Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 16:22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
Let’s imagine the joy of the disciples when they first saw the risen Christ. Unspeakable joy must have filled their hearts. Peter and the rest of the disciples saw Jesus, risen from the dead, on the third day after He spoke these words. Peter spoke of this joy when he wrote about our new birth through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:8-9).
No one can take away this inexpressible joy any more than they can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. I hope you’ll take a moment and join the disciples in that moment that Jesus appeared to them for the first time after His death. For them and us, it means that our all sin has been removed, death has been conquered, we are never to die, and we know we will forever be with the Lord. We are the beloved of God. May our hearts be filled with His love and joy today so we can love others with Him as a testimony that Jesus lives!

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

This month we celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary. Since my word of the year is truth, the basis for our declaration of independence caught my attention.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The founders believed it to be a self-evident truth that God created all men equal and gave each one the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. They maintained that since those rights were given by God, they could not be taken away by any government. Therefore, the responsibility for securing those rights falls upon the people when a government fails to honor God and the rights of the people. I intend to springboard off of these self-evident truths and zero in on God’s provision of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in and through Jesus Christ.

“In Him was life.”

John 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”

1 John 5:11-12: “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

The idea the Founders had in mind when they used the term life certainly referred to bios or mortal life. If God creates and gives life, it is self-evident that no one has the right to take or destroy that life. The verses above refer to eternal life, one which swallows up mortal life (2 Cor. 5:4). Mortal life is valuable and to be protected, but God has allowed it to be taken away by the devil and his agents, whether they be governments, parents, or enemies. The life that no one can take away is the life of Jesus Christ. If God gives eternal life to someone, that right to life is eternally secure. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John10:27-30). This is a life worth pursuing.

Yes, we, the people, should protect the right to life in this world because it is true that God created each individual at conception and gave them bios, mortal life. We have the right and responsibility to elect people to offices of government that promise to secure that right. I hope you will take that responsibility seriously. However, the bios life you have received from God is not eternal. It will be taken from you. David penned in a psalm the temporal nature of life on this earth. “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Ps. 139:16). Earthly life is limited.

I hope this July 4th, you’ll consider celebrating this Truth: Jesus is the life, eternal life. Do you have it? If you have Jesus, you have the life we should all pursue and celebrate.

John 16:21 “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.”
Jesus chose the example of the anguish and joy of giving birth to a child to give hope to His disciples who were about to go through deep emotional and spiritual pain. Just as the pain is unavoidable in labor, so the pain of the cross and their anguish was unavoidable. There will be no joy in the arrival of the child unless the pain is endured. In the same way, the disciples had to endure great anguish before the resurrection appearance, which signaled the new birth of the children of God. Peter used the birth figure in his first epistle. Let these words be your live to love with Jesus encouragement today.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
1 Peter 1:5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
1 Peter 1:7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Expect various trials each day. We are in labor pains. But we do not labor without hope. There is a resurrection—a revelation of the fruit of the seed of the Holy Spirit—to come to the praise and glory and honor to God. Live with expectation of that future joy.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:19-20 “Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, ’Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, “A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me”’? Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.”
When Jesus was put to death, the world rejoiced and Jesus’ followers grieved their loss. The same happens today as we hear of our brothers and sisters in the faith suffering for His name sake. The world rejoices. As Jesus said only moments before this statement, recorded in 16:2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.” In 15:18, He had said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” Even though we have been given a “heads up” to these things, we still weep, lament, and grieve when the world casts its hatred for Jesus upon His followers. But we are not without hope just as the disciples were not without hope. They had the hope of joy set before them, much like Jesus. The writer of Hebrews wrote about Jesus, “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
As we know, they did weep, lament, and grieve when Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb. However, in a very little while He was raised and appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you. And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” And thus, Jesus’ words in this verse were fulfilled.
Today, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who has promised us that our weeping, lamenting, and grief will be turned to joy. May the hope of joy fill our hearts in this fallen world as we live to love with Jesus.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:17-18. “Some of His disciples then said to one another, ‘What is this thing He is telling us, “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me”; and, “because I go to the Father”?’ So they were saying, ‘What is this that He says, “A little while”? We do not know what He is talking about.’”
Obviously the disciples were confused and puzzled by Jesus’ remarks about being seen, not being seen, then being seen again, and His going to the Father. After the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, all that confusion was cleared up. Jesus, the living God, changed everything! We are now in the age of history where Jesus has come and the Holy Spirit has been given. We have the record of the life and ministry of Jesus as well as His disciples. They went from a confused band of followers of Jesus to a world-impacting, history-making, kingdom-consumed, love-empowered strike force. Their ministries in the world still ripple today. Believers of every generation stand on their shoulders and are encouraged by their testimonies and understanding of Jesus Christ.
Have you ever been confused about Jesus and what He said? If so, just wait a little while. In time, at just the right time, the Holy Spirit will disclose to you what you need from God to manifest His life and light in your world.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com