Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

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One motive: glorify God
John 6:22-26 “The next day, the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias, near to the place where they ate the bread, after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” A few days ago, we mentioned the discernment that is necessary as we live to love with Jesus. There may be people who expect others to do what they want. They will use those who love because of the benefit they gain. We are reminded from these verses today that we need Jesus’ discernment. He knew they intended to make Him king by force (vs. 15), and He revealed their motives for their benefit. As we love people, we must be careful that we don’t serve people because we want to please them and want their good opinion of us or their friendship. Our one motive in life is to glorify God, to seek His good opinion or pleasure. The way we glorify God is by abiding in Christ and loving with Him. Jesus said that explicitly in John 15:7-8. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” We don’t produce the fruit, Jesus does. He’s the vine, and we are the branches. We display His fruit, which is love, the fruit of the Spirit. By this is our Father glorified through His Son. Abiding in the Father, Jesus confronted the crowd who wished to make Him king. We can draw another important lesson from these verses. We need to check our own motives in our relationship with Jesus. Do we seek Him for the benefits we enjoy? Are we seeking the blessing rather than the blesser? This is easy to do because we receive grace upon grace from Him. He fills us with His goodness, grace, and love. We have the joy of meaningful relationships in the body of Christ. If we are focused on God being glorified in Christ, we will be protected from selfish motives. Living to love with Jesus for the glory of God keeps us in God’s will and blessing. Enjoy this day, recognizing Jesus is your king, your life, and your way to glorifying the Father with your life. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
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3:32
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3:32
Welcome Jesus into your boat
John 6:20-21, “But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. Once the disciples knew it was Jesus, and heard Him say, “Don’t be afraid,” they overcame their fear and welcomed Him into the boat. Although He didn’t say, “I’m here with you,” that was the effect of His words. When we are being tossed to and fro by the storm winds of life, feel the terror of being out of control and imagining things we can’t explain and that make no sense, and are enveloped in darkness, Jesus’ words of comfort are, “I am with you; don’t be afraid.” This is our confidence as we live to love with Jesus in all circumstances. I’m reminded of many times when God’s people were in dire straits and God spoke these words of comfort and encouragement. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. Matthew 17:7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” Hebrews 13:5-6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” In the moment that they knew it was Jesus with them, their fear turned to comfort and their long, arduous night of rowing in the storm ended. Once He got in the boat, John said they were immediately at the shore in Capernaum. Our confidence as we walk through each day to love whoever God puts in our paths in whatever circumstances He orchestrates is that He is with us to help us. He’s in our boat, we are brought through the storm, and that’s what mattered. It’s interesting that John didn’t record any conversation between the disciples and Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I would like to know what Jesus had to say to them. However, apparently what John wanted to communicate was that once Jesus was with them, the storm had served its purpose and so had His midnight hike on the sea. We are meant to be encouraged by this one great reality: Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God who gives life to all who believe. Those who have Him in their boat don’t need to be afraid, and can be assured that they will arrive at their final destination safely. So be it! I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
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3:43
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3:43
Walking with Jesus on choppy waters
John 6:16-19 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. What an interesting and memorable scene. Matthew, Mark, and John all record events of this night on the Sea of Galilee. The boat was large enough for 13 people. It was between 3 and 6 a.m. and dark, so their visibility was limited. The sea was choppy due to a strong wind. The disciples had strained at the oars for hours. Jesus walked on the water toward the boat. Certainly unexpected. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know the comments of the disciples once one of them saw Jesus? Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts inform us that they were frightened, terrified, when they saw a form walking on the sea. They didn’t immediately recognize who it was. Both accounts said the disciples exclaimed, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.” Matthew records that once Peter heard Jesus, he asked Jesus to command him to come to him on the water, which Jesus did. It seems the distraction of the waves occurred once Peter got to Jesus. When he started to sink and called out to Jesus to save him, Jesus took hold of him, and they walked to the boat together. Yes, Jesus rebuked Peter for having little faith, but hey, he did walk on water to Jesus and then with Him back to the boat. I’m impressed, aren’t you? So here are my questions. Why did the Father do this? Why have His Son walk the 3 or 4 miles on choppy waters in the middle of the night when He needed to be resting up for another day of ministry? Jesus certainly could have gotten a good night’s sleep and waited until morning, when He could have made the trip in another boat or have walked in daylight along the shoreline. In Mark 6:48, Mark wrote that Jesus intended to walk past them. Why didn’t Jesus do that? Why did He go near the boat at all if He intended to meet them in Capernaum? That would have been easy to do. How far could they see on a dark, windy night? Maybe 10 or 15 yards? So what’s with going on a four-mile walk on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night? Furthermore, why did John leave out Peter’s walk on the water with Jesus? The reason for all of it was clearly stated by John in 20:31. It’s so we might read this and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that we might have life in His name. For John’s purpose, what mattered wasn’t if Peter walked on the water, but that Jesus loved them so much that He provided undeniable proof that He is the Son of God. In fact, in Matthew’s account, those who were in the boat worshiped Him saying, “You are certainly God’s Son” (Matt. 14:33). That was the conclusion drawn by the experience on the sea of Galilee that night. But I don’t want us to miss Peter’s encounter with Jesus on the sea. I have a couple of questions for you. First, are you convinced that Jesus is the Son of God? It’s impossible to love with God’s love without believing Jesus is God’s Son. To believe He is the Son is to believe the whole of creation belongs to Him and that He is the sovereign Lord of all things and everybody.
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5:29
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5:29
Love with discernment
John 6:15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. There are some liabilities that come with loving with Jesus. One of them is that of being used by others who want what you can do for them. Like some in this crowd of Jesus-followers, they may be forceful in their attempts to control and get what they want. Jesus’ response was not to acquiesce to their demands, but rather to distance Himself from them. Perceiving that they intended to forcefully make Him king, He went further up the mountain and away from their influence. My guess is that all of us have been deceived and manipulated by someone who interpreted our love, kindness, and generosity as a weakness to be exploited. If the love, kindness, and generosity is indeed from Jesus, then they will be disappointed when they can’t get what they want. However, the danger we face is when we are confused or deceived ourselves and misinterpret the need for approval from men, which can motivate kindness and generosity, as love. When we seek the glory and approval of men, we are not loving God or others. It’s a kind of self-love, which can be manipulated by others. Because Jesus sought the glory of God and not men, He knew to avoid people who were self-motivated. As we abide in Christ and love with Him, there may be times when we also discern that we need to avoid such people. Jesus has been tempted in every way that we have, and has not sinned. As we abide in Christ, we can be encouraged that He will give us the discernment we need as we relate to people that God puts in our paths. Everyone God puts in our paths is to be loved, but that doesn’t mean we live to please them. They may be placed in our paths as tests so we may glorify the Father by seeking only His will. The encouragement today is to be discerning. May we walk today with Jesus, abiding in Him, seeking the glory of God, filled with His discernment and love. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
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2:48
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2:48
The greatest sign performed in the world
John 6:14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So far in John, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and now the crowd in Galilee recognize Jesus is sent from God into the world as a prophet because of the signs He performed or the authority with which He spoke. We will see this repeated in later verses. But when I read this verse, I was struck by Jesus’ greatest sign to Israel that He is THE prophet who is come into the world and has authority over life and death. The sign Jesus performed for the world to see that should absolutely give us unshakable courage and confidence as we live to love with Jesus is prophesied in John 2:18-22. The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Romans, and the Jews were gathered together against Jesus as the Scripture says in Acts 4:28, “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Jesus prophesied the sign. Then God performed the first phase of the sign as Pilate condemned Him and His body was destroyed in a few hours by whip and crucifixion. Then three days later, Jesus raised that body to life. Notice, Jesus said, “I will raise it up.” The one who can create bread for 15,000 can create life in His own dead body. That sign is the first in a series of signs where He creates His own life in our dead bodies. Our living to love with Jesus is a sign to the world that Jesus is the Prophet of God sent for the salvation of the world. We embody His greatest prophetic sign because when He died, we died to our lives in this world. When He was raised, we were raised with Him to live with Him forever. In this world, we live with Him to reveal His love and the power of His presence. The reason for this podcast is to plant that seed in the hearts of God’s people so that it will grow into a movement of His love in this world. The world is looking for signs that give their lives meaning and purpose. Most don’t even know they are longing for a savior, but do know they are longing for love. Our purpose is to help them identify their longing for love and connect it to Jesus, their savior. Did you get it? That occurs as we live to love with Jesus. Love is the sign God has given us to perform in this world. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
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3:45
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3:45