A Good Bible Study: Stop trying to earn my love and just call on me

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Hello, thank you for sharing A Good Bible Study with me! We are discussing the passionate love of God, and our passionate response.

Read with me from one of my favorite books in the Bible, Romans. I love the way it just spells it all out, holding nothing back, telling it like it is. Some times we need that in our lives. We need someone to be honest, and set us straight, while never letting us forget how much we are loved.

Romans 10:2-4

New Living Translation (NLT)

^"2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. ³ For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. ⁴ For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.^[a] As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God."

Remember that word "zeal?" It means passion! We can be passionate about all the wrong things, can't we. It’s possible to even be passionate for God, but still be off the mark. Remember Apollos? Go back and read that post for a quick refresher, then come back here. I'll wait.

We can think we are showing passion for someone or something, but we might be barking up the wrong tree altogether. You know how those good intentions go.

For example, my husband and I love each other very much, but if I do not learn what makes him feel loved, and do everything I see as loving except those things, am I really taking the action to love him? Remember, the passionate love God desires is a verb, it is volitional, it is not just an emotion, it is what you do with that emotion.

The Israelites thought they were loving God by following the law. After all, Moses was God's friend, and that's who gave them the law. So, the law must be good, right? The problem arose when the Israelites refused to accept that the law was fulfilled, or completed, by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.

Now, this wasn't hidden information. It was all plainly given in Scripture. There was no secret about the Messiah and the signs that would precede Him, as well as prove His identity. Jesus fulfilled every one of the more than 300 indicators, yet many of the Jews refused to accept the Truth. They continued to seek God through the law and through animal sacrifice, because they could not accept Jesus’ sacrifice.

I used to struggle with accepting forgiveness, too. I thought if I didn't work for it, it must not be real. Just accept Him? It goes against the grain for some of us.

May be it was that way for the religious Jews. Then again, there are people who would rather miss out on their blessing if to receive it they must admit they were wrong. It's kind of like being married: you can either be stubborn, or you can be happy, but you can't be both.

It takes a change in heart to join up with someone you're determined to hate and mistrust. Many Jews had believed Jesus was a false prophet, accusing Him of receiving power from Satan to perform His miracles. If they'd only obeyed the law in this instance, testing the spirits against Scripture, it would have been abundantly clear Whose Son Jesus was.

As it was, they were zealous for the law when it suited their own opinions, but were not zealous at all for the God who gave them the law.

It's easy to get off track, isn't it. We start to forget why we started something in the first place and find ourselves feeling trapped by the very activities that we meant to improve our relationships with our spouses, kids, friends, family, even God. We become slaves to the schedule, the rules, the timeline and forget about what was the purpose of it all in the first place!

“For I bear them witness, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10: 2-4

Do you want to passionate about something? Do you want something to get excited about? Then read on to verses 9-13:

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart  that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Whoever - that's you and me, by the way - calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Period. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts. Call on Him now. His name is Jesus. Be saved now. You will figure out the rest later. Call on Him. It's enough. It's all you need. It's that simple. Do it now.

"Lord Jesus, I want to be saved. I want You to save me. I want You to be in my heart from today onward. I don't ever want to be alone again. I am sorry for everything I have done to push You away until now. I don't know what happens after this, but I believe You do. I am calling on You and want You to open my eyes and my heart to You from now on. Thank You."

Amen and love, Karen

Worshipping the Creator, or the creation?

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Welcome to A Good Bible Study! Our topic is A Passionate Love: the relationship between God and you.

If you have been reading the New Testament for a while, you've probably noticed that many of Paul’s letters contained some kind of response to the doctrine of false teachers. It seems there is always some new group passionate about a secret way to attain spiritual heights, but having nothing actually to do with the Spirit of God. Paul particularly criticized the Gnostics, who focused on either exploiting the pleasures of the body, or denying them.

Gnostics taught that "special" knowledge was required to break from the physical realm into the spiritual, thereby negating the power of God or the need for Him. Only through their rituals and recitations could you really become spiritual. Sound familiar? And you thought the New Age was new.

Gnostics had two ways of thinking: Those who worshipped pleasure believed that since the body was not spiritual, you could do what you wanted with it and it wouldn’t affect your spirit or salvation. Yet, those who believed the body was evil, punished their bodies with torture and denial of basic comfort in an effort to earn spirituality. Both views are in direct conflict with Scripture, focusing either on earning salvation, or living both carnally and spiritually at once, which is not possible. 

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Matthew 6:24

God loves us and what He created is good. He said so. We are body, spirit, and soul and what we do to one intimately affects the other. We cannot earn, or learn, salvation or spirituality. It is a result of our passionate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:18-32 describes God’s response to those who claim to be wise and sophisticated, who worship God's creation instead of the Creator.

All of creation is not God, but is evidence of God. Since the earliest of times however, there have been those who turn away from our Father who has all the power to help, as well as the love and desire to do so, and instead worship the proof of a Creator, as if it could do one thing to change our lives.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven, Paul says, against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of those who have had the truth revealed to them, and yet suppress the truth.

“¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.^{[i] 19} They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶ Romans 1:18-26

Now we might say that we are above worshipping and praying to a statue, or a tree, but are we?

There are those who kill people in protest of others who destroy the habitat of the owl or hunt whale; those who blow up abortion clinics (and the people within) to protest the killing of our unborn children; those who lose their health, livelihood, and families in pursuit of drugs; spend hours each day searching for information about their favorite celebrity online, or playing Internet games from the moment they get home till late into the night while their spouse and children live with a virtual ghost; carry on an addicted affair with pornography; or live every moment for the next financial deal.

Are we too sophisticated for our own good?

“Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions.” 

Lord, thank you for giving us signs of who You are everywhere we look. From the glory of your design for everything both alive and inanimate, to the beauty and splendor in each day, your creation sings of Your passion for each of us. Help us to be truly wise, and not just wise in our own eyes! Give us a passion for You! In the name of Jesus, amen

A slave of Christ

Hello again. It's good to see you in A Good Bible Study: A Passionate Love: the relationship between God and you.

Our last lesson was pretty heavy. Sometimes good medicine is hard to swallow, but good for us all the same.

Today, I wanted to simply share with you something my husband discovered. I think it will mean something to you and remind us all of something very important while we are learning about who God loves, as well as what He does not.

My husband has been reading the bible from the beginning, and at times it has been slow going. Much of the Old Testament is a history lesson, and pretty dry at that. But when you get to the New Testament, things really pick up!

He has been reading with the goal of discovering God's love in a personal way. He wants to understand it, accept it, and feel it. I can relate. Can you?

Today he read the first letter Paul wrote to his fellow believers: the book of Romans. He got as far as the first sentence, and was struck by the importance of Paul's introduction. Paul was announcing who he was and what he was about.

He said, "This letter is from Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach His Good News."

A slave of Jesus Christ. A SLAVE of Jesus Christ. Do you get the meaning of this word?

From the meeting on the road to Damascus, Paul gave himself up to Jesus Christ, to do whatever required, no matter the sacrifice, no matter the cost to himself.

What kind of love inspires a  man to willingly become another's slave?

Think about the life Paul led up to that point. He valued his financial and social position, his ability to follow the Law without error, and his skill and fervor at hunting down, imprisoning or killing, Christians.

What had he gained by all this? In comparison to his experience with meeting the Lord Jesus Christ one to one . . . nothing. It had become filthy rags to Paul. Nothing would satisfy him again but the love of God through Christ.

What would it take for you to become a slave of Christ? What does that mean to you?

Let's pray: Lord, I want to know the love that Paul knew in You, and from You. My heart is open. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Burning with passion - for Christ

Hello! Welcome back to A Good Bible Study and today's topic in the ongoing study of our passionate relationship with God: Burning with passion - for Christ.

I looked the word “passion” in the index of my Nelson Study Bible, to see which verses contain the reference and came up with three: 1 Corinthians 7:9; Colossians 3:5; and Romans 1:26.

Passion can be a gift, or a burden, depending on how you handle it. 1 Cor. 7:9 specifically refers to hhe distraction and danger of burning with passion with no righteous outlet to satisfy or relieve your desire. 

Paul uses himself as an example, referring to the fact that he is so passionate about serving Jesus, he has no room in his life, or even desire, for marriage, and he wished we all felt that way. But Paul recognized his lack of need for marriage and physical love was a gift from God, and let's face it, not everyone is so gifted.

To try and force yourself (as an adult) to remain single (and celibate) when you truly desire marriage and the accompanying benefits, is to torture yourself and subject yourself to unnecessary temptation. Paul describes it as burning with passion.

Don’t be misled to think passion is ungodly, or something to avoid. God loves our passion, for He is a passionate God.

When you are passionate about someone or something, you are willing to put everything else aside for it. You think about it all the time, it’s importance supersedes everything else. You would die for it. You would give up whatever is necessary for it. That’s how God feels about us.

 John 3:16 "For God so love the world (meaning the people in the world) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Jesus, being of the same substance as God, and His only begotten Son, feels the same way. If He didn't, He would not have suffered, died, and rose again for our sakes.

In John 17:19-23 Jesus says, “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be as one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. . . that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

Can you imagine being loved by God, in the same way God loves His only begotten Son, Jesus? Think about that for a moment.

Now, can you imagine being so passionate you are willing to ask, and allow, Your Son to suffer for our sakes? Let that blow your mind for a bit.

Finally, can you imagine being so passionate about God, and about all of us, that You agree, and wholeheartedly? Jesus did.

So let there be no mistake, God is the author and giver of passion, but like anything good, it can directed in a positive manner, or misdirected to our own doom. Passion without boundaries is just chaos leading to destruction.

Satan loves to try and convince us that passion is the most important aspect of being human. “If it feels good, do it.” “Just do it.” “Go for it.” In fact, he really gets a kick out of convincing us that the most important thing we should be passionate about is money. Often, we neglect our families in the pursuit of social achievement or financial reward and call it a desire to provide for them.

Do we want to provide for our families? Of course, yes! But, I'm not talking about responsibility, I'm talking about being honest with what your goals and desires really are, and only you can answer that question.

It's because we are created in the image of God, we are passionate, like God. But, like all good things, the gift of passion is meant to enhance our relationship with God, not distract us from Him, or from those we love.

Passion with the drive to honor God is a delight to Him (one of the definitions of passion), but passion perverted into sinful behavior or that replaces our God (or our families) in importance, becomes an abomination.

Let's pray: Lord, thank you for being passionate about me. Help me to recognize what You've made me to be passionate about - and how to use that gift to honor You. Let me be wise in my work, so that I take care of all of my family's needs, not just their financial needs. Help me to keep myself straight in who and what I am serving with passion. In the name of Jesus, amen.

In Christ, Karen

A Passionate Love: the relationship between God and you

Are you ready to begin a new Good Bible Study? I can't wait!

I just finished reading the Book of Revelation and was struck at the very end, by God's passionate love for all mankind! Not only that, but the fact that while God loves each and every one of us, He really seems to develop a special friendship with those who are passionate, as well.

Think about it: who did God call His friend - by the way, can you imagine being called God's personal friend, not His child, not His servant, not His follower, but His friend? A few passionate souls come to mind:

Moses, a man so passionate he struck an Egyptian guard down to defend his fellow Israelites. Exodus 33:11

Abraham, who was so devoted to God he was willing to sacrifice his own son at God's command, trusting that God would raise his son Isaac up to fulfill God's Word that a nation would come from Isaac's line. 2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23

David was called a man after God's own heart. After God's own heart! Can you stand it? 1 Samuel 13:14b

Now, David was truly a man with an appetite for life and a passion for God. When the Lord showed David that he didn't have to be afraid to have the Ark of The Covenant in David's household, he brought the Ark to the City of David with such gladness, that after the procession had only gone 6 paces, David commanded they stop and offer a sacrifice to God. Then he danced before the Lord with all his might wearing a linen ephod (a short, sleeveless garment worn by priests.) The word used as danced here actually means "whirled." Imagine the trumpets blasting, and the people shouting, and the king of the land dancing and whirling with joy before the Lord!

I know that feeling, do you? That desire just to tear off my coat and dance with my face lifted up to the Lord, with tears of joy streaming down my face, just whirling about filled with the passion of the Holy Spirit before my God!Sometimes I have to remind myself that I don't go to that kind of church and do I really want to attract that kind of attention? David didn't care and I hope one day that I don't either!

The flipside is that passion without boundaries is just chaos.

Like Moses, David showed his passionate nature gone astray when he commanded one of his officer's wives, Bathsheba, be brought to the palace, where he seduced her (he was the king after all, I doubt she had much choice in the matter.) To cover his sin when she became pregnant, he then had her husband transferred to the front lines, and abandoned to die. You don't want to tick this guy off. Don't worry, God deals with David.

Paul is one of the best examples of a passionate, godly man - prior to his meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul (known then as Saul) was passionate about one thing only: killing Christians. Paul boasted that he followed all the commandments and all the Jewish traditional laws without blame. He considered himself a holy crusader of sorts, ridding the land of the "blasphemous" Jesus-followers without mercy. He was single minded, purposeful, and would let no one sway him from his goal.

Where you and I might see Paul as a lost cause, I can imagine God looking at Paul and saying, "Now there is a man I can use. There is a passionate man." He was right. Paul served God unselfishly and loved His people without rest, until the end of his life.

Peter, who Jesus called His "rock" was also a man of great passion. When Jesus asked Peter and his brother to put down their nets and "follow me," they did so immediately. Matt. 4:18-19. Later, when Jesus asked His disciples who the people said He was, and who they said He was, it was Peter who answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. 16:16

When Jesus described His coming death and resurrection, it was Peter who took Jesus aside and vehemently insisted this should not happen. But Jesus reminded Peter that he was worried about things that concern men, instead of things that concern God. Matthew 16:21-23. Good or bad, it was Peter who always spoke up, who couldn't stop himself from speaking out, or acting up, because he was filled with passion! Peter was all in.

Peter followed Jesus out of the boat and onto the water. Matt. 14:28-29.

Peter struck off the guard's ear when Jesus was arrested. Matt. 26:51.

Peter followed Jesus all the way into the courtyard for His Lord's trial, when the other disciples fled. And it was Peter who wept bitterly when he realized he had just as adamantly denied knowing Jesus, just as Jesus predicted. Matt. 26:69-75

Finally, I want to add Mary, the sister to Martha and Lazarus, to this list of passionate individuals. Jesus loved these three as dear friends. John 11:5.

When Jesus visited their town, it was to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary's home that he stayed. During one such occasion, Martha was preparing the meal, while Mary sat enraptured at Jesus' feet, listening to Him talk and teach. Martha was irritated and asked Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help. But Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

You might not think this is a big deal, but in this time and culture, a women's place was definitely not in the living room with the men, but in the kitchen working and serving! Mary didn't care. She was passionate about Jesus and tradition be - well, you know!

You know, most of these individuals made really big mistakes, and sinned in ways you and I would condemn. But God doesn't demand perfection in behavior, but genuine love in our hearts. He knows those with huge hearts make huge mistakes - and they suffer just as greatly when they realize their error.

Moses ran off to live in the desert for 40 years, Exodus 2:15; David wept and fasted for 7 days, 2 Sam. 12:16-17; and Paul changed his entire life, giving up the wealth and prestige of his position in the Jewish culture and giving his very life to serve the cause of his Lord, Jesus Christ.

After denying Jesus three times, Peter ran off alone to weep bitterly, probably feeling like the worst Christian in the world. But as soon as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He sent for Peter. He asked Peter three times if Peter loved him (the word for love used was "agapao", meaning a love requiring commitment.) I think Peter must have been unsure of his own ability to uphold his commitment to Jesus after failing so miserably in the courtyard, so answered first and secondly that he loved Jesus, using the word "phileo", meaning a strong warmth and friendship.

Finally, the third time, Peter asserted that he did love Jesus with commitment, or agapao, and it was only then that Jesus commanded Peter to care for His flock, His church, His believers. This time, Peter knew what was at stake, and he said "yes."

Interestingly, it seems Mary and Abraham lived their whole lives in obedience to God, and perhaps that was the reason they were each called God's friend, for Jesus says if we obey His commandment (to love one another as He has loved us), we are His friend. John 15:14-15.

I want to be called the friend of God. I want to be Jesus' friend. I want to be passionate about loving what He loves; who He loves! Are you with me? If so, we are going to passionately love God, love Jesus, and love others. That's a verb, by the way.

Join me again in A Good Bible Study as we learn to loose our passionate nature for God!