Used at Belhaven University and in the class: Christ-likeness—The Fruit of the Holy Spirit My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you….And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them….Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with …
Christ-like Love: Listening and Speaking
Used at Belhaven University and in the class: Christ-likeness—The Fruit of the Holy Spirit Our Lord Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”1 Christ brings us eternal life with God through His sinless life, His crucifixion and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His eternal alive-ness, His presence with us, …
Hiding In Jesus
You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance….The Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. (Psalm 32:7; 94:22) A Gifted Hymnwriter William Orcutt Cushing (1823-1902) was raised in a Unitarian family, but through Bible reading, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, …
Free in Jesus, but Never Independent of Him
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, …
The Lord is Kind (Part 3)
You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness. Therefore you did not desert your people, even when they made an image of a calf….Show me the wonders of your great loving-kindness you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. (Nehemiah 9:17-18; Psalm 17:7) God (Father, …
The Lord is Kind (Part 2)
How priceless is your loving-kindness, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings….Answer me, O LORD, for Your loving-kindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me. (Psalm 36:7; 69:16) Let’s never forget that God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is love, kindness, and goodness in Himself and in His dealings with human …
The Lord is Kind (Part 1)
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loving-kindness endures forever. (Psalm 136:1) God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is love, kindness, and goodness in Himself and in His dealings with human beings. Evangelist John Blanchard remind us: The Lord loved us when there was nothing good to be seen in us and nothing good to be said …
Why Is Love the Greatest?
Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) One of you asked: Why does Paul say that Christian love is the greatest? Here’s my partial answer: 1. Christ-like love is greatest because it gives evidence of our salvation. 1 John 4:7-12 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love …
Whiter Than Snow
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18) Winter snow reminds me of Jesus’ precious gospel, announced 700 years ahead of His first coming by Isaiah, Christ’s prophet, in the Scripture above. Isaiah …
Looking Back, Up, and Forward to Christ
Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: God’s Son appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16) Many people feel lonelier at Christmas time and most counselors’ caseloads get heavier. No …