Having Faith For Someone You Love

 We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:19

Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone who believes more in you than you believe in yourself? Has someone seen your future before you saw it and wanted that future for you before you wanted it? If so, you have been deeply loved.

To be deeply loved means someone has had faith for us before we had faith.  Someone else can love us so much that they believe for us until we can believe for ourselves.

We love Jesus because He first loved us.  A part of His love was to have faith for us before we had faith.  He believed we could be forgiven before we even knew we needed to be forgiven.  He believed we could be redeemed before we even knew we needed redeeming.

Anyone who looked into the eyes of Jesus would have seen pure love inspired by perfect faith.  They would have also seen someone looking back offering to share that faith and love.

I believe that one of the thieves that hung on a cross next to Jesus looked into the eyes of Jesus and saw pure faith and love.  When he looked into Jesus’ eyes he received the faith and courage to say, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”  Jesus lovingly responded “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”   Jesus’ faith came before the thief’s faith. Jesus’ faith became the thief’s faith.  The thief was able to ask because Jesus by faith and love had already seen him together with Him in paradise.

Whatever faith we have comes from the faith and love Jesus had concerning us.  Whenever we love someone who has no faith, we offer them our faith before theirs is born in them. In doing this we are one with Jesus’ faith and love.

Faith and love give birth to faith and love.  Jesus not only died for us when we were still His enemies.  He believed for us when we could not believe. Truly faith is a gift from God to us in Christ.

Bud McCord

Abide International

A Good Theology

Is your theology good?  Would a face to face meeting with Jesus concerning your personal theology go well for you? Would your theology pass the Jesus test?

In John chapter 5:38-47 Jesus has a very direct and honest conversation with the Jewish theologians of His day.  The conversation did not go well for the theologians.  They definitely did not pass the Jesus test.  Listen to Jesus’ evaluation of their theology.

“But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

“I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Notice the three things Jesus said they their theology did not give them.

1.     Life.  They thought they had found eternal life in the Scriptures so they did not need to go any farther to find life.  They especially did not believe they needed to come to Jesus for life.

2.     Love. They sought honor from men above the love of God.  God’s love had no home in them.

3.     Faith.  They knew Moses’ words but they did not believe them.  If they believed them they would have believed Jesus’ words.

In the end it will be Jesus who says whether our theology was good or not.  Jesus defines and approves theology.  Theology does not define or approve Jesus.

Bud McCord

Abide International

Nothing

The word “nothing”  should be rarely used.  Once this word leaves a person’s mouth there is all the time in the world for someone to prove us wrong.

Jesus used this word nearly 2000 years ago when He explained to His disciples they could never do the will of God on their own.  Here is how He used the word:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

When we set out to produce what the Father wants, we can do “nothing’ without a living connection to Jesus.  2000 years later no one has found a way to prove Jesus wrong.

Anyone who has ever seriously tried to live the same kind of life Jesus lived always comes to the conclusion they cannot.  Only those who have seriously tried to live what the Father wants from us are useful witnesses concerning Jesus’ famous statement.  Those who simply want to debate the subject of doing God’s will have no credibility in this debate.  Only those who have tried to repeat Jesus’ cooperation with the Father’s will know there is nothing they can do.

According to Jesus,  true cooperation with the Father’s will requires direct contact with the kind of life that does the will of God naturally.  Jesus called this continuous contact “abiding”  or “remaining” in Him like a branch in a vine. 

Doing the Father’s will on our own is not natural to us.  When we abide in Jesus we can do something instead of nothing. Jesus can enable us to do the will of God fruitfully. 

Abide in Him and nothing can become something God wants.

Bud McCord

Abide International