2 Corinthians 5:17-21 God Loves Us…all of us!

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

No one loves you more than God. There is no one righteous, no one. Salvation is the unmerited and undeserved gift of God offered to all of mankind. No greater gift exists. We are His ambassadors to spread the message of peace and of reconciliation to the world. Carla

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

Reconciled refers to the end of hostility between God and people. Christ’s death provided the means of reconciliation. His suffering made peace between God and humanity possible (Isaiah 53:5 ; 2 Corinthians 1:3).

Paul presented Christ’s sacrifice as the basis of reconciliation and the source of his apostolic vocation (verses 14–18). He wants the Corinthians to understand the centrality of Christ in his ministry in contrast to other teachers, who boast about themselves.

The Hebrew word used here, kosmos, for the world refers to people estranged from God and under the influence of sin and the devil (4:4). God does not use people’s sins as a reason to withhold salvation or reconciliation. 

We are ambassadors meaning  representatives of Christ. Paul and his companions not only spoke on behalf of Christ, but their lives—namely, their endurance of suffering—represented Christ’s life and character. As Christ’s representatives, they were charged with presenting the message of God’s plan of reconciliation to the world.

To be sin describes how God regarded Christ as sin for the sake of undeserving sinners (Galatians 3:13). More specifically, Paul may be presenting Christ as a substitute for sinful humanity or he could be referring to Christ’s identification with sin through His union with sinful humanity. Another possibility is that Paul is interpreting Christ’s sacrifice in light of Old Testament  sacrificial concepts (Leviticus 4:24; 5:12; Isaiah 53:10).

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God demonstrated His righteousness (dikaiosynē) by judging sin yet showing mercy to sinners. Here Paul refers to the idea of Christians becoming the righteousness of God. He may mean that believers, as a result of God’s justification, receive a right standing before God while Christ takes on their sins (Romans 5:8). Alternatively, Paul could be describing God’s righteous character, which believers receive and should live out in their lives. Faithlife Study Bible

Paul is presenting the results of Christ’s death for the believer and the believer’s death with Him (verse 14). Because believers are united with Jesus both in His death and resurrection, they participate in the new creation. That is, they receive the benefits of being restored by Christ to what God had originally created them to be (Genesis 1:26; 1 Corinthians 15:45–49). A believer’s life should change, because he or she is being transformed into the likeness of Christ (3:18). Instead of living for oneself, a believer lives for Christ (verse 15). Instead of evaluating others with the values of the world, a believer looks at this world through the eyes of faith (verse 16).

Because of Christ’s propitiation, His satisfaction of God’s righteous demands, God is now able to turn toward us. God has made us new creatures in Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, a word meaning “a change of relation from enmity to peace.” We who have been reconciled to God have the privilege of telling others that they can be reconciled to Him as well.

God could change His relationship toward us because our sins have been imputed (reckoned) to Christ, instead of to us. In other words, God placed our sins on Christ, who knew no sin. His death was in our place and for our sins. If we believe in Jesus, God counts Jesus’ righteousness as our righteousness (verse 21). 

The word of reconciliation that has been entrusted to us is to tell all people that God wants to restore them to a relationship with Himself (Romans 5:8). This is the Good News that everyone needs to hear.

Ambassadors are more than messengers. They are representatives of the sovereign who sent them. In the Roman Empire, there were two kinds of provinces, the senatorial and the imperial. The senatorial provinces were generally peaceful and friendly to Rome. They had submitted to Roman rule and were under the control of the Senate. The imperial provinces, however, had been acquired later, and were not as peaceful. These provinces were under the authority of the emperor himself. Syria, including Judea, was such an imperial province. To these provinces, the emperor sent ambassadors to govern and maintain peace. Christians have been called by their King to serve as ambassadors in a world that is in rebellion against Him. However, God has given His representatives a message of peace and of reconciliation.

Jesus never did anything wrong. Yet He died for our sins, so that we could be declared righteous, that is to say, justified (verse 19). The NKJV Study Bible

Romans 5:10–11 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Romans 6:3–10 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life…

Ephesians 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Isaiah 65:17

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, or flee his thoughts.

You need not win his love; you already have it. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict: he loves you still. No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love—never failing, never ending. Max Lucado

1 Kings 11:1-13 Only the love of God for His creation can save us from ourselves.

Deuteronomy 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

1 Kings 9:4-7 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

God hates pride and arrogance. We can only stand before Him because of the sacrifice of Jesus who gave up His life for our sins. God gives the good and perfect gift of salvation. The riches of this world mean nothing in comparison to the gift that He offers to mankind and it is  by faith in Christ alone. He  can do what we cannot. Jesus fulfilled the promise to David that the King of the Jews would come from his bloodline. The promises of God will not be broken. Only the love of God can cover the multitude of the sins of humanity. He will not tolerate idols in our lives. Carla

1 Kings 11:1-13 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

The word order in the Hebrew text emphasizes the word foreign, with a secondary emphasis on the adjective many. Solomon had committed two egregious sins. Taking foreign wives violated the Lord’s prohibitions against marrying Canaanite women taking many wives violated the standard of monogamy established at the beginning (Genesis 2:24, 25), and resulted in rampant polygamy, something God had also forbidden to Israel’s future kings (Deuteronomy 17:17). Doubtless many of Solomon’s marriages were in accord with the common ancient Middle Eastern convention of sealing alliances by marriages between members of the royal houses contracting the alliances. Solomon’s yielding to the customs of the day would have serious spiritual consequences for himself (verses 3–13) and his people (2 Kings 17:7–20).

If the reference to 60 queens and 80 concubines in Song 6:8 is to Solomon’s wives, it represents a much earlier period in Solomon’s reign. Although it is true that David did not always live up to God’s standards, he was loyal to God and trusted Him implicitly, even when he was rebuked for his sins (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 32:1–5; 53:1–5). Because of the influence of his many wives, Solomon compromised his faith by worshiping foreign gods. Ashtoreth was a Canaanite goddess of love and war. Milcom was the national god of the Ammonites.

The use of a high place in association with the worship of foreign gods shows the terrible danger that the high places presented to Israel (3:2–4; 14:23; also Micah 1:3). Chemosh was the national god of Moab. His worship was practiced repeatedly by God’s people (2 Kings 23:13). The veneration of this deity is also attested in the recently discovered Ebla Tablets in a form that suggests his association with the city of Carchemish along the upper bend of the Euphrates River. Molech is associated with human sacrifice and with Baal (Jeremiah 7:31, 32; 19:5, 6; 32:35).

God appeared twice before to Solomon (3:5; 9:2). Solomon’s spiritual odyssey may be seen in the details of his audiences with God. While God graciously postponed the division of Solomon’s kingdom until after his death, internal troubles appeared while he was still alive (verses 14–40).

Jeroboam was the son of Nebat (11:26; 12:20). The tribe is Judah, the principal tribe of the southern kingdom. Simeon had assimilated with Judah by this time (12:17, 20, 21). The NKJV Study Bible

In response to Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God raises three adversaries against him: Hadad from the east (1 Kings 11:14–22), Rezon from the north (verses 23–25), and Jeroboam from one of Israel’s own tribes (verses 26–40). Through these adversaries, God destabilizes the peace that Solomon established both within Israel and at her borders (4:24–25) and leads to the division of the kingdom. 

God appeared to Solomon at Gibeon (3:1–15) and after the temple dedication (9:1–9). Yahweh prohibited Solomon from following other gods during His second appearance (9:6). 

The Hebrew word used here, berith, for covenant appears throughout 1–2 Kings in reference to covenants between God and humanity. It also can refer to political treaties (1 Kings  5:12; 15:19; 20:34).

For  the sake of David your father perhaps is a reference to the Davidic covenant, which promised that God would not remove His steadfast love from David’s reigning son (2 Samuel 7:15). One tribe was later specified as Judah, the tribe of David (1 Kings 12:20). Faithlife Study Bible

2 Kings 23:13 Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 

The very gifts that allow us to be fully human and fully alive are fragile precisely because they have the capacity to be broken open. These are all gifts that spill courage and hope.

And I take this wisdom from Kate Bowler to heart. “I think so many of us would like to identify as being soft hearted, but we worry that it’s a liability right now. Shouldn’t we toughen ourselves up? Shouldn’t we get battle ready for a world that doesn’t equate tender heartedness with bravery, survival, or meeting reality head on?
But I think tender heartedness is the ability to stay not just broken, but broken open to the world around us. There’s so much pain that just breaks us. That’s the truth. There’s so much fear, too, and there are very good reasons to feel scared and overwhelmed right now. But I believe soft heartedness is one of the only ways that we can move forward. The alternatives are likely too heavy to bear.”

Here’s the deal: There is exquisite beauty in what is fragile, in what can be broken. In love, tenderness, kindness, generosity, gentleness and empathy, there is strength and power and life.
So, yes. I do want to touch the fragile things.
I do not want my heart to be hard.
I do want my heart to be soft. (Well, at least that’s what I say out loud.)
It doesn’t help that we live in a world where soft isn’t popular. And fragile is considered detrimental. It’s no surprise that we choose tough, fighter, inflexible. It is not unexpected that we hear way too many stories about cruelty and bullying and bombast and ways we demean and diminish one another. When I see this, it is easy to close the door of my heart.

We are human. Yes, we are prone to breakage. That’s not a surprise. Every one of us is, or has tussled with grief, heartache, sorrow, woundedness and loss.

But after a while, there’s no payoff to living implacable or callous. And I want to touch the fragile things. I want to touch my heart. My friends, I believe that the light shines precisely because there are broken places.

Remember, Jesus never told us to create the light. He did not even ask us to make a resolution to try harder. He simply invited us to let the light shine. Meaning that the light is already there. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. And that’s how the light gets out. Sabbath Moments

“When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.”
(From Howard Thurman’s “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”) (Thurman was an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader).

I will light candles

I will light candles this Christmas.
Candles of joy, despite all the sadness.
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.
Candles of courage where fear is ever present.
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days.
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens.
Candles of love to inspire all of my living.
Candles that will burn all the year long.
— Howard Thurman

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 The Lord will guard us and direct us.

O Holy One, your love is no mere feeling
but an act of presence.
You are with us,
among, within and all around us.
The babe in the manger
reminds us:
You are here.
All of this is Holy.
Glory to God, and peace on earth.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The truth of salvation sets us free. We are able to love others because He first loved us knowing this that we are the hands and feet of Christ. We need to slow down so that we can hear the still, small voice of Holy Spirit  who will direct us in the will of God for our good and the good of others. Carla

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

There were those who opposed Paul and his companions during their missionary efforts—both Jew and Gentile (Acts 18:12–13). Paul’s language echoes the prophet Isaiah. He may have been alluding to the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament ) of Isaiah 25:4, which includes the phrase “you will deliver them from wicked men.” God showed His faithfulness by preserving the Thessalonians while they were persecuted (1 Thessalonians 3:6–9).

The  evil one Refers to Satan, the enemy of God (Matthew 6:13; Ephesians 6:16). The promise that believers will be protected from Satan by the Lord may be an allusion to the Lord’s Prayer. Paul asks God to guide the hearts of the Thessalonians—the center of desire and purpose. God displayed his love through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ. The patient endurance displayed by Christ in His own suffering  helps believers endure persecution. Faithlife Study Bible

Paul not only prayed for the Thessalonians, but he also sensed his own need for their prayers. He asked them to pray for the advance of the gospel and for his own deliverance from human opposition. 

Run swiftly refers to the rapid spread of the gospel, while glorified expresses the idea of being triumphant. The verbs suggest not a single victory but a continuing series of victories marking the progression of the gospel throughout the world. 

Unreasonable means the men are capable of harmful deeds, while wicked indicates that they are evil in themselves and desire to corrupt others. These men may have been unbelieving Jews in Corinth who were persecuting Paul at the time he wrote this letter (Acts 18:12, 13). Justice in this world may never come for Christians, but they can certainly pray for deliverance from the wicked.

Although Paul was aware that the Thessalonians might be tempted and prove unfaithful, he was confident that God would establish or strengthen them (2:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:2, 13). He knew that God would guard or protect them (Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:24). 

In the previous verse, he had warned them concerning evil men (verse 2). Here Paul assures them that God will faithfully stand watch over them so that not even the evil one, Satan himself, could get hold of them. This passage must have been especially comforting to the Thessalonians, for they were still experiencing severe persecution on account of their faith (1:4).

With the prayer may the Lord direct your hearts, Paul was indicating that the heart, the seat of a person’s will, is the place where spiritual renewal begins. There God plants His love and patience, traits that will produce a harvest of good works. 

Paul uses the word direct to indicate that God will clear away the obstacles that may stand in the way of their progress toward love and patience. Paul prays that the Thessalonians, when faced with persecution, will be able to show the same type of patience Jesus expressed when people rejected Him. The NKJV Study Bible

Romans 15:31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 

2 Corinthians 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. 

1 Thessalonians 5:24–25 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.Brethren, pray for us.

Matthew 5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

I appreciate my friends Tim Hansel’s paraphrase of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, words intended to make us stop, pray, and reach out to hurting people: “‘I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club to discuss it. I was imprisoned, and you stayed home to pray for my release. I was naked, and you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick, and you thanked God for your health. I was homeless, and you preached to me about the shelter of God’s love. You seem so holy and so close to God, but I’m still hungry, lonely, cold, and in pain. Does it matter to you?’ Don’t just talk about God’s love; please show it.”

With us
And the Word became flesh and lived among us.
—John 1.14

“Sabbath Moments”

This season can also bring up emotions of loss, loneliness, and forgottenness. Maybe you've tried to escape them, but in the face of festivities, there seems to be nothing but time to process what you've experienced. Either way, after Christmas Day, our weary hearts often need rest and a perspective shift.

Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son to save us from our sins. This is the purpose of Christmas. Please quiet my spirit, and bring me back to that silent night so long ago. We celebrate this time because of You. In Jesus' Name, Amen. First5

Merry CHRISTmas!!

 On this Christmas Day, let us be the voices—and arms—of compassion and grace and healing.

“Last night. Cold. I lay in bed realizing that I was, was happy. And I was that. Said the strange word ‘happiness’ and realized that it was there, not an ‘it’ or an object.  It simply was. And I was that. And this morning, coming down, seeing the multitude of stars above the bare branches of the wood, I was suddenly hit, as it were, with the whole package of meaning of everything: that the immense mercy of God was upon me, that the Lord in infinite kindness had looked down on me and given me this vocation out of love, and that He had always intended this.” Thank you, Thomas Merton.

Peace and blessings to all, my friends. May we allow this infinite kindness to find a place in our hearts today. Sabbath Moments