy

Peace: Our peace is in Christ alone

“And through [Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” –Colossians 1:19-20, Paul

• Jesus has made peace through the cross 
• Jesus is the embodiment of peace

Patience: In Christ we have patience

“Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.”  –Colossians 1:11, Paul

• Jesus empowers us to have patience
• Jesus is the embodiment of patience

Kindness: Is found in Christ alone

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  –Ephesians 4:32, Paul

• We can show kindness because Jesus has shown us kindness 
• Jesus is the embodiment of kindness

Goodness: Christ alone is good

“’Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good--except God alone.’” –Mark 10:18, Jesus

• We are only good in Christ Jesus 
• Jesus is the embodiment of goodness

Faithfulness: Christ alone is faithful

“But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” –Hebrews 3:6

• Jesus is faithful when we are not 
• Jesus is the embodiment faithfulness

Gentleness: True Gentleness is in Christ alone

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  –Colossians 3:12, Paul

• Christ is the embodiment of true gentleness 
• We should be gentle in Christ’s gentleness

Self-control: True self-control comes through Christ alone

“Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  –Romans 7:21-25, Paul

• Jesus is the embodiment of perfect self-control 
• We can control ourselves through Jesus Christ alone

Walking in Selflessness

Walk, photo by Peter Blanchard from Flickr

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” –Philippians 2:3

Paul encouraged the early church in Philippi to be like him in their thinking and to go about community life, “Having the same love” and “being one in spirit.” Paul also requested the Philippians “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” He requested they humbly value others above themselves and to not look to their own interests, but to the interests of the others (see Philippians 2:2-4).

As we study and work together in community as Christians, valuing and considering one another above our selves is very important. Like the early church, we want to be a community of love and honor who views everyone as valuable and treats everyone as children of God. We can value one another like this by showing honor.

Part of loving and honoring one another is respecting one another enough to be honest. This also means we do not take unfair advantage of others or succeed unjustly. It means we do not take what belongs to another. Finally, this means we hold one other accountable and encourage one another towards excellence and honor (Leviticus 19:11-19).

May we honor one another as Paul suggested by “Following God’s example as dearly loved children and [walking] in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).