January 17:  Accepting His Love.

HIS INITIATIVE.
"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not...go after the one which is lost until he finds it?"--Luke 15:4

While going through rough times, I once received an encouraging card.  The statement on the front caught my attention: "All you need is another card telling you to hang in there...."  Yep, that's all I need, I thought, as my eyes settled on a little lamb, with sweat dripping from its brow, holding fast to something that wasn't visible on the cover.  I opened the card to read the message inside, which has stayed with me until now: "I want to tell you that you are SAFE in His grip; and He is not going to let you go."  A strong hand was holding the little lamb.

We've all read books and heard sermons that emphasize our seeking after God, our perseverance, our strength, our hanging in during the storm and not letting go when we find ourselves at our wit's end.  But, as important as all these things are, the Bible's major emphasis is on God seeking after us,  His initiative to go after what was lost, the strength of His grip, and His hanging on to us when we are weak and exhausted.  Our God is a passionate and loving God, who is eager and able to initiate action to find us, and who safely holds us in His grip.  He is a loving Parent, who pursues us with His goodness and grace all the days of our lives (see Psalm 23:6).  The parent's grip on the child is the child's security.  When the Pharisees and scribes are grumbling because Jesus is receiving sinners (Luke 15:2), the first parable that Jesus tells them is about a shepherd who goes after a lost sheep until He finds it (verse 4).  Once he has found it, He lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing! (verse 5).  God has loved us before we loved Him; our love for Him is only a response to His infinite love for us (1 John 4:19).  His initiative is our response.  He is the Shepherd who desperately searches for the lost sheep.  "For thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.  As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day' " (Ezekiel 34:11, 12).  Thank you, Lord!

My Response:______________________________________________

January 16:  Accepting His Love.

HIS INTIMACY.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."--John 15:13

Friendship means mutual affection, respect, and honesty.  Friends have each other's backs and like each other despite their character defects.  I am not talking about acquaintances, but close friends who will take your secrets to their graves.  This is what Jesus has chosen to call us: His friends.  He knows everything about us: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And in spite of His intimate knowledge of us, He has chosen us as His friends.

The ultimate demonstration of the love of Jesus for us was His sacrifice on the cross.  Yet many view God as a distant and demanding Master, who treats us as slaves and not as friends.  When Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another, His love for us was the example: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than one lays down his life for his friends" (John 15:12, 13).  Then he went on to explain the intimacy of this relationship: "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me but I chose you" (John 15:15, 16).  F.F. Bruce points out that, "The contrast between the slave and the friend here is not unlike the contrast between the slave and the son in Galatians 4:7.  John Wesley, looking back on his conversation in later years described it as the time when he exchanged the faith of a servant for the faith of a son.  Had he expressed himself in Johannine rather than Pauline language, he might have said that he exchanged the obedience of a slave for the obedience of a friend."*  Jesus has chosen us as His friends and has shared His plans with us.  Whoever pledges allegiance to Him becomes His intimate friend (verse 14).  Many carry the sting of rejection with them.  Perhaps you have never been chosen, either for a school sports team or simply as a friend.  Yet Jesus, the King of the universe, has died for you and has chosen you for a friend!

My Response:______________________________________________________
* F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John: A Verse-by-Verse Exposition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983), 112.

January 15:  Accepting His Love.

HIS SACRIFICE.
"I lay down My life so that I may take it again.  No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative."--John 10:17, 18

You may have heard the name of Salman Kunan, a retired Thai Navy officer who volunteered to help in the rescue that captured the world's attention in June-July 2018.  Twelve boys and their soccer coach were trapped in Thailand's Thum Luang cave.  Kunan lost his life while delivering oxygen to them during the rescue mission.  He was a hero.  Sources say that when he realized that the oxygen level in the cave was low, he left his own oxygen equipment and tried to swim back without it, knowing that it would be difficult to make it.  In selfless love, he made the choice to save those thirteen lives by giving up his.

Jesus' sacrifice was His own choice.  The fact that He was laying down His life for His sheep is repeated four times in this short narrative (John 10:11-18). John emphasizes that the sacrifice of Jesus was not an accident or a simple misfortune; it was the plan all along, and He submitted Himself to it voluntarily, in order to save the human race.  The Greek original word is often translated as "myself":  "I lay it [my life] down myself' (verse 18).  Frankly, it is a mystery to me that Jesus loved us so much, to the point of not only choosing, but planning ahead to die in our place for our salvation.  That's why we find our personal worth at the Cross, as we realize how much we mean to Him.  Barclay explains: "Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free.  Apart from any divine power he might have called in, it is quite clear that to the end he could have turned back and saved his life.  He did not lose his life; he gave it.  The cross was not thrust upon him: he willingly accepted it--for us."*  Jesus continued to be in control to the very end when He gave up His spirit (John 109:30).  It was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross.  It was His love for you and me!  He had the power to get down from the cross and avoid additional torture and death.  But His love for us was greater than His physical, emotional, and unsurpassed spiritual anguish.  Yes, my friend, you are loved that much!

My Response:______________________________________________
* William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), 67.

January 14:  Accepting His Love.

HIS SONSHIP.
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."--Matthew 3:17

It is such a blessing to have godly parents.  My parents were a constant source of support for me, which they manifested in so many ways, lavishing me with unconditional and unwavering love.  I still remember when I graduated with my first master's degree.  My dad had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and was about to have a major surgery.  Still, he insisted on attending my graduation, in spite of his failing health, because he knew how much his presence meant to me.  Now that they are no longer alive, I like to re-read the notes of encouragement that my parents used to send me, telling me of their love and support.

God made sure Jesus knew of His support and love.  After Jesus' baptism, we find one of the most amazing scenes in the New Testament, one in which the Trinity is manifested.  The Spirit comes upon Jesus, and a Voice from heaven speaks, asserting God's view of Jesus in a heavenly revelation of His identity: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Matthew 3:17; see also 12:18; 17:5).  In the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament), Israel is called the "son of God" (for example, Exodus 4:22, 23; Hosea 11:1).  The Davidic kings of Israel were also called "son of God" (for example Psalm 2:7).  Now Jesus, the ultimate King of Israel is identified and the Son of God.  And God asserts His Sonship and the fact that the Father "delights" in Him.  Right after this assertion, the status of Jesus as God's Son will be challenged by the devil ("If you are the Son of God..."  Matthew 4:3-6), who tempts Jesus to use His divine power for His own benefit.  When a person accepts Jesus as their Savior, they become beloved in the Beloved.  In Him, we are the beloved children of God: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God"  (1 John 3:1).  Even our final reunion with God is portrayed with these divine words: "I will be his God and he will be My son" (Revelation 21:7).  Through the Sonship of Jesus, we too become children of God.  When we are in Jesus, we know with certainty God's view of us: we are His beloved children, and He delights in us!

My Response:______________________________________________________

January 13:  Accepting His Love.

HIS ANOINTING.
The Holy Spirit descended upon Him..., and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."--Luke 3:22

My parents always went out of their way to communicate their love and support for me.  Recently, I found a note inside a book that they gifted me, expressing their love and parental pride, which means so much now that both of them have passed away.  My mother left a memories chest for me, in which she had kept mementos from various stages of my life.  It contained things like my little red gloves from when I was one-year-old and a feather I wore on my hat as a child.  I thank God for my parents, who lavished me with love and approval.

Jesus received the affirmation of His Father's love and approval from the very beginning of His public ministry.  Luke is the only Gospel writer to report that after His baptism, Jesus was praying when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and a Voice from heaven was heard (Luke 3:21, 22).  Prayer is an important, recurring theme for Luke.*  The Holy Spirit is another recurring Lukan theme, both in his Gospel and in Acts.  Two foundational events occur at the time of Jesus' baptism: the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus to empower Him for His redeeming mission, and God declares the Sonship of Jesus, along with God's love and approval of Him.  The identity of Jesus as the Son of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit had been pronounced since His birth (Luke 1:32, 35), but at this time He was being empowered for public ministry as the divine Agent for the redemption of humankind.  God Himself now confirms what the angel Gabriel had announced to Mary (Luke 1:35).  Three times a Voice was heard from heaven, affirming the ministry of Jesus (see Luke 3:22; 9:35; John 12:28).  In Jesus, Heaven gave it all.  His identity and mission would become the only source of salvation for humankind, which He achieved through His sacrifice.  Now we are to proclaim what He has done, until He comes back.  And for this task, God promises the same two realities for us: in Christ, we are God's beloved children, and He empowers us for His mission through the Holy Spirit.  Praise be to God!

My Response:_________________________________________________
* For examples, see Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 22:32; 23:34.

January 12:  Accepting His Love.

HIS DETERMINATION.
"Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?  But you have made it a robbers' den."--Mark 11:17

Parents contend for their children's well-being; they even fight with an attacker when a child's safety is at stake.  A woman, whose car was stolen with her little child inside, fought the attacker and wouldn't let go; her child was more important to her than her own life.  She appeared in the news with both hands bandaged due to the injuries she sustained, but she was happily holding her child.

Jesus was determined to defend all His children from religious, economic, and ethnic abuses.  The temple had become a fruitless institution, just like the fig-less tree (Matthew 21:18-22).  It was time to do something about it, so Jesus cleansed the temple from the business-like environment and the merchants in the court of the Gentiles.  Just in case anyone missed what He was doing, Jesus began to teach them what this was all about.  "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?  But you have made it a robbers' den" (Mark 11:17).  Mark quotes more fully than the other Gospels the citations from the Scriptures that Jesus used to explain His actions and in doing so helps us interpret the heart of the matter.  The first part of the teaching of Jesus comes from Isaiah 56:7; Mark includes the words "for all the nations" from that passage.  Jesus was protecting the original intention for which the temple was designed: everyone was welcome to come to pray and worship the God of heaven and earth.  But the religious leaders of the day, with no regard for "all the nations," had taken the only place where non-Jews could worship and turned it into a shady marketplace.  No foreigner could be at peace with God in that noisy place, and Jesus was defending them!  Just like a zealous mother defends her children, Jesus is determined to defend the right of everyone to come as they are to receive His blessing!  All seekers are welcome in His Presence.  Jesus fought so hard for us on the cross that His hands and feet sustained irreversible injuries!

My Response:_____________________________________________________

January 11:  Accepting His Love.

HIS GIFT.
"If you knew the gift of God...you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."--John 4:10

I don't know how to describe severe loneliness other than to say that it is like a dark chill that cuts through your heart.  I remember the time when I was starting my postgraduate studies in Europe and had just arrived in a city where I would be meeting with my dissertation supervisor.  I didn't know anyone in that town and I was planning to spend many days there to study and research.  I felt overwhelmed by so many things: the academic tasks, the unfamiliar place, the lack of human contact, and the fact that I didn't know a single person in that area.  I will never forget the dark loneliness I felt and the relief I found for it in God's acceptance and intimate knowledge of my soul.

The Samaritan woman that Jesus encountered in John 4 was all alone.  She was surrounded by people, yet had no real female friends that would risk being seen with her at the well.  In Bible times, fetching water was the woman's daily task, and they usually went in groups (that's why if someone wanted to find a wife, they went to the well).  But this woman was filled with shame.  She came to the well by herself at noon, so that no one would ask her anything.  Yet there was more to her loneliness: in Israel a woman normally couldn't initiate divorce, which meant that the five husbands she had been married to had rejected her by serving a certificate of divorce.  And at the present time, she was being rejected in the worst way by a man who didn't even have the decency to marry her.  Furthermore, in the first century a woman divorced more than three times was considered an outcast.  This is why I love the way this story starts: "He had to pass through Samaria" (John 4:4).  The need was not geographical, because there were other roads.  Jesus had to come in order to offer this lonely soul His gift of eternal life (verse 10).  He had to tell her that He was the Messiah, and that He knew everything about her and still accepted her.  His gift was for her!  No wonder this encounter changed her life.  And His gift is for you and me as well!

My Response:____________________________________________

January 10:  Accepting His Love.

HIS FAMILY.
"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."--Matthew 12:50

I thank God for the parents He chose for me.  When I sit in front of their tombstone, my heart is filled with gratitude for their godly lives.  When my parents retired, they came to live in the same state where I reside.  After my mother passed away, my father spoke with me about the future, knowing that his well-being would be so important to me.  I had been working in ministerial capacities for almost fifteen years, and he said to me that if I were asked to minister in another state and felt it was a call from God, I should go even if that meant leaving him behind in California.  I never had to cross that bridge, yet I was so blessed to have parents who placed the priorities of the kingdom of God above themselves.

As Jesus was ministering, His family came to talk with Him.  Mark gives us an inside look at their motive: "When His own people [kinsmen, family] heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, 'He had lost His senses' " (Mark 3:21).  Jesus didn't have brothers and sisters who fully understood His mission, at least not at first.  Some members of His family did later become influential leaders of the Christian community.  When His mother and siblings arrived where He was speaking, "Someone said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.'  But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' " (Matthew 12:47, 48).  What a strange question, especially since His family was standing outside!  Jesus was not renouncing His family; He was stating His priorities.  Jesus stretched out His hand towards the disciples and went on to explain that those who do the will of His Father are His true family (verses 49, 50).  Even the closest of human relationships wouldn't take priority over the kingdom's mission.  If you have relatives who do not understand your calling and purpose, be encouraged because when you become a follower of Jesus, you also become part of His family on earth.  You have brothers and sisters, and His Father is your Father.

My Response:______________________________________________

January 9:  Accepting His Love.

HIS CREATION.
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.--John 1:12

My maternal Grandparents lived in a large farmhouse where I loved to visit them.  It was in a different country, so I went there for summer vacations.  Soon I found out that there were other young people living there and, as I grew up, I realized that these young people were foster kids, some with learning disabilities, others with difficult upbringings who needed a nurturing place to live.  They found a safe home with my grandparents, and some of them became like their own children, until adulthood.  We all need a safe place, a home where we belong.

John announces that the Word of God was the active Agent through which everything was created (John 1:3).  He Himself was Life (verse 4), He didn't just give life but He was life.   And following the order of Creation, John talks about light; he says that the Word was life, and that life became "the Light of men" (verse 4).  And when the Light appeared, the darkness did not understand it (verse 5).  God was about to redeem His creation, and the story of redemption starts at the beginning.  John goes on to say that Jesus "was the true Light which...enlightens every man" (John 1:9).  Every person, at some level, has the chance to accept or reject the Light.  Then we learn that when the Light came to His own home, those at home did not receive Him!  How sad!  Home is supposed to be your own place, where everybody knows your name.  The Word, the Life-Giver, and Light Bearer "was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (verses 10, 11).  This is the bad news, but there is also good news.  Some did accept the Light.  And to those who received Him by believing in Him, He gave a gift: a new status--children of God.  Those who believe in Him are given that right (verses 12, 13).  Have you ever been rejected by your own family, by your own home?  God invites you to join the heavenly family. No one can take you away from Him.  You become a child, born of the will of God.  You have a home.  And your Father knows your name.

My Response:______________________________________________

January 8:  Accepting His Love.

HIS KNOWLEDGE.
"When you were under the fig tree, I saw you."--John 1:48

Have you ever been surprised by how much someone knows you?  I went to preach at a church in Central California and spent the whole weekend there; we had a fantastic time studying the Scriptures together.  A couple of ladies, whom I had never met, approached me and told me that they knew me since I was one year of age.  I was startled!  They went on to explain that they were teenagers in a local church in Argentina, where my dad was the pastor.  I had turned one year old in that church!  They knew me and they knew my family!  It's a small world!

Nathanael was more than surprised by Jesus' knowledge of him!  After Jesus had called Philip to follow Him (see John 1:43), Philip found Nathanael and excitedly announced: "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (verse 45).  But Nathanael was less than impressed; his prejudice against Nazareth didn't let him see beyond the stereotype: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (verse 46).  Instead of arguing, Philip invited him to come and see for himself.  Before Nathanael could utter a word, Jesus said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" (verse 47).  Can you imagine Nathanael's mind racing, wondering how He knew him?  Jesus had revealed that He really knew him and stated that Nathanael was "Israel" without the "Jacob" part, without the deception, dishonesty, treachery, and trickery associated with the patriarch Jacob.  "Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you' " (verse 48).  I am speechless, and so was Nathanael.  This revelation made a profound impact on him, and from his heart came his confession: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel" (verse 49).  God knows us intimately.  When you opened this book this morning, He saw you.  When you cried yourself to sleep last night, He saw you.  He knows your joys, your sadness, your dreams, your trials.  No need to hide anything from Him.  He knows everything about you and He loves you!

My Response:_______________________________________________