The Editor’s Note
“What is love?” one of the great questions of life! The Bible says “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:16). Okay, so how does that translate into us as humans being able to love? As a believer, Norman Grubb found himself lacking in feeling love towards other people, and therefore thought he didn’t love them. He found himself pleading for God to help him be more loving–as if love were a thing that God could give him more of. (He gives account of this in his autobiographical book titled Once Caught, No Escape.) It wasn’t until a revelation came to him of 1 Jn. 4:16 that Norman realized that “God is love” + “God through the Holy Spirit lives in me” = God lives His loving life for others out through me! It doesn’t really matter how “loving” you feel–it is a matter of trusting that Christ is living out through your vessel. This issue of The Intercessor gives example after example of the many manifestations of God’s love being lived out through others in daily life.
In our lead article, “Walking in the light ,” Grubb addresses head-on this problem of experiencing disunity, hardness, broken fellowship, lack of love, and other sin against fellow believers. The answer? Walking in the light. What does this mean? Open fellowship and confession to man, as well as to God, of our daily failures. Norman describes it as getting your sin “out of the way, by confession and cleansing,” so Christ is free to live out His life. As Norman says, “That is perfect love.”
I’m sure we can all relate to going through life and seeing all events that happen to us in terms of “how does this affect me?” But, as the Bible says, we are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). And in the article “Life’s only meaning ” Norman Grubb lays out what our new perspective is as Christians. Christ is there to live out His love for others. We now look to see how an event that happened to me can be used to meet the need of another.
Next, in “The Total Remedy,” Norman discusses love in the form of Christ’s death on the cross for us. He shares great insight into the details of the supernatural spirit switch that is able to take place in us due to Christ’s death and resurrection. Many Christians easily talk of the cleansing blood that Jesus shed, which is immensely important. But, here we hear just how important Christ’s body death was in freeing us from the eternal consequences of sin.
Our next main feature, titled “Who is my neighbor?,” is an excerpt from a biography of Edith Moules–a missionary in the heart of Africa. Everyone knows the Bible says to “love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:39). This is a fascinating account of Edith’s battle against being obedient to love, not only the neighbors she felt like loving, but all of them–despite a cost. She gets right down to the particulars of her thoughts and feelings in her battling prayers with God, that anyone can identify with (yet in an extreme circumstance). Her victory in this battle is absolutely inspiring. “Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Yet another form of godly love is in the form of discipline. Not a very popular term, especially among adults that are set in their ways. Yet this article by Jon Langley, titled “Godly Discipline?” is very timely–in this age where church discipline is lacking (or in cases, non-existent). Jon discusses the importance of discipline in his own life, as well as listing for us the many biblical references on how discipline is proof of God’s love for us. In addition, the Bible commands us to “admonish one another” (Col. 3:16). If we allow sin behavior to continue in someone’s life without confronting or correcting them about it, we are allowing Satan to maintain a stronghold in their life that can have harmful effects both in this world and the next. Jon further states that Paul is one of the best biblical role models in this area. We are walked through several instances in the Bible where Paul takes opportunities to discipline, correct, and instruct his churches…all for their own benefit and the glory of God.
And of course, one of the highest forms of loving someone is telling them the truth–in this case, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ! In this reprint from “Z-News,” our former youth magazine, Kim Rogers (now Langley), takes us down the Roman Road in “The Road to Life.” She gives us helpful tips, as well as encouragement to take someone for a “stroll down the Roman Road” and share the ultimate life-saving truth.
It is also amazing and humbling to experience the love that God pours out to us through the forms of others around us. Janie Prewitt has written a tape review for us on Page Prewitt’s “Powerless Over Life” tape. In it Janie first expresses her gratitude to Page and others who shared their love, in helping her through a powerful and devastating addiction. It was, therefore, very meaningful for her to listen to this tape. In this talk, Page takes the listener through her knowledge of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step program for recovery and then explains how they parallel with the truth of Christ living through us. It is an answer that can deliver anyone, not only from the throes of addiction, but from any of Satan’s strongholds in our lives.
Make sure to also check out this issue’s “Q & A,” where one reader asks a very good question: “How can I tell when the Holy Spirit is operating and when it’s me?” Then enjoy a brief “Letter From Norman,” where he encourages a friend to get a good Bible foundation in order to effectively share the truth with others.
Speaking of getting a good Bible foundation…this issue’s “Cross Word” puzzle will help you do just that. Begin without looking in your Bible to quiz yourself on how much you really know. Then get ready to start flipping pages, as you familiarize yourself with many verses on the topic of the two works of the cross–the blood and the body. Finally, use “Bible Bedrock” to lay your foundation even stronger. You will dig into Romans 4:16-22 to learn more about the “Swaying Battle of Faith” through one of God’s major pioneers of faith–Abraham.
So, let us close with Jesus’ own words on love and remember who it is doing the loving: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:12).” God bless you and thank you for reading The Intercessor!
