In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought I would share an interesting article !

ROME (Reuters) - Call it the eternal embrace.

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.

“It’s an extraordinary case,” said Elena Menotti, who led the team on their dig near the northern city of Mantova.

“There has not been a double burial found in the Neolithic period, much less two people hugging — and they really are hugging.”

Menotti said she believed the two, almost certainly a man and a woman although that needs to be confirmed, died young because their teeth were mostly intact and not worn down.

“I must say that when we discovered it, we all became very excited. I’ve been doing this job for 25 years. I’ve done digs at Pompeii, all the famous sites,” she told Reuters.

“But I’ve never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special.”

A laboratory will now try to determine the couple’s age at the time of death and how long they had been buried.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Words: John Newton, Olney Hymns (London: W. Oliver, 1779).

The Love of God is in the Cross
By: Kirk Cameron, August 20, 2002

As I began to understand the use of the Moral Law to bring repentance, the question arose in my mind, “But if we tell unbelievers about the Law, sin, righteousness, judgment, Hell, and then the Cross, are we under-emphasizing God’s love and grace? After all, isn’t love what the gospel is all about?” A few good friends have also asked me this question and I am grateful for their bluntness because it cuts to the chase.

The Bible consistently defines the love of God toward sinners in two words: the cross.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . . (John 3:16).

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we sere still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10, NIV).

Always and without fail, God uses the cross as the supreme example of His love toward sinners. Surely God offers the saved believer daily comfort, joy, inner peace, patience, self-control, and a safe harbor in times of trouble, but never does He offer it to the unbeliever. Check it out yourself. Look in your Bible to find any instance of Jesus, an apostle, or a prophet offering an unrepentant sinner any form of God’s love other than Jesus’ blood on the cross. Rather, God’s wrath is on them! The cross is love’s masterpiece. The cross is God motivated by love, running toward the sinner to rescue him from the flames of eternal punishment.

If I were to pinpoint a time in my life when my earthly father clearly demonstrated his love for me, I know exactly when it would be. It was the time he saved my life. I was four years old, playing on a boat dock, and I fell into the water and was drowning. I likely would have died if my father had not been there to save me. He dove into the water and rescued me. I know that my father loves me because he saved my life. I don’t need to look any further for proof of his love. I couldn’t want better proof that my father loves me than the fact that he risked his own life to save mine, and every other demonstration of love pales in comparison to that supreme moment of mercy.

So when it comes to telling sinners about the heavenly Father’s love, if we have to point beyond the cross where Jesus rescued them from the waters of eternal death, we are missing the focal point of God’s love. If you feel the simple message of the cross is not enough to describe the love of God… would you say that to the Father who sacrificed His one and only Son? Would you say it to Jesus who loved you and gave His own life for you? Would you say it to the countless martyrs who died for their faith simply because Jesus loved them and died for them? To promise an unsaved sinner anything more than the full mercy and compassion of the cross is to go beyond Scripture. As Paul said to the sinful Corinthians, “When I came to you … I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1,2, emphasis added) And again, “For Christ (sent me) to preach the gospel…For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18) So Paul determined not to preach anything but “Christ crucified,” because nothing but “the message of the cross” is the power of God to salvation.

Perhaps the problem isn’t that sinners need more than “Christ crucified,” but to hear a better explanation of the One who loved us and gave Himself up for us. As messengers of life to a dying world, we must point people to Jesus and magnify the love of God in Him. We must expound the love that held Jesus to the cross, and fill the mind of the unsaved with the knowledge of God’s solemn promise - written in his own blood - to forgive those who believe in Jesus. Without this rich explanation of the cross, we will no doubt paint God as cold and uncaring. God help us to faithfully proclaim the full love of God in the mercy of the cross.

Believer, do you understand that love yourself? Do you understand what you were saved from? Have you ever looked for yourself into the mirror of God’s Law and seen your own heart’s exceedingly sinful reflection? Do you know how hot the flames burn in God’s eternal prison? Have you ever wept tears of gratitude for the precious blood of Jesus spilled to save you? If not, you will no doubt find it difficult to explain to others.

These are sobering thoughts for me as well as for anyone who has not yet fled to the Savior to escape the wrath to come. A fool will dismiss them as judgmental, but a wise person will examine himself to see if he is in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Visit Tanya’s blog for the story.

When you think of love, what pops into your mind? If you’re familiar with The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman, the following are probably coming to your mind: 1) Words of affirmation, 2) Physical touch, 3) Acts of service, 4) Giving gifts, and 5) Quality time. What do each of these love languages have in common? Each expression can involve some level of sacrifice. Read Paul’s words to the Ephesians:

Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…
The Greek word for “imitators” is Mimetes (mim-ay-tace’). From this Greek word, we derive the English word “mimic”. Since Jesus is God-in-flesh, his words, his thoughts, and his actions are the things we should mimic. To what things is Paul referring? The last verse of the previous chapter tell us! Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Jesus illustrates this truth in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35).

The gist of the parable is this: A servant acquires a huge amount of debt and is unable to pay back his master. The servant begs for mercy and the master shows compassion by canceling his debt. Not long after his debt was canceled, the servant goes out and finds a fellow servant that owes him a small amount of money and demands immediate payment. The fellow servant can’t pay back the loan, so the servant who loaned him money throws him into prison. The master learns about the situation with his servants and confronts the unmerciful servant and throws him into prison to be tortured until he pays back everything he owes. Jesus wraps up the parable by saying, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The “debt” in the parable of the unmerciful servant is symbolic of “sin”. The master showed an incredible amount of love and mercy toward the servant through forgiving his debt, and the master expected the servant to imitate (or mimic) the same love and mercy toward his debtors. This can be painful because at times we desperately want the person who wronged us to pay for their sins. We might secretly wish bad things for those who hurt us. If we allow anger and bitterness to bend our heart out of shape, we can quickly become like the unmerciful servant. In the parable, the master dealt with the unmerciful servant harshly, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.”

…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…
As dearly loved children, God does not intend for us live a life of FEAR but rather a life of LOVE. If we try to mimic God because we fear him, then we are void of love. 1 John 4:16-18 says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” This is one of the most profound passages in the New Testament. It reveals God’s character, our intertwining relationship to God, how we should live our lives, and how COMPLETE LOVE will cast out fear and give us confidence before the Father on the day of judgement.

Those who “live in love” will have a “love that is made complete”. How might we live in love? If we read on, the verse tells us that, “in this world we are like him [Jesus].” We are to be like Jesus in this world. He is our example, and we are to mimic him. Jesus has given us so many examples to follow, but one of my favorite examples is in John 13 when he washes his disciple’s feet before dinner. John 13:1 says, “…Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” Jesus gets down on his knees, a very humble posture, and washes the dirtiest part of their body. Afterward, he tells them in John 13:14-15, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus was demonstrating a pre-crucifixion sacrifice of self. Jesus Christ, our Lord, became the lowest and humble and a servant to his disciples. He sacrificed all honor and glory he deserved to illustrate the full extent of his love. Jesus finishes the evening by saying to his disciples in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

…as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Jesus went on to physically sacrifice his body as atonement for our sin. No one can mimic this sacrifice because Jesus was without sin and, therefore, Jesus was the only one capable of pleasing God with a blood sacrifice for sin. In fact, God is no longer interested with BLOOD sacrifices for sin, but rather LIVING sacrifices that conform to the Father’s perfect love. Hebrews 13:15-16 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” This passage from Hebrews encompasses the essence of the Law of Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It is only THROUGH the love and mercy of Jesus that our sacrifice becomes pleasing to God.

Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Hebrews 13:15 - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…

1 Peter 2:5 - You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:9 - This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

We are living stones. We are living sacrifices. We live through the love of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Paul speaks candidly about love. It doesn’t matter how much God has blessed you with knowledge, wisdom, or tongues. The strongest faith imaginable doesn’t matter. Completely giving your possessions to the poor doesn’t matter either. The only thing that matters is love.

What did Paul mean when he said, “I am nothing” and “I gain nothing”? In the book of John, Jesus makes it clear how important love REALLY IS.

John 15:4-12
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Jesus is saying this, if you REMAIN IN ME, MY WORDS, AND MY LOVE, you:
1) Will glorify God
2) Will bear much fruit
3) Will be given what you ask
4) Will show yourself to be a disciple
5) Will obey God’s commands
5) Will have joy that is complete

Jesus is also saying this, if you DO NOT REMAIN IN ME, MY WORDS, AND MY LOVE you:
1) Can bear no fruit
2) Can do nothing
3) Are like a barren branch to be thrown into the fire and burned

Apart from Jesus and his LOVE, we are nothing and we gain nothing.

This must be poem week! Jason Coker started off with a poem from Tram Combs, my wife followed suit by posting two poems she had written several years ago while we were dating. I haven’t written a poem in at least 10 years. I felt inspired, so I just wrote…

Enslaved

Darkness raging within
Silent arrows pricking me
I stand waiting, watching, listening

Enjoyment, laughter, sadness
Confusion
Despair

I’m inside, yet on the outside
I see but I do not understand
Where am I?

Clawing, anger, shivers
Soothing pain
Silence

Tell me where to go
I do not know
Darkness
I’m blind

Desperate
Who am I?
Follow the blind

Sadness, blame, shame
I’m broken
Shhh…

My heart shakes
Who do I serve?
Divided
Fall

Help me
I’m dying
Slowly

Whispers
Reaching
Comfort

Faith
Hope
Love

Love

1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote an article called “Obedience Follows Love.” I looked at an excerpt from John 14 which in summary said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command… Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” I closed with Paul’s challenge in 2 Corinthians 13 to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” How did that examination go? Today I’m looking at another passage related to love.

1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

OUCH! John has become a bit more blunt.

DEMONSTRATED LOVE is the key to determining if we are in Jesus Christ. It’s not a profession of faith such as “I know him,” it’s about following through with our actions. That’s why James said:

James 2:20-24
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Did you see the correlation?

1 John 2
if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him
James 2
his faith was made complete by what he did

The viewpoint of most professing Christians is it ONLY takes basic belief in Jesus to be saved. Verses like John 3:16 that say, “…whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” are being used to support their viewpoint. So how does one know if a “professing belief” is a “genuine belief”?