I haven't updated this site in a number of months.  It is, in essence, finished.  Still want to catch me?  Let me recommend highly my other site, which I do update approximately once every two days.

I hope you'll all find it useful to you in some way, shape, or form.

God bless you all,

JB

--Paul of Tarsus (1 Timothy 1:17)

In this very brief passage, Paul gives us a very quick look at the nature and attributes of God.  Let us examine them one-by-one.

Paul declares that God is the King, that is, King over all.  God is sovereign over all and rules over all, and let us not forget that Jesus (included very intrinsically within the divine identity) is given the title "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16).  He demands our absolute allegiance, and anything less is treason against His exalted identity.  And yet, there are still spiritual anarchists here on earth who would dare insult this King and endeavor to deny His authority over them, even His very existence!  Heaven help these foolish, rebellious, Psalm 14:1-type souls before it is too late!

Next up, Paul affirms that God is eternal.  We can know this purely by reason, even, for God is Creator of time, and thus is beyond time's reach.  Therefore, God is eternal.  But dwell for just one moment upon what it means to be truly eternal.  God is truly set apart from all of the creation by His very nature!  How dare the ancient pagans liken the Almighty to mere idols!  No wonder such a thing is blasphemy, to degrade the eternal to the merely temporal.

Paul acknowledges that God is immortal, completely undying.  Think of it!  Our astounding, omnipotent God will never pass out of existence.  Though ages come and go, He remains constant and unchanging (Malachi 3:6).  Contrast our immortal God with the false gods, who "shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens" (Jeremiah 10:11).

Paul next asserts that God alone is truly wise.  And indeed, God has limitless wisdom, for as Paul declared, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33).  Furthermore, Jesus is described as "the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).

Paul sums up with a statement that God is due "honor and glory forever and ever".  Meditate upon God's awesome worth!  More than all the treasures of all the world, more than the noblest of His creation, God is honorable, glorious, majestic, and holy!  We are compelled by His awesome presence to cry out with the 24 elders, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Revelation 4:11)!

--Jesus the Son of God (John 15:13)

The depths of love are clearly revealed in its ultimate expression: self-sacrifice.  True love is marked by a deep willingness to sacrifice oneself for the good of others.

Picture the man who sees a small child playing innocently in the middle of the street.  From around a sharp bend, a large truck hurtles down the road, aimed directly for the child.  The man sprints and dives, pushing the child out of the way, but he himself is struck and seriously injured, perhaps even killed.  This is sacrifice of self.  This is love.

Let us take a few examples from the songs of Mark Schultz.  One of his more well-known songs is called "Letters from War", and it is about a young soldier in correspondence with his mother.  One day, his mother receives a letter saying:

The young soldier in this song imperiled himself greatly to save his fellow soldier!  In the song, the young soldier eventually returns home, safe and sound.  But imagine the great sacrifice made by so many soldiers over the thousands of years of human history!  That is sacrifice.  That is love.

Mark Schultz has another song called "Legend of McBride".  In it, a legendary Texas Ranger named John McBride runs into a burning hotel in order to save a very young boy.  The boy emerges, safe and sound, but the roof caves in, killing McBride.  That is sacrifice of self.  That is love.

But where can we look for the absolute exemplar of self-sacrificial love?  To the one who sacrificed the most, even for those who despised Him: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As Paul wrote to the Christians in first-century Ephesus, "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Ephesians 5:2).  And John wrote, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:6).

Jesus Christ is truly the foremost example of what it means to love in a self-sacrificial manner.  And He has said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34).  So let us follow His command and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it."

--the unnamed Shulamite bride of Solomon (Song of Songs 8:7)

Is there any force so great and powerful as love?  Is there any power in all the cosmos that could even hope to match its timeless strength?  Surely not!  For love indeed is the foundation of virtue.

There was a Roman poet named Publius Vergilius Maro, although we commonly know the fellow as Virgil.  He stated, "Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amori" (Eclogues 10.69).  Translated, his statement means, "Love conquers all, and let us too yield to love."

The Buddha also commented on the power of love.  In the Dhammapada, he remarked, "Hate is not overcome by hate; by love alone is hate appeased.  This is an eternal law."

What is greater than love?  Nothing!  Paul of Tarsus wrote, "And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Likewise, John the Apostle penned these words: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:7-11).

Clearly, love is a most important thing!  There is an old saying, I recall, that "love makes the world go 'round."  And truly it does, for the power and majesty of God are demonstrated in His perfect love.

What is love, one might ask?  How can love be described?  Ah, but fortunately, Paul of Tarsus said, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Let John the Apostle have the next words in our speech on love: "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:15-16).

If the very essence of God is love, then surely love is a mighty force, stronger than any storms that can arise, mightier than the blades of a thousand warriors, able to overcome the fiercest of onslaughts!

What, then, are we to do?  John the Apostle has one last thing to tell us before we permit him to rest once more.  He wrote, "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also" (1 John 4:21).

Paul of Tarsus leaves us with the words, "But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11).

But let the last words belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

--Paul of Tarsus (1 Corinthians 3:4-7)

There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this passage.  Note the humility of Paul.  His declaration here is that his work is wholly dependent upon God.  His efforts were not the decisive factor; God was the one who performed the true miracle of regenerating the hearts of the Corinthian Christians.

Whatever we do, whatever we accomplish, we must remember that our gifts are just that: gifts.  Gifts from God.  We must keep that in mind.  Though we may toil, God is He who gives the increase.  Without God, we can truly do nothing.

Though we may preach, it is the Spirit of God that convicts the heart.  Though we may evangelize, our efforts would be absolutely fruitless in every circumstance, were it not for God's involvement.

Let us therefore be wary of attaching too much importance to a particular human leader.  Be it Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, or another, they are nothing but what God has made them.  Instead of glorifying them, we must glorify God.

Let us remember that these leaders are human.  No more, no less.  As are we.  God alone is God.  God alone is holy.  God alone is worthy of the highest praise.  Even Billy Graham, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen are sinners.  Christ is sinless.  If a teacher does not point to Christ, that teacher does not perform his/her true duty.  If a leader does not lead to Christ, that leader does not perform his/her true duty.  Let us be a Christ-centered people, following Christ over others.  For then, we shall truly have our priorities set in the proper manner.