85 Most Read Bible Verses---#68---Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In 1981 a TV movie called “Peter and Paul” was produced with renowned actor Anthony Hopkins playing the role of Paul and Robert Foxworthy playing the role of Peter.  At the end of the movie, Peter is tied to a stake in a horse-driven cart, being led to his place of execution where the movie ends with the traditional view that Peter was crucified upside-down as was his request as he declared that he was not worthy to die in the same manner as His Lord did.  As this is being shown, you hear the voice of Anthony Hopkins, as Paul, reading the verses from Romans 8:35-39.  The combination of the background string music, Hopkins golden voice and the movie’s message make these works of Paul sink deep into your soul.  

The mother of two teenagers who were innocently murdered asked me if I could recommend an appropriate verse(s) from the Bible that she could have inscribed on their tombstones.  Of course, my first reaction was to admit that I did not feel qualified to make such recommendations, but she insisted.  Rather than provide only one verse, I searched the Scriptures and provided her with several possibilities.  Romans 8:38-39 are the two verses she told me that she liked best.  For a person who had suffered as much as she had (is there anything worse that could happen in anyone’s life than to have both of your children in their teenage years to be murdered?), her selection of these two verses left an indelible impression on how incomprehensibly deep the meaning of these words truly are.

These two verses conclude Paul’s answer to the question, “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” (v 35).  Here’s a man who both asked and answered this question who had suffered just about every kind of suffering on earth a man could suffer (read v 35 again and all the sufferings he lists).  How often do you think that Jesus is not with you or He doesn’t care about you when you have gone through times of suffering (including perhaps right now)?  You may imagine that He is not with you, but if you believe the Word of God to be true, then you are wrong, He is always with you.  Nothing that can ever happen in your life can cause a separation between Jesus and where you are right now and forever. Nothing---and can there be anything Paul did not include when he uses these descriptors like death nor life---can ever separate you from the love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Pause right now and concentrate on this truth for a few minutes, can you?

85 Most Read Bible Verses---#69---Hebrews 10:24-25

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

These two verses describe true fellowship in the church.  The main purpose of attending church is not to worship or hear a sermon, but to apply what these two verses teach.  Christians meeting together involves mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another.  You should be saying things to others that will help them be more loving and others say things to you to help you be more loving.  God desires for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage one another to press on with the challenges of our lives.

Think about interactions amongst others after a worship service or at a life group meeting, or any other gathering of Christian people.  Think about your own experiences during these interactions.  Do you think that there is mutual encouragement and admonition occurring during these interactions?  Are you yourself doing any encouraging?  Are you yourself motivating others to acts of love and good works?  Everyone wants to be motivated and encouraged, yet hardly anyone actually makes it a point every time he/she interacts with others to apply these verses. 

A primary reason why people stop attending church or are sporadic in church attendance is because they are not encouraged in the experience.  As an unbeliever and a beginning Christian, it is not expected that you would go to church to encourage others as much as you need encouragement yourself.  However, as you mature as a Christian, with hopefully maturity coming in part due to the encouragement from others, then you should do more encouraging others than others encouraging you.  Mutual encouragement is the biblical model with the more mature Christians setting the example.

Note the phrase “let us think of ways…….”  You are not to take any kind of Christian gathering lackadaisically.  God has given you a great mind to think creatively and unselfishly if you simply ask Him to help you.  The next time you are assembling with other believers and, yes, non-believers, ask God to help you think of ways that you can motivate and encourage others.  It’s really not that hard.  Simply asking others what the Lord is doing in their lives or can you pray for a need they have or asking them to help you with something or talking about something you learned this week from your daily devotional…….these are examples of ways that you can motivate and encourage others.  No one should leave a meeting with other Christians without more power, resources, motivation, and wisdom to love and do good works.  Otherwise, the whole gathering is nothing more than a religious rite with no biblical reason for being there. The visible glory of God is at stake.

Encouraging another is one of the most important acts of love and humility that you can ever do in your life.  It is a rare human being who does not like hearing or reading personal words of encouragement from another.   Yet, why is it that so few people offer encouragement to others and, as a result so few people feel encouraged?  When was the last time someone spoke or wrote to you words of encouragement?  A better question…when was the last time you spoke or wrote words of encouragement to someone else?  

Encourage means to inspire with confidence; to stimulate to action by assisting and supporting; to make another feel special, to transmit trust, to challenge another to be the best he or she can be.  The Greek word for encourage means to help, to comfort, to set free so that a person can move forward and realize his or her potential. God has commanded His people through the Scriptures to encourage one another.   It’s important enough to God that encouragement is mentioned 63 times in Scripture.  Words of encouragement should be intentional as Barnabas’ intentional encouragement of Paul in the book of Acts (e.g. Acts 9:26-27).  Words of encouragement should be timely and on the mark (e.g. Proverbs 25:11).  Words of encouragement should never be withheld, yet, frankly, most of us choose to withhold such words……why?

Who is a model of encouragement in your life?  I hope that everyone reading this has at least one person in your life who is like Barnabas was to Paul.  I feel so fortunate because I can list several models of encouragement in my life. Encouraging others is not a natural human characteristic as it is to criticize and complain and condemn.  A great evidence of spiritual growth and maturity is the ability to consistently to encourage others. 

Where do you stand as an encouraging person?  Are you a model of encouragement in lives around you? 

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success” — Unknown“

“There is nothing better than encouragement from a good friend” — Katherine Hathaway

85 Most Read Bible Verses---#70---II Peter 1:5-7

II Peter 1:5-7 (NLT)

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 

In I Peter 1:3-4 it is written that God has given you  “great and precious promises” that enable you to be godly and free from human corruption.  The steps to secure these promises are then described.  You might call this “the staircase toward Christian maturity”.  Here the progress of spiritual growth is described.  There are eight spiritual qualities listed, some call eight callings or eight growth steps.  Dr. Joel Hunter’s last sermon in March of 1986 at Mt. Auburn United Methodist Church in Greenwood, IN before leaving to join the Northland Community Church in Orlando, FL was based on I Peter 1:5-7.  My respect for Dr. Hunter made me pay even more attention to the significance of these words. 

Every sincere Christian should seek and possess these eight spiritual qualities.  Each quality or virtue helps to develop the next although another interpretation is that faith in Christ is supplemented by seven elements of Christian holiness.

1. Faith.  The foundation of spiritual maturity is your faith in Jesus Christ.  Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  Without the foundation of faith you cannot attain the other seven virtues.

2. Moral excellence.  Your foundation of faith in Jesus Christ will then produce your ability to discern right from wrong.  The Greek word used here (arete) is closely related to purity, modesty and courage to stand for what is right.  

3. Knowledge.  Moral excellence is supplemented by the filling of the Holy Spirit to guiding you to increase significantly your knowledge of God through your study of His Word.

4. Self-control.  The discipline gained from developing knowledge from your Bible studies produces greater discipline of self-control and your willingness to sacrifice your personal desires in order to obey the Lord and to give preference to the needs of others.

5. Patient endurance.  Discipline and self-control are supplemented by your increased ability to be patient and to endure adversity in your life.  Often patient endurance is manifested through your new ability to make it through life’s drudgeries (e.g. boredom) as well as through life’s challenges.

6. Godliness.  Godliness means simply to be like God.  If you demonstrate the qualities of the previous five virtues, you will be living a life of godliness that will fulfill Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16.  Meditate over these words! 

7. Brotherly affection.  The Greek word used here is “philadelphia”.  Loving your brothers and sisters in Christ is the mark of a Christian (John 13:35).

8. Love for everyone.  Love is the greatest quality or virtue of all (I Corinthians 13:13).  Loving your Christian brethren will lead to love (agape) for everyone in the sense of your putting yourself second to others’ needs.  You have become the person that Paul describes in Philippians 2:3-4 where you now naturally and for the rest of your life put others needs before your own.

I like how William MacDonald (Believers Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 1995, p. 2289) illustrates this passage:  “Add to your faith the courage of David; and to the courage of David the knowledge of Solomon; and to the knowledge of Solomon the patience of Job; and to the patience of Job the godliness of Daniel, and to the godliness of Daniel the brotherly kindness of Jonathan; and to the brotherly kindness of Jonathan, the love of John.

Where are you right now in this spiritual growth progression?  What do you need to do, with the Lord’s help, to progress to the next level?  Remember that spiritual growth is a life-long process so don’t be discouraged if you know that you have not yet fully attained some of these spiritual qualities.  They will describe you eventually if you keep seeking the Lord consistently and keep reading and applying His Word.