Monthly Archives: February 2015

February 13, 2015 · 5:30 AM

10 Scriptures On Love

IMG_0265

1. Keep on loving one another as Christians. (Hebrews 13:1 GNT)

2. This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. (John 15:12 AMP)

3. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7 NLT)

4. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. (Romans 12:9-10 MSG)

5. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. (Ephesians 5:25 GNB)

6. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4:10 NLT)

7. Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law. (Romans 13:10 AMP)

8. So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 MSG)

9. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT)

10. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17 ESV)

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 12, 2015 · 7:46 AM

A Love That Endures

When we think of the story of Joseph and Mary, it’s usually not at Valentine’s Day. They’ve got Christmas and that’s about all we give them. However, when I think of love stories in the Bible, theirs always comes to mind. Theirs wasn’t a fairy tale love, it was real. It showed that love endures hard times and difficult situations. We don’t know a lot about their story, but the parts that we do know show that their love survived what could have been a disastrous occasion.

Imagine being engaged to someone and then you seemingly found proof that they were cheating on you. What happens next? For most of us, we make a public scene and try as hard as we can to embarrass the other person because we want them to hurt as bad as we do. Joseph didn’t have that same attitude when he found out that Mary was pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his because they planned to be virgins until their wedding. Instead of blowing up and taking out his hurt on her, he let love lead the way.

In Matthew 1:19, we read, “Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.” In the Message Bible, one of the ways it describes love in I Corinthians 13 is, “Love doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.” Joseph demonstrated this kind of love towards Mary. He didn’t act the way he could have acted because he truly loved her and acted out of love even when he was hurt.

Of course we know that while he was trying to figure out how to take care of things with Mary an angel came to visit and explained things to him. Imagine the crow he would have had to eat if he had flown off the handle and went off on Mary. Think about the barriers that would have built up in their relationship. Mary would have had every right to not want to be with Joseph after that. She would have been able to say, “I told you so” for the rest of their lives. What kind of relationship would that have been?

A love that ensures doesn’t fly off the handle when it thinks it’s been wronged. It follows what we read in I Corinthians 13. It acts selflessly and always look for the best in others. We shouldn’t be so quick to fly off the handle at those we love. We should be extending them the grace we expect. We can learn a lot from a young couple who had the biggest responsibility and pressures of any parents ever. They had a love that lasted because they understood how to act out of love when things got difficult. It’s a great example that we should follow.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 11, 2015 · 7:56 AM

Love Takes Risks

One of my favorite love stories in the Bible has to be Ruth and Boaz. When Ruth’s husband died, she left her home and family to stay with her mother in law. She accompanied her back to the land of her people with the famous phrase, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” When they arrived, Ruth immediately went out to look for a field of grain to work in so they could eat. God led her straight to a field that belonged to Boaz.

In their story, Ruth immediately caught the attention of Boaz. He was impressed with her faithfulness to Naomi. Because of that, he showed her kindness and compassion. He allowed her to stay in the field and to become like one of the women workers. He gave her food to eat and spoke to the other workers to drop grain for her to pick up. Here, Boaz demonstrated that love is kind and seeks what’s best for the other person. He also gave us the example that love provides for the other person’s needs.

In Ruth chapter 3, Naomi instructs Ruth to go lay at the feet of Boaz while he slept. When he woke up around midnight, he was surprised to see a woman laying at his feet. She replied, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread your covering over me, for you are my kinsman redeemer.” His response showed his love. “I will do what is necessary,” he said. Love does what is necessary, not what is expedient. He could have claimed her as his wife or taken advantage of the situation. Instead, he protected her virtue, did what was right and necessary. He showed that love does not act unbecomingly.

The next morning, Boaz went out to the city gate to look for the real kinsman redeemer. When he came through Boaz approached him and told him the situation. The other man said he couldn’t marry Ruth so he gave permission to Boaz. Here Boaz showed that love risks everything. He was willing to let go of Ruth because it was the right thing to do. In releasing her, he opened his hand for God to bless him back. He did what was right in the sight of God and man and acted with integrity. He showed that love doesn’t trap someone, it frees them.

If you are not familiar with their story, Boaz and Ruth got married. They had a son named Obed. When he grew up and married, he had a son named Jesse who had a several sons, one of whom was a shepherd named David. David became the greatest king of Israel. Several generations later, one of his defendants married a woman named Mary who gave birth to a son named Jesus. Because Boaz acted out of love and integrity and risked everything, he became part of the lineage of Christ.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

February 10, 2015 · 7:32 AM

Love Takes Work

When people tell me that they’re getting married or thinking about it, I tell them two things. The first is that marriage is a magnifier. All the great things about the love of your life will be magnified and will be that much better. On the other hand, all the things that drive you nuts will be magnified as well. The second thing I tell them is that marriage is the hardest thing you will ever do. It’s a lifetime of putting someone else’s needs above your own. To be successful, you’ll need to put away your all about me attitude (which is all you’ve known) and put your energy and effort into all about us.

Love requires work. Hard work. When I think about someone working hard for love, I think about Jacob in Genesis 29. His dad wanted him to travel back to the land of his ancestors to find a wife. Upon arriving, he met Rachel at a well. He told her his story and she ran to tell her dad Laban. After working for her dad for a month, Laban said, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.” In verse 18, Jacob replied, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel , your younger daughter, as my wife.”

After they agreed, Jacob worked seven years for her. The Bible says that his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. On their wedding night, Laban swapped daughters on Jacob and gave him Leah to consummate the marriage with. It wasn’t until the morning that Jacob realized it. When he protested, Laban told him that their custom was that the older daughter needed to be married first. He then said, “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel too – provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” He married Rachel a week later and worked another seven years.

To put that into perspective, think about what you make per year and multiply that be seven. Now double that number and you have what Jacob was willing to pay for Rachel. That’s a lot of work and a lot of money. Jacob was willing to put in the time and effort because of his love for her. The first seven years flew by as he anticipated marriage. The Bible doesn’t say the same thing for the second seven. He had the wife he wanted, but he had to continue working. He had to put in the long hours at work, but he also had to work on his marriage. It wasn’t perfect. Chapter 30 starts off with an argument they had.

Marriage will have arguments, misunderstandings and miscommunications because it involves two humans. It won’t and can’t be perfect. But when two people love each other and are committed to working for the other one and the relationship, then it works. Like I said in the beginning, it’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but the rewards for the hard work are worth it. To quote I Corinthians 13:5, “It (love) does not demand its own way. It is not irritable and it keeps no record of being wronged.” Love is not selfish and that takes a lot of work.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

February 9, 2015 · 5:31 AM

I Am Loved (Video)

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13

If you have trouble viewing the video, click here.

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 6, 2015 · 5:45 AM

10 Scriptures On Success

IMG_0263

1. Save us, Lord, save us! Give us success, O Lord! (Psalms 118:25 GNB)

2. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, (Proverbs 2:6-7 NIV)

3. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 AMP)

4. Get all the advice you can, and you will succeed; without it you will fail. (Proverbs 15:22 GNB)

5. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful! (Psalms 90:17 NLT)

6. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4 ESV)

7. Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out. (Proverbs 16:3 GNB)

8. These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.
Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. (Proverbs 1:1, 3-4 NLT)

9. If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don’t let anything make you afraid. (1 Chronicles 22:13 GNT)

10. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8 NLT)

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

February 5, 2015 · 7:15 AM

No Fear

IMG_0261

Fear is a funny thing. It can make a grown man scream like a child. It can make the strongest one among us look weak. It has the ability to paralyze the most able bodied person. When we see someone who is afraid of something we’re not afraid of, we tend to laugh and make fun. When we see someone stuck in a situation because of fear, we are rarely empathetic because we don’t take the time to put ourselves in their shoes.

I have a coworker who tells the story that he was riding in the car with someone going down the freeway. They were talking and having a good time until the driver freezes up and gets serious. He asked what was wrong and the driver motions with his head to look left. Confused, he asked, “What?!?” The driver whispered, “There’s a spider on the window.” He laughed and said, “Are you serious?” He then reached across the driver to swat it, but realized if he knocked it down, they’d have a wreck. He pinched it and threw it out the window. Immediately the driver went back to normal.

He laughs and so do others when he tells the story and does all the animation that goes with it. Then he tells how he asked the driver why he’s afraid of spiders. The driver said that when he was young, he was swimming in a pool and there was a spider on the water. As it came near to him, he tried to use waves to push it away. It kept coming though. He ended up taking his hand and slapped down on the water to kill it. When he hit it, immediately hundreds of baby spiders went everywhere. He was covered in them and couldn’t get away. Since then he’s been afraid.

It’s easy to make fun of someone’s fear until we understand it. Each one of us are afraid of something ourselves, so why don’t we encourage others who are afraid? There are people around us who are starting over in life and they’re afraid. There are people who have to move for work and are afraid they won’t find friendships like those they’re leaving behind. Some are having to go where God is calling them, but it’s taking more faith than they think they have. Each one of these needs empathy and encouragement.

When Jesus was walking on the water towards the boat full of disciples, they were terrified. Twelve grown men were screaming like little children. Then, one voice pierced through the storm and their screams. It said, “Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!” Jesus’ call to them goes out to us today. Whatever we’re facing, we can take courage through Him. He reminded them and us that He is God. And finally, he commands us to stop being afraid. We can have courage and know He is God and still be paralyzed by being afraid. Don’t let that happen. Stop being afraid and follow where God leads.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 4, 2015 · 7:33 AM

Get Dirty

IMG_0016

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to truly love people. As Christians, we are called to love others. Jesus said that the world would know we are His disciples by our love for others, but is that what we are known for? I’ve been reminded a few times this week through conversations and quotes I’ve read that we need to learn to love more than we are. We spend more time judging others than we do loving them and that’s a problem.

One of the quotes I read this week came from Mother Teresa. It said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” We have to fight against our human nature with this one. It’s easy to sit and judge, but difficult to go and love. Loving others requires us to act and it’s not an easy thing to do at times. It can get messy and dirty. On the other hand, judging is pretty easy to do. It requires little effort on our part, and as humans, we love to take the easy route so we default to judging.

Another quote I was reminded again came from Peter Strople. He said, “When in doubt, love.” Ask yourself how you can show God’s love to other people you come across each day. What if you were the only person God was going to put in their path who could show them love? You never know what a difference you could be in someone’s life simply by showing love where others judge. Mark Batterson said, “Inaction is action. Indecision is a decision.” By not doing anything, you are telling them everything.

I also read an article about Uncle Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty this week. He was asked what his favorite verse was. He said, “John 3:17. Everybody knows verse 16, but nobody looks at verse 17.” In the Message it says, “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help.” Jesus spent His time building relationships with the people that others were too busy judging. Why wouldn’t we want to follow His model?

I’m writing this today to myself as much as to anyone else that bears the name Christian. We are known more for judging than for our loving. We are known for pointing fingers instead of offering helping hands. We’ve been so caught up in being in the world, not of the world that we’ve built walls between the ourselves and the ones we’re called to love. It’s no wonder that church growth is comprised mainly of switchers instead of new converts. We spend time and money trying to build a better service than the church down the road instead of spending time and money on things to build the relationships with the people who have been judged by the world.

It all comes down to each one of us loving the people God places in our path each day. It’s not our minister’s job to do it, it’s ours. A preacher can’t touch as many lives as we, the body, can collectively. It’s hard to grow the Church when we’ve separated ourselves from the ones who need God’s love. Jesus hung out with leppers, prostitutes and the worst of sinners because that’s who needed His love the most. It’s time we followed His example, got our hands dirty and built relationships with unbelievers to show them His unconditional love. Don’t take the easy route today, Go get your hands dirty and love others.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 3, 2015 · 7:52 AM

Standing Up To Lions

If you’ve never watched a documentary on lions, you should. They’re the king of the jungle and very interesting creatures. Their roar can be heard from as far as five miles away by the human ear. Male lions are typically the most active at night and that’s also when they roar the most. When I heard these facts about lions, it reminded me of I Peter 5:8. It says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

The first thing Peter tells us is to stay alert. Lions like to hide in the grass and stalk their prey. They blend in with their surroundings and sneak up on whatever it is they’re going to devour. If they’re spotted from a distance, they know they don’t have much of a chance to catch their prey and move on. Peter knew that we need to keep a watchful eye out for the devil. He didn’t say we should be afraid of him. He merely wanted us to pay attention to our surroundings. Are we putting ourselves in places where the devil can hide and stalk us?

The next part of that verse says he prowls around like a roaring lion. If you remember from above, they roar at night. The enemy chooses to come after us in the night times of our life. He knows that’s when we are most vulnerable. He roars in order to instill fear in to our hearts. He knows he can paralyze so many Christians with a simple roar from far away. Remember that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life. Are you paralyzed by the roar of the enemy or encouraged by the life giving power of Jesus?

My favorite part of this scripture comes in verse 9. It says, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” While the attacks of the enemy are real, we can hold our ground. We can stand firm against him by the power of Jesus’ name. We don’t have to cower in fear or run from him because he’s stalking us. He can stand and fight because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. What can you do to stand firm when the enemy is roaring?

One of my favorite Disney movies of all time is “The Lion King”. In it, there’s a scene where Simba has lost his way in life and his father visits him in a dream. Mufasa calls out to his son and says, “Remember who you are.” I think when we’ve lost our way or the enemy is trying to instill fear in our lives, we need to remember who we are. We are children of the King of Kings and have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. By the power and authority we are to stand up against the enemy. Don’t let him cause you to submit in fear. Recognize him, call him out and stand firm in your faith against him. You will be victorious no matter how loudly he roars.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 2, 2015 · 7:19 AM

The Lord Chose You (Video)

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 15:16 (NLT)

If you have trouble viewing the video, click here.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,