LOVE: GOD & OTHERS
1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 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.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Preached at 6pm at First Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek, MI in the Lakeview Senior Assisted Living Center – Sunday, May 24, 2026
1 John 4:7-21
SUMMARY:
A. God is love.
B. If we do not love or if we hate others, we do not have the love of God.
C. God showed His love by sending the Son to be the Savior of the world & through the death of Jesus for our sins
D. We receive this Love by acknowledging that Jesus is indeed the risen Son of God.
E. Perfect love drives out fear and removes dread of punishment.
F. We prove that we have received this love by loving one another.
APPLICATION:
1. Receive the love of God in Christ.
2. Love one another in view of God’s love for you.
3. Pray for people in the world who do not yet know God’s love to receive this love.
Posts Tagged With: Jesus
“THE FINAL FRONTIER: A CRY TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH”
By Reuben Kachala
O Church of Christ, you shining bride,
Clothed in light, once crucified.
Redeemed by blood, called to proclaim—
*Have you forgotten your Husband’s name?*
For He, the Lamb with nail-pierced hands,
Declared His worth in every land.
He made a vow, a promise bold:
*“All nations shall My glory hold.”*
From Abraham’s seed, the Word took flight,
To bless all peoples with saving light.
Through Moses, David, prophet’s pen,
*He spoke His heart: “All tribes, all men.”*
Yet today He waits… waits still,
For hearts to burn, for hands to will.
His great ambition unfulfilled—
*The task remains, the world stands still.*
O Church, hear now the voice of flame—
A summons not to play, but claim.
The Great Commission still undone,
*The Harvest waits beneath the sun.*
Six billion souls have heard His Name,
And lifted high the Savior’s fame.
But two billion more still walk in night,
*Untouched by Gospel, lost from sight.*
They live in lands where none have gone,
Where Jesus’ name is yet unknown.
No church to call, no praise to sing,
*No cross, no Christ, no risen King.*
Frontier People Groups—obscure,
Yet two billion lost, of this be sure.
Five thousand peoples, waiting still,
*For just one soul to do His will.*
O Church, what have we done with grace?
Have we kept it locked in just one place?
While 1% go to those unreached,
*The rest stay home where pulpits preach.*
We staff our teams with media pros,
We plant our churches row by row.
We fund our bands, our concerts grand,
*But neglect the unreached in distant land.*
We disciple those already found,
Yet leave the lost in foreign ground.
We’ve built our empires, carved our pews—
*But left the unreached with no Good News.*
What is this Great Imbalance now?
*The time to shift, to act, is now.*
Malawi’s cry, Brazil’s alarm,
From China’s house to Kenya’s farm.
From India’s call to Europe’s shore,
*“Let us send! Let us give more!”*
The Spirit shouts through Paul again:
“Make it your aim to go to them!”
To places where His name’s unknown,
*To build where none have built a stone.*
Oh William Carey, Ralph Winter too—
They saw this task and rallied through.
Shall we just read their tales in books,
*While turning from the unreached’s looks?*
Rise now, O global Church, arise!
Shake off your sleep, open your eyes!
God is moving, the time is near—
*The final tribes must also hear.*
He’s calling not just preachers bold,
But senders, givers, warriors old.
He wants the mobilizer’s cry,
*The intercessor’s daily sigh.*
He wants the technician’s hand,
The advocate to take a stand.
He’s calling trainers, shepherds, teams—
*To live and die for Frontier dreams.*
The FPGs are waiting long—
No church, no witness, no salvation song.
No Gospel seed, no Jesus told,
*No fellowship to break the hold.*
Yet half the missionaries we send,
Go where the Gospel does not need friends.
The rest go feed where sheep already graze—
*But none go into that darker maze.*
Why, Church? Why this tragic split?
Did Christ not call us out of it?
Did He not say: “All peoples reached”—
*Not just our comfort zones and streets?*
The hour is late, the King soon comes—
The trumpet waits, the angel drums.
But will the cry of FPGs
*Be silenced still by our strategies?*
Will He return with tears instead,
Because His bride refused what He said?
Because we prayed and played and taught,
*But never reached the lands He sought?*
O Church, repent. Return. Reclaim.
Renew your call. Rekindle flame.
The task remains. The map still burns.
*The King still waits. The Spirit yearns.*
*So GO, or SEND, or WEEP, or PRAY—*
But do not sleep another day.
This cry from Heaven shakes the land:
*“I have other sheep—extend your hand!”*
From Pakistan to Bengal’s streets,
Where Urdu, Hindi, Bengali meet—
To Pashtuns, Shaikhs, and Rajput clans,
*To Persians, Turks, and tribal lands.*
God waits for songs He hasn’t heard,
For tongues that never praised His Word.
Will you help fulfill His greatest joy—
*Or will His glory we destroy?*
Now Church—choose. Obey or stray.
The call is loud. The cost is grave.
The frontier waits. The King commands.
*Will you respond with pierced hands?*
Fear of the LORD, Faith in our Father, & Fuel for a Faithful Life
Some people believe that faith in God is opposed to fear of the Lord or that God only revealed himself as a Father in the New Testament. This short summary shows that the truth affirms more than is popular among people today.
An early reference to the fatherhood of God is found in Deuteronomy 5:8: You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Notice several things:
- This is a truth that should settle deep in our hearts.
- God is our Father, which is the basis for human fathers caring for their children.
- Because God is our Father, He disciplines us with both rewards and the rod.
Often in Jesus’ day, the leaders asked him questions, but there came a point at which he asked them a poignant question: Matthew 22:41-46 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Every Jew believed that the Messiah had to be the Son of David and thus a son of Judah and of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. But Jesus traced his lineage back further and got to the root identity of the Messiah: The Son of God, and thus the Lord of David. Though you and I may be children of God by faith, we do not possess the divine right to be called children of God, for we have all sinned and we die.
Jesus had quoted the first verse from Psalm 110:1-4 A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
This was regarded as a messianic Psalm in Jesus’ day: The Messiah was Lord, ruled among his enemies, and led a voluntary association, not necessarily a merely ethnic or national army. Indeed, he was the Priest-King, par excellence, Like Melchizedek. This should energize us to volunteer in some way. This should energize us to live well.
David had received a promise in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that spoke of his Heir, a Son of David that would be the Son of God. “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” Again, both blessing and blows are promised to the son of David. He is both the Royal Son of God and the Rejected Suffering Servant.
As we look at the end of the Bible, we see how this all ties together: Revelation 22:12-16 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the [f]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who [g]do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Jesus is both the source and the son of David. He shines both brightly and early. Jesus sets the standard of perfection. You cannot love the Savior and love sin at the same time. Yes, we all sin in many ways, but Jesus helps us hate the sin and seek His salvation day after day. Our Father will reward those who seek the Lord while he may be found. If you look the Lord Jesus, you will find favor with the Father in Heaven.
Seasonal Greetings from on High
A raindrop from the household eaves
now falls upon and glistens lips
and then the fallen raindrop leaves
as it goes on its way and drips.
Bright summer sun shines down: it sends
the morning shadows far away
yet draws out lonely, home-bound friends
and turns the dark of night to day.
The earth is filled with rainbow shards:
the autumn leaves have left the trees,
fell down to color children’s yards.
If set aflame at night, they’d see.
A snow flake comes into my hand;
It’s carried by the winter wind.
I do not fully understand
how snowflake met its brutal end.
Creator comes to earth;
as sinful nations eyed
the One with virgin birth,
fulfilled His pledge: He died,
yet rose, as preachers cried–
revealing God’s own worth.
Moment by Moment
Moment by moment I live by Your mercy.
Moment by moment, by what I have heard.
Moment by moment I live by Your grace.
I live by Your spoken Word.
CHORUS:
I wait for You every dim evening
I wait for You all the night long.
I wait for You early each morning
I wait each day with a song!
Moment by moment I live by Your Truth.
Moment by moment I will understand.
Moment by moment I live by Your love,
Live by Your upholding hand.
Moment by moment I live by Your life.
Moment by moment I live by Your bread.
Moment by moment I live by Your blood.
By Jesus our risen Head.
Moment by moment I face You as Judge.
Moment by moment I live in Your court.
Moment by moment I face You as King.
Walk with You, Sovereign Lord.
Let God Be True
A key proverb in the New Testament is: Let God be true, & every man a liar.
First, some definitions: There is one God. The word for man includes men and women, young and old. True implies completely trustworthy; liar means not 100% truthful.
This is perhaps one of the most difficult truths to grasp. We are told as children to always tell the truth. Honorable parents discipline their children when they tell lies. And then comes the day when we tell a lie and get away with it. Then there comes the day we realize everyone tells partial truths, half truths, and outright fabrications … even when they are trying to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It seems the only way we can really trust someone is if they are willing to die for what they believe and insist upon.
Most people are a little shy of death. Death is not our friend. We have defeated the fear of death when we tell the truth and worry not one bit about what people will do to us if we tell the truth.
The difference between a wise truth teller and a foolish truth teller is that a foolish one will tell you everything they know to be true. A wise person has a filter. The wise purify their speech. When we say everything that comes to mind that has factual value, people will not value their time listening to us.
If however, we listen to others and prove that God listens even better by praying with that person then the person with whom we converse will be free to listen to the truths that we share. When God gets into the conversation, He is able to speak life. If we are merely speaking from our own hearts, we are liable to deceive ourselves and our hearers and be led astray. But God is love and He is able to teach us to love.
So what if someone says they love us? We can receive this love as a gift from God or as a gift primarily from the other person. If we look primarily to the other person for love, we are sure to be disappointed, for their love is finite and limited. If we look to the Lord for love, our face will brighten, for He is able to love us even when we are completely unlovable. He will also enable us to love others, even when they disappointment.
People are not always friendly. Sometimes they can be outright hostile. An enemy can even be found in our own best earthly friends, even our spouses and parents and children. Why? Why is it that close family and friends can sometimes be so hard to get along well with, and why sometimes those we trust most disappoint us most?
Is it not because we are called not to trust others nearly in the same way we are called to trust God? Our trust towards God should be 100% and perfect. In fact, human trust in God is limited most of the time. Our trust is made complete in our dying. Even Jesus’ trust was perfected when he breathed out His last, “Into Your hands I commit my Spirit!” The Lord brought perfect peace by dying in perfect peace.
His trust was vindicated by when Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later as He had prophesied and communicating His message once again to his students and urging them to wait for the Promise.
God kept His promise and gave the Promised Holy Spirit. The only way we are able to keep our word is by abiding in the Holy Spirit. If a person is truly seeking out ultimate reality, they will have to conclude that for there to be any meaning there must be a God who raises the dead and judges our lives, rewarding us for what we have done. This God is trustworthy, He alone is the One called Truth, and all He speaks is true. He has come into the world and has spoken to us not only of His law, but has shone forth His light and given us life that we might walk in love together, thus we find liberty, which the law is intended to describe.
If a person rejects the law of God, they will end up rejecting God’s purpose for their lives and tending towards death and purposelessness. Yes, they may prosper greatly, but they live only for a few dozen years and then they vanish and perish.
If a person receives the law as a token of God’s love, they will shine forth the light to the nations. The love which they received will be shared freely and God’s kingdom will advance. Such a person will find their purpose perseveres into eternity.
The person who builds his life on God as True will be founded on Truth and will help others find truth. Such a person confesses freely that they are not the epitome of truth, but Jesus is, the King of the Jews who came from Nazareth.
The person who builds his own life will be proven to be a lie in the end and will have shaky, unreliable foundations. Violence is their means of accomplishing their will. Lust is the only way they know love. Deceit is their default communication, all of which is corrupt. They delight in sin and dark is their light. Doom is their destiny. Less is their hope.
Oh, the delight of those who seek peace and pursue it! Blessed are all who know the truth and do it!!
“Lord, help me speak the truth and let me also always love all. Rob me of my fear and clothe me with your faith and boldness that I might rest within your peace at all times.”
Perseverance Song
Why do I keep holdin’ on, holdin’ on to Jesus?
All around these things are slippin’ on and on away.
Both day and night are dark and gloomy, filled with drear.
Jesus’ Name, still makes me want to worship and to pray
‘Til he draws me close and draws me up so very near.
Cause He keeps holdin’ on, keeps holdin’ on to me!
And he’ll keep keepin’ on, keep keepin’ on with you!
Why do I keep walking on, keep walking on with Jesus?
Jesus seems to go too fast, and other times too slow
I want to run ahead, but then I got catch my breath with Christ
Where exactly do we plan to let the path to go?
But I’ll let Him pay my aweful, final price,
Cause He kept walking on, kept walking on for me!
And he’ll keep keepin’ on, keep keepin’ on with you!
Why do I keep lookin’ on, lookin’ on to Jesus?
I look beyond horizons when skies are lookin’ dim.
I gaze beyond the moonset, when mournin’ ain’t to fun,
But He looked beyond my frets, past the dark within.
He suffered on that cross, though there was no Sun,
Cause He’ll keep looking out, keep lookin’ out for me!
And He’ll keep keepin’ on, keep keeping on with you!
Why do I keep standing up, keep standin’ up for Jesus?
I face the roughest storms in the coldest, hardest days.
I’ve climbed the high old hills against the hottest harshest wind.
But he climbed a deadly hill against the hateful storm.
He stood again the third day, so I will stand with Him,
Cause He’ll keep standin’ up, standing up for me!
And He’ll keep keepin’ on, keep keepin’ on with you!
Yeah He’ll keep holdin’ on, holdin’ on to you.
Yeah He’ll keep walkin’ on, walkin’ on with me.
Yeah He’ll keep lookin’ out, lookin’ out for you.
Yeah He’ll keep standin’ up, standin’ up for me . . .
Categories: Poem
Tags: holding on, Jesus, keeping on, looking, New Song, persevere, song, standing, storms, suffering, walking on
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Mental Illness & the Message of God
Dedicated to all my friends & family with “mental health challenges,” myself included.
The beginning was once a mere mystery,
Now it is revealed history.
Wanting the very best, I find my self broken.
Being broken, I offer something more precious than treasure from within.
I pour out grace & wisdom that can’t be measured.
My stigma a sign:
Though curses cross my path, I fear no wrath.
Though you call me crazy, we have Christ’s mind.
With that, let the Word of God be spoken:
“Reorient your life, since the kingdom of God is at work.”
I’m honored to be loosely associated with Jesus, the Son of Man,
humbled to have my prayers answered eventually
in the name of the Son of God.
with a simple heart and much learning in store,
I’m a fool for Christ, though a fool no more.
Ridiculed for following the law that leads to the deep well of freedom.
Crazy enough to believe the truth is personal, universal, and tangible.
Mocked for telling others that life is eternal,
and also light and love in the Father’s family.
Though my faith was a flickering wick,
now the light of Christ is well lit.
Glad to be called a moron for the Messiah.
Happy to be treated as the local village idiot.
Rejoicing to be regarded as demonized
as they regarded the Christ, (John 8:48)
Blessed with the Holy Spirit.
Angry at sin, yet seeking not to.
Care free in the world, yet caring for you.
Liberated by the friend of sinners, I regard weak souls as winners.
The strong shall be shattered the voices mere clatter,
but all that will matter is that the Lord shall appear,
Yes, the One who came as our ultimate Peer,
Yes, the Lord, He is near.
So let love be your bond, and life be your banner.
Let the music go on as the fizzles grow flatter.
May our meds do no harm;
May the angels be our morning alarm.
Yet peculiar people need not fear,
for yes, the Lord, He is near.
Categories: Peer support, Persecution, Poem, Suffering, Uncategorized
Tags: angels, banner, demonized, father, fizzles, Holy Spirit, idiot, Jesus, law, liberty, life, Lord, Love, meds, Mental Illness, moron, Music, peculiar, voices
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No God But One: Book Review
(Disclaimer: I was given an advance copy of this book for review.)
One thing that struck me as I read this book was the compassion and profound insight simply stated. The whole discussion of the book is framed as one would expect to occur between friends who care deeply about each other. Since much of the book reflects the conclusion of faith that Nabeel Qureshi came to as a result of an ongoing dialogue with his debate partner, it should not surprise the reader that the format is somewhat similar to a debate where a question and counter question is posed in each of the dialogues on various topics related to Islam, such as the difference between Islamic law (Sharia) and the grace of God found in the Gospel of Christ.
While this may sound old hat to someone who grew up in the church, when a person discovers that the reality that God is love and all of the diverse implications of this, whether in the arena of theology proper (including the meaning of the trinity and how the doctrine of the trinity is the way of describing God that most honors the Creator) or in the area of an understanding of violence in the history of Islam and the Christian Church (When did Christians start fighting wars? years after they were first called Christians and the empire was converted en masse.)
It becomes very clear through the reading of this book that not only does Nabeel have a clear knowledge of the basic issues related to Islam and Christianity, their similarities and differences, but he also loves both Muslims and Christians. Even though some Muslims may misunderstand the motives for why a truth seeker would embrace Jesus and the church and even though some who grew up with Christian traditions may question whether this is truly possible, Nabeel manifests an irenic spirit throughout, and confesses that he has not always behaved as the best example of Christianity after having chosen to identify with the Lord Jesus.
People need to hear these sorts of questions: questions that are centered not so much on the historic truths of the Gospel, and the verifiable & life transforming factual truths of the crucifixion, the resurrection and Jesus’ claim to deity; rather Questions that are centered on the sincerity and depth of our understanding & obedience to those truths.
Are we willing to seek to truly understand the truth?
Are we willing to suffer for what is true?
How much are we willing to suffer?
The good news is a life and death issue. The Gospel cost Jesus’ His life and frees us from our deadness. When we see the extreme love of God, we will be awakened to delight in our Creator, as a maiden delights in her groom when she realizes that not only is He a noble person, but that he truly does delight in her.
May you be awakened to the First, the Ultimate, the Supreme Love of the Author of Life.
#NoGodButOne
Categories: Book Review, Good News, Islam, Suffering
Tags: Bible, Christianity, debate, doctrine, Islam, Jesus, Love, Mission, Muhammed, NoGodButOne, Quran, Revelation, trinity, violence, witness
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