Chapter Three
LOVE IS KIND
Kind …
2 archaic: manner
3: fundamental nature or quality: essence
The Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites how He would bless them…
Numbers 6:24-27 (Amplified)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; the Lord lift up His (approving) countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually). And they shall put My name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.
God wants us to know how He feels about us. How He cares for us. What He has planned for us. This is not a secret. This is not for our time in heaven. It is for now!
Isaiah 54:8 & 10 (Amplified)
In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age-enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 55:3 (Amplified)
Incline your ear (submit and consent to the divine will) and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David.
Do you see the kindness of God? He tells us to come to Him. He tells us that He knows how bad we have been but that His love is not affected by it. That if we come to Him, He will save us. Even those who have chosen Jesus, we make mistakes, we step back. But He shows us kindness. We repent and we are again made clean. Now that doesn’t mean we just go on and sin and repent, sin and repent. We need to make conscious efforts to not sin, but only Jesus is perfect, so God knows that the temptation of sin is there but as long as we are trying to do the right things and realize when we miss it, we ask His forgiveness and He does forgive.
In 2 Corinthians 8:9 it tells us how Jesus, out of His kindness - His love, came to Earth and became a servant for us so we would no longer have to be a servant of Satan. He left the presence of God. He left Heaven to come to earth to live among us. First to teach us about God. His love, mercy, grace and compassion and then to be the ultimate sacrifice for our ultimate renewed relationship with God. He felt pain, sadness and ultimately the separation from God because of His taking on Himself the sins of the world. Why? Because of his mercy (kindness, goodwill and compassion) for us. He suffered all that, so we wouldn’t have to.
We try to teach our children kindness. We as parents are obligated to teach our children how to be like Jesus - our example. We teach kindness by showing our children how to feel for others. Reminding them that we want to treat others the way we want to be treated. And to look for those children who aren’t treated well and make friends with them and definitely not to participate in being unkind. We tell them they should play with any child that wants to play. We asked them how they would feel if they wanted to play with someone and were told they couldn’t. That gave them a different point of view.
Using this with both our children has also taught me that we shouldn’t get our feelings hurt if someone doesn’t speak to us or for us not to speak with someone because they didn’t speak with us first. If we think about it, they are probably thinking the same thing. We should make the first move. We need to be the first to smile, the first to extend our hand in a handshake or our arms in a hug. How much pleasure does it give you to see someone smile at you? Now give someone else that same pleasure. We need to show ourselves full of kindness (friendly).
Isaiah 54:10 (Amplified)
For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.
In my mind, there is never a reason to be unkind to someone. Being unkind to me shows a misconception of superiority. God did not make anyone more superior than the other. We are the same in God’s eyes and we should treat others in that way.
I know that it can be hard, especially if someone is mistreating you, to find kindness in that situation. However, look to Jesus. The Pharisees were trying to kill Jesus, they were constantly arguing with Him about His beliefs and philosophy. At times He was quiet and at other times He spoke calmly without agitation.
Ephesians 6:12 (Amplified)
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
We need to remember that there are influences outside of just what we can see. Our enemy is not the people in our lives but Satan and his cronies whose only goal is to cheat us out of the peace that God has given us. What better way to do it than having us battling against one another. It’s kind of like while you’re watching one hand the other one is stealing from you. We also need to think that, even though maybe someone is being rude, that person may be having issues in their life where they feel out of control or desperate and don’t know how to channel it and it comes out in bad form.
We are not going to be judged on how people treat us but by how we react to the way people treat us.
Matthew 7:12 (Amplified)
So then, whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this is (sums up) the Law and the Prophets.
Remember that we are to be examples of Christ. One reason Christians get such a bad rap is because a lot of times we do not “practice what we preach”. We say we are to love and yet we tear down anyone that doesn’t do/act how we expect them to.
Be blessed!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
True Love & How to Walk in It: Chapter One & Two
Chapter One
What is Love?
So since we have this “lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6) let us delve into what love is; from man’s point of view and God’s. Through this knowledge we can grow and learn how much God’s love is, what it entails and how we can live by His standards.
The definition of “love” from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:
Love …
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
(2): attraction based on sexual desire (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration b: a person's adoration of God.
There are so many types of love that we hear about: erotic, platonic, familial, puppy and romantic. We seem to understand and we can relate to either experiencing or at least trying to obtain at least one of them. But there is a love that is beyond all of these. It is called “agape love”. The dictionary defines it as a “love feast” or being in a “state of wonder”. Christians define it as “unconditional love”. A love that is not subject to conditions, feelings or limitations.
It seems unattainable in our minds that there could be a love like this out there, but there is and it is what we all crave. Adam and Eve had it before the fall and man has been yearning for it ever since. We try and fill it with other passions, desires or addictions. But God’s love is agape love and when you learn the truth about His love and what it entails; you will experience love beyond measure and that hole in your heart will continually fill up.
God is love! (1 John 4:8). God loves all His creation. But if we don’t choose to follow Him, His hands are “tied”. He does not force Himself on us; it is a choice that we have to make.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God pours out His love into us through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We just have to choose to walk in It. Galatians 5:6 says only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love shows that we are in Christ.
I hope in reading this book, the fog is lifted and that you see God’s true, perfect and unconditional love is real, attainable and you can walk it.
Chapter Two
Let us start in the New Testament. Here we see God’s love for all His creation. I want to start here because the New Testament demonstrates, through Jesus Christ, God’s love for us and how through His death, burial and resurrection we become heirs with Him and therefore seeds of Abraham and have what was God’s promise to him, which is described in the Old Testament (Genesis 22:17-18).
God is love! What does that mean? We already know what the world says it is…”strong affection for others”. Let’s look at what the bible says love is…
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. Love never fails.
LOVE IS PATIENT
Patient …
1: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2: manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3: not hasty or impetuous
4: steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
5 a: able or willing to bear
Even the world’s definition of patience shows Jesus all over it. Look at what Jesus went through during His trial and crucifixion without complaining, with a calm and patient demeanor (Matt 26:1-22,66; Mark 14:1-15, 47; Luke 18:31-23:56; John 18:1-19, 42). Look at His patience in teaching. Showing the Jews and gentiles alike how to love God and each other by story telling, by miracles, by truths and by example. Answering the same questions over and over again. (Matt 21:17-25, 46; Mark 1:14-8:26; Luke 6:17-9:50; John 5:1-10,42)
2 Peter 3:9 (Amplified)
The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s concept of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extra ordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
God has a plan for us. His plan began long before he even created Adam, and He will wait as long as necessary to see it fulfilled. Look at the Israelites…they wondered the desert for 40 years. God needed to have those without faith pass on before He could continue their journey to the Promised Land (Numbers 13:29-38). Look how long He waited since the fall of man until He sent Jesus to redeem us. Look at Jesus bearing the humiliation and torture He endured. Can you imagine the pain in His heart when God turned away from Him because of the sin He took upon Himself (Matthew 27:46)? He has waited over 2,000 years and still His ultimate plan has not been completed on Earth. He waits because He loves us. Who can say God is not patient? He waits on every single one of us to make the right decisions. God waits patiently for each of us to come to the realization that we need Him. And He is eager to write our names in the Book of Life.
We are all important to Him. He would like for every single one of us to choose Him and waits patiently for us to make that decision. He sends people to cross our paths to inspire and influence us in righteousness and warn us of our bad choices and the consequences of those choices. But ultimately, it is up to us to choose Him and to choose Life.
Being a parent, I can empathize with His position. How many times do we tell our children to do something over and over and over again? We think to ourselves, how many times do I have to tell them…?! Can you imagine how many times God has said that about you…now multiply it by how many humans beings that have been born and have yet to be born. How impatient would we be? Now imagine how much patience God has to have to deal with all of our bad choices and to wait for us to wake up to righteousness.
2 Thessalonians 3:5 (Amplified)
May the Lord direct your hearts into (realizing and showing) the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ and in waiting for His return.
Sometimes I believe we think of patience as a bad word. I have even heard people say, “Don’t pray for patience you will be tested with it”. I choose to think that patience brings about a stronger faith. When we have to wait for something the devil uses it to tempt us to jump ahead and do it ourselves instead of waiting on God’s plan or to doubt what God says in His word about our situation.
I used to be an impatient person. I used to stand in a long line and gripe and complain, look at my watch, breathe out loudly in exasperation. But one day I was watching Believer’s Voice of Victory, they were talking about walking in love. It was like a light bulb went off in my head and I truly felt the Holy Spirit move within me. That moment changed my whole way of thinking. I had read it in the bible many times but it took that teaching to reveal to me how important the love walk is. I now try to put others first in my mind. I try to put myself in their place, in their circumstances and try and relate to them as I would want them to relate to me. And I now ask myself, “What would Jesus do?” Do I always get it right? No. Do I still sometimes think if something is what I want or want to do? Yes. But I feel good in my decision to listen to the Holy Spirit to make me aware of this flaw and try everyday to work on it and to pay attention if I fall back into it.
So what can we do to be patient? For myself, I like to start the day off in the presence of the Lord. I like to use a devotional as a focus for that morning’s thoughts. I read passages associated to the topic for the day. I write them down. I meditate on them. Pray about them and how I can incorporate them into my day. Then I pray. This starts my day off with focus and calmness. Now that means that I have to get up early every morning. But I do it, because it makes me prioritize Who I am to believe and trust in and it sets the tone for the day. I also like to say small prayers throughout the day and praise Him every chance I get.
Romans 12:12 (Amplified)
Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
Does that mean I never get impatient…umm…I have 2 children in elementary school, of course I get impatient. But that’s okay. I can take a breath and say a small prayer and feel better. I have to remember they are kids and don’t think like I do and don’t do things like I do. Now does that give them an excuse to misbehave and do what they want? NO. But it lets me take a deep breath and calmly respond to what they are doing. And that is the case with everyone I encounter throughout my day.
I try to ask myself - “why am I being impatient? Is it realistic? Is it being productive? Is my impatience making someone else feel uncomfortable?” When I am at the grocery store in the express lane, that is anything but, I need to take a deep breath and quietly let it out and smile. Me being impatient isn’t going to make things move faster and it probably really only flusters or angers the cashier and either gets the others around me riled up too or makes them feel uncomfortable. Is that an example of how Jesus behaves? NO!
Romans 15:5 (Amplified)
Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus…
We also need to think of this when someone is being impatient with us. Is it easy? Most of the time I would say no. It is tempting to defend ourselves. It is in our (sin) nature to attack those who attack us. But we need to remember we are to be examples of God’s love by showing His patience.
2 Timothy 2:24 (Amplified)
And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.
Until next week ... be blessed!
What is Love?
So since we have this “lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6) let us delve into what love is; from man’s point of view and God’s. Through this knowledge we can grow and learn how much God’s love is, what it entails and how we can live by His standards.
The definition of “love” from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:
Love …
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
(2): attraction based on sexual desire (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration b: a person's adoration of God.
There are so many types of love that we hear about: erotic, platonic, familial, puppy and romantic. We seem to understand and we can relate to either experiencing or at least trying to obtain at least one of them. But there is a love that is beyond all of these. It is called “agape love”. The dictionary defines it as a “love feast” or being in a “state of wonder”. Christians define it as “unconditional love”. A love that is not subject to conditions, feelings or limitations.
It seems unattainable in our minds that there could be a love like this out there, but there is and it is what we all crave. Adam and Eve had it before the fall and man has been yearning for it ever since. We try and fill it with other passions, desires or addictions. But God’s love is agape love and when you learn the truth about His love and what it entails; you will experience love beyond measure and that hole in your heart will continually fill up.
God is love! (1 John 4:8). God loves all His creation. But if we don’t choose to follow Him, His hands are “tied”. He does not force Himself on us; it is a choice that we have to make.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God pours out His love into us through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We just have to choose to walk in It. Galatians 5:6 says only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love shows that we are in Christ.
I hope in reading this book, the fog is lifted and that you see God’s true, perfect and unconditional love is real, attainable and you can walk it.
Chapter Two
Let us start in the New Testament. Here we see God’s love for all His creation. I want to start here because the New Testament demonstrates, through Jesus Christ, God’s love for us and how through His death, burial and resurrection we become heirs with Him and therefore seeds of Abraham and have what was God’s promise to him, which is described in the Old Testament (Genesis 22:17-18).
God is love! What does that mean? We already know what the world says it is…”strong affection for others”. Let’s look at what the bible says love is…
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. Love never fails.
LOVE IS PATIENT
Patient …
1: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2: manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3: not hasty or impetuous
4: steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
5 a: able or willing to bear
Even the world’s definition of patience shows Jesus all over it. Look at what Jesus went through during His trial and crucifixion without complaining, with a calm and patient demeanor (Matt 26:1-22,66; Mark 14:1-15, 47; Luke 18:31-23:56; John 18:1-19, 42). Look at His patience in teaching. Showing the Jews and gentiles alike how to love God and each other by story telling, by miracles, by truths and by example. Answering the same questions over and over again. (Matt 21:17-25, 46; Mark 1:14-8:26; Luke 6:17-9:50; John 5:1-10,42)
2 Peter 3:9 (Amplified)
The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s concept of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extra ordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
God has a plan for us. His plan began long before he even created Adam, and He will wait as long as necessary to see it fulfilled. Look at the Israelites…they wondered the desert for 40 years. God needed to have those without faith pass on before He could continue their journey to the Promised Land (Numbers 13:29-38). Look how long He waited since the fall of man until He sent Jesus to redeem us. Look at Jesus bearing the humiliation and torture He endured. Can you imagine the pain in His heart when God turned away from Him because of the sin He took upon Himself (Matthew 27:46)? He has waited over 2,000 years and still His ultimate plan has not been completed on Earth. He waits because He loves us. Who can say God is not patient? He waits on every single one of us to make the right decisions. God waits patiently for each of us to come to the realization that we need Him. And He is eager to write our names in the Book of Life.
We are all important to Him. He would like for every single one of us to choose Him and waits patiently for us to make that decision. He sends people to cross our paths to inspire and influence us in righteousness and warn us of our bad choices and the consequences of those choices. But ultimately, it is up to us to choose Him and to choose Life.
Being a parent, I can empathize with His position. How many times do we tell our children to do something over and over and over again? We think to ourselves, how many times do I have to tell them…?! Can you imagine how many times God has said that about you…now multiply it by how many humans beings that have been born and have yet to be born. How impatient would we be? Now imagine how much patience God has to have to deal with all of our bad choices and to wait for us to wake up to righteousness.
2 Thessalonians 3:5 (Amplified)
May the Lord direct your hearts into (realizing and showing) the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ and in waiting for His return.
Sometimes I believe we think of patience as a bad word. I have even heard people say, “Don’t pray for patience you will be tested with it”. I choose to think that patience brings about a stronger faith. When we have to wait for something the devil uses it to tempt us to jump ahead and do it ourselves instead of waiting on God’s plan or to doubt what God says in His word about our situation.
I used to be an impatient person. I used to stand in a long line and gripe and complain, look at my watch, breathe out loudly in exasperation. But one day I was watching Believer’s Voice of Victory, they were talking about walking in love. It was like a light bulb went off in my head and I truly felt the Holy Spirit move within me. That moment changed my whole way of thinking. I had read it in the bible many times but it took that teaching to reveal to me how important the love walk is. I now try to put others first in my mind. I try to put myself in their place, in their circumstances and try and relate to them as I would want them to relate to me. And I now ask myself, “What would Jesus do?” Do I always get it right? No. Do I still sometimes think if something is what I want or want to do? Yes. But I feel good in my decision to listen to the Holy Spirit to make me aware of this flaw and try everyday to work on it and to pay attention if I fall back into it.
So what can we do to be patient? For myself, I like to start the day off in the presence of the Lord. I like to use a devotional as a focus for that morning’s thoughts. I read passages associated to the topic for the day. I write them down. I meditate on them. Pray about them and how I can incorporate them into my day. Then I pray. This starts my day off with focus and calmness. Now that means that I have to get up early every morning. But I do it, because it makes me prioritize Who I am to believe and trust in and it sets the tone for the day. I also like to say small prayers throughout the day and praise Him every chance I get.
Romans 12:12 (Amplified)
Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
Does that mean I never get impatient…umm…I have 2 children in elementary school, of course I get impatient. But that’s okay. I can take a breath and say a small prayer and feel better. I have to remember they are kids and don’t think like I do and don’t do things like I do. Now does that give them an excuse to misbehave and do what they want? NO. But it lets me take a deep breath and calmly respond to what they are doing. And that is the case with everyone I encounter throughout my day.
I try to ask myself - “why am I being impatient? Is it realistic? Is it being productive? Is my impatience making someone else feel uncomfortable?” When I am at the grocery store in the express lane, that is anything but, I need to take a deep breath and quietly let it out and smile. Me being impatient isn’t going to make things move faster and it probably really only flusters or angers the cashier and either gets the others around me riled up too or makes them feel uncomfortable. Is that an example of how Jesus behaves? NO!
Romans 15:5 (Amplified)
Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus…
We also need to think of this when someone is being impatient with us. Is it easy? Most of the time I would say no. It is tempting to defend ourselves. It is in our (sin) nature to attack those who attack us. But we need to remember we are to be examples of God’s love by showing His patience.
2 Timothy 2:24 (Amplified)
And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.
Until next week ... be blessed!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
True Love & How to Walk in It : Introduction
The Lord has put on my heart to spread a message that He wants the World to know. Without it, it makes it hard to understand God, who He is and what He wants for us. He gave me this message years ago and after putting it off for far too long I am using this vehicle to pass it on. I will be posting weekly chapters to the book that I have written with this title. I hope it will bless you.
With anything from God, digest it, study it, verify it and live it. Unless we are doers of the Word we are not changed into who He wants us and has plans for us to be.
Be blessed!
What makes people want to devour movies and books about relationships? What makes people search the internet and bars for companionship? What makes people take their own life or someone else’s because of it?
What is love?
I think it is a question we always ask ourselves and how it pertains to our lives and how we can find it. It is that hole that we all feel in our hearts. It is why there is this search for completion, for fulfillment. We try to find it in so many different ways and arenas - drugs, sex, alcohol, power, money, fame, hobbies, jobs, marriage and family. Yet even with all these things, that hole is still there - that emptiness that we can’t seem to fill is still present, getting deeper and deeper. How do we find this fulfillment? How do we achieve this completion?
We find God. He is the answer. He fills that hole, completes that emptiness. How and why? He loves us. His love is pure, whole and True.
In this writing, I hope to share what the Bible shows me. It isn’t just a book of history. It isn’t just a book of great stories. I’ve heard it described as a love letter. But in this book, I hope to show you that the Bible is a love story. It is God telling us He loves us and how we can receive that love.
Let’s look deeper. God’s love is available, open and honest yet we are like the girl in the movie, the hero has a crush on, who is oblivious to his heart. We cheat on God everyday like a spouse who takes the love from their wife/husband and gives it to someone who hasn’t earned it or deserved it.
If we look at Jesus, we see the love of God. Jesus said “whoever sees me sees Him Who sent me” (John 2:45). We need to realize, Jesus did not come to bring us religion. Jesus came to show us God wants to have a relationship with us. It is not about rules and regulations or traditions. It is about His love for us and how we can live the best lives we can, while we are here on earth and that we have a place in heaven. He has given us everything and we seem to have a laisser-faire attitude towards how we should reciprocate that. We seem to believe that just accepting Jesus is enough. That now the rest is up to Him. We take the scriptures and say “He is in control” so whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. That is not what the bible says or what it tells us to do. I want these writings to be an awakening to our spirits to know how to love Him, remember why we fell in love with Him, how He feels about us and what He tells us to do to live the life He has promised us.
I hope you read this and fall in love all over again or for the first time. I pray your mind and spirit is open to the voice of the Holy Spirit. I hope it makes you reinvest your life and love to Him and to live the life He promised we could have.
I have often wondered why people don’t want to believe in God. Some think that believing in God is a crutch. They think to believe in God somehow makes them weak. We have been taught by society that we should be self-reliant. We can thank the devil for that little lie. He used it on Eve in the garden and it is still working today. Some choose not to believe because they don’t want to change their lifestyle. We as a society don’t want to have to do things that keep us from having “fun”. What is wrong with a little drinking…until we make our selves sick or worse get into an accident or die from liver failure? What is wrong with expressing yourself sexually…until we end up with a reputation as “easy”, getting an STD or an unwanted pregnancy or worse a terminal disease.
Some will use the history of how God has been taught as reason enough. I mean doesn’t God strike us down when we do wrong, doesn’t He make people sick to teach them something, doesn’t He hate sinners? God has not always been taught to be the loving God I know Him to be. How He truly is. This is not just my observation, but it is the Truth written in the Word of God.
Now in the Old Testament, maybe His love doesn’t seem as obvious as it does in the New Testament, but it is there and it is ever present and easy to see if you really look. And by look, I mean study, meditate on it and pray about it. The bible is a testament to God’s love. The only way to truly know that is to look it up yourself, to actually open the bible and read it. Not just when you’re in church and not just so you can say you read a passage or chapter or the whole bible in a year. But to find the answers to life’s questions. It is a reference and guide to how to live a full successful life and eternity.
If we look at the Old Testament, Adam and Eve fell into sin and in that fall everyone after that was also born into a fallen state. Which means that the devil has an ever-present influence in our development and decision-making. Because of that influence God had to show us what was right and how to follow Him. I look at it from a parent’s point of view. When we have children we love on them and give them everything they need but when the child’s will starts to show in behavior and actions that are not good for the child in a physical way and also a moral or behavioral way, we as the parent have to set boundaries to show our children what is appropriate and what is not. What is best for them and what is detrimental.
That is what God was doing for the Israelites, and what He continues to do for us today. God was letting them/us know how we are to behave to live the life He created for us. He was also putting in place the course that would bring about Jesus’ coming. God shows in the Old Testament that there are consequences for our choices. There is life and death in the choices we make. He even tells what to do - choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Having said all that, I believe for the most part, people who don’t know God, do not really believe that God loves them. They might say that “God loves everyone” but it doesn’t really mean them. They will use the circumstances that go on in the world to prove their point. They see all the death and destruction, from natural disasters and famine and the hate and brutality that people do to each other and the sadness of sickness and death, and they believe that God is out to get us for any mistake.
I also think that there are people who know God “loves” them, but don’t really know what that love means. I hear Christians all the time say they can’t fathom God’s love. They ask how He can love us because we are so unworthy. I believe that barrier is part of the reason people are not seeing all that God can do in their lives and the capacity He has to forgive the most heinous and love them as much as He loves Jesus, much less those of us who think our lives are quite tame.
I also hear Christians minimize God’s love because they think to talk about it, is like saying His love is - as some put it, “Santa Claus” like. The misconception is that those, who don’t like to focus on His love, think those who do are saying it is a “happy, happy nothing bad happens” love. God never said life would be easy. He told us their would be trials and tribulations - not because He was going to send them but because Satan is ever present and looking for those to destroy (1 Peter 5:8). However, I think we need to look at that in a parent’s perspective. We love our children but we still discipline them when they do things that are wrong. We are disappointed in them but we still love them. We can give them things they want but choose things and ways that won’t spoil them. It is our job to teach them right from wrong - to follow Jesus not the devil. God is our true Father and His love is unconditional. He has a plan for each of us that is good but by our choices we alter that path and there are consequences for the paths we choose.
But in Him, we know that He gives us a way to get back on the right path, we just have to choose to do it and know that we are forgiven and loved.
With anything from God, digest it, study it, verify it and live it. Unless we are doers of the Word we are not changed into who He wants us and has plans for us to be.
Be blessed!
What makes people want to devour movies and books about relationships? What makes people search the internet and bars for companionship? What makes people take their own life or someone else’s because of it?
What is love?
I think it is a question we always ask ourselves and how it pertains to our lives and how we can find it. It is that hole that we all feel in our hearts. It is why there is this search for completion, for fulfillment. We try to find it in so many different ways and arenas - drugs, sex, alcohol, power, money, fame, hobbies, jobs, marriage and family. Yet even with all these things, that hole is still there - that emptiness that we can’t seem to fill is still present, getting deeper and deeper. How do we find this fulfillment? How do we achieve this completion?
We find God. He is the answer. He fills that hole, completes that emptiness. How and why? He loves us. His love is pure, whole and True.
In this writing, I hope to share what the Bible shows me. It isn’t just a book of history. It isn’t just a book of great stories. I’ve heard it described as a love letter. But in this book, I hope to show you that the Bible is a love story. It is God telling us He loves us and how we can receive that love.
Let’s look deeper. God’s love is available, open and honest yet we are like the girl in the movie, the hero has a crush on, who is oblivious to his heart. We cheat on God everyday like a spouse who takes the love from their wife/husband and gives it to someone who hasn’t earned it or deserved it.
If we look at Jesus, we see the love of God. Jesus said “whoever sees me sees Him Who sent me” (John 2:45). We need to realize, Jesus did not come to bring us religion. Jesus came to show us God wants to have a relationship with us. It is not about rules and regulations or traditions. It is about His love for us and how we can live the best lives we can, while we are here on earth and that we have a place in heaven. He has given us everything and we seem to have a laisser-faire attitude towards how we should reciprocate that. We seem to believe that just accepting Jesus is enough. That now the rest is up to Him. We take the scriptures and say “He is in control” so whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. That is not what the bible says or what it tells us to do. I want these writings to be an awakening to our spirits to know how to love Him, remember why we fell in love with Him, how He feels about us and what He tells us to do to live the life He has promised us.
I hope you read this and fall in love all over again or for the first time. I pray your mind and spirit is open to the voice of the Holy Spirit. I hope it makes you reinvest your life and love to Him and to live the life He promised we could have.
I have often wondered why people don’t want to believe in God. Some think that believing in God is a crutch. They think to believe in God somehow makes them weak. We have been taught by society that we should be self-reliant. We can thank the devil for that little lie. He used it on Eve in the garden and it is still working today. Some choose not to believe because they don’t want to change their lifestyle. We as a society don’t want to have to do things that keep us from having “fun”. What is wrong with a little drinking…until we make our selves sick or worse get into an accident or die from liver failure? What is wrong with expressing yourself sexually…until we end up with a reputation as “easy”, getting an STD or an unwanted pregnancy or worse a terminal disease.
Some will use the history of how God has been taught as reason enough. I mean doesn’t God strike us down when we do wrong, doesn’t He make people sick to teach them something, doesn’t He hate sinners? God has not always been taught to be the loving God I know Him to be. How He truly is. This is not just my observation, but it is the Truth written in the Word of God.
Now in the Old Testament, maybe His love doesn’t seem as obvious as it does in the New Testament, but it is there and it is ever present and easy to see if you really look. And by look, I mean study, meditate on it and pray about it. The bible is a testament to God’s love. The only way to truly know that is to look it up yourself, to actually open the bible and read it. Not just when you’re in church and not just so you can say you read a passage or chapter or the whole bible in a year. But to find the answers to life’s questions. It is a reference and guide to how to live a full successful life and eternity.
If we look at the Old Testament, Adam and Eve fell into sin and in that fall everyone after that was also born into a fallen state. Which means that the devil has an ever-present influence in our development and decision-making. Because of that influence God had to show us what was right and how to follow Him. I look at it from a parent’s point of view. When we have children we love on them and give them everything they need but when the child’s will starts to show in behavior and actions that are not good for the child in a physical way and also a moral or behavioral way, we as the parent have to set boundaries to show our children what is appropriate and what is not. What is best for them and what is detrimental.
That is what God was doing for the Israelites, and what He continues to do for us today. God was letting them/us know how we are to behave to live the life He created for us. He was also putting in place the course that would bring about Jesus’ coming. God shows in the Old Testament that there are consequences for our choices. There is life and death in the choices we make. He even tells what to do - choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Having said all that, I believe for the most part, people who don’t know God, do not really believe that God loves them. They might say that “God loves everyone” but it doesn’t really mean them. They will use the circumstances that go on in the world to prove their point. They see all the death and destruction, from natural disasters and famine and the hate and brutality that people do to each other and the sadness of sickness and death, and they believe that God is out to get us for any mistake.
I also think that there are people who know God “loves” them, but don’t really know what that love means. I hear Christians all the time say they can’t fathom God’s love. They ask how He can love us because we are so unworthy. I believe that barrier is part of the reason people are not seeing all that God can do in their lives and the capacity He has to forgive the most heinous and love them as much as He loves Jesus, much less those of us who think our lives are quite tame.
I also hear Christians minimize God’s love because they think to talk about it, is like saying His love is - as some put it, “Santa Claus” like. The misconception is that those, who don’t like to focus on His love, think those who do are saying it is a “happy, happy nothing bad happens” love. God never said life would be easy. He told us their would be trials and tribulations - not because He was going to send them but because Satan is ever present and looking for those to destroy (1 Peter 5:8). However, I think we need to look at that in a parent’s perspective. We love our children but we still discipline them when they do things that are wrong. We are disappointed in them but we still love them. We can give them things they want but choose things and ways that won’t spoil them. It is our job to teach them right from wrong - to follow Jesus not the devil. God is our true Father and His love is unconditional. He has a plan for each of us that is good but by our choices we alter that path and there are consequences for the paths we choose.
But in Him, we know that He gives us a way to get back on the right path, we just have to choose to do it and know that we are forgiven and loved.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Summer 2010
Busy summer. We went to San Antonio to Sea World in June. The kids were so excited to see all the animals. We then went to Dallas in July for Thomas to have his surgery in Dallas & went to the Ft Worth Zoo - always a must!
It was wonderful and now we are back in the school groove.
It was wonderful and now we are back in the school groove.
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