The Greatest Love

Thursday, December 15, 2016

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

John 3:15—17

I heard about a family who was driving to church for a Christmas Eve service and singing Christmas songs. Each member was choosing a favorite that they all would sing. When it came to the youngest boy in the family, he said that his favorite Christmas song was “Jesus Loves Me.” While that’s not what we normally think of as a Christmas carol, it is certainly fully appropriate at Christmas and all through the year, for it sums up the message and meaning of Christmas perfectly.

This special time of year is a celebration, most of all, of God’s amazing love for us. We had nothing good in ourselves—no hope of salvation and no reason to expect grace. Yet the greatest love in the universe brought the very Son of God from Heaven’s throne to a manger, and then to a cross. The message of Christmas is the message of God’s love.

Jesus did not come to be praised and worshiped, though He is worthy of all praise. He did not come to take an earthly throne, though one day He will rule the world. Jesus came to provide us the gift of eternal life. He said, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). As you celebrate Christmas this year, remember that Jesus loves you, and that He loves the world. Then do all you can to share that love with those who have not yet received it.

Today's Growth Principle
Rejoice in the great love of God that provided you with the gift of salvation—and then share that love with someone today.

Old Testament Reading

Amos 1-3

CHAPTER 1

¹ The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ² And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

³ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: ⁴ But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. ⁵ I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD. ⁶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: ⁷ But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: ⁸ And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD. ⁹ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant: ¹⁰ But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. ¹¹ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: ¹² But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. ¹³ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: ¹⁴ But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: ¹⁵ And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

CHAPTER 2

¹ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: ² But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: ³ And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD. ⁴ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: ⁵ But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. ⁶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; ⁷ That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: ⁸ And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

⁹ Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. ¹⁰ Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. ¹¹ And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. ¹² But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. ¹³ Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. ¹⁴ Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: ¹⁵ Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. ¹⁶ And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

CHAPTER 3

¹ Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, ² You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. ³ Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? ⁵ Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? ⁶ Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? ⁷ Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. ⁸ The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

⁹ Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. ¹⁰ For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. ¹¹ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. ¹² Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. ¹³ Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, ¹⁴ That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. ¹⁵ And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.

New Testament Reading

Revelation 6

CHAPTER 6

¹ And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. ² And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. ⁴ And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. ⁵ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. ⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

⁹ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. ¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. ¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 15

¹ A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ² The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. ³ The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. ⁴ A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. ⁵ A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. ⁶ In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble. ⁷ The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. ⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. ⁹ The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. ¹⁰ Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die. ¹¹ Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men? ¹² A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise. ¹³ A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. ¹⁴ The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. ¹⁵ All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. ¹⁶ Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. ¹⁷ Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. ¹⁸ A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. ¹⁹ The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain. ²⁰ A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. ²¹ Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. ²² Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. ²³ A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! ²⁴ The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. ²⁵ The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow. ²⁶ The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. ²⁷ He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. ²⁸ The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. ²⁹ The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. ³⁰ The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat. ³¹ The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. ³² He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. ³³ The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.