SHOWING OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST
It’s that time of year again, and in spite of the best efforts of some college presidents, homeowners’ associations, and local governments, manger scenes, Christmas tress and lights are sprouting up all over the place. There may not be any snow on the ground around here, but the mall parking lots are full, Wal-Mart is filled to over-flowing, traffic is horrendous, tempers are shorter than usual, and ads fill the newspapers. Our children are inundated with the latest toy commercials, the airports have delays, and people are being trampled at sales. The jewelry stores have all designed new sets. Folks are filling their credit cards, buying junk they don’t like, for people they don’t like, with money they don’t have. You can once again buy popcorn in a can and soap on a rope, mistletoe, and underwear in red and green packaging. Soap and body-oil sets line every aisle. Men’s shaving and cologne sets cover the end caps; mixers, waffle irons, and socket sets are on sale, and the sales clerks are in such sweet moods.
Mama’s upset because of packages she doesn’t yet have wrapped, and the cards she sent that have not been answered. Daddies are trying to decide if Mama will prefer a frying pan, vacuum cleaner, or gym membership. He’s a bit concerned because he picked the wrong one last year. Evidently the iron he bought her was the wrong color. He’s in no real hurry though, because he still has plenty of time. The kids are anxious because the days are dragging too slowly, and it seems that school will never let out.
There’s a tree now filling ½ the living room that’s shedding needles all over the place. The children are doing plays and concerts, while the churches are having cantatas. You’re spending evenings at parties with people you don’t even want to work with, and there’s junk food everywhere you turn. There is someone with a red kettle ringing a bell at the entrance of every store, the cheerleaders are selling Chik-fila calendars, and the grape vines are dying along the roadsides.
Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Doesn’t it bring a lump to your throat? It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but I wonder; is this how we celebrate Jesus’ birthday? Is this how we show Jesus we love Him?
This is to be the time of year when we especially focus on Christ. It is the time of year when we remember the great gift that God gave us 2000 years ago. Is our love for Jesus measured by the length of our light displays? Is it to be measured by the size of Nativity scenes, or the fervency with which we sing Christmas carols? Are we to prove our love for Jesus by refusing to buy from any store that sells “Holiday Trees” instead of Christmas Trees? Do we prove our love by insisting that folks say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays?”
Oh, for crying out loud. I believe the whole mess would probably sicken Jesus. Let me share with you what Jesus wants for His birthday. Let me show you how He says you can show your love for Him.
- John 14:15-26
Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
> Romans 5:8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!
God showed His love for us, by having Jesus die for us when we were at our worse. In turn, Jesus says, “You can show your love for Me by keeping My commandments.”
When folks have birthdays, we sing to them, and buy them gifts, and give them birthday cakes. We do that to celebrate with them and to show them we love them. Jesus says He wants something else. He wants a different gift.
There is one thing that demonstrates your love for Jesus. There is one word that Jesus understands as love for Him. That word is not cantata. It is not gifts. It is not manger, or nativity, or carol. It is not Santa, or shepherds, or sleigh bells. The gift that Jesus wants is Obedience.
> John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Obedience. If you love Me, Obey!
No need to wrap it. You don’t have to worry about the size, or the color. It will never become old fashioned or antiquated. They’ll never have a newer model. He’ll never return it. There is one thing Jesus wants for Christmas and that is obedience. He says, “If you love Me, Obey!”
Listen. You can tell your wife you love her all day long, but if you do not demonstrate it with your actions, it means nothing. You can tell your children you love them, and you should, but it means nothing if your actions do not match your words.
If that is true in our earthly relationships, it is even more so in our relationship with God.
“There is nothing so obvious as the truth that in religion, words without practice are worthless, even contemptible. Yet few things are so common.” One commentator writes, “Open sin, and avowed unbelief, no doubt slay their thousands. But, profession without practice slays its tens of thousands.” [J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. Luke, vol.1 (Cambridge: James Clark, 1976), p. 195]
Now, if showing your love for Jesus involves obedience, and it does, and if one of the primary ways you and I know Jesus’ will and understand His commands is through the Bible, and it is; then pleasing Jesus will most certainly involve Bible Study.
Now, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and want to demonstrate your love for Him, then you must know His will. You must know His commands. You must know what he wants. If you sincerely want to hear His voice as He speaks through the Bible, let me suggest the following.
I. STUDY THE BIBLE DAILY
> Acts 17:11
There may be times when things unexpectedly happen. There may be times when things come up that keep you from studying your Bible, but you need to establish a time in your day when you will normally study your Bible.
Just as you daily sleep and brush your teeth and eat, you need to include a time in your day when you normally study the Bible.
The other day I was working and missed lunch. Now, it happens from time to time, but I do not make a practice of it. I normally eat and rarely miss a meal. The same is true of Bible study. You may miss on occasion, but make a practice of normally studying your Bible daily.
What happens if we neglect daily Bible study? We grow indifferent to God and lax in spiritual things. We throw ourselves open to temptation and the sin that easily follows.
I have heard it correctly said that either your Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from your Bible.
If you are just starting out, the time you spend reading your Bible may not be long, maybe no more than 10 or 15 minutes. If you are a mature and growing believer, it may be longer, 30 minutes or an hour. But make it a daily practice.
Study your Bible daily.
II. STUDY THE BIBLE SYSTEMATICALLY
> Joshua 1:7-8 Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night, so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Some people read or study the Bible randomly. Wherever their Bible happens to open is what they read or study. Often their Bibles get used to opening in certain sections so they only hit the areas they are familiar with or the areas they specifically like, ignoring the difficult passages or the ones that might convict them.
New Christians, or those just starting to study their Bibles might start with one of the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Afterwards, you might study Romans or Galatians, Acts or Ephesians, or an Old Testament book like Genesis.
There are several steps you can take to help you get a better handle on a certain book.
1. Read the book itself, 4 or 5 times. You might read it through aloud one time. Each time something new will strike you.
2. Ask questions. Who was this book written to? Why was it written to them? What are the major themes of the book? What are the major subjects? How does it apply to me?
Ask, “are there any promises to claim, any examples to follow, any warnings to avoid, or any commands to obey? Look especially at the connecting words such as but, because, then, and, since, and therefore.
Look for words that are repeated often such as righteousness, or sin, or such, and compare them to where you find them elsewhere in your Bible.
Study your Bible daily. Study your Bible systematically. Third, study your Bible comprehensively.
III. STUDY YOUR BIBLE COMPREHENSIVELY
> 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Read and study the Bible through as a whole. Don’t stick to just part of the Bible, ignoring all the rest. Read and study all of it.
“God will speak to you and tell you what to do not only in the red-inked sections of the Bible, but in other sections as well”. [James Montgomery Boice, Christ’s Call to Discipleship, (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1986), p.54-5]
IV. STUDY THE BIBLE DEVOTIONALLY
> Psalm 119:11 I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.
Don’t let the Bible become just a textbook to study, much like the Pharisees did. Far too many of our folks have spent far too many years sitting in church just learning the facts and stories about the Bible with it having on real impact on their lives. The purpose of or study is not just to gather knowledge and facts about the Bible, but so that we can get to know God, His will, and His directions better.
As you have been seeing on the monitors for some time now. Our purpose for reading and studying the Bible is not head knowledge. It is wisdom and understanding. It is so we can get to know God better, so that we can please Him, and demonstrate our love for Him.
Many complain that they don’t know God’s will or they don’t know what God wants them to do. Let me tell you. Knowing God is even more important. He says, “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” If you feel that God is distant, you feel that you can’t reach Him or that He’s not listening, could it be because you are not spending time with the letter He has written to you?
You don’t approach the Bible with pride, believing you have it all figured out. You approach the Bible with the faith of a child, much as Eli taught Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:9).
And if you really want the Bible to become part of you, and if you really want to put on the mind of Christ, as Paul commanded, then memorize portions of it and never stop.
We need to allow the Word of God to become part of us. To have that happen we must memorize it.
Navigators Topical Memory System, others.
V. STUDY THE BIBLE PRAYERFULLY
- Daniel 9:1-3
It is impossible to study the Bible devotionally without praying. [Ibid 56] The best way to study the Bible is to encompass our study ion prayer.
The Holy Spirit is the One Who gives us understanding. Ask for His help.
* Keep a notebook or a pad nearby. Henry Blackaby says that that if he was sitting in a classroom listening to a professor, he would take notes of what the professor said so he could apply them. The same is true of reading and studying the Bible. We need to keep notes of what Jesus tells us while we are studying so that we can remember and apply them later.
“Without regular, personal Bible study and prayer, we are not really walking with Christ as His followers, and we are certainly not obeying Him in specifics.” [Ibid 56]
To please Christ, to show our love for Him, we become more like Him. Imitation is the surest form of flattery. We put on the mind of Christ. We grow to think about things like He does, and then respond to situations the way he would. We please Him, we show our love for Him by learning what He wants and doing it. We obey.
Paul said it this way:
> Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
An unknown writer sums it up this way:
There is an orderly sequence of events in the shaping of our lives.
As I think, I make choices. As I make choices, I form habits.
As I form habits, I fix the direction of my life.
So, if I am to live differently, I must form new habits.
If I am to form new habits, I must make new choices.
If I am to make new choices, I must do new thinking.
[Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come (Nashville: B&H, 2008), p. 78]
Paul says in Romans 12:1&2 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
A coach was seen with a t-shirt that read: “I will do today what you won’t, so I can do tomorrow what you can’t”.
My friend, show your love for Christ by giving Him yourself this year. Tell Him, I will make myself a living sacrifice.
