Tag: love

Exhorting One Another

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“Listen to this,” I told my son, “according to this study 88% of children raised in evangelical Christian homes will leave the church by the age of 18.”

What do you think?”  I asked.  “Do you think you will ever be a part of this 88%?”

My son turns 16 next week.  He is just a few years shy of this age.  So I genuinely wanted to know his thoughts on the subject.

“I don’t know, Mom” he replied.  “But I do know that if I ever did get out of church that I would have you and Dad and my church family there to exhort, admonish, and encourage me to come back.”

I explained to my son that none of us are above falling into sin, or are we immune from straying from the fellowship.  But I assured him that should that happen in his life that he would always be loved and prayed for.

It was comforting to know that my teenage son had a clear understanding of part of the ministry of the local fellowship.  He understood that if he were to stray from God (and then the church as a result) that his brothers and sisters in Christ would be there to hold him accountable.

Regardless of what some will say today, exhortation is a biblical principle.

“Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren…” (2Co 9:5)

 “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.” (1Th 4:1)

 “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” (1Th 5:14)

 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2Ti 4:2)

 “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Tit 2:15)

 It is detrimental to a person’s spiritual growth to be removed from the fellowship of the local church.  Yet, many enthusiastically walk away.  When this happens in a young person’s life and they fall into sin, it’s good to know that their parents will always be there.  But how much more powerful is it knowing that a whole group of others who love you is there as well – bearing your burdens, lifting you up in prayer, holding you accountable, admonishing you when you sin, and rebuking you in love.

A church that truly loves each other will exhort one another.  We do it because we love.  We do it because it pleases God.  We do it because if we don’t, sin will harden our hearts.

 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb 3:13)

“Jesus loved him”

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“Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, ‘One thing thou lackest…’”

It only takes a few minutes online to see enough pride, arrogance, and debauchery flowing through Facebook, Pinterest, and other sites to make my blood boil.  There is a sense of indignation that springs up in my heart, especially when the things of God are debased.  The longer I live, the clearer I can see the depravity of man.  Of course, times are no different today than when Jesus walked upon this earth.  Sin still reigns in the hearts of men.  Men still love darkness rather than light. Men’s eyes are still blinded by the god of this world.  Man is man – nothing more.   But lest we forget, God is God and nothing less.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18 we are told, “all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” Have you ever thought about the ministry of reconciliation that the child of God has been given?  Our ministry is to help reconcile sinful man to a holy, perfect, and just God.  Sometimes this ministry is frustrating.  We know “the terror of the Lord” and therefore we persuade men (2 Corinthians 5:11), but “the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Sometimes I struggle with how I am to communicate this with those who are blind.  This is why I love the Way of the Master evangelism course.  I’ve been through it several times and my husband is currently teaching it in our home each Monday night.  The point of the course is to evangelize the way Christ did.  His method was law to the proud and grace to the humble.   When the rich young ruler came to Christ seeking how to inherit eternal life, the Lord did not give him the “plan of salvation”.  Nor did He lead him in a “sinner’s prayer”.  Nor did Christ tell this man that he had a “God shaped hole in his heart” and if he would just believe that he would receive.  Instead, Christ pointed him to the law of God.

“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” (Mar 10:18-19)

When this man insisted that he had kept all of these from his youth (obviously bearing false witness) then Jesus, “beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” Mark 10:21

Because of this man’s pride, Jesus kept pointing him to the law.  Giving away everything to the poor will not save anyone.  Jesus was showing him the essence of the 1st Commandment.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” Exodus 20:3.

But what happens?  The man walks away sad.  He refuses to follow Christ, because he had another god.  “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions,” Mark 10:22.

Other times in Scripture, like the woman at the well in John 4, we see Christ giving the gospel to those who are humble.  Law to the proud and grace to the humble.   

 But what really caught my attention while reading this passage yesterday during our small group study was one simple phrase in Mark 10:21.  “Then Jesus beholding him loved him…”  Here was an unsaved man who came to Christ, was pointed to the law, and still walked away unregenerate.  Yet, Jesus loved him.  I’ve missed it in the past.  Jesus loved him!  Of course He did.  He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  And in His love for the man, the most loving thing that Christ could do for him was to point him to the law of God.

Christian, Do you love the sinner?  Do you love them like Christ loved them?

Do I love the sinner like Christ loves them?  If I did I would tell them that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27.  If I loved them I would tell them about their sins and how “sin is the transgression of the law,” 1 John 3:4.  I would tell them that “the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23a.  And I would point them to the law of God so that they would see their need for a Savior.  This is the most loving thing we can do.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God,” Romans 3:19.

Love: Now Available!

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I am so excited to announce that the 3rd book in the Living Out the Word series is now available!  Thank you all for your prayers and support this year as I have worked to complete this project.

If you know of a ladies group that is looking for a verse by verse Bible study please share this information with them.

 

 

What does love look like?  Is God’s love like ours, or is ours like His?  Find out what the Apostle of Love has to say in his epistles about God’s amazing love.  Love in not only a general theme within the Epistles of John but also throughout the entire Bible.  The greatest commandment of all is centered on love.  As believers in Christ we are to walk in love, be rooted and grounded in love, follow after love, and put on love.  We are told in 1 John 4:8 that not only does God love, but that “God is love”.  During this verse by verse study, we will drive into the deep truths of God and learn what true love is and how we are to respond.  You can order your copy of Love: A Verse by Verse study for Women through the Epistles of John here!

Blessings to each of you as you strive to Live Out the Word!

Happy are the Holy

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I am sitting here this morning in sweet reflection.  The closing paragraph, last sentence, and final words to my 4th book were written last week.  It is off to the editor and in the hands of the man writing the forward.  The thought of it all brings great happiness.

The Epistles of John have been an incredible study for me personally.  The theme of the books is love.  It covers God’s love to us and our love to others.  But what I did not expect was the amount of love shown by the Apostle to his readers.  What makes his love so revealing is its under-girding of absolute truth.  John writes these letters so that believers might “know that they know” with confidence and assurance that they are in the faith.

Living Out the Word: Love has been perhaps the deepest and most heart revealing ladies Bible study that I have written.  John’s epistles gives a person a series of tests they can take to see if their faith is real.  Have you ever questioned your salvation?  Did you know that it is okay to do so?  In fact, we are commanded in Scripture to do just this.  “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves,” 2 Corinthians 13:5a.

One of the tests that Johns gives is purity.  I John 3:3 says, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”  The “hope” this verse is referring to is the hope of Christ’s return (I John 3:2).  We often use “hope” as a synonymic word for “wish”. But do not mistake it here in this verse.  It does not mean wish, want, or desire.  The word conveys a stronger meaning.  The Greek word is elpis and it means having confidence in, earnest expectation, or anticipation.  Hope makes a difference in the life of those who believe.  The person who has the hope (confidence) of one day seeing Christ will purify himself.   Notice also that there are no exceptions to the principle here.   The verse says that “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself.”  A few weeks ago my husband started an expository study through 1st John.  Yesterday’s afternoon study was on this verse.

As it turned out, my husband is also preaching verse by verse through the book of Matthew during our morning worship service.  Yesterday’s sermon was on Matthew 5:8 taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”  To be blessed is to be happy.  To be pure in heart is to be holy.  I was amazed at how the two sermons tied so perfectly together.  Happy are those that are pure in heart (holy) and only those that have the confidence that Christ will return will purify themselves.   So, just what is purity?  My husband explained three types of purity for the believer.  There is positional purity, practical purity, and perfect purity.

Positional Purity is how the believer stands before God. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God,” Colossians 3:3. When God looks at us He sees the precious blood of His Son.  “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7.  The believer is positionally pure.

Practical Purity is how we live out our faith.  “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself.” 

  •  “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” 2 Corinthians 7:1.
  •  “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:14-16.
  •  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service,” Romans 12:1.

Perfect Purity is that day that all believers long for.  “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is,” 1 John 3:2.  It has not happened yet, but we know that one day we will be like Christ.   Spiritually we are pure but we still live in this sinful flesh.  However, our bodies will one day be glorified (Romans 8:30) and we will be perfectly pure.  What a day that will be!

It is the realization that we are positionally pure and the expectation of one day being perfectly pure that gives us the desire to live out our lives in practical purity.  “Blessed are the pure in heart.”   Happy are the holy, “for they shall see God.”

Perfect Love

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It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air….or so they say. But just who is this “they” we are always talking about? According to 2012 statistics , they are the millions of people that will purchase Valentine cards this year. They are the people who will spend on average $126.03 per person this holiday (up 8.5% from last year). They are the ones that will collectively spend $4.1 billion on jewelry and $3.5 billion towards a romantic evening on the town. They are the 220,000 that is expected to give a wedding proposal today. They are the ones who will buy over 8 billion Sweethearts Conversation Hearts this year. And let’s not forget the ones who will spend $367 million on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets this year. And the 15% of the estimated portion of women who will send themselves flowers. So I guess we could say that “love” is in the air, but probably a more accurate depiction would be that there is a shadow of love in the air.

Would you like the truth? What most people think of as love is not really love. Love has nothing to do with flowers, cards, or candy. Love is not about romantic nights out on the town. It’s not about jewelry or (I hate to say) chocolate. In fact, society, as a whole, does not even comprehend true love. They see a glimpse of it here and there but they do not know it and cannot show it to others. That is unless they know the author of love.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love,” 1 John 4:7-8. Not only is love of God but God is love. You cannot know love unless you know God. Love is not only a general theme within the book of I John but also throughout the entire Bible. The greatest commandment of all is centered on love. (And let me be transparent for a moment; this commandment alone is enough to keep this child ever striving.) “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment,” Matthew 22:37-38.

We are to love God (Matthew 22:37).

We are to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39).

Wives are to love their husbands and children (Titus 2:4).

Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

We are to even love our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

As believers in Christ we are to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2), be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17), follow after love (I Timothy 6:11), and put on love (Colossians 3:12-14).

But in general the term love is abused and misused. Have you ever heard someone say that they “fell in love”? A person cannot “fall in love.” It was Voddie Baucham, author of Family Driven Faith, who clarified this in my mind. He explains that anything we fall into we can climb out of. (Think about that statement in light of the modern attack on biblical marriage and the disintegration of the family.) True love is not a feeling. True love is not an emotion. To borrow Dr. Baucham’s definition, “Love is an act of the will which is accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object.” This is a fabulous definition of love. Love is an act of the will. It is in our will that we choose to love. This would explain why we say that love comes from the heart. We will it. We choose it. But not only is love an act of the will but it is accompanied by emotion. True love is not void of or detached from emotion. When love is willed in our hearts emotion follows. This emotion leads to action towards its object. If it does not lead to action, it is not love. Just ask someone who is told that they are loved but never showed. This is why children of God are commanded in I John 3:18, “let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

The perfect example of true love (love that is willed, accompanied by emotion, and leads to action) is found in what God did for us by sending His Son to die on the cross for the sins of mankind.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13.

We now know what love is because God revealed Himself to us. We love Him because He first loved us and only after perfect love is manifested to us can we show true love to others. You will never know love until you know God’s love. If you do not know Him, cry out, repent of your sins, and trust Him to save you. He’s waiting. If you do know God and His love make it a point to read the chapter on love today (I Corinthians 13). And live it out, because now you can.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

REF: 

Samantha Grossman, Valentine’s Day 2012, Time Newsfeed article, 2-13-2012,

Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith, pg 57, Crossway Books, IL 2007

Homeschooling – A Labor of LOVE

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I love homeschooling my children.  I consider it a wonderful blessing.  It is also a huge responsibility.  God will hold my husband and I accountable for the teaching and training of the precious children He gave us.  In addition to being a blessing and responsibility it is a lot of work – what I like to call a labor of love.

 

Yes, homeschooling is a labor of love. 

No, you do not have to labor alone! 

Through the years I have gotten encourgement, tips, expert knowledge, and advice from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  If you are familar with the magazine you know what I mean.  That’s why I wanted to share with you the “Labor of Love” subscription sale going on right now.

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The Dogwood

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Living in the middle of a national forest has its advantages. Driving home from town the other day my husband stops the car. He gets out and walks over to a dogwood tree, jumps up, pulls a flower off, and brings it to me. The children and I take turns smelling the fragrant aroma and discussing its beauty. During the drive we were able to enjoy the sight of several dogwood trees. I commented that I would love to have one in my yard. Later that evening my boys rushed into the house and said, “Mom, come here! We have something to show you!” They brought me over to my bedroom window and opened the shade. To my surprise there was a tiny dogwood tree planted right outside my window. It was beautiful! Of course, it was just a large branch that they stuck into the ground. We all knew that our “tree” would not last. But the motive behind my boy’s action was that of eternal splendor. My boys wanted to please me and the desire came from their love for me.

Last night as I was reading in I John, I came across a verse that made me think about this story again. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous,” 1John 5:3. God’s commandments are not burdensome! Our obedience to our Lord should be from a heart’s desire to please Him, not because we have to obey but because we want to! Just as it was in no way burdensome to my boys to show their love for me in action, so should it never be grievous or burdensome for us, as God’s children, to show our love in obedience. Will I always obey with pure delight? No! But I will say this. The only time the commandments of God become grievous to me is when I am doing them in the flesh. When I am walking in the Spirit, His commands are joyous. My obedience flows from a love I have for my Father because of His great love for me. So the next time I look at a dogwood tree it will serve as a reminder of God, His love, and His blessed commands.

Gift Giving

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Tis the season for malls, shopping, wrapping paper, gifts, bows, and ribbons.  Maybe you prefer online shopping in your bathrobe with the internet, eBay and UPS.  Or perhaps you prefer handmade gifts, baked goodies and homemade cards.  But no matter how you look at it this is the season for gift giving.  Why?  Most people probably give out of tradition.  You are supposed to buy gifts at Christmas.  It is what has always been done.  However, our family likes to look at gift giving a little differently.  While it is a tradition at our home it is one with a purpose.  We give gifts as a reminder of the greatest gift ever given to mankind.  I must admit that I love giving gifts to my children.  But toys and trinkets get broken, clothes get worn out and outgrown, electronics lose batteries and stop working, and the latest fad becomes next year’s obsolete.  So I ask myself what can I give my children that will last?  What type of gifts can I give that have true value?

In a world of busyness one of the most wonderful gifts we can give our children is TIME.  December is probably the busiest month of the year for us.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we go nonstop.  There are people to visit, parties and programs to attend, Christmas cantata’s to practice for, gifts to make, shopping to do, etc.   But life is short.  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (Jas 4:14)   This truth is especially evident when it comes to children.  They do not stay young forever.  They grow up fast.  As parents we only have a short time to invest in our children.  We need to slow down and give our children something that will matter – time.  Time with us, time to play games, time to talk, time to come apart from the world, time to meditate upon God, time to read together,  and time to be a family.  I have heard it said that the quantity of time does not matter as long as you give your children quality time.   This is not true!  Research has said that parents spend on average 3.5 minutes a day in meaningful conversation with their children.  How sad!  However, the average child watches 1,500 hours a year of TV.  I guess if you want Hollywood to raise your children then this statistic would not bother you.  But dear Christian parent is should bother you.  Turn off the TV and spend TIME with your children.  Read to them at night, pray with them, and sing songs.  When they grow up and look back at their life these are the things they will remember.

 Another gift we can give our children is a home filled with PEACE.  The world is hectic and noisy but our homes should be a gentle haven of rest for our children.  Our children should not have homes filled with screaming and shouting but with soft answers and love.  The fruits of the Spirit should be manifested in our homes – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  A home filled with peace not only blesses our children but consider what a true witness it is to the world around us.  Voddie Bauchman in Family Driven Faith states, “Our homes must be rife with the aroma of love.  Those who visit us should notice immediately that they have left the world of self-serving egocentric narcissism and have entered a safe harbor where people value and esteem others above themselves.  Outsiders should enter our homes and never want to leave.  Our neighbors should find excuses to visit us just to get another whiff of the fragrant aroma of love.  The brokenhearted should long to be near us.  The down trodden and abused should seek us out.  Families on the brink of disaster should point to us and say, ‘Why can’t our home be like that?’”  This describes a home filled with PEACE.   What a superb gift to give our children.

 Another gift that is so overlooked in our modern culture is the gift of LOVING and RESPECTING the children’s father.  While loving your children is a given, a high value placed on loving their father is often ignored.  Notice the order of things that the older women are to be teaching the younger women mentioned in Titus 2:4-5, “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”   The focus of the family should be on the marriage.  Children are in the home for a short time and the relationship they have with their parents change but this is not so in the husband and wife relationship.  When parents are united the children are blessed.  When I demonstrate to my children proper LOVE and RESPECT for my husband God is glorified and the children’s faith is strengthened. 

 While giving gifts let’s not forget the gift of HARDWORK.  Society will tell a child that you should do as little as possible to get as much as possible.  It is this fallacy of thinking that has led to lazy people and an abuse of our welfare system.   But, give your children the gift of learning how to work hard and they will always be able to thrive.  In addition, it is pleasing to the Lord.  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (Col 3:23)       

One of the greatest gifts we can give is the gift of INNER BEAUTY, especially when it comes to our daughters.  Godly women are not born, but raised.  There are many mothers concerned over whether their daughters have fashionable clothes and the latest styles.  And many mothers would be alarmed if their daughters were wearing dirty clothes.  But how many mothers care if their daughter has a filthy heart?  To teach and train our daughters about inner beauty that is acceptable to God is a divine gift we can give.  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)

 There are many gifts we can give our children.  But one that is of utmost importance is to give your children BIBLICAL STANDARDS to live by.  As Christian parents we should not want for our children what every other parent wants.  We shouldn’t hold them to the world’s standards but to God’s standards.  Do you want your children to make the team?   What about them making it into the Lambs book of life?  Do you want them to get a good education?  What about them being educated in the Word of God?  Do you want them to be true and loyal to their friends?  What about your children being faithful to the Lord and His Church?  Do you want your children to be popular?  What about them being peculiar?  God’s ways are always higher.   “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed” (Rom 12:2a).  Christian parent, there are many worthwhile pursuits in this world but few rise to the level of training our children to follow the Lord, to love Him with all we are, to treasure His Word, and to keep His commandments.  When we do this we have given our children gifts that never tear up, get worn, or get taken away.

 So, this holiday season I’ll be looking for presents for my children and wrapping packages like many others.  But the most precious gifts I’ll strive to give them will not be the ones that come in a box.  Instead, the gifts I will strive to give will be of eternal value.

There is a love that God hates!

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broken heart

Yesterday in the news I read a story about an eleven year old girl who was abducted on her way home from school and kept hidden in her abductors backyard for nearly two decades.   She was raped and gave birth to two children by this evil man.  While thinking about the story my heart broke.  I have a little girl who is nearly 11 years old.  Just the thought brings horror.  And people wonder why I do not let my children out of my sight.  We live in an evil world.  There are many people who are evil and they love evil works of darkness.   “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.”  Psalm 52:1-5         

Too many times I have heard sayings like this…  “A loving God would never send anyone to hell.”  Or “God is love, He cannot hate.”  Can I tell you that because God is love He must hate!  I love the Word of God therefore I hate false teaching.  I love freedom therefore I hate slavery.  I love the God ordained institution of marriage therefore I hate divorce, adultery, and homosexuality.  I love children therefore I hate abortion.  I love the truth therefore I hate lying.  I love everything that is good and holy therefore I hate everything that is evil.  “I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.” Psalm 26:5  “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:” Psalm 97:10a                

There is a love that God hates.  Ask yourself, does God hate it when we have love for the things of this world?  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  1John 2:15-16   “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  James 4:4

 So I must ask, “Are there things in my life that I love and yet God absolutely hates?”   “Do I love the world?”  “Do I love the things of this world?”  “Do I watch things on TV that grieves the Lord?  Do I listen to or read things that God hates?”   “Do I think and mediate upon things that God hates?”  “Is my affection set on things of the earth or on things above?”  May I never love the things that God hates.