The BIBLE VIEW #894 — God

In This Issue:
One  
God for All
Valued More Than Any
More Careful Than Mother
The Sailor’s Confidence
God’s Uniqueness

Volume: 894     January 30, 2023
Theme: God

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul.  

View 16+ years of printable, free BIBLE VIEWS at https://openthoumineeyes.com/newsletters.html.  Make as many copies as you need and use them in your church, nursing homes (large print version available), Sunday school, deaf ministry, bus ministry, and as a church bulletin insert. 


One
Bill Brinkworth

Society is concerned about the thoughts and actions of the masses.  They are often devoted to doing what everyone else is doing, dressing how the multitudes dress, keeping up with the “Jones,” and thinking and living the popular way.

God, however, is not.  His Word has quite a lot to say about “one.”  Since He is the only God, He only needs Himself to accomplish what He wants to be done.  Man cannot grasp that because his abilities are finite, and he cannot function or think like God.

Despite how the world hates His dogmatism, God is more interested in individuals and His one way rather than the world’s constantly changing philosophies. 

Man’s thinking, however, rarely lines up with God’s desires.  This brief study on “one” shows us more about God and how He thinks:  

  • There is one God, not multiple “gods,” as Hinduism and other religions teach.  Many religions, even “Christian” cults, may only have one god, but it is not the One described in the Word of God.
    “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex. 20:3
  • Only One should be prayed to, and that is Jesus, not the dead.
    “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” I Tim.  2:5   Also: Mat.  23:9.
  • God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are One!
    “I and my Father are one.” John 10:30
  • Mankind was started by one man God created: Adam.  He did not evolve from lesser creatures.  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:27   Also: Gen. 2:21.
  • Sin came from one man’s iniquity and was passed down to all of us!
    “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Rom. 5:12
  • We are all sinners!  Not one of us is even close to perfect!
    “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Psalm 14:3   Also: Rom.  3:10, 12.
  • There is only one Saviour, Jesus.  He died for all our sins!
    “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;” Heb. 10:12  Also: John 11:50.
  • There is only one way to Heaven!  There are not “many roads” to get there.
    “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
  • Each one is important to God.
    “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10
  • Each one has to give an account of himself before God.
    “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Rom. 14:12
  • None can straddle God’s way and the ungodly way simultaneously.  God has only one way of doing things!
    “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Mat.  6:24   Also: Mat.  23:10, Luke 16:13.
  • When a man and woman marry, they become one.  “You” and “I” should become “we.”
    “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Gen. 2:24  Also: Mat.  19:5-6, Mark 10:8.
  • God often uses only one to lead His people in His direction, as He did with Moses, Ezekiel, Joshua, Jesus, John the Baptist, and the pastor of a local church.  Also: Luke 3:4, John 1:23.
  • In groups, even Christian assemblies, there is often at least one that is against the things of God.
    “Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” John 6:70   Also: John 13:21.
  • Those who trust in Christ’s payment for their sins are members of His one church.
    “But now are they many members, yet but one body.” I Cor. 12:20  Also: Eph.  4:4.
  • Each one in the body of Christ should get along with the other.
    “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Philippians 2:2   Also: I Peter 3:8.

God cannot be understood, nor can His ways, with humanity’s faithless understanding.  The Creator’s ways are often not logical to man’s comprehension because man’s thinking is limited.  Despite what man teaches, God has only one way, and that is His way. 

“God wants full custody, not just weekend visits.” — Author Unknown


God for All
John Bate

No one claims propriety to the oceans to the exclusion of others.  The massive waters are for all nations and people to use for their interests.  Oceans roll their waves against every shore and send their tides into every land, inviting the inhabitants to her riches and facilities.  The oceans show they are the property of all.

So with the living God.  No man can claim Him to the shutting out of others.  He is the God of all for their knowledge, love, and obedience.  Every intelligent being on Earth can draw from His treasury of good to the endless satisfaction of His nature.

To convince all that He is their God, He gives to all life, breath, and all things.  He fans them with His influence, draws them by His love, and sends hosts of holy agents to bring them to Himself.  By ten thousand attractions of love and mercy, He invites the world to plunge into His fullness and be satisfied.

“When God changes things, He usually begins with changing us.”  
— Author Unknown

Valued More Than Any
Author Unknown

When Antigonus was ready to engage in a sea fight with Ptolemy’s armada, the pilot cried out, “How many are there more than we?”

The courageous king replied, “’Tis true, if you count their numbers, they surpass us, but for how many do you value me?”

When our enemies come upon us like a flood, threatening to devour us with rage and fury, let us remember though we are few and they are many, our God is the God of salvation.  He must be counted for more than all that are against us.


More Careful Than Mother
C. H. Spurgeon

Look at the mother and how careful she is.  If her child has a little cough, she notices it.  The slightest weakness in the child will be observed. 

The mother has watched all the child’s motions anxiously to see whether it walked right, if all its limbs were sound, and whether it had the use of all its powers in perfection.  However, she has never thought of numbering the hairs on her child’s head.  The absence of one or two of the child’s strands would give her no great concern.

Our God is more careful towards us than a mother with her child.  He is so concerned about us He numbers the hairs of our heads.  How safe we are beneath the hand of God!
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Mat.  10:30


The Sailor’s Confidence
Author Unknown

When asked why he remained so calm in a fearful storm, the sailor gave an answer revealing his faith and trust.  He was unsure he could swim, but the man replied, “Though I sink, I shall only drop into the hollow of my Father’s hand, for He owns all these waters.”

“When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart, not his head.”


God’s Uniqueness
Author Unknown

Take a straight stick and put it into the water; it will appear crooked.  Why?  Because we look upon it through two mediums: air and water.  That is why we cannot discern it correctly.

Thus, the proceedings of God and His justice, which in themselves are straight, with the least obliquity, seem unto us crooked.  It appears that wicked men are prospering, and good men are afflicted.  It seems that the dishonest are succeeding, and the truthful suffer hardships.  It seems the hard-working servants should ride horses, and the rich should do the walking.  

These are some things that make many Christians stagger in their judgments.  Why?  Because they look upon God’s proceedings through a double medium: flesh and Spirit.

God’s proceedings with His justice are not discerned clearly by man.  The eyes of man alone are not competent judges of God’s actions.

The BIBLE VIEW #893 — Wages of Sin

In This Issue:

When God’s Hand of Blessing Was Removed
Wrath of God
God’s Restraint
Curse of Sin
A Free Pardon

Volume: 893     January 16, 2023
Theme: Wages of Sin

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary of something taught in that chapter, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul.  

View 16+ years of printable, free BIBLE VIEWS at https://openthoumineeyes.com/newsletters.html.  Make as many copies as you need and use them in your church, nursing homes (large print version available), Sunday school, deaf ministry, bus ministry, and as a church bulletin insert. 


When God’s Hand of Blessing Was Removed
Bill Brinkworth

The Bible has recorded that when people disobeyed or disregarded God’s commandments, their sin would cost them much.  It is clear, by the countless examples in the Word of God, that no person or country gets away with iniquity. 

Here are a few biblical examples of what a people did to lose God’s blessing and to be cursed by the Almighty:

  • God cursed Adam and Eve, all their future generations, and the earth (Genesis3:14-19) because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience.
  • God cursed Canaan with slavery (Gen. 9:25) because of Ham’s sexual sin (Gen. 9:22).
  • God destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah, and two other cities (Deut. 29:23) because of their wickedness (Gen. 13:13).
  • God removed qualified, honorable, experienced God-approved leadership (Isaiah 3:1-3).  He then allowed inexperienced, youthful men (Isaiah 3:4-5) and those whose leadership would harm their country (Isa. 3:12) to rule.
  • God allowed foreigners to invade Israel (Judges 6:1-6) and to take away Israel’s freedoms, belongings, and peace.
  • God allowed Israel’s place of worship, Jerusalem, to be destroyed (Nehemiah 1:3) because the people did not keep God’s commandments (Neh. 1:7).  God also allowed the people to be scattered from the land He had given them because of their sin (Neh. 1:8).

God also promised, usually to His people, that He would allow them to learn from the consequences of their sin when they violated His laws.  Here are some other reasons God promised to curse people and nations when they broke His commandments:

  • God promised to curse those that cursed the offspring of Abram (Israel): Gen. 12:3.
  • God will curse those that curse their parents: Proverb 20:20.
  • God will curse those that do not obey the Lord’s commandments, including going “after other gods”: Deut. 11:28, Jer. 44:8.
  • God will curse the wicked: Pro.  3:33.
  • God will allow a people to go through wars, captivity, famines, pestilences, and to be disliked by other countries because they did not obey God’s words: Jer. 29:1-19.
  • God would allow His people to face wars and famines if they insisted on returning to the world from which Lord delivered them: Jer. 44:12.
  • God will curse those that do not give glory to His name: Mal. 2:2.
  • God cursed those that would not give Him their tithes (at least 10% of what God allowed them to earn): Mal. 3:9.

Many consequences of sin to earlier people are also occurring today.  Since God never changes (Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8), sins He would not tolerate then will not be put up with today.

No one gets away with evilness.  The people of Israel did not get away with iniquity, and neither will we!

Many say that if we do not turn from our current wicked sins, we may suffer the curse of God.  According to the biblical examples, we are already facing the after-effects of God’s curse on a rebellious people.  His hand, which often blessed this nation, may have been removed, and we may be suffering the same “lessons” that earlier people faced.

The curse of God is always intended to halt the violations against Him.  God intends that the hardships He allowed to happen will stop iniquity, and people will turn to Him.

There is always hope for those that turn from their wickedness.  When people face hard times, they usually realize they cannot handle them without God and turn toward Him in obedience.

It is possible to be blessed by God because of obedience to His commandments rather than be cursed.  Hopefully, people, and eventually as a nation, will see their wickedness and turn from it.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and  will heal their land.” II Chron.  7:14  

“The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.” Prov. 3:33

 Wrath of God
Jonathan Edwards

The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present.  The waters increase and rise higher and higher until an outlet is given.   The greater the waters rise, the more rapid and destructive its course will be when the waters are loosed. 

If God should withdraw His hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open.  The floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury and come upon you with omnipotent power.  If your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in Hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it. 

“No one gets away with any sin!”

God’s Restraint 
Jonathan Edwards

The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow is ready on the string.  His justice aims the arrow at your heart and strains His bow.  It is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”  Proverbs 28:13  

Curse of Sin 
Dr. J. Parker

Oh, sin!  How hast thou curst us!  Thou hast thrown up a barrier between ourselves and God; with thy chilling breath, thou hast extinguished the light of our household joys.  Thou hast unstrung our harp and filled the air with discordant cries.  Thou hast unsheathed the sword and bathed it in human blood.  Thou hast dug every grave in the Earth’s bosom, but for thee, we should not have known the name of widow or orphan, tear and sigh, and sorrow and death, but for thee our hearts would not have known pain.

A Free Pardon
C. H. Spurgeon

A prisoner was taken out to die, and as he rode along in the death cart, his heart was heavy at the thought of his demise. None would cheer him from the watching throng.  The gallows tree was in sight and blotted out the sun for him.  But lo, his prince came riding up in hot haste, bearing a free pardon.

Then the man opened his eyes, and he returned to happy consciousness as if he had risen from the dead.  The sight of his prince had chased all gloom away.  He declared that he had never seen a fairer countenance in all his days.  When he read his pardon, he vowed that no poetry should ever be dearer to his heart than those few lines of sovereign grace.

Friends, I remember well when I was in that death cart, and Jesus came to me with a pardon.  Death and Hell were before me, but I rejoiced exceedingly when I saw the nail prints in his hands, feet, and the wound in his side.

When he said, “Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee,” I thought I never saw such loveliness before and never heard such music in all my days.  Eternity itself shall never disclose anything sweeter.  My pardoning Lord hath no peer nor rival.  Oh, what a Christ is He who appeared to me, a guilty, condemned sinner, and on the way to Hell!  Blessed be His name.  Jesus bore my curse, shame, and death, and I am free!

“Life has taught me to forgive much and to seek forgiveness still more.”
Bismarck

The BIBLE VIEW #892 — Watching Over Us

In This Issue:
Thank You for Slowing Me Down
Ouch!  It’s Prickly!
Follow the Detour

Volume: 892     January 16, 2023
Theme: Watching over Us

Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a short devotion of something taught in that chapter, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul.  Start your day with some good news from the Bible!

View 16+ years of printable, free BIBLE VIEWS at https://openthoumineeyes.com/newsletters.html.  Make as many copies as you need and use them in your ministry, nursing homes (large print version available), Sunday school, deaf ministry, bus ministry, and as a church bulletin insert. 


Thank You for Slowing Me Down
Bill Brinkworth

After several days of rain, water dripped off leaves, trees, and rocks.  Soon, small ribbons of water trickled down the mountainside.  Meandering driblets eventually joined others, and quickly rivulets grew in size and sped down the mountain.

A closer observation revealed that the speeding waters did not head toward the valley in a straight line.   Natural obstacles detoured the flow in unnatural directions.  The rushing waters wandered left, right, down into a washout the waters created, blocked by a rock, over the natural dam, left and again to the right.  Seemingly haphazardly, the flow wandered down to the lower ground.

Because of God’s design, even the water flow and how it was diverted caused little washout.  If the gushing waters had their way, they would have eroded much of the hillside, uprooted trees, caused mudslides, and ravished havoc on the area.  Thank you, Lord, for even watching over the water flow.

The difficult hazards we face may also preserve us more than we realize.  Left to follow our lusts and desires, without stopping or deterring us from wrong behavior and decisions, we would race to destruction, ruining our lives and those of others. 

A grade failure, car breakdown, lost job, illness, or a broken relationship may be more of a help than a hindrance, especially if a person affected is God-controlled.  Only He knows what could have happened to us if obstacles did not change our self-destroying directions.

We may not like the “roadblocks” or deterrents keeping us from the way we thought was best.  However, it may be a God-directed obstacle diverting us to His better direction rather than our destructive one.

The obstacles we encounter may not be as bad as we believe.  They may keep us from a more tumultuous life and an early grave.

We certainly should not want our lives to be a “washout.”  Thank you, Lord, for loving and protecting us.  You keep us safe even when we do not have the sense to know that our will and way may not be the right and best direction for us.

“O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.”  Psalm 25:20


Ouch!  It’s Prickly!
Bill Brinkworth

Many natural things are “prickly.”  Thorns are the natural defense of many roses, orange trees, and weeds.  Grabbing hold of a prickly stem results in one letting it go and coming up with another plan.  

God uses the “pricks” of uncomfortable moments to change our direction.  He did this in Saul’s life as the unsaved but religious man traveled on the road to Damascus.
“And he said, Who art thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Acts 9:5

Saul had spent much of his life trying to serve God his way.  Unfortunately, he did not detect nor heed the “pricks” God sent in His life to put him in the right direction.

Pricks that Saul, later renamed Paul, ignored:
Pricked ears
 – When Saul heard the preachers of the Gospel, he did all he could to stifle their preaching.  Instead of pricking his conscience so he could change his wrong path, it angered him and encouraged him to do more to silence Christians.  

Young Saul (Paul) even held the coats of those that stoned the preacher, Stephen.  While Saul stood there, he probably heard the Word of God as at other times when he was around Christians.  Still, he held to his religion, even when the people of God preached and warned against it.

Pricked eyes – Undoubtedly, Saul saw Christianity in action.  He saw families split, people die, and heartache inflicted.  In all the trouble he instigated against Christians, he saw they had a peace that he surely did not have or understand.  He was like his name-sake, King Saul, who persecuted righteous David.

Pricks that others ignore:
Pricked by circumstances:
 Hard times, sickness, failures, testings, aggravating situations, disasters, etc., are often meant to draw us closer to God and make us trust Him more.  Instead, folks often grow farther from the source of strength they need.

Pricked ears: Perhaps, God sent a godly mother, grandmother, neighbor, friend, Sunday school teacher, or let us hear a preacher on TV, but still, His invitation was ignored.

Pricked eyes: Many have seen bits of the Word of God in tracts and good Christian testimonies, yet their example has been ignored.  

Too often, God’s “pricks” to our hearts and lives are ignored.  What does God have to do to you to get your attention and obedience?

“The greater thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are going.”    — Oliver Wendell Holmes



Follow the Detour
Bill Brinkworth

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6

No one likes the aggravation of being slowed down to going to his destination by a road detour.  One has to change direction another way.  We are not in control and must follow someone else’s plan to get us to where we want to go.

“Who do those construction people think they are?  Making me go this long way.  I just want to go a little way down the road.” However, we obey the signs and the flagman and get there safely.  We may not have been able to say that if we did not heed those diverting our direction.

Too many ignore the “flagman” God has put in our path to move them in another direction — His way.  Maybe that test you failed, even though you “studied your brains out,” was a “flagman” to get you to know and later witness to a tutor or to get you to study more efficiently.  If you cheated and passed, you would not have gone down the road God had planned for you.

Maybe the family split, although not God’s first plan, has something you could learn.  Sticking it out and praying through the problem may have helped you, so divorce never happens to you, or you can minister to others in that situation.  Running away from that situation would be going through the “detour,” and you would not have learned what God intended for you to get out of the experience.

Use your imagination to see how God could use the “bad” things in your life for His glory and your good.  He is aware of the “roadblock” you experienced or are experiencing.  God may have allowed it in your life, so you would spiritually grow or be strengthened.

A Christian should be sensitive to the leading as well as the halting of the Lord.  Give Him credit for all that happens in your life.  Let him direct you!

“Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in the difficulties.”  — C. S. Lewis

The BIBLE VIEW #891 —Love

In This Issue:
Love Is…
When Love Is Missing
Family Love

Volume: 891     January 9, 2023
Theme: Love

Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a short devotion of something taught in that chapter, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul.  Start your day with some good news from the Bible!

View 16+ years of printable, free BIBLE VIEWS at https://openthoumineeyes.com/newsletters.html.  Make as many copies as you need and use them in your ministry, nursing homes (large print version available), Sunday school, deaf ministry, bus ministry, and as a church bulletin insert. 


Love Is…
Bill Brinkworth

The apostle Paul saw how essential it was to have a love for others.  This love is not the lust or the emotion the unsaved understand.  It is a love and concern that only a Christian can truly understand and have.

The indwelling Spirit of God can make it possible for one to love others in a way that is impossible without God’s help.  Here is what God, through Paul’s writings, said genuine love is (I Corinthians 13:4-8):

A Christian’s love for others should be long-lasting and allow one to see and handle life differently.  Seeing people and this world through the eyes of love will change one’s life completely.

“People don’t care how much you know until they first know how much you care.”
 — Author Unknown


When Love Is Missing
Bill Brinkworth

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,” II Timothy 3:3

One of the 19 sins Paul said (II Timothy 3) would occur in these last days may be the root of many terrible occurrences we commonly see today.  That loveless iniquity is “without natural affection.”

It is natural for a mother to love her children.  Yet, many mothers today allow their unborn babies to be killed inside them rather than being inconvenienced by the upbringing of their offspring.  Too many fathers have also abandoned their children and wives for selfish desires.

Most should naturally love and honor parents, yet many have opposed their mothers, fathers, and siblings in courts of law.  Newspaper articles too frequently report how an angry child even murdered their parent or family member.

Perhaps, because of the desensitization created by heartlessly allowing unborn babes to be butchered, life is not respected and honored as it should.  It may also be the reason for increased murders and suicides.

The sin of not naturally loving people may also explain why parents do not live up to their responsibility of raising their children.  Not naturally loving others may also be the culprit iniquity behind divorces and broken relationships.

Because of the lack of natural affection, some government leaders have more concern for their gain, power, and agendas than they do about the welfare of citizens.  Many teachers have swayed their charges to their political and social thinking rather than what is best, practical, and moral for the young minds they selfishly control.  A natural love for others is sadly missing in our society.

It should be natural to love ourselves and others.  That act has been why so many civilizations have grown and socially prospered.  Those that did not nurture the innate ability to love and care for life have floundered and failed.

Without love, people will not have peace and joy.  Hatred will be a nagging canker filling voids in lives and society.

Love yourself and others, as God in Heaven has loved you.
“Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 19:19
 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27

“Love is the doorway through which the human soul passes from selfishness to service and from solitude to kinship with all mankind.”  — Author Unknown


Through Thick and Thin
Deb McCoy

Mom, throughout my life, you taught me by example every step of the way,
Though many times I stumbled and knew you continued to love me as I began to stray.
I remember your bravery when dad took his life,
I became angry and rebellious as it pierced through me like a knife.

Our lives changed forever at that moment in time,
But your choice was to keep going onward no matter how steep the climb.
I promised to take care of you the rest of your days,
Though it was your unconditional love for me that always paved the way.

No obstacle was insurmountable regardless of how hard,
Each one had a lesson though we struggled and were left scarred.
We poured out our hearts to one another during our time of grief,
Unanswered questions of why a husband and father could take his life and leave us in disbelief.

Mom, it was during those times that I saw the depths of your love,
Your inspiring example to set my sights up above.
Brokenness was upon us as a missing link in a chain,
But tragedy led to triumph through all the suffering and the pain.

I was miserable and in need of peace as everywhere I did search,
Then you asked me to consider my first ever visit to church.
It was then that God did tug at my heart,
Born again, I became salvation to impart.

It wasn’t long after that we did learn of your cancer,
Looking to God in prayer for a miracle to answer.
Mom, your strength and courage throughout your life left a godly legacy,
You taught me that dying to your own desires and pouring your life into someone else is how to live most blessedly.

It is through selflessness that we become truly fulfilled,
How blessed I was to care for you because helping others is the message you instilled.
My heart was broken to see you suffer in torment and anguish,
Seeing you deteriorate how I felt hopeless and did languish.

Though a burden you did not wish to be,
Love is deeper than any encumbrance you see.
You never complained and you fought to the end,
I miss you so much and each day together we did spend.

Mom, your inspiration will guide me all the days of my life on Earth.  I cannot wait to see you again.  I’m so thankful for Christ’s death on the cross, for saving me, and giving me the new birth.

How I wish you could have a glimpse into my heart as I have written this in dedication to you.  Thank you for everything, Mom.

“Love isn’t like a reservoir.  You’ll never drain it dry.  It’s much more like a natural spring.  The longer and the farther it flows, the stronger, deeper, and the clearer it becomes.”Cantor

No Greater Love
Bill Brinkworth

Jesus’ death was very important for every person who has ever lived. As the only Son of God, His death was the only payment that God will accept for our sins. Essential and planned as it was, it was not an easy death for Jesus. His malefactors were very cruel to Him.

Although the other Gospel’s accounts of His death give more details of what occurred at Jesus’ demise, this chapter tells some of what happened. Here in John 19, we read that:

  • Jesus was mocked (John 19:3, 5).
  • Jesus was beaten (John 19:3).
  • Jesus had to drag His heavy cross to Golgotha (John 19:17).
  • Jesus was crucified between two criminals (John 19:18).
  • Jesus’ clothing was thought more precious than His life by some and was gambled for (John 19: 23-24).
  • Jesus’ mistreatments were displayed in front of His mother (John 19:25).
  • Jesus was pierced in His side after His death (John 19:34).

God’s son took all these abuses, and more, so that He could be the means of payment for all our sins. It was such a sacrifice that Jesus was willing to undergo for us. His sacrifice for what we have done wrong (sin) caused Him to endure so much brutality. To make His death even more meaningful, Jesus knew all that He would face ahead of time; yet, He tolerated it all for us. What a matchless love Jesus has for us.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13