Come Away with Me

[Snowy]

Devotional - 98-06-12​

Song 4:7-10 "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you. 8 "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, may you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. 9 "You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; you have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, with a single strand of your necklace. 10 "How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices! (NAS)​

Many avoid the Song of Solomon. They fairly tiptoe around it, feeling that it is a little too inspirational, so to speak. It is true that this is a love story between Solomon and his beloved. Solomon had many wives in spite of the warnings he had received against the common practice of royalty. This particular romance appears to be from the heart and soul of Solomon. But a few of these phrases remind me of another relationship. The marriage relationship is a type, or shadow, of the relationship of Jesus with His bride, the church. Yes, if you are a believer in Christ as Savior and Lord, this is how He sees us. This is how much He loves us.​

Rev 19:7-9 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.9 And he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." (NAS)​

Typically a bride will select her own wedding dress, usually with the help of her mother or close friends. But the best clothes we can come up with - our best righteous works - are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We cannot even dress ourselves for the most important moment of our lives! Jesus has to provide to us the garment we will clothe ourselves in - the righteous acts of the saints.​

Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. (NAS)​

Here in Ephesians, the relationship between husband and wife is compared to Christ's relationship to the church. It is a powerful example to husbands. But it is also an equally powerful example of Christ's provision for us as His bride. He has cleansed us so that we can come before Him without spot or wrinkle. Jesus had to be the perfect sacrifice, acceptable to God without spot or wrinkle to be the propitiation for our sins. In this, He has made us a reflection of Himself. The day is coming very soon when all this will become a stunning reality - the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the fabulous city that Jesus has prepared for us - the New Jerusalem. When Jesus says to you, "Come away with Me," He has something wonderful to share with you. He wants to spend time with you. This is the period of betrothal - of commitment and preparation. If you know Jesus, they are days of expection of glorious things to come. If you don't know Jesus, all these promises are for you too if you will ask Him into your heart. If we take an honest look into our hearts, it is easy to see the selfish, self-centered motives that are there. All that Jesus asks is that you acknowledge that you can not become perfect on your own. He stands ready to begin the process of changing your heart to be like His and to prepare you for the day when He can present you without spot or wrinkle - perfect.​

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (NAS)​

Come.​

Lord Jesus, call the hearts of those who read this message. Stir the desire in their hearts to be whole again and to reach out to You for the free gift that you have for us. I know You stand ready to pour out grace and mercy to those who will come. Give them the courage and the humility to reach out to You. Amen.​

 

[Snowy]

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, but love goes on forever.​

Let's look at the fourteen ingredients of agape love and how we can apply this love to our lives. In the above verse, Paul spells out clearly for us just what love is.

1. Love is patient. Literally love suffers long; it has a long fuse. When Jesus was wronged, he was patient and silent.
2. Love is kind. Love is going out of our way to be full of grace toward others.
3. Love does not envy. Unconditional love desires the best for others. Our main goal is for our beloved to be all God intends them to be.
4. Love does not boast. The Greek here implies we do not boast like a "windbag." Jesus never showed off. His greatness is often revealed in what He suppressed, rather than what He did or said.
5. Love is not proud. God's love is not arrogant. Pride is inflated selfishness. Love is genuine humility.
6. Love is not rude. It is never inconsiderate or inattentive.
7. Love is not self-seeking. God's love does not grasp for its own rights. This rules out selfish, conditional types of love -- the "I love you if", and the "I love you because" loves.
8. Love is not easily angered. It does not become irritated. it is not touchy. Jesus was never vindictive. He never retaliated when wronged. He never grumbled or had a bad temper. (His temple-cleansing was a controlled and calculated response.)
9. Love keeps no record of wrongs. God's love forgives and forgets. Jesus came to blot out our sins and remember them no more.
10. Love does not delight in evil but it rejoices in truth. Love is never glad when others do wrong or wrongs happen to others. It does not delight in the weakness of others. It does not gloat or gossip.
11. Love always trusts, and believes all things. God's love gives the benefit of the doubt. It is loyal, yet not gullible. It is tolerant in judging others.
12. Love always hopes. It never takes failure as final. It always looks toward the future, not the past.
13. Love always perseveres. It endures all. God's love can not be conquered. If we endure with Christ, we will reign with Him.
14. Love goes on forever. Love is eternal. It never fails. It never loses strength. It never leaves its place. It is immovable and indefatigable.

So, there you have them, the fourteen ingredients of love. But I want you to do something else. I want you to read the list and replace the word "love" with "Jesus." It fits, doesn't it? God is love.

1 John 4:16 (NIV) 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 him.​

You are thinking, "okay great, David. Tell me something I don't know." Now put YOUR name in the place of love. Pretty humorous? Pretty sad? Do you see how far apart we are from Jesus? Do you see where you need to improve? I challenge you to pick one or more of the above areas that your name absolutely does not fit, and pray for God's guidance and wisdom to help you become more Christlike. That's the goal for us, being more like Him. While we will never reach perfection here on earth, I believe that it pleases God greatly for us to be growing, progressing toward perfection -- and not just be static. So what we really have here are fourteen qualities or values of Christlikeness. God is love.

Dear Father, thank You so much for your instruction manual, which we call our Bible. Thank You for showing us a "more excellent way" to live. Thank You for sending your Son Jesus to model for us the perfect unconditional love that You have for us and want us to have toward You. Most of all, we thank You for the greatest love story ever written, the story written in blood on an old rugged cross nearly 2,000 years ago. The ultimate love story, Jesus giving His life, so that all those who call on Him to be their Savior may live eternally with You. In His name, Amen.

 

[Snowy]

Matthew 16:26, "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world; and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" ​

Dr. Chalmers used to teach philosophy at St Andrews University in Scotland. You might know St. Andrews for two reasons. First, much of the movie, Chariots of Fire was filmed there, and second, St. Andrews is meca for all golfers. Many years ago, St. Andrews was also a haven for godly learning and education. Dr. Chalmers was a great leader in the Christian Church there.

On Sunday evenings Dr. Chalmers would gather in his house the poor, uneducated, and vagrant in his area and speak with them. He would especially focus on children when he was able. It is said that he prepared as much for those evening talks as he did for a class he would teach in the university.

It is clear that Dr. Chalmers knew the value of a soul. It is not the wise and intelligent to whom Christ comes, although He comes to them. It is not the privileged and wealthy to whom Christ comes, although He comes to them. It to "whosoever" that Christ comes. Chalmers must have known this.

These were not the common visitors to the home of a distinguished professor. They were probably unbathed. Fellowship with needy and smelly people is an uncommon way to prepare for the upcoming week, but Chalmers understood the value of a soul.

The soul is the most precious thing on earth. The people who Dr. Chalmers gathered into his home were all image bearers of God and Chalmers knew their worth. It probably mattered not to him that small things were missing in his house after the hoard of people had left. What mattered to him was the soul. Do we think this way today? Are souls precious to us? Let us hope so. The soul is precious to God.

What struck me about Dr. Chalmers story was the statement that he prepared as much for his meetings with the poor and uneducated as he did for his meetings at the university. I am prone think that he would have needed to prepare less for these meetings, that it would be somewhat easier, because of all his education, or less important, because the people were "down and outers". And that is precisely where I betray sound thinking and gospel concern for the lost. As my finance' said when I related the practice of Dr. Chalmers to her, "Its kind of like what Jesus did, huh?" Exactly!!

One minister was asked, while on his death bed, "...you know a great deal, tell us what is the greatest of all things." He replied, "It is not theology; it is not controversy: it is to save souls."