Zondervan Inspire

As the Opportunity Arises

From the Editor: Two excellent examples to follow. I pray we all learn to walk as Jesus did.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Jesus could only physically be with one person or group of persons as he walked this earth in his human body. How did he love? He simply loved people as the opportunity arose during the normal traffic patterns of his life. If he was in Jerusalem, he loved the people on the streets of Jerusalem. If he was traveling from Judea to Galilee, he loved the people he met along the way. When he was with his disciples, he showed love to them.

My wife, Chaundel, practices this command to love our neighbors better than anyone I know. She finds out that one of our neighbors is in the hospital, and she's immediately there to visit them. She drops what she's doing to go next door and help a neighbor with a practical need. She commits to facing difficult and frightening circumstances with someone on our block. She goes for a walk in the neighborhood and meets a new neighbor also out walking — and the new neighbor is at a Bible study in our home the next week.

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus

by Tom Holladay

We Are Wired for God

Without forgiveness, our lives would be hopeless because our connection with God would be broken forever. Like buildings wired for electricity, we are "wired" for God. But sin breaks that connection. Without God's forgiveness, we would be like a city that has suddenly gone dark because of an irreparable break in its electrical grid. Because of God's great compassion and his desire to restore our vital connection to him, he graciously extends forgiveness to anyone who asks and who is also willing to extend it to others.

In the New Testament, Paul views forgiveness not just as the removal of guilt for past sins but as deliverance from the power of sin itself. The primary Greek word in the New Testament for divine forgiveness is aphesis. It is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that brings forgiveness for all who belong to him.

From The Tender Words of God

by Ann Spangler

Any comments or testimonies today?

Reckless Self-Giving

Jesus gave moral teachings that encouraged his followers to become the type of people who naturally care for the good of others because he wanted them to be united as a family. The life of heaven focuses on the good of others. It picks up the spoon not to fill its own belly but to offer a bite to the other starving stomachs in the room. This is the best life possible because it is the very type of life that is going on within God. The Father gives us his Son. The Son gives us his life. The Spirit gives us understanding of all that is true and praiseworthy. This reckless self-giving is the activity of heaven. Jesus said that all God wishes for you and me — all he encourages us to do and be, the entirety of our moral obligation — is summed up in this kind of reckless self-giving toward God and others.

From Seven: The Deadly Sins and the Beatitudes

by Jeff Cook

Any comments or testimonies today?

Passionate Rants of the Prophets

Amos says, "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy..." (Amos 4:1). The cows of Bashan were known for how big and healthy and well fed they were. Amos compares the wealthy women of Israel to cows who graze gluttonously while others starve. God doesn't have a problem with eating and drinking and owning things. It's when those things come at the expense of others' having their basic needs met — that's when the passionate rants of the prophets really kick in.

God is patient but also pragmatic. God has a plan. God cares about the suffering of the world and will not allow the indifference of his people to stand in the way of his plans to relieve that suffering.

From Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile

by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Any comments or testimonies today?