As Christians, we are called to love one another. But how do we know if we love each other the way we ought to? Our culture would tell us that loving others means that you accept them for who they are and you do not try to change them. While there is a nugget of truth in that (we can and should love others who are very different from us in many ways), it is a weak and watered-down view of love that is not biblical. This worldly view of love essentially says that if an action or belief hurts someone else’s feelings or suggests that someone is doing something wrong, then that action or belief is unloving. This is a very subjective view of love that roots the definition of love in feelings, not in truth or justice. According to John, there is a way to know whether or not we are loving other Christians. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:1-3). The root and foundation for proper love toward other people is love for God and obedience to his commandments. That is to say, if we are not striving to obey God’s commands, we are not ready to properly love our fellow human beings. If we do not submit to God’s rule and authority, we are liable to approve of things that are wrong, all in the name of loving someone.

We can say this another way too. If we love God and keep his commandments then we are on the road to loving others the way we ought to. God commands us to honor everyone (1 Peter 2:17), tell the truth (Col. 3:9), work hard so that we can help the needy (Eph. 4:28), and get rid of wickedness in our lives (James 1:21). Imagine if everyone lived according to God’s commands! We would be so much better off! When we love God and keep his commandments, we are loving others in a way that honors God and is truly biblical love. Our culture has cut God and God’s commandments out of the picture. Is it a great wonder why we are so mixed up now about how to love our fellow human beings? Christian, this week you are going out into a world that is confused about what it means to love each other. Be the voice in the confusion that points people back to a better way, the true way. Point people to our just and holy God who gives us commandments that are true and just and good for us. His commandments are not burdensome; in fact, they give us true life. Let a searching world know that God loves them and that we love others properly when we love God and keep his commandments.

Long ago there was a man named Naaman who suffered from the terrible disease leprosy. When he was told that a certain Jewish prophet named Elisha could heal him, he decided to pay a visit to this man in the hopes of being healed from his disease. As an indicator of how much Naaman wanted to be healed, consider the gifts he took with him to give to the prophet: 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten changes of clothing (2 Kings 5:5). He was prepared to pay a fortune to the man who could cure him, but his pride almost got in the way of his healing. When Naaman arrived at the prophet’s house, he received instructions to go and wash in the Jordan river seven times. At this, Naaman was furious. “…Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought he would come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ …So he turned and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:11-12). Naaman’s expectations for a dramatic healing meant that his pride was injured by what he apparently considered to be an insultingly simple command: go and wash in the little, muddy Jordan river. Only when Naaman’s servants talked some sense into him did he go and do as he was instructed, and to his delight he was completely healed of his disease.

Like Naaman, our pride has a way of getting in the way. Pride has a sinister way of creeping into our lives in very subtle ways. We may comfort ourselves that we are not particularly braggadocious, that we don’t always talk about our own accomplishments, or that we live modestly and below our means. Though all those things may be true of us, pride can still sneak in the back door and wrap its tendrils around our heart. One sly way that pride infects us is through habitual prayerlessness. This manifestation of pride is hard to notice because it shows up not as the presence of something bad but as the absence of something good. When we do not pray, we are essentially telling God that we think we can do life on our own. Failing to ask God for help reflects a misplaced trust in our own abilities and a lack of awareness of our need for God. Prayerfulness, on the other hand, forces us to humble ourselves and confess our utter dependance on God. Prayerlessness, then, is a litmus test for pride. If we are habitually prayerless we are refusing to honor God by asking him for his aid, forgiveness, and guidance. In a word, if we are prayerless, we are overcome by pride. Ask God to forgive you of any tendencies to prayerlessness and ask him to help you increase your commitment to praying daily. When you do, you will be blessed and God will be honored.

Too often, we suffer from spiritual goldfish syndrome. We live as if we have forgotten that we have received the best news ever! We muddle through a mundane day, forgetting that we are children of the Most High God who has adopted us into his family and promises to give us an eternity with him in glory! For the Christian, life is not a series of pointless days stretching into a meaningless existence. For the Christian, life is rapidly progressing towards God’s purposes and each day is therefore to be used for his glory! But it is so easy to forget all this and slip back into neutral. It’s so easy to get sucked into the minutiae of life, to be distracted by the fleeting, unimportant things of life, and to grow desensitized to the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The solution to this problem is the practice of remembering.

Every day, take a minute to remember the gospel. Remind yourself every day of the truth about who you are and whose you are. Remind yourself that God saved you, not because he was impressed with your spiritual resume, but because in his mercy and kindness he offered his Son as a sacrifice for our sins, to pay our immense debt, so that we could be saved through faith in him. Remind yourself that because God saved you through the death of his son, you belong to him. Your life is not to be used for your own will and desires but is to be lived for the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-3). Remind yourself that God is always faithful, and he will not fail on his promises. Remind yourself that death is not the end of your existence and that you will live for eternity after death. Remind yourself that because you are in Christ, you are delivered from God’s wrath against sin, that you are washed, sanctified, and justified. 

Paul told the Ephesians to remember their condition apart from Christ in order to appreciate the good news of Jesus Christ. “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11-13). This was their story; this is our story. Without Christ we are separated from Christ, without hope and without God. Never forget where you came from. Never forget what God rescued you from. Never forget how much God has done for you. Never forget that God loves you and sent his Son to die for you and gave you his Spirit to strengthen you. Remember the best news ever—Jesus Christ our Lord!

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’” (Luke 2:1-11).

There is something about these beloved words that brings us so much comfort. We need look no further than this story of the birth of Jesus to wonder and marvel at the tenderness, gentleness and humanity of Christ in his incarnation. If anyone ever deserved to be welcomed with great acclaim at their arrival, it was Jesus Christ. Yet in the wisdom of the plan of God, his Son Jesus came to earth in the meekest way possible—born as a weak, helpless human baby. No fanfare. No displays of power. No reception by the world leaders. The All-Powerful Son of God, the Word through Whom the world and everything in it was made, took on human nature and began his life on earth just like one of us. What a beautiful picture that reminds us that Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45)! He did not hold us at arms length, immune from the weaknesses we experience. He took on human nature and lived his life as a man, experiencing the limitations and temptations common to our human experience. He had all power and all authority, but he humbled himself and became a servant of all. The Christmas story is not just a cute story about a barn and animals gathered around a baby boy. It is one of the most dramatic pictures of the lengths to which God went to rescue us. The Christmas story is the picture of our great and powerful God who humbled himself and took on human nature in order to live a perfect life and be the perfect sacrifice for us on the cross. He is our Savior, he is Christ the Lord.

For some people, Christianity is like pure mathematics: it’s very engaging at the theoretical level but has little connection to everyday living. For others, their faith is alive and active and breathes life and purpose into every nook and cranny of their existence. It’s like the difference between a traditional degree in a highly theoretical field and a degree in the trades from a College of Applied Arts and Technology: the former is cerebral and theoretical while the latter is hands-on and practical. The choice between the theoretical and the practical is a valid choice for career preparation, but when it comes to our faith, those are not equally valid options. A relationship with God is meant to be intensely practical, not merely theoretical, and the Old Testament scribe Ezra gives us an example of this very thing.

The book of Ezra is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. Ezra lived in a time when things were finally looking bright for God’s people again after years of captivity and exile. Ezra received permission from the King of Persia to return to Jerusalem to help with the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord. During his journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem, God was with him to protect him. Then we read this inspiring line about what kind of man Ezra was: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).

Like Ezra, if we are going to follow the Lord and walk with him in this life, we must set our heart to do it. Set your heart and firmly resolve to walk faithfully with our gracious God. Notice what it is that Ezra set his heart to do: he set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to do the law of the Lord, and to teach the Law of the Lord; study, do, teach. There is a natural order to these three: first we must study so that we can understand what God has revealed to us. Second, we must take action and obey his word. Third, we must teach others so that they too can know the Lord and enjoy him forever. Christian, Ezra is a great example, but ultimately Ezra, like each of us, was imperfect. It doesn’t matter how much we study God’s word, how perfectly we try to obey it, or how many people we teach, we are still sinners in need of a Savior. And that’s why I’m thankful for our Lord Jesus, who came and lived a perfect life and died for us. Ezra sets a great example, but he can’t save you. Only Jesus can save you. So give thanks for the salvation we have through Jesus, and follow the example of Ezra, who understood that our relationship with God cannot be merely intellectual. Our faith must be vibrant and active and alive.

According to some estimates, as many as 70 billion cells in your body die every day. That’s a 7 with ten zeros behind it! This normal process of cell death—called apoptosis—is perfectly natural and even beneficial for our bodies. Nevertheless, it points to a much harsher reality. One day our body—not just some cells inside us—will die. Even before our body fully develops, we experience injuries and pain and disease, all symptomatic of the deeper weakness and mortality of our bodies. It is only natural to fear death and the unknown that comes with it, but God promises us that death does not get the final word. Because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, we are assured that we too will experience resurrection and conquer death. The same power of God that raised Christ from the dead is now at work in us and gives us new life (see Ephesians 1:15-20, Romans 8:11).

Paul tells us that the body we have now is a perishable body (1 Corinthians 15:42). It gets tired easily. It wears out. It gets old. But at Christ’s return, our weak and worn out bodies will be raised from the dead and will become glorified, resurrected bodies. We will no longer be subject to the pains and diseases that sin brought into the world. We will no longer be under the power of death but will live eternally with our God. Paul describes this reality for us in 1 Corinthians 15:52b-56. “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory?’ ‘O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

For those in Christ, death is not the end of the story. Unlike many in the world who have no hope, we do not look at death and conclude that life is pointless and meaningless and therefore we ought to live for maximum pleasure in the here and now. As Christians we look at death and see an eternity beyond it and realize that this life profoundly matters because what we do with these short 70 or 80 years on planet earth impacts our eternity. Thus, we ought to be diligent in working for the Lord: “Therefore, my beloved brother, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Christian, when you give your life to the Lord, it is not in vain. He will reward you with eternal life and with an imperishable body.

Three young Jewish men were once confronted with a momentous decision: worship a golden idol or face the murderous rage of the king. With the benefit of hindsight, we know how their story ends. But when they made that crucial decision, they did not know how it would end. These three young men were some of the first to be taken as exiles from the conquered Jerusalem (Daniel 1:3-4). Ripped from their home country, they were taken to the far-away city of Babylon where they were trained in all the customs of that nation. Their indoctrination included new identities; their Jewish names (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) were discarded and they were forced to adopt new Babylonian names, the names we usually know them by: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 

In this foreign land, surrounded by all the pressures and influences of a pagan culture, these young men would have had every reason to give up their faith in the God of Israel and completely assimilate to the ways of the polytheists around them. But against all odds, these three young men clung to their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who performed amazing signs when he led his people out of the land of Egypt and into the promised land all those hundreds of years before.

The test of their faith came when the King commanded all his subjects to worship the golden image that he made (Daniel 3:1-12). For loyal Jews, it was unthinkable to worship anything or anyone other than God himself. Knowing the penalty that disobedience to the King’s command would bring, the three young men resolved that they would not worship the image. They were promptly summoned before the king and given one more chance: worship the image or be thrown into a furnace. These men had the faith to reply to the King, “…we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). The young men trusted that God was able to save them from the anger of the king and the power of the fire, but regardless of whether or not he would choose to save them, they refused to betray their God, come what may. This extraordinary faith was rewarded by God, who did in fact save them from the fire. Their faith became a powerful witness in their own day and an incredible example for us. These were men who by their faith “quenched the power of fire” (Heb. 11:34). Christian, there is nothing that your God cannot do! Resolve to have the faith these men had, and remain faithful to God, come what may.

It is very important for parents raising children to follow through with their promises, both of punishment for wrong behavior and reward for right behavior. Empty words without action destroy a child’s confidence that his father and mother mean what they say. God, like a good father, never made empty promises to the Israelites. God was faithful to his word to reward obedience and faithful to his word to punish disobedience. He was consistent in giving them what they deserved according to the terms of the covenant that he made with them.

Thus, given their repeated and blatant disregard for the covenant, it was only right that God should punish his people with exile, as he had promised he would do (Deut. 28:64). But in their culture, the welfare of a nation was thought to reflect the power of its god; thus for the nation of Judah to be conquered and exiled was all the evidence the foreign nations needed to conclude that their gods were more powerful than Yahweh, the God of Judah. To address this issue and vindicate his name in the eyes of the nations, God promised to act once again on behalf of his people. 

While they were in exile, the Lord told his people through the prophet Ezekiel, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name… And the nations will know that I am the LORD… I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land… And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:22-27).

In this passage, God promised to bring his people back from exile. This promise was fulfilled when King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 1). God also promised to begin a marvelous renewal among his people, described as giving them new hearts and putting his Spirit within them. This promise was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, who inaugurated a new covenant that began in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the entire world. It is one of the greatest blessings of the new covenant that we now have the Spirit of God within us! God’s Spirit is with us to strengthen, comfort, and empower us. And as Ezekiel said, Spirit-filled people walk in God’s statutes and carefully keep his word. The question for you and I, then, is this: Does my life bear the fruit (i.e. evidence) of the Spirit?

In the days before radar and Ring video doorbells, the job of the watchman of a city was critical. It was his job to be alert and constantly on the lookout for any dangers that could threaten the city, especially dangers that come in the form of enemy forces marching on the city in time of war. If he saw an approaching threat, he was to raise the alarm immediately. Time was of the essence. The sooner the inhabitants of the city were alerted, the better chances they had of being prepared to meet the danger and respond appropriately. The job was a stewardship of trust on behalf of the people, whose welfare depended on the watchman doing his job properly. Falling asleep while on watch has always been treated as a serious crime, since it could lead to devastating consequences for many others.

You can guess exactly what this has to do with us. We don’t have watchmen any more who patrol the physical walls of the city, but you and I are watchmen with a spiritual job description. Our job is to warn other people—our family, neighbors, co-workers—of coming spiritual danger. And falling asleep while on duty is no less serious for us than it was for watchmen back in the day. God made this point abundantly clear to the prophet Ezekiel. He said, “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to them to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul” (Ezekiel 33:7-9).

The reality is that if Ezekiel failed to faithfully discharge his duties as a watchman for the house of Israel and people died in their sin, Ezekiel was partially responsible for their demise. Though not guilty for their sins, by failing to warn them he becomes complicit in their condition. On the flip side, Ezekiel was not responsible for their demise if they refused to hear his warning. In that case, they alone would bear the consequences for their actions. As the recipients of God’s greatest and final revelation through Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-2), this ought to be a sobering passage. We know the answer to people’s greatest need. We know the standard by which all people will be judged. We know the God who loves all people and longs for them to be in a relationship with him. If we know all this and do nothing to share it with others, then whose is the greater guilt, theirs or ours?

Most people who get a taste of power, popularity, and influence have a very hard time letting go. This fact is what makes the ancient story about the Roman politician Lucius Cincinnatus (c. 519–c. 430 BC) so remarkable. In times of great crisis, the Roman senate could elect a dictator who was given absolute power in a last-ditch effort to handle the crisis. He was expected to lay aside his powers after resolving the threat. It was impossible that giving one man such great power didn’t also bring with it the temptation to misuse that power and to hold on to it after the crisis was over. Some dictators did indeed abuse that power, but Cincinnatus was so highly respected by his fellow state officials that not once but twice he was made dictator by the senate. On both occasions, he used his power to quickly resolve the threat and then promptly resigned, turning his power back over to the senate. He was long remembered by the Romans as a model of selflessness and service to his people.

This story about Cincinnatus reminds me of a story in the Bible about another man who knew his place and was strong enough and humble enough to let go of his influence and position—John the Baptist. Before Jesus even began his ministry, John was leading a wildly successful campaign in the wilderness, teaching the people about the kingdom of God and baptizing crowds of people (Matt. 3: 5-6). John was called by God for this moment in time. His job was to prepare the people for Jesus. But how tempting would it have been for John to make it all about himself when he saw how popular his message was and how many scores of people were following him? But John didn’t make it about himself. He knew his place in the story and he stuck to it. Then Jesus began his own ministry, which would quickly begin to eclipse John’s ministry (John 4:1-2), and John’s response shows us exactly where his loyalties were. 

Some of John’s followers came to him and said “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan (i.e. Jesus)—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him” (John 3:26). John could have been disgruntled that the success of Jesus’ ministry was taking away from John’s ministry. Instead, he said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. …I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ …The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28-30). He couldn’t have said it any better. Like John, we have a role to play in God’s story. But it’s God’s story. It’s not about us—it’s all about Jesus. Don’t try to make it about you. Make it about Jesus.