LifeLink Devotions

Friday, December 16, 2022

I remember the night years ago I attended the “Christmas” program for one of my grandson’s elementary schools. The reason I reluctantly call it a Christmas program is that there was nothing about Christ in it. There were songs about Hanukkah. There was plenty of Santa Claus. But there was no Jesus – not even one Christmas Carol.

At first that made me very angry. The double standard of claiming separation of church and state and then including non-Christian religions in the program really bugged me. It would be easy for me to focus on that. But that would not change a thing. It would only cause arguments and defensive posturing, and really bring ill-repute to the Gospel message.

I must refuse to let it bother me anymore. It is the reality of the culture in which we live. It is the fulfillment of Scripture about the last days. I do not condone it, but I must not let it become such a burden on my heart that it sucks the joy of Jesus right out of me. No matter what they say or do, I will not stop believing, living, and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world.

They may not do it, but why is that surprising? They have rejected the truth and exchanged it for a lie that they think pleases them. Why should I expect them to promote my beliefs when they stand so diametrically opposed to their own? So opposed, in fact, that they refuse any presentation of the truth to avoid any personal conviction. They call it tolerance, but it is so one sided. But I must not let that become my focus.

It would be easy to get very frustrated and attempt to change the system. That would be a mistake. That would take us all further away from change, not closer to it. Change will come only as the love of Jesus and the truth of salvation are presented constantly and unashamedly before the lost people of the world. When the followers of Jesus switch from telling the Good News to trying to change the policies of society, then society becomes more firmly entrenched in their error.

Instead, I must invest in those to whom the Lord has connected me. My grandson who sang one of the songs about Hanukkah needs to be instructed about and grounded on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. The people sitting near me need to hear me proclaiming the love of Jesus, not frustration with the school system. The world’s system rejects the truth of Jesus Christ.  That is not to surprise us, for it hated Jesus also. How much it bothers you depends on who or what you are living for?

So today, I will choose to focus on THE Foundation of all life.  “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.”(Isaiah 28:16)

Jesus Christ is the sure foundation. He has been tested. He successfully passed every test. He can be trusted to get us through any and every test of our lives. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us. He will never leave us. When we trust Him alone, we will never be dismayed.

All around us every day are individual people who are searching for something upon which to build their life. But what are we saying to them about the foundation of our life when what they see is dismay over the condition of the world around us? The things that cause discouragement and anger in our lives may be different than theirs, but the reality of such attitudes reveals to them the truth that our foundation is no more trustworthy than theirs.

Once again, and with more conviction than ever, I will choose to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as the complete and eternal revelation of God in human form. I know that He came to save us from our sin. I know that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of death that I deserved. I know that He rose from the dead to offer and guarantee eternal life to anyone comes to Him humbly and asks. But the world does not know this stuff, and if they do, they are choosing to reject it. It does not accomplish God’s purpose for us to get angry and complain about what the world doesn’t believe. We are to proclaim Jesus as Savior simply and joyfully. We are not responsible for their response to us. We are responsible for our response to them.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Early one December my wife and I were trying to decide if we should buy an artificial, pre-lit Christmas tree. It was a hard decision. We love the real tree, but it was getting expensive every year to buy one. A very nice artificial tree would pay for itself in 4 years with the real tree savings. But we just couldn’t force ourselves to spend that much money up front. So we bought a real tree again, which smells and looks wonderful. Then we watched the after Christmas closeout sales on the artificial ones and we found the right tree at the right price.

Anyway, while we were looking at trees, we were also picking up other Christmas gifts. One of the items we were looking for was a stable for the display of one of my wife’s nativity sets. She collects them and has a variety of them from all over the world and different places we’ve visited. The hand carved one we got from Swaziland is very special and she wanted a stable to display it.

We were in a particularly “red” department store and didn’t see any nativity sets or stables or mangers. We decided to ask a clerk where they might be. His response shocked us but is truly indicative of the spiritual state of things in America. He said, “We don’t have any. We didn’t even order any this year for our stock.”

Imagine that – Christmas without Christ. What’s left? Mas? What is mas? Well let me tell you what mas is in different languages.

In English, mas is a symbol used in astronomy. So? Well, if we leave Christ out of Christmas we may see and study the stars but miss the Star that leads us to Christ.

In Iceland it means chit chat or small talk, which describes the depth of relationship we experience with people and with God when Christ’s love is left out.

People in Indonesia know mas as gold, which becomes the pursuit of everyone who leaves Christ out of Christmas. We learn to trust human resources rather than God. We become takers not givers.

The Italians use mas as an acronym for a motorized attack ship – a torpedo boat. War will be the result leaving Christ out of culture.

Finally, in Danish, the word mas means trouble. As a verb it means to crush. When we choose to leave Christ out of Christmas, we are inviting the troubles of this world to crush us. Without Christ there is no wisdom or understanding. Without the Messiah there is no direction for life – no counsel. Without the humanly powerless baby in a manger we will never experience the limitless power of His eternal presence. If we reject the Child that was given to us at Christmas, we will perish for lack of knowledge.

But add Christ to mas, and in any language it means hope. It means salvation. It means life. Look at what the prophet says about the Messiah Jesus Christ. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:1-3)

In Latin the word mas means man. Christ the man, the Son of God. Without Christ all hope is in man. With Christ man’s hope is in the Savior of the world. Life without Christ leaves us hopeless. Life with Christ gives us everything we need – for today and for eternity. Don’t leave Christ out of Christmas.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

 Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…”

“To us.” “To us.” Twice stated as the direct objects of the verbs. To us a child is born. To us a son is given. “To us!”

I am fascinated by the word “us”. What a significant word. I am not sure I can adequately express the thrill I feel when I use the word to describe my relationship with God. Maybe this story will help. I found this old story in a magazine years ago and it spoke profoundly to me today. It is from the memoirs of Margery Tallcott.

“When our son Pete was six, it was a Depression year, and the bare essentials were all we could afford. We felt we were richer than most people, though, in things of the mind and imagination and spirit. That was a comfort of sorts to us, but nothing a six-year-old could understand.”

“With Christmas a week off, we told Pete that there could not be any store-bought presents this year—for any of us. “But I’ll tell you what we can do,” said his father with an inspiration born of heartbreak. “We can make pictures of the presents we’d like to give each other.”

“For the next few days each of us worked secretly, with smirks and giggles. Somehow, we scraped together enough to buy a small tree. But we had pitifully few decorations to trim it with. Yet, on Christmas morning, never was a tree heaped with such riches! The gifts were only pictures of gifts, to be sure, cut out or drawn and colored and painted, nailed and hammered and pasted and sewed. But they were presents, luxurious beyond our dreams: A slinky black limousine and a red motorboat for Daddy. A diamond bracelet and a fur coat for me. Pete’s presents were the most expensive toys cut from advertisements. Our best present to him was a picture of a fabulous camping tent, complete with Indian designs, painted, of course, by Daddy, and magnificent pictures of a swimming pool, with funny remarks by me. Daddy’s best present to me was a watercolor he had painted of our dream house, white with green shutters and forsythia bushes on the lawn.”

“Naturally we didn’t expect any “best present” from Pete. But with squeals of delight, he gave us a crayon drawing of flashy colors and the most modernistic technique. But it was unmistakably the picture of three people laughing—a man, a woman, and a little boy. They had their arms around one another and were, in a sense, one person. Under the picture he had printed just one word: US. For many years we have looked back at that day as the richest, most satisfying Christmas we have ever had.”

US! God sent Jesus to make “US” possible. How hopeless we were when the “us” only included you and me and a few friends. But God sent Jesus to “us” so we could join His “US”. We have received the greatest gift we could ever get when we accept God’s gift of Jesus who personally places us into the eternal “US”.

To us a child is born. To us a son is given. We needed it. We admitted it. We repented of our sin. We were forgiven for our sin. We received God’s Gift, and now – just think of the wonder of this – now we are included in God’s glorious “US”. He accepts us. He honors us. He changes us. He lives in us. We are God’s “US”!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

The following is a true story: Two weeks before Christmas a nine-year-old girl was walking with her friend down the street, sliding on the ice. The two of them were talking about what they hoped to get for Christmas. They stopped to talk to an old man named Harry, who was on his knees doing his best to pull weeds from the frozen ground around a large oak tree. He wore a frayed, woolen jacket and a pair of worn garden gloves. His fingers were sticking out the ends, blue from the cold.

As Harry responded to the girls, he told them he was getting the yard in shape as a Christmas present to his mother, who had passed away several years before. His eyes brimmed with tears as he patted the old oak. “My mother was all I had. She loved her yard and her trees, so I do this for her at Christmas.” His words touched the girls and soon they were down on their hands and knees helping him to weed around the trees. It took the three of them the rest of the day to complete the task. when they finished, Harry pressed a quarter into each of their hands. “I wish I could pay you more, but it’s all I’ve got right now,” he said.

The girls had often passed that way before and as they walked on they remembered that the house was shabby, with no wreath, no Christmas tree or other decorations to add cheeriness. Just the lonely figure of Harry sitting by his curtainless window. The quarter seemed to burn a hole of guilt in the one little girl’s mind as they returned to their homes. The next day she called her friend and they agreed to put their quarters in a jar marked “Harry’s Christmas Present” and then they began to seek out small jobs to earn more. Every nickel, dime, and quarter they earned went into the jar.

Two days before Christmas, they had enough to buy new gloves and a Christmas card. Christmas Eve found them on Harry’s doorstep singing carols. When he opened the door, they presented him with the gloves wrapped in pretty paper, the card, and a pumpkin pie still warm from the oven. With trembling hands, he tore the paper from the gloves, and then to their astonishment, he held them to his face and wept.

Philippians 2:2-8  “…be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,  taking the very nature of a servant,  being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself  and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

As I thought about that story and the way the Scripture describes Jesus, I began to wonder how low I would stoop to help others. Then I found this quote from author, professor, and clergyman Henry Van Dyke, who asks us some penetrating questions. “Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children; to remember the weaknesses and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and to ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day? How about for lifetime? Then you are ready to keep Christmas!”

Jesus stooped down from glory and became lower than the angels He created, so that He might personally relate to us and rescue us. He didn’t just put on the appearance of man for a time. His very nature became that of a servant. (Philippians 2:7) It’s easy for us to put on the decorations of Christmas once a year and act like we are givers. But is giving in your nature? I love this quote from John Stott, who said, “The Christian should resemble a fruit tree, not a Christmas tree! For the gaudy decorations of a Christmas tree are only tied on, whereas fruit grows on a fruit tree.”

Make it your intention this year to let giving and serving be your nature, not just your decoration. When the Christ of Christmas abides in you, and you abide in Him, you will bear fruit that looks like Him.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, December 12, 2022

Luke 2:10-11  “…the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” As I went to my laptop to write this devotional,  those familiar words were ringing in my ears this morning. It reminded me of a story from years ago. I received an email on a Monday morning from someone in the church. She had submitted a prayer request in the worship service for a close friend who needed to be saved. The friend and her husband were going through a serious financial crisis were at risk of losing their home before Christmas. We prayed for her friend’s salvation and for God to reveal Himself miraculously to them.

Here’s a portion of the email that arrived in the early morning hours.

“I know it’s late, but I just can’t wait to tell you!!!!  I don’t think I’m gonna get any sleep tonight, I’m sooooo excited!!  My friend has accepted Christ as Lord of her life!  This is awesome!!!  I am going to send her that book [you gave me].  We are going to go through it together at night.  We already talk every night, so it will be really cool to be able to talk more about how God is working in our lives.  I have always talked about how great my faith is, but it really didn’t hit home for her until today.”

“When I got home from church I found my friend online and asked her how she was doing.  She said her life was hopeless and that there was no way it was going to get better.  I said that I put in a prayer request for her and I can’t wait to see what God does with them.  She said that she felt so hopeless that she didn’t think even God could help them.  I told her that God was the ONLY one that could help them and that all he wanted from her was to give Him her trust and let Him handle the rest.”

“By the time we got home from the Christmas program my friend had made a complete 180!!!  She was laughing, singing and just plain happy.  She told me that she prayed and told God that she believed on Jesus and gave all that was going on to Him and that whatever he wanted to do with it was ok with her. Not even 2 hours later they had a few things pull through and it looks like they are going to have a small but BLESSED Christmas and their house to boot!  The best part is that she’s more excited about the blessed part than the stuff.”

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” Hallelujah! JOY is Jesus Overcoming You. Joy happens when Jesus comes. Joy happens when Jesus takes over. Joy happens when we let go and let God. Joy happens when the Holy Spirit produces the life of Christ in us. Joy is not contingent upon circumstances. Joy abounds in the life of anyone who has Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and has their focus fixed on Him.

The good news of Jesus is for all people. Race doesn’t matter. Status doesn’t matter. Looks don’t matter. Education doesn’t matter. The angel’s announcement to the shepherds in the fields was for all the people, and it was good news that brought great joy. The Savior has come. He has come to save people from their sin and to give them hope again. 

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the joy of Christmas than with the good news that Jesus has come to save another person from their sin. From an eternal perspective, does anything else really matter? Rejoice and give thanks to God, and go and share the Good News.

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, December 9, 2022

1Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

I am amazed at how alert deer are in the woods. They are finely tuned to their environment so they can avoid any and all potential danger. Their eyes have incredible peripheral vision and their heads turn instantly when they detect motion of any kind. Their ears are precise directional homing devices. They can pinpoint the exact location of a sound from amazing distances and come running right to it. I’ve watched bucks respond to the rattle of antlers from half-a-mile away and run to the exact location of my tree stand. Their noses are super-sensitive. They lift their head towards the sky and lick their nose so that the saliva captures all the scent particles in the air. Bucks can tell the direction a doe in heat was walking on a trail after she had been there 12 hours earlier.

And then there’s that non-scientifically proven sixth sense that every hunter knows a deer has. I’ve watched deer just instinctively know something is different than the last time they past that location and turn and run away. They saw nothing. They smelled nothing. They heard nothing. They just sensed something.

The skilled hunter must go to extreme measures to have a chance to get close to these incredible game animals. He must use camouflage to blend into the environment, so the advantage of the deer’s vision is neutralized. The hunter must by quiet – absolutely quiet – making only noises that sound like other animals in the forest or like the deer itself. And he must smell right, or not smell at all. It is the nose of the deer that works the best, and any whiff of scent not natural to the woods will be judged as dangerous and the deer will flee.

We can learn a lot from deer about taking precautions in the forest of the world. We are being hunted. We must develop our senses so we can protect ourselves from our enemy the lion who is stalking us and seeks to devour us. We can ensure spiritual health if we become like deer in the woods. We must be alert to the potential danger lurking behind every tree.

How tragic it would be to find our lives described by the words of the prophet Isaiah. “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Here’s how we can keep alert.

Our eyes will see better in the darkness that surrounds us when they become illuminated by the light of God’s commands. “The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” (Psalm 19:8)

The Lord knows the path that is safe to walk and can release us from any trap into which we fall. We must keep our eyes on Him. “My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” (Psalm 25:15)

With our “eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), we are determined to not allow anything into our field of vision that will be of danger to us. “I will set before my eyes no vile thing.” (Psalm 101:3) “Lord, turn my eyes away from worthless things.” (Psalm 119:37)

Our ears must be tuned to the truths of God’s Word so that we can discern the noise of the enemy. Then we will know and experience the constant guidance of God. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

But hearing without responding will give the enemy a chance to attack. Once we have heard the noise of danger from the world, we must flee immediately and follow the direction of the Lord. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)

Our enemy the devil has camouflaged himself into the spiritual realm of our lives. He has made himself look like an angel of light. He has disguised himself as one of us. With a lying tongue he makes the sounds of the saved, seeking to seduce us into his snare. He has covered the aroma of death emanating from his very being and lies in wait to devour us.

But praise God that even when our hearing is deafened by the noise of the world, and our eyes are dimmed by the darkness of sin, the Holy Spirit, our “sixth sense”, alerts us to danger and causes us to flee. Oh that we would become deer in the forest and apply every sense God has given us to be alert to every deadly danger that the Devil has deliberately designed to destroy us.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, December 8, 2022

1Peter 5:8  “Be self-controlled and alert.”

I ate too much. And I ate the wrong foods. I justified it because it was Thanksgiving, but my lack of self-control got the best of me when I saw the stuffing, potatoes and variety of pies. Self-control is in direct competition with the primary motivation of human life, which is self-gratification.

The Greek word for self-controlled used by Peter here is rich in meaning. There are five characteristics of a self-controlled person that are built into the definition. It is not the same word used in Galatians 5:23 when Paul tells us that one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. That word is much broader and speaks specifically of the conquering of the passions of life. It’s as if Paul tells us the general principle, and then Peter tells us the specifics. To experience the fullness of this fruit of the Spirit, we must break it down into its individual parts and make sure we are excelling in each of them.

So, here they are, with a short challenge for each. May the Word of the Lord enrich you as you make your own personal applications to life.

Self-Control means…

• to be sober – specifically, to abstain from coming under the influence of alcohol. In today’s culture, let’s add drugs to that as well. Any mind-altering influence that dulls our senses, eases our pain, or changes our behavior is a sin. Why? Because it proves a lack of faith in the peace-providing presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.
• to be calm and collected in spirit – I was not calm and collected in the tree stand yesterday. I allowed the circumstance of a deer to influence my thinking. If I had been calm and collected, I would have thought clearly about over-compensating for the downward angle of the shot and I would be cleaning a deer today. In the same way we are to be sober from chemical influence, we must also not let the circumstances of life produce anxiety that alters our thinking.
• to be temperate – to be consistently moderate, mild, and pleasant. We all want to know what the temperature is going to be each day so we can adjust to it. How many people are privileged to be able to use you as their spiritual thermometer and adjust their lives to you because you are so consistent, or temperate? A temperate person is not ruled by their emotions.
• to be dispassionate – to be impartial, unbiased, and fair-minded. We far too often jump on bandwagons. We take sides. We passionately take stands that alienate others. We must separate our emotions from our positions so that the love of God is not overwhelmed by our passion.
• to be circumspect – I love this word. It means to live in such a way that you are constantly watching what’s around you and you are alert to any potential danger. In Ephesians 5:15 the King James Version says, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Fools run around doing whatever they want whenever they want to, totally ignoring the consequences. Wise people are self-controlled, walking through life alert to what might negatively influence them and how their own choices and actions might negatively influence others. More on that tomorrow.

So, be self-controlled. I’m going to specifically apply several of those principles to my life tomorrow when I’ll be back on the tree stand. And again, for those who know me well, that’s not the only place I’ll apply them.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

We just finished my favorite time of the year. I love the smell of fallen leaves. I love the crisp, clean, cool air. I like the heat. No, that’s not a contradiction. I like the type of heat of this season a lot more than the heat of summer. But then, that’s a different kind of heat. It was my favorite time of the year because the deer were in heat. We call it the rut.

That’s an interesting term. For me being in a rut is not a good thing. But I love it when those male deer called bucks get in their rut. They have absolute tunnel vision. They have their minds set on only one thing, and that means they don’t care to know that I’m in the woods with them. They can be tricked and trapped into coming within range of my arrow by the simple imitation of a female mating bleat or the sounds of two bucks fighting over a girl. There is nothing more exciting than to watch it happen and see that deer walking straight towards the sound I made. He walks right in believing that He is going to fulfill the natural instinct that God created into him for the prolonging of the species. His whole life at this time of the year is about reproduction.

1 Corinthians 9:23 “I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”

Every day the lost people of our world are making sounds that should attract us to where they are so we can give them the seed of truth from the Word of God. They are bleating out cries of hopelessness and fear, just waiting for someone to come along and give them the faith they need to go on. That someone is me…and you. This is our opportunity to fulfill the supernatural instinct God’s Holy Spirit has created in us to pronounce the saving power of Jesus. Our whole lives all year long should be about spiritual reproduction.

I wish more Christians were in the rut. I long to see God’s people passionately pursuing the people of the world who are primed to receive the Good News of Jesus. I pray that more followers of Jesus would understand that they have been fully equipped by the Holy Spirit to plant seeds of the Gospel in the life of another person. I pray that our ears would be open to their cries; that our hearts would open to their hurts; that our arms would be extended in love towards them; and that our mouths would be open to speak the truth to them.

When I go into the woods this time of the year, I must change my perspective on how I think. I start thinking like a deer. I must understand his patterns and walk along his paths. I set myself up in an area where he will be, not where I want him to be. Even though I am a man and have been given dominion over creation, I would be a fool to try to go into the world of the deer as a man. I must become like a deer so that I may shoot one.

That reminds me of something the Apostle Paul said.

“Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.  When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23  New Living Translation)

Some of us are in the wrong rut. Some are in the rut of tradition. Some are in the rut of separation. Others are in the rut of legalism. Few are in the right rut of reproduction. Let’s change that. We must stop thinking about how we can walk through the world untouched by it and start thinking about how we can walk into the world and win it. One by one let’s start reproducing our faith.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

God does not love us because of who we are; He loves us because of who He is!

Deuteronomy 7:7-8  “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.  But it was because the LORD loved you.” 

What a mountain of truth. What a stumbling block to the natural mind of man. We think we must earn love. We think love must be reciprocated. We think love is an emotional response. The truth is that love is a Person, and all that emanates from Him is motivated by His eternal nature of love.

Let the words of love God spoke in the Bible touch your heart today, and let all your cares be cast upon the One who loves you with an everlasting love. Please don’t just skim over these verses. They are the Word of God spoken to the longing heart of man. Let them sink in and transform you. They will meet the most fundamental and essential need you have – to be loved.

Psalm 36:7  “How priceless is your unfailing love!”

Psalm 59:16-17  “But I will sing of your strength,  in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Psalm 63:3  “Because your love is better than life,  my lips will glorify you.”

Jeremiah 31:3  “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 15:13  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Romans 5:8  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Ephesians 2:4-5  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 3:17-19  “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Titus 3:4-5  “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

1 John 3:1  “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

1 John 3:16  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 

1 John 4:7-11  “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

1 John 4:19  “We love because he first loved us.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, December 5, 2022

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Are you sure? That seemingly simple question began the downfall of mankind. The sneaky serpent in the Garden of Eden asked that question to Eve. Knowing he would have only one chance to destroy the perfection of God’s creation, he carefully determined the weakest link in a human’s free will. With one question he cast doubt into the mind of the woman. He didn’t blurt it right out. He was subtle. But when he was done, the bottom line was this – Are you really sure that God really loves you?

Think about it. Every doubt we deliberate; every deed we dignify; every dysfunction we develop; they all stem from the evil root of lost love. When we do not know that we know that we know that we are loved, we will do anything to earn it. The certainty of the love of God is the passionate pursuit of the heart of man.

Whether you are one or one hundred, the love of God is the simplest yet most profound truth you will ever discover. Helen Smith of Wheaton, Illinois, writes in Christian Reader,

“My 3-year-old granddaughter, Helen, and her parents were dining at a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal her parents broke open their fortune cookies and read their fortunes aloud. Helen wanted to “read” her fortune, too. “It says,” she announced proudly, “Jesus loves me!”

The simple truth explodes on the heart of a child. On the other end of the spectrum, Karl Barth was invited to deliver one of the distinguished lectureships at a theological seminary in the East, and while he was there a group of ministers and theologians and dignitaries of one kind or another sat down with him in a kind of question-and-answer period. Someone asked the question, “What is the most profound thought that you know, Dr. Barth?” This is what he said: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Four-year-old Ashton Clarke loves the movie Toy Story 2, particularly the space ranger hero Buzz Lightyear. Recently in Sunday school his teacher was explaining that God’s love has no limits. At the end of class, the teacher, reviewing the lesson, asked, “So, how much does God love us?” Quoting Buzz’s big line in the film, Ashton replied, “To infinity and beyond!”

There isn’t a problem you will experience today that is greater than God’s love. There is no tragedy in the world that can put to death the love of God. There is nothing in the life of His child that can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus. You are loved! God loves you!

I close today with the words to a wonderful old song. I can still see and hear my friend Kathy in Minnesota singing this. Let the words touch deeply into your heart.

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

 Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song. 

Pastor John