Tag Archives: Relationship

Do Everything In Love

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When we do everything in love, we are reflecting God‘s love for us. Our motivation in life should be doing for others before doing for self. God’s sacrifice should be our sole motivation to live a Christian life.

We are seeing stories of kindness and goodness in the world despite the darkness surrounding us. We are the light that causes change. Love outshines everything else.

Love others today through acts of love and kindness. God‘s mercy and grace give us the air we breathe. Share love-purpose-kindness without thinking how it will affect you first.

Loving ensures we are becoming Christian Warriors ready to deflect darkness.

Do everything in love!

The Equation: Love+Faith, Moves Mountains

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We are commanded to love. I believe this is true of all faiths. If we fail to love, all else fails. Love is powerful. But, as Christians, we are commanded to love our neighbors, love our enemies, love the sick, the poor, and downtrodden. We are to love others as we love ourselves. We are commanded to love because God first loved us.  All things are possible when we love. We can move mountains through faith if first, we love.

As Christians, our very existence is linked to ‘love’. Romans 12:9-10, NLT reads, Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 

The Bible is replete with scriptures about God’s love for us and how we are commanded to love others in the same way He loved us first.

Romans 5:8, NIV reads, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 5:1-5, NLT reports, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Matthew 5:43-46 NLT, You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ ]and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?

Romans 12:9-21, NLT,  goes on to  read,

11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 

Friends, the maxim is  – love conquers all. Love fires up our faith to move mountains, but as 1 Corinthians 2:13 reads, if we fail to love, moving mountains is nothing, because our  lives are not based on God’s love for us, and moving mountains becomes a phrase and not an action, God gifted to us, His children.

What Does God Want You To Do?

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God is all truth and truth cannot initiate negative actions. God does not create confusion, chaos, or distraction in our lives. However, he does use them to move us forward seeking our destiny. All challenges and victories are accompanied with lessons. Everything in life is a learning opportunity. Do you believe and surrender all of who you are to God, or are you the architect of your own destiny?

Psalm 16_2A chosen life – lived so differently from the rest of the world-will forever hold the truth that apart from God, we have ‘no good thing’ (Psalm 16:2)

A chosen life is a surrendered life, a life that exalts Jesus Christ and follows Him in obedience.

I’ve heard this message in some form for three days now. Yes, it’s apparently personal, but we can all learn from this message.

My Take Away

The Lord told us we would experience good times and bad. Jesus suffered. Job suffered. David suffered. Countless men and women suffered in the Bible. What makes us any different? In each instance, the sufferer literally and figuratively fell to their knees and first asked God why are you doing this to me, or why are you allowing this to happen to me? We are projecting blame. After wallowing in our discomfort, we should reach the point where we change the conversation and ask God, what do you want me to learn from this? God will answer, but not until we fully surrender to Him and reiterate Jesus statement of God,

“Not my will, but your will be done.”
Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42 NIV

Faith

I read on FaceBook of all places – ‘Walking with God and not seeing where He is taking you is faith. Walking with God and demanding that he tell you where He is taking you is sight.’

“For we walk by faith and not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

We cannot ask, what do you want me to learn if we cannot surrender to God first. If we still blame others, think we are always right,  remain stuck in our own stuff, there is no way we can hear God. There is too much white noise. White noise is noise containing too many frequencies with equal intensities.

The white noise is the selfish, fleshly you, the faithless you. The whiner crying why me! The person with the attitude confronting God. This may be an ‘ah-ha’ moment for some. When we are in this place, our faith is not authentic. It is solid when things are going well, and we are happy with God, but when things go wrong, we tend to blame God, our faith wanes. Our self-righteous selves question the creator of the universe, our God who created us, knew us before we knew ourselves, has a plan for us, loves us, is devoted to us, cares for us, and protects us.

Jesus said to the disciples, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?  Matthew 8:26 KJV

Surrender

Surrendering requires faith. When we surrender, we hand our lives over to God. We say, we will walk with you into the unknown, and will faint not. I read on FaceBook of all places – ‘Walking with God and not seeing where He is taking us is faith. Walking with God and demanding that he tell us where He is taking us is sight.’

Surrendering and living faith-filled life sounds easy, but if your fleshly self is a controller, is always right, strong-willed, and is comfortable mapping paths for themselves and others, it is not easy to hand the steering wheel over to God or anyone else. Surrendering is choosing dependence in, and obedience to, God and God alone. Our flesh fights dependence and obedience. They come in tandem, both are necessary factors required when we fully surrender to God our Father.

Back to the initial question – What is God telling you to do?

*He is telling you/us to surrender to Him, not to ask questions or reinterpret what He said to us – we must surrender all.
*He is telling you/us to follow Him, respond, yes God and Amen.
*He is telling you/us to be dependent and know He is God and created our life plan.
*He is telling you/us to remain obedient, even in the darkest hours. He will never leave us or forsake us.
*He is telling you/us to be quiet, know He is God and listen to His quiet voice directing our paths.
*He is telling you/us to love Him and trust Him with our lives.

When we surrender –
*We will be free,
*We will have real faith,
*We will be delivered, and God will lead us to our salvation.

 

We Owe God

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From Adam Clark, Studylight.com

Image – Roger Cole, Bible.com. YouVersion

God sacrificed His son for us. We owe Him. “As the Christian is thus purchased, ransomed, redeemed, he is bound to devote himself to God only, and to keep his commands, and to flee from a licentious life.”

“That this valuable consideration was the blood of Jesus, as an atoning sacrifice, an offering, a ransom, which “would accomplish the same great ends in maintaining the truth and honor of God, and the majesty of his law, as the eternal condemnation of the sinner would have done;” and which, therefore, may be called, figuratively, the price which was paid. For if the same ends of justice could be accomplished by his atonement which would have been by the death of the sinner himself, then it was consistent for God to pardon him.

Nothing else could or would have done this. There was no price which the sinner could pay, no atonement which he could make; and consequently, if Christ had not died, the sinner would have been the slave of sin, and the servant of the devil forever.

Called To Stand Out

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Our lives reflect an open book. The book is the Bible. The scriptures are our lessons about living a Christ-like life, and how we invest in sharing the Word through our actions and deeds. Works will not pay entrance into heaven, there are no works that great, but works are expected of all followers.

How can we spread the Word if we do not demonstrate what it is saying to nonbelievers and believers alike?

Image by Caleb Warren. Bible.com, YouVersion

CONQUERING EVIL By DOING GOOD, Part 1

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Conquering Evil

Evil times are times when the worst of mankind surfaces. It is also a time when the Principality War is most visible. My last two posts shared thoughts about the present evil time, and how faith is our anchor. Today we’ll focus more in-depth on conquering evil by doing good. We are Gods army; we are the ‘ Resistance.’ It is our responsibility to resist the enemy in the time of evil. (Eph 6:13)

The word ‘conquer’ means, to overcome by force. In our case, overcoming by physical force is not possible. The Principality War is between God and Satan. The war exists in the second heaven and is played out on earth. If we are to be victorious and conquerors, we must use the weapons the Lord gave us that are described in Ephesians. Each part of the armor represents a component of our weaponry and is based in prayer.  Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the armor and explains that they must be dressed to stand against the devil’s schemes. He also shared that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (See my post about the Heavenlies.) 

Paul described the armor as Roman military uniforms. The importance of wearing the armor is still applicable today. The war is raging, and we need to dress in the appropriate attire to protect ourselves, stand, and fight in God’s army.

“13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

There are six elements that compose our armor. Each element has its attribute though they must be worn together. Failure to wear each piece leaves us exposed to the wiles of Satan and the onslaught of his demons.

Parts of the Armor Definition of Attributes
Breastplate The breastplate represents Christ’s Righteousness/Purity. It protects us from Satan’s accusations and charges. The enemy attacks through sin, and the temptation of the flesh. The breastplate protects our heart, through which spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 3:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9)
Belt The belt is the Gospel of Peace. The belt holds everything together. It is our commitment to the truth. It refers to the truths of the Scripture, as opposed to the lies of Satan. It is the foundation of our integrity and honesty. If we don’t have integrity, we will lose the battle. (John 8:44; John 8:32)
Shoes/Sandals Sandals are the believer’s tranquility/solid footing of peace. Satan tries to place obstacles in our path. Jesus provides strength and discipline to our walk. (1 John 2:6; John 10:27)
Shield The shield is our Faith/Certainty in God’s Word/Truth. The shield combats doubt, thrown as fiery darts. Faith is a gift from God that dwells in us. (Ephesians 6:16; 2 Timothy 3:12; Romans12:3; Galatians 2:20; 2 Timothy 4:7) Use the shield of faith to turn aside everything Satan and his demons hurl at you.
Helmet The helmet is our salvation. It is being saved which protects our thought and mind from attacks. When we are sure of our salvation, we will not be moved by Satan’s deception. Our salvation is knowing that our sins are forgiven and gives us peace when the accusations of unforgiveness are hurled. (1 John 1:9; 1 John 5:11, 12)
Sword The sword is the Word of God we use when we are being tempted by Satan and his attacks. The sword is the only offensive weapon. The sword protects us and destroys the enemy and his temptations. (Hebrews 4:12; John 17:17; Psalm 119:105)

Each morning when we take out our outfit for the day, we must also take out our armor. Paul commands us to:

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:14-17 NKJV

Prayer is the thread that stitches the armor together.  So, while prayer is not part of the armor, it is the thread that holds it together.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18 NKJV

 READ, Conquering Evil by Doing Good, Part 2, tomorrow

Re-Blog – https://wp.me/p98Coa-DL
Scripture – Bible.com/YouVerison,Images – YouVersion, Google Images
Resources/References – Armor of God-WHat It Is and How to Use It. Debbie McDaniel, Crosswalk.com; Armor of God. What Is It? Bibleinfo.com