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February 1, 2018

Verse of the Month - Feb 2018

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)

As I walked through Walmart the other day, I noticed that on the shelves sat Valentine’s Day candy. As I continued picking up a few things, I pondered the topic of love. For us living in 2018, it is important to understand that we have been conditioned and discipled by our culture’s understanding of love. Our culture has swallowed this Greek influenced notion hook, line, and sinker. It permeates with the idea that love is centered on self. Not only is it centered on self, but it also carries with it the notion that it must bring us instant gratification. Sadly, love has become much like a junk drawer. This skewed idea of love is the air we breathe in Western society. I propose that this idea of love has done devastating damage to marriages, the family, and relationships. At it’s root, it has infused a false narrative about love into our lives. Because our culture defines love as being about self, it has also skewed our ability to be loved by others. The poison in the potion has caused us to think that our ability to be loved is based upon how lovable we are. Because of this, we must perform and meet the standards of everyone else in order to be loved.

The Scriptures stand in stark contrast to this understanding and false narrative. In 1 John 4:8, we see where love gets its meaning as it tells us that God is love. So the very character of God defines for you and me the truth of what love is. God is the only one who can set the true definition. So how does God demonstrate this love then? Quite simply, he pursues. Love is defined not by what we get out of it, but rather by what is given. God being love acts in love.

John 3:16 starts off and says, “For God so loved the world.” Think deeply about this, God loves us not because we are deserving of his love and intrinsically lovable—we weren’t. Sin had marred and deformed us. It had beat us up as we shook our fist at the heavens. We were not deserving of love, but the One who is love, set his love on us before the foundation of the world (see Ephesians 1:3-10). God loved a rebellious world of idolaters, rebels, and glory thieves. God loved you and me so much that He gave His only Son. Since this was the plan before time (see Acts 2:23), it is not conditioned upon our performance, but solely upon God’s character. John goes on to say that “whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal live.” Eternal life is knowing God (see John 17:3). Knowing the God, who is love, frees us up to be loved and to extend love. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). This is God’s definition of love and our well to draw from as we pursue loving others.

Written by Pastor Rick Bartek

Posted by Rick Bartek with

October 31, 2017

in Verse of the Month

Verse of the Month - Nov 2017

[4] Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! (Psalm 100:4 ESV)

On Thanksgiving Day, many families and friends will draw together around a table to celebrate the blessings that we have. Although we as Christians should and are called to be thankful for the freedom, abundance, and many other material blessings that God has bestowed upon us, God invites his sons and daughters into something much deeper. The call to be thankful is not limited to a day in November, nor a thankfulness that is limited to our possessions, but rather it is an invitation into a life of thankfulness centered upon who God is. The month of November and Thanksgiving Day are an opportunity for us as believers to orient our hearts back to the Lord. This is the beckoning of the psalmist in Psalm 100 as it calls us to be grateful at all times based upon the character of our God.

A thankful heart that has been liberated is only thankful because of its Liberator. We see this truth in this Psalm. We are called to be make a joyful noise (v 1); to serve the LORD with gladness and come into His presence with singing, thanksgiving, and praise (v 2, 4); to know that the Lord is God and we are His (v 3); and to give thanks to him by blessing his name (v 4). Yet, all of these commands are based upon the who God is. Verse 5 tells us that we are commanded to do these things because the LORD is good, loving, and faithful. These characteristics of God are fully seen in the Lord Jesus.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who displayed God’s goodness, steadfast love, and faithfulness when He purchased us by His blood on the cross and then resurrected from the dead. Truly He cares for us, the sheep of His pasture. He loves us with a love that endures forever! Because God is good, loving, and faithful, we are able to walk in this calling. So this month, may we as believers dwell upon the deeper things orienting our hearts to who God is. Let as a church “enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”