Love

GREATER LOVE

~ Tony Busquets ~ Leave a comment

Imagine the following headline on the news site that you follow: 

LOCAL MAN SAVES LIFE OF CAREER CRIMINAL

Following that headline, you know the local man and he had the best character of anyone.  On occasion, that person woke up at 2 AM to help you or your spouse when their car broke down while you were out of town.  Not only did the car break down, it broke down on the rough side of town.  Regardless, he went and was able to repair the car.  While he was working on the car a group of gang members came to rob him, and he was able to convert them to Christianity.  This person helped many people and was probably a Medic, at-home garage mechanic, handyman, great husband, helped out at the church as often as he could, and was an all-around great guy.  He had the reputation that he would give a person the coat he was wearing on a cold day if he knew you or not.  Now he died saving this person’s life.  What kind of impact would that have on you?  What kind of impact would it have on that person if they had hit rock bottom and were asking for a sign from God?

Would you say he was a person who would give his life for his friends?  Or for anyone who did not deserve it?  And how would we be compared to a person like this?  What if this was the example of the character of Jesus in the modern age?

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13 (NASB)

This scripture has been running around in my mind for a week now.  And I keep thinking of all the ways Jesus demonstrated His love to us – especially while He was on the cross.  At the time a person would be bitter, angry, and hurting, but He still showed us how to love. 

“But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:44-45a

Jesus prayed for those who were ridiculing him on the cross.  He prayed for the Pharisees and the Romans.  In Luke 23:34 (NKJV) the Bible records the following “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  He prayed and forgave.  Which leads to the next thing he did on the cross.  He Forgave!

In Luke 6 (NLT), at the end of verse 37, He tells us “Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”  All throughout the Gospels Jesus tells us to forgive.  The best verse about forgiveness is in Matthew 6:15 (NKJV) “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  He prayed on the cross that God would forgive those who were murdering him. 

 Jesus demonstrated the ultimate act of brotherly love, phileo love in Greek, when he forgave the person on the cross.  I hesitate to call him the thief on the cross.  Thieves rarely received the sentence of crucifixion.  This person was probably an insurrectionist.  His name is Dismas.  Gesmas was the person who was ridiculing him.  Dismas admonished Gesmas and then asked Jesus to remember him in the afterlife.  The conversation was recorded in Luke 23:42-43 (NASB) “And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”  And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  Jesus offered forgiveness and demonstrated His new command He left with the Disciples recorded in John 13:34-35 (NIV):“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   On the cross, in excruciating pain and near death he showed love and forgiveness for many people. 

A final act of love from Jesus to his mother is recorded in John 19:26 – 27 (ESV) in which He arranged for His mother’s care after his death, resurrection, and ascension.  This is John’s account of the exchange: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

On the cross, in pain, dehydrated, with extreme blood loss, probably close to passing out, He still showed love.  He could’ve called ten thousand angels to vanquish Him, but He chose to fulfill His purpose on earth, and that was to be the perfect sin sacrifice, to remove sin from us and place it on Him.  He chose to fulfill His Father’s purpose and is now seated at the right hand of God.  He gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice, in utter humiliation, and still chose to love us.  He chose to love a person like me.  And the awesome thing is that He loves you too!  Why not return that love and accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior?  And show that same love to others?  I know if all of us lived the same example as Jesus, this world would be better and would be Heaven on earth.  Give Jesus a chance to change your life and be Love. 

I will leave you with one final verse and hope it stirs up love in you:

“And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

  • 1 John 4:16 (NCV)

If any of this has touched your heart and you want to have a relationship with Our Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ, and you want to spend eternity in Heaven and Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or you feel you have backslidden and want to repent then please pray this prayer:

DEAR LORD, I KNOW I AM A SINNER.  I KNOW I HAVE HOPE IN JESUS.  I WANT TO REPENT OF MY SINS AND COME TO YOU TO ASK FORGIVENESS.  I WANT TO ASK YOU TO FORGIVE MY SINS, CLEANSE ME OF MY SINS, GIVE ME THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS IS MY LORD AND SAVIOR AND HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR ME.  I ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COME INTO ME AS THE GUARANTEE OF MY SALVATION AND WANT TO REPENT OF MY SINS.  ALL THIS I ASK IN JESUS HOLY AND PRECIOUS NAME, AMEN

If you prayed that prayer then I want to say CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS.  The Angels, The Saints, The Lord Jesus, and all who have gone before us are having a party in Heaven because you chose Jesus.  And I want to welcome you to the family.  Find a good Bible-based church and continue to learn about Jesus.  We are all on this Journey together.  And in the end we will hear God say “Well Done my good and faithful servant!”

ABOUT FORGIVENESS

~ Tony Busquets ~ Leave a comment

I am mad at my friend.  They really upset me, and I am going to take action.  I am mixing up a lot of different poisons and when I am done the concoction will all taste like grape juice.  But I will show them.  They will finally know how much they upset me because I am going to make sure they know I drank all the poison and they will really suffer as the poison really tears them up.  Doesn’t make sense…right?  But that is how unforgiveness works.  It does not affect the other person, it affects you.  You mix the poison, you drink the poison, and hope the other person is affected.  That is unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness tends to burn a hole in your own soul.  Chances are that the person you are mad at does not know what they did to upset you.  And if they do, they may not know to the extent it affected you.  That is why forgiveness is especially important.

Forgiveness is a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness.  It shows that you can overcome the hurt you have and can release the other person from the debt you feel you are owed.  Even while on the cross Jesus asked God to forgive the people who had placed them there as written in Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus was showing love for His creation by asking God to forgive those who sinned against him.  Jesus did this while He was being crucified after being tortured all night and day before carrying His cross to the mountain of Golgotha and after being nailed to a cross. 

In showing love forgiveness also allows you to show mercy and to release others from the debt that you feel is owed.  Forgiveness cancels out that debt.  In the Beatitudes, Jesus even goes a step further about forgiveness and how to deal with those who hurt you.  Matthew 5:43- 46 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”  At the time of Jesus, the Tax Collectors were considered the outcast of society since many were corrupt and often charged more than was to be collected.  They would line their pockets by overcharging on taxes.  To compare a person to a Tax Collector was the same as comparing someone who is considered the lowest of the lows in ethics. 

By loving your enemy it shows strength, that you can overcome even the hurt to give them an out.  I know it is difficult because I have been there.  Imagine having a neighbor who insults you every day and every moment they see you, to the point that they chase you down with their car.  I wish I were embellishing, but I am not.  A neighbor who is a Christian told me the best words that I hear to this day – almost 10 years later “You need to pray for your enemies!”  I prayed every night and gave it to God.  I still pray that one day that person will know Jesus.  It was difficult at the time, but the statement still rings true.  And the best example still goes back to Jesus praying for His persecutors while He was hanging from a cross.

Proverbs 20: 21 – 22 says: “If our enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward you.”

Please do not mistake it for a monetary reward.  Know that you will be blessed by God for forgiving others. 

The most important reason to forgive others is summed up in Mark 6: 14- 15 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”  We need to forgive for our own sins to be forgiven.  Jesus went as far as to tell Peter that we need to continuously forgive.  The conversation is documented in the following manner in Matthew 18:21-22: “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  This does not mean to forgive 490 times or have a countdown, it means to forgive as often as they ask. 

A Pastor I respect told me once that forgiveness is a continuing process.  We need to forgive because Jesus forgave us when we asked for His forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.  It does not say you have power over me, it says you do not have power over me because My God is greater. 

Forgiveness should also not be confused with allowing someone to walk all over you or take advantage of you.  If a person continuously sins against you, let us take the example of abuse, it means that you forgive that person and release them from the debt.  It also means that they have no power over you.  At the same time, you can build a healthy boundary that they will not abuse you ever again as well, especially when it is continuous abuse – whether physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse.  It also means that they have destroyed the trust and are not allowed to abuse you again or hurt you again.  You can build a Healthy Boundary to not allow the action to occur.  But if you forgive them and release them from the debt, then you can begin the healing process. 

I will leave you with these final words from Jesus in Mark 11: 25 – 26 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”  Forgive those who have hurt you, release them from the debt, and watch as your healing begins.  Believe me, when I say it will be a better world for you and your heart will be lighter. 

  • To God be the Glory

WHAT IS LOVE?

~ Tony Busquets ~ Leave a comment

Many Philosophers, Writers, and Singers have pondered the question “What is Love?” since time began.  There are many movies with the name Love in it: PS I Love You, Crazy Stupid Love, Everyone Says I Love You, Love and Other Drugs, and finally From Russia with Love.  Books with the title Love in it include: Love, Love in Disguise, The Truth About Love, An Inquiry into Love and Death, Book Love, and Love is Blind.  A small list of song titles with the word Love in it includes: What is Love?, Endless Love, All You Need is Love, What’s Love Got to Do with It?, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and What if I Told You I Love You. 

Many have tried to define love as a feeling.  The dictionary defines love as strong affection for another coming out of kinship, desire, or sexual desire.  Urban Dictionary takes the definition of Love a step further by stating “The act of caring and giving to someone else. Having someone’s best interest and well-being as a priority in your life. To truly love is a very selfless act.”  In an article from Marriage.com Love is defined in the following way: “Love is a holistic feeling. It involves many elements, words, and actions which define love. What love means to you depends on how it makes you feel and the experiences it brings into your life.”  They even go further to say “If you want to define love in one sentence, love is one of the most profound emotions humans experience. It is a combination of attraction and closeness.”  Many times, Love is defined as a feeling of attraction to another person, an emotional feeling.   

I can love my wife, or I can love a hamburger, but it is not the same type of love.  Even love for another can be mistaken for lust if we are not careful.  The Bible has the best definition and examples of love. 

Paul gives us the best definition of Love in the First Book of Corinthians Chapter Thirteen: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  A person who can master all those qualities would be a great human being and an awesome spouse.

Paul further explains that Love is one of the greatest qualities to have and that Love will always be present: “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”  Many different qualities are described here.  Some are stronger than others and some will last longer than others.  But only one quality outlasts all other qualities.  Paul completes this chapter of First Corinthians Chapter 13 with the best quality to have and the one that will outlast all other qualities in life: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

With all this God gives us great examples of Love and how to love each other.  

In the book of Ephesians Chapter Five God thru Paul tells the Church in Ephesus how a husband is supposed to treat his wife:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”

The main idea God, thru Paul, lets the husband know that his wife is an extension of his body.  He is not to abuse her or treat her in an improper way.  He is to love her, provide for her, and sacrifice himself for her.  He is also to be the spiritual leader of the family.  This does not mean he is the dictator of the family.  The man is to provide a good environment for the family to learn about God and to feel safe when discussing family-related matters.  I am not going to discuss the wife’s role because women are great at nurturing and loving their families.  Men, me included, need help in loving and this verse is a great follow-up to the lessons in the book of Corinthians. 

To be honest, the abusive man is not a man.  Those men who raise their hands to physically abuse their wives and raise their voices to mentally and emotionally abuse their spouses and children have stopped being men.  Even those men who force themselves on women and children need to stop this action.  Many people do not know that a married man can rape his wife.  If she says no, then no means no.  If you are engaged in any of these actions, please seek help.  No matter how bad things are with your wife, please do not engage in a manner of abuse. You will be a man in my book if you seek counseling, repent, and seek God’s forgiveness.  God will help you and forgive you of your sins.  And He will help you overcome them. 

Many military members, Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, and other first responders have used the following Bible verse as their motivation: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13.  And truly there is no greater sacrifice than to lay down your life for your friends, loved ones, and those you are entrusted to protect.  All First Responders take it a step further, they protect those whom they do not know.  They put their lives on the line for people they have never come into contact with and probably never will again.   God calls us to have this kind of love for our neighbors – whether we know them or not.  We should be willing to lay down our lives for those we know, those we do not know, and especially those we know are not able to repay us.  But this verse of scripture also takes into account helping feed those who are not able to take care of themselves – like giving to children in orphanages, providing help to widows who are not able to provide for themselves, and helping the homeless by providing a meal.  It does not mean giving to those who take advantage.  This verse is to help by providing a meal to the homeless.  Those who are in need but are trying to help themselves can be given help from us as well.  I keep thinking about a lady I ran into who worked the midnight shift at 7-11.  I made a comment about how some people were taking advantage of the welfare system.  She corrected me, in a genuinely nice and funny way, by saying she is working two jobs to feed her three children at home.  For those people, I have no problem giving assistance because she is trying to help herself.  She is showing how she is sacrificing and laying down her life for her children because she loves them.  That is a great example of Love. 

Going back to The First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter Thirteen I can give you the greatest example of Love to us.  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  This verse is a powerful verse.  I was at lunch with someone who has kids and I asked her if she could watch her own Son take the beating, the disrespect, and the execution in the manner Jesus did?  Without hesitation, she told me “Absolutely Not!”  Another person told me that when she looks at her children playing in the yard, she is watching her heart, but they are playing in the yard.  The ultimate act of love for us happened on Calvary when God allowed His own Son, Jesus of Nazareth, to be beaten, disgraced, flogged, humiliated, and crucified in place of the rest of us.  His son who did not commit any sin, took the punishment for us to have a relationship with us.  He allowed His Son to bear the price for sin as foretold in the book of Isaiah Chapter 53 verse 5 written 800 years before his crucifixion:

 “But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.”

Jesus knew He was going to face crucifixion and was going to be flogged and beaten, but He did it for us as the ultimate example of Love.  John wrote in 1 John 3 verse 16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”  Jesus’s example leads us to follow His lead and have a sacrificial love for our Brothers and Sisters, Spouses, Children, Family, Friends, and those we cherish. 

With these examples, Jesus left us with several commandments and with His final commission.  Mark 12:29 – 30 says “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Love God with all you have, and love your neighbor, your friends, your family, your spouse, and your children with a sacrificial love.  Jesus’ Last Request before He ascended to Heaven was written in the book of Mark Chapter 28: 18 – 20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  The reason is documented in Mark Chapter 16:15 – 16 which states “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Jesus does not want you to be condemned into an eternity separated from God.  His love for you and His sacrifice to take on the sins of the world so you can have a relationship with God and have eternal life in paradise (Heaven) was of great importance to Him and God (Our Father).  That is true love, pure love, and the best example of Love.  God gave His Son, Jesus, for us to have eternal life.  He sacrificed His Son to open the door to have a direct relationship with Him.  And to Live with Him in Paradise for all eternity, instead of separated and in torment in the lake of fire (Hell) for all eternity. 

This is Love – That we would give up our own lives for others, that we would give ourselves beyond our limits.  There is no jealousy, no envy, no lust, no rage, and no anger.  There is only trust and a desire to give of ourselves without hesitation to provide for the other person.  We can also empathize with the other person – when they are happy, I am happy; when they are sad, I am sad; when they grieve, I grieve with them and support them during the sadness and grief.  And we try to build them up, not tear them down.  We are there during the good and bad times without any expectations of them.  That is true love. 

If any of this has touched your heart and you want to have a relationship with Our Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ, and you want to spend eternity in Heaven and Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or you feel you have backslidden and want to repent then please pray this prayer:

DEAR LORD, I KNOW I AM A SINNER.  I KNOW I HAVE HOPE IN JESUS.  I WANT TO REPENT OF MY SINS AND COME TO YOU TO ASK FORGIVENESS.  I WANT TO ASK YOU TO FORGIVE MY SINS, CLEANSE ME OF MY SINS, GIVE ME THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS IS MY LORD AND SAVIOR AND HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR ME.  I ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COME INTO ME AS THE GUARANTEE OF MY SALVATION AND WANT TO REPENT OF MY SINS.  ALL THIS I ASK IN JESUS HOLY AND PRECIOUS NAME, AMEN

If you prayed that prayer, then I want to say CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS.  The Angels, The Saints, The Lord Jesus, and all who have gone before us are having a party in Heaven because you chose Jesus.  And I want to welcome you to the family.  Find a good Bible-based church and continue to learn about Jesus.  We are all on this Journey.  And in the end, we will hear God say, “Well Done my good and faithful servant!”