"As I have already said, our number one goal should be to develop a close, intimate, personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Being in continual fellowship with God and learning to obey Him in all things will make you happier than you might ever imagine. Since God is Life, how can we hope to enjoy life apart from Him?" (Joyce Meyer, Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits 14 New Behaviors That Will Energize Your Life) Good, enjoyable relationships start with God who is love and expand to self and other people. "Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 New Living Translation Bible.) 1 John 4:10-11 Amplified Bible says, "In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another."
Desmond Tutu and Nomalizo Leah Shenxane married on July 2, 1955. Almost 6o years later they are still married and still loving and enjoying God, each other and other people. Desmond Tutu is also involved in helping to free from a Chinese prison Chen Kegui, husband of Liu Fang, father of the little boy Chen Fubin and nephew to Chen Guangcheng, who is the blind, human rights activist who exposed forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and is continuing to work to end China's one-child policy and other human rights violations. Tutu writes about Chen Guangcheng in a June 21, 2013, Huffington Post article "Chen Guangcheng: Has NYU Bowed to Pressure From China?", "Chen Guangcheng has been one of the most outspoken of the Chinese dissidents abroad, taking a public stand against Chinese human rights violations, including the abominable practices of forced abortion, imprisonment and enslavement of religious minorities, and the unthinkable execution of prisoners for the harvesting and sale of their organs. He is also charismatic, intelligent, with a wonderful story -- a self taught lawyer who defended villagers against corrupt officials, who before gaining fame for his escape from house arrest was known ... in the villages as the "barefoot lawyer.""
When Jesus Christ lived on earth, He had a variety of relationships. Wherever He went, He sought to make people's lives better now and forever. What are some of the ways people are better off for being around you? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on http://www.Twitter.com/Michelelove30.
Showing posts with label Love of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love of God. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Big-Hearted Is Best For All People
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Amplified Bible says, "As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment. [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others], In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp that which is life indeed." Mary Church Terrell was born into a family of wealth. Her father, Robert Church, although born a slave became the South's first African American millionaire. Instead of leading a life of pride, arrogance and contempt for others, Mary Church Terrell led a life of good works.
Terrell was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a speaker, writer and activist for freedom and equal rights for African Americans and for women of all races. Terrell was big-hearted. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were black leaders with different views on how to achieve African American progress. Terrell saw merit and areas of disagreement in both perspectives; yet she helped both men.
She also was a married woman who helped women of all races. Terrell worked with suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt. After American women gained the right to vote in 1920 Terrell organized women to become active in the Republican Party and in international groups. Terrell said, "We believe we can build the foundation of the next generation upon such a rock of morality, intelligence, and strength, that the floods of proscription, prejudice and persecution may descend upon it in torrents and yet it will not be moved."
While everyone will not be materially wealthy, God calls everyone to be big-hearted. Proscription, prejudice and persecution are heart problems. The remedy is the love of God living on the inside of creyentes (believers) and overflowing on the outside. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 Amplified Bible says about love, "Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
The enemy of love, Satan, is always working to make our hearts small. While American women got the vote in 1920, in 1924 the US Immigration Act shut down almost all immigration from Asia and in 1973 the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision stole the right to life from unborn girls and unborn boys.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." The US House of Representatives lit a candle recently by passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act which protects the life of unborn girls and unborn boys age 20 weeks and older. The Senate also lit a candle by passing immigration reform.
Un dicho says, "Clamor del pueblo sube al cielo" ("The outcry of a people rises to heaven.")
Now is a good time to pray passionately to God that the Senate will pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the House will pass immigration reform and President Barak Obama will sign both into law.
Terrell was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a speaker, writer and activist for freedom and equal rights for African Americans and for women of all races. Terrell was big-hearted. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were black leaders with different views on how to achieve African American progress. Terrell saw merit and areas of disagreement in both perspectives; yet she helped both men.
She also was a married woman who helped women of all races. Terrell worked with suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt. After American women gained the right to vote in 1920 Terrell organized women to become active in the Republican Party and in international groups. Terrell said, "We believe we can build the foundation of the next generation upon such a rock of morality, intelligence, and strength, that the floods of proscription, prejudice and persecution may descend upon it in torrents and yet it will not be moved."
While everyone will not be materially wealthy, God calls everyone to be big-hearted. Proscription, prejudice and persecution are heart problems. The remedy is the love of God living on the inside of creyentes (believers) and overflowing on the outside. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 Amplified Bible says about love, "Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
The enemy of love, Satan, is always working to make our hearts small. While American women got the vote in 1920, in 1924 the US Immigration Act shut down almost all immigration from Asia and in 1973 the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision stole the right to life from unborn girls and unborn boys.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." The US House of Representatives lit a candle recently by passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act which protects the life of unborn girls and unborn boys age 20 weeks and older. The Senate also lit a candle by passing immigration reform.
Un dicho says, "Clamor del pueblo sube al cielo" ("The outcry of a people rises to heaven.")
Now is a good time to pray passionately to God that the Senate will pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the House will pass immigration reform and President Barak Obama will sign both into law.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Generosity Or Greed?
The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are Christian ideals that are rooted in the love of God and stated in the American Declaration of Independence. Gospel Singer Anita Wilson sings in the song "Shower The People" on her album Worship Soul, "Just shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Things are goin' work out fine if you only will do as I say. Shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Things are goin' to be much better if you only will."
God loves His friends and His foes and wants His creyentes (believers) to also love friends and foes. Some foes turn out to be friends.
America is filled with creyentes, but sometimes in America's past and present we have had trouble loving people like God does. The 1913 California Alien Land Law prevented people who were not citizens or not eligible to become citizens from owing land. At the time most Asian Americans were prevented by law from becoming citizens.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Que lindo es vivir para amar; que grande es tener para dar" ("How beautiful it is to live and love; how great it is to have and give.") Jesus Christ warns us against greediness when He says in Luke 12:15 New Living Translation, "...“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”"
God teaches us to be generous to the oppressed and others. Some people leave their country because of hostility at home. Actor and Activist Christian Bale attempted unsuccessfully in 2011 to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human-rights lawyer, in China when Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest for filing a 2005 class-action lawsuit against officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy. Chen Guangcheng left China in May 2012 and is now living in America. Christian Bale said when presenting Chen Guangcheng with a human rights award at the annual gala of Human Rights First, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
God wants us spiritually, mentally, physically, financially -- in all ways -- to be like Him now and eternally. Pray for change in China. Pray also for countries globally to pass immigration, abortion and other laws that love a diversity of people. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
God loves His friends and His foes and wants His creyentes (believers) to also love friends and foes. Some foes turn out to be friends.
America is filled with creyentes, but sometimes in America's past and present we have had trouble loving people like God does. The 1913 California Alien Land Law prevented people who were not citizens or not eligible to become citizens from owing land. At the time most Asian Americans were prevented by law from becoming citizens.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Que lindo es vivir para amar; que grande es tener para dar" ("How beautiful it is to live and love; how great it is to have and give.") Jesus Christ warns us against greediness when He says in Luke 12:15 New Living Translation, "...“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”"
God teaches us to be generous to the oppressed and others. Some people leave their country because of hostility at home. Actor and Activist Christian Bale attempted unsuccessfully in 2011 to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human-rights lawyer, in China when Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest for filing a 2005 class-action lawsuit against officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy. Chen Guangcheng left China in May 2012 and is now living in America. Christian Bale said when presenting Chen Guangcheng with a human rights award at the annual gala of Human Rights First, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
God wants us spiritually, mentally, physically, financially -- in all ways -- to be like Him now and eternally. Pray for change in China. Pray also for countries globally to pass immigration, abortion and other laws that love a diversity of people. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
Saturday, March 30, 2013
God Confidence
Numbers 13:3-15 New Living Translation Bible says, "So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
Tribe Leader
Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur
Simeon Shaphat son of Hori
Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh
Issachar Igal son of Joseph
Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun
Benjamin Palti son of Raphu
Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi
Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of Susi
Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli
Asher Sethur son of Michael
Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi
Gad Geuel son of Maki
A Chinese proverb says, "To plug the ears while stealing the bell;" it means "to deceive oneself." It is a deception to believe that God favors people based on race, ethnicity or some physical characteristic. God is no respecter of persons. Benjamin Banneker, an African-American inventor, surveyor, mathematician and astronomer during a time when African-American slavery was legal in the United States, said, "The color of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers." Romans 2:28-29 Complete Jewish Bible says, "For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God."
Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi and Geuel were deceived. They believed in the inferiority of the Jews to the Canaanites. Numbers 13:31-33 Amplified Bible says, "But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are. So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
The people of God are reyes y reinas (kings and queens.) Jesus Christ is El Rey de Reyes (The King of Kings.) While Jesus died for us when we were sinners, God doesn't view us as sinners anymore. When God looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ, the Sinless One, the Perfect One. Low self-esteem is a sin. Not doing what God tells us to do is a sin even if it seems impossible.
Jesus died a horrible death on a Friday more than 2,000, years ago and got up from the dead on a Sunday, not so we would live in fear, low self-esteem, hatred or without unity among believers.
The people of God are called to do greater things than Jesus Christ did in His earthly ministry. Jesus Christ says in John 14:11-12 Complete Jewish Bible, "Trust me, that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with me. But if you can’t, then trust because of the works themselves. Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father."
What are some trust issues you have seen in the Church?
Tribe Leader
Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur
Simeon Shaphat son of Hori
Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh
Issachar Igal son of Joseph
Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun
Benjamin Palti son of Raphu
Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi
Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of Susi
Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli
Asher Sethur son of Michael
Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi
Gad Geuel son of Maki
A Chinese proverb says, "To plug the ears while stealing the bell;" it means "to deceive oneself." It is a deception to believe that God favors people based on race, ethnicity or some physical characteristic. God is no respecter of persons. Benjamin Banneker, an African-American inventor, surveyor, mathematician and astronomer during a time when African-American slavery was legal in the United States, said, "The color of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers." Romans 2:28-29 Complete Jewish Bible says, "For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God."
Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi and Geuel were deceived. They believed in the inferiority of the Jews to the Canaanites. Numbers 13:31-33 Amplified Bible says, "But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are. So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
The people of God are reyes y reinas (kings and queens.) Jesus Christ is El Rey de Reyes (The King of Kings.) While Jesus died for us when we were sinners, God doesn't view us as sinners anymore. When God looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ, the Sinless One, the Perfect One. Low self-esteem is a sin. Not doing what God tells us to do is a sin even if it seems impossible.
Jesus died a horrible death on a Friday more than 2,000, years ago and got up from the dead on a Sunday, not so we would live in fear, low self-esteem, hatred or without unity among believers.
The people of God are called to do greater things than Jesus Christ did in His earthly ministry. Jesus Christ says in John 14:11-12 Complete Jewish Bible, "Trust me, that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with me. But if you can’t, then trust because of the works themselves. Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father."
What are some trust issues you have seen in the Church?
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Sinners and Still Valuable
Out on an errand for her mother Elsie, a young teenager, was gang raped in the lobby of her grandmother's apartment building in the Czech Republic. The damage from the rape caused a doctor to diagnose that Elsie would never bear children, but she did.
Parenthood didn't bring the pleasure it should have. Elsie lost one child to social services, and she married a man not for love but to help her financially support her daughter, Sylvia. Her husband was unholy and helped to trap Elsie in a life of legal prostitution in the Netherlands.
A bad beginning in life does not guarantee a bad ending.
In the midst of prostitution love found Elsie. A taxi driver, who was a former criminal, called a favor and some friends to secure Elsie's freedom from her pimp. Then he married her for love.
More love found Elsie in Sylvia's school yard. A woman introduced Elsie to Scarlet Cord, who eventually helped Elsie to apply to school and introduced Elsie to the true, living and loving God.
Elsie's story is from Naomi Zacharias' book The Scent of Water Grace For Every Kind of Broken. Naomi Zacharias is the director of Wellspring International. Scarlet Cord is one of the projects Wellspring International supports.
Today is a day to receive and to give love. Today is Maundy Thursday. Joe Carter, editor for The Gospel Coalition, in his March 25, 2013, article "9 Things You Should Know About Holy Week," writes, "Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. The term "Maundy" is derived from the Latin word mandatum (commandment). The term refers to the commandment given by Jesus at the Last Supper: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34)."
Did Elsie get to have a wedding with her taxi driver? Red (hong) is the color of celebration at weddings and birthdays in China. I hope she had una boda maravillosa (a wonderful wedding).
Some people may think that Elsie doesn't deserve love because she was a prostitute. Sojourner Truth was a slave who became a servant of Jesus Christ. Truth said, "You say women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches. Nobody's ever helped me into a carriage or over a mud puddle. And ain't I a woman?"
Female and male we are all sinners and still valuable to God. Romans 5:7-8 Amplified Bible says, "Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us."
The Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:11 Complete Jewish Bible, "Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another."
Please share stories of disciples loving others the way Jesus loves us.
Parenthood didn't bring the pleasure it should have. Elsie lost one child to social services, and she married a man not for love but to help her financially support her daughter, Sylvia. Her husband was unholy and helped to trap Elsie in a life of legal prostitution in the Netherlands.
A bad beginning in life does not guarantee a bad ending.
In the midst of prostitution love found Elsie. A taxi driver, who was a former criminal, called a favor and some friends to secure Elsie's freedom from her pimp. Then he married her for love.
More love found Elsie in Sylvia's school yard. A woman introduced Elsie to Scarlet Cord, who eventually helped Elsie to apply to school and introduced Elsie to the true, living and loving God.
Elsie's story is from Naomi Zacharias' book The Scent of Water Grace For Every Kind of Broken. Naomi Zacharias is the director of Wellspring International. Scarlet Cord is one of the projects Wellspring International supports.
Today is a day to receive and to give love. Today is Maundy Thursday. Joe Carter, editor for The Gospel Coalition, in his March 25, 2013, article "9 Things You Should Know About Holy Week," writes, "Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. The term "Maundy" is derived from the Latin word mandatum (commandment). The term refers to the commandment given by Jesus at the Last Supper: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34)."
Did Elsie get to have a wedding with her taxi driver? Red (hong) is the color of celebration at weddings and birthdays in China. I hope she had una boda maravillosa (a wonderful wedding).
Some people may think that Elsie doesn't deserve love because she was a prostitute. Sojourner Truth was a slave who became a servant of Jesus Christ. Truth said, "You say women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches. Nobody's ever helped me into a carriage or over a mud puddle. And ain't I a woman?"
Female and male we are all sinners and still valuable to God. Romans 5:7-8 Amplified Bible says, "Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us."
The Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:11 Complete Jewish Bible, "Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another."
Please share stories of disciples loving others the way Jesus loves us.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Showing Your Heart
Last night when Rafael and I came home, our cat, Isobel Imani Fowler, was waiting for us not far from the front door as she usually waits for us when we return from an outing. Even though I've seen this many times before, I felt joy, delight, excitement and other positive emotions to see her perched upright looking at us and waiting for us.
God is always looking at us and waiting for us. He is so excited to see us. He loves us extravagantly. God has high expectations of us. 1 John 4:7-11 Amplified Bible says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another."
God loves us with passion and purpose. He doesn't have a problem getting high in holiness. Ephesians 5:18 New Living Translation Bible says, "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit." David writes about God in Psalm 16:11 Amplified Bible, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."
Fill us up, and let us overflow with God who is love, joy and all that is good. God is everywhere. While God does not live inside of everyone, the root source of good that we see in people is God.
A young man wrote on a piece of pottery some time during the Nineteenth Dynasty (1304-1085 B.C.) of ancient Egypt:
"When I embrace her,
And her arms open wide,
I feel like a man in Spiceland,
Who is overwhelmed with perfume.
Then I kiss her;
And she opens her lips, Without a taste of beer,
I am intoxicated."
Love is supposed to be exciting.
Routine and rapture are not an oxymoron. Simple things like waiting at the front door for a love one like our cat waits for us shows her love of us.
A lot of little missed opportunities to show love over a long time will harm and even lead to broken relationships. A lover requests of her lover in Song of Solomon 2:15 Complete Jewish Bible, “Catch the foxes for us, yes, the little foxes! They are ruining the vineyards when our vineyards are in bloom!”
A spouse in a class I taught commented that he really wished his spouse would greet him at the door when he returned home from work, and they would talk. The other spouse did not think this would make much difference in their relationship and refused to do it.
"Do not fear going forward slowly, fear only to stand still," says a Chinese proverb.
Little steps expressing love are possible to take. Es posible for believers to change empowered by God living on the inside.
Maybe you can't wait at your front door for loved ones like our cat does. Nick Vujicic was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of both arms and both legs. He cannot hold his wife, Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara, and son, Kiyoshi James Vujicic in his hands, but he can hold his family in his heart.
Vujuicic can also speak. He is confident, creative, courageous and compassionate. Perhaps he says things to his wife like Solomon said to his Shulammite bride. Song of Solomon 4:7-10 English Standard Version Bible says, "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!"
What are some simple things we can do on a regular basis to show we care about someone?
God is always looking at us and waiting for us. He is so excited to see us. He loves us extravagantly. God has high expectations of us. 1 John 4:7-11 Amplified Bible says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another."
God loves us with passion and purpose. He doesn't have a problem getting high in holiness. Ephesians 5:18 New Living Translation Bible says, "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit." David writes about God in Psalm 16:11 Amplified Bible, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."
Fill us up, and let us overflow with God who is love, joy and all that is good. God is everywhere. While God does not live inside of everyone, the root source of good that we see in people is God.
A young man wrote on a piece of pottery some time during the Nineteenth Dynasty (1304-1085 B.C.) of ancient Egypt:
"When I embrace her,
And her arms open wide,
I feel like a man in Spiceland,
Who is overwhelmed with perfume.
Then I kiss her;
And she opens her lips, Without a taste of beer,
I am intoxicated."
Love is supposed to be exciting.
Routine and rapture are not an oxymoron. Simple things like waiting at the front door for a love one like our cat waits for us shows her love of us.
A lot of little missed opportunities to show love over a long time will harm and even lead to broken relationships. A lover requests of her lover in Song of Solomon 2:15 Complete Jewish Bible, “Catch the foxes for us, yes, the little foxes! They are ruining the vineyards when our vineyards are in bloom!”
A spouse in a class I taught commented that he really wished his spouse would greet him at the door when he returned home from work, and they would talk. The other spouse did not think this would make much difference in their relationship and refused to do it.
"Do not fear going forward slowly, fear only to stand still," says a Chinese proverb.
Little steps expressing love are possible to take. Es posible for believers to change empowered by God living on the inside.
Maybe you can't wait at your front door for loved ones like our cat does. Nick Vujicic was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of both arms and both legs. He cannot hold his wife, Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara, and son, Kiyoshi James Vujicic in his hands, but he can hold his family in his heart.
Vujuicic can also speak. He is confident, creative, courageous and compassionate. Perhaps he says things to his wife like Solomon said to his Shulammite bride. Song of Solomon 4:7-10 English Standard Version Bible says, "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!"
What are some simple things we can do on a regular basis to show we care about someone?
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Who Is This?
"How big is the universe? asks Alicia Larde (Jennifer Connolly) of John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe) in the movie A Beautiful Mind as the couple gaze at the stars during a date.
Nash, who is Larde's professor, responds, "Infinite."
"How do you know for sure?," says Alicia.
Nash says, "I don't. I just believe."
"It's the same with love I guess," Larde replies.
Love is not the only thing on Nash's mind. One of the fears that Nash has is that he will not come up with a truly original idea in his profession. He pushes himself relentlessly in pursuit of his truly original idea.
Abram, who God later names Abraham, was afraid that he would not have a child. In response to his fear, God said to Abram in a dream recorded in Genesis 15:1 Amplified Bible, ". . . Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great."
God and Abram also do some stargazing. Genesis 15:5 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!”"
Larde and Nash date and marry. Abram and God are already married. However, everyone but God has a lot to learn about love. 1 John 4:18-19 Amplified Bible says, "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. We love Him, because He first loved us."
Nash is so smart and strangely sexy. Larde initiates their relationship and is excited about her catch. However, it isn't long after marrying that Nash exhibits truly bizarre behavior.
Nash seemed so capable when Larde married him. Later Larde and others discover that Nash has paranoid schizophrenia. He often has delusional dreams that he avidly participates in and at times his mental illness prohibits him from working and performing sexually. In one scene Larde screams in the bathroom after Nash refuses sexual relations.
Instead of waiting for God to open his wife's, Sarah's, womb, in fulfillment of God's promise to bless Abraham and Sarah's lovemaking with a child, Abraham agrees to have sex with Hagar, Sarah's maid. Ishmael is conceived from Hagar's and Abraham's sinful, extra-marital, sexual relationship.
Later when Ishmael is an adolescent, Sarah asks Abraham to cast Ishmael and Hagar out of Sarah's and Abraham's home. Abraham is hurt, but God says this is His will, and God will make a great nation of Ishmael.
Even though God does not always do what Abraham expects, he remains in love with God. Even though Nash is deeply ill and dysfunctional, Larde remains in love with Nash. Larde doesn't divorce Nash.
We can find ourselves in relationships that at times we ask something like, "Who is this?" When people don't behave the way we expect, it can be hard to take, and some take off.
But the love of God operating inside believers seeks to grow and overcome the obstacles of relationships. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Amplified Bible says, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
One day the pain and disappointment in this life's relationships will cease and something far superior will commence. Revelations 21:3-4 New Living Translation promises, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”"
What is any trouble in this life's relationships compared to the ecstasy of relating with God face to face forever?
A Yoruba of Nigeria proverb says, "One should keep one's eyes on one's destination, not on where one stumbled."
Nash, who is Larde's professor, responds, "Infinite."
"How do you know for sure?," says Alicia.
Nash says, "I don't. I just believe."
"It's the same with love I guess," Larde replies.
Love is not the only thing on Nash's mind. One of the fears that Nash has is that he will not come up with a truly original idea in his profession. He pushes himself relentlessly in pursuit of his truly original idea.
Abram, who God later names Abraham, was afraid that he would not have a child. In response to his fear, God said to Abram in a dream recorded in Genesis 15:1 Amplified Bible, ". . . Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great."
God and Abram also do some stargazing. Genesis 15:5 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!”"
Larde and Nash date and marry. Abram and God are already married. However, everyone but God has a lot to learn about love. 1 John 4:18-19 Amplified Bible says, "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. We love Him, because He first loved us."
Nash is so smart and strangely sexy. Larde initiates their relationship and is excited about her catch. However, it isn't long after marrying that Nash exhibits truly bizarre behavior.
Nash seemed so capable when Larde married him. Later Larde and others discover that Nash has paranoid schizophrenia. He often has delusional dreams that he avidly participates in and at times his mental illness prohibits him from working and performing sexually. In one scene Larde screams in the bathroom after Nash refuses sexual relations.
Instead of waiting for God to open his wife's, Sarah's, womb, in fulfillment of God's promise to bless Abraham and Sarah's lovemaking with a child, Abraham agrees to have sex with Hagar, Sarah's maid. Ishmael is conceived from Hagar's and Abraham's sinful, extra-marital, sexual relationship.
Later when Ishmael is an adolescent, Sarah asks Abraham to cast Ishmael and Hagar out of Sarah's and Abraham's home. Abraham is hurt, but God says this is His will, and God will make a great nation of Ishmael.
Even though God does not always do what Abraham expects, he remains in love with God. Even though Nash is deeply ill and dysfunctional, Larde remains in love with Nash. Larde doesn't divorce Nash.
We can find ourselves in relationships that at times we ask something like, "Who is this?" When people don't behave the way we expect, it can be hard to take, and some take off.
But the love of God operating inside believers seeks to grow and overcome the obstacles of relationships. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Amplified Bible says, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
One day the pain and disappointment in this life's relationships will cease and something far superior will commence. Revelations 21:3-4 New Living Translation promises, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”"
What is any trouble in this life's relationships compared to the ecstasy of relating with God face to face forever?
A Yoruba of Nigeria proverb says, "One should keep one's eyes on one's destination, not on where one stumbled."
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Second-Class Christian Citizens?
Are non-virgins second-class
Christian citizens compared to virgins? No! Someone who has had one or
more sexual partners is not a second-class Christian or a second-best
marriage partner.
While a virgin has not sinned in having sexual relations with another human being, a virgin has sinned in some ways. Virgins and non-virgins have sinned in multiple ways. Romans 3:10 Amplified Bible says, "As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one." The solution to a lack of righteousness is offered to virgins and non-virgins in Romans 6:23 Amplified Bible which says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord."
When considering someone to marry we don't want to disqualify a person based on being a virgin or non-virgin. What is much more important is marrying a person who has received an eternal relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. While many are concerned about the chronological age of a spouse, what is more important is to be and to marry someone spiritually mature; someone whose relationship with God is deep like the earth's deepest lakes of Lake Tanganyika in Africa and Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia; someone who constantly chases God, and is consequently constantly improving.
A person can be a virgin or non-virgin and still be spiritually immature. A good marriage is the fellowship of two spiritually mature Christians who are continuously cooperating with God to change into His likeness.
Many people receive Christ, but refuse to grow in their relationship with Christ, themselves and other people. The Bible gives us the blueprint for living. Joshua 1:8 Amplified Bible says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success." Some people want to succeed, but they are not willing to do what it takes to succeed. Brian Tracy writes in his book, No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline 21 Ways to Achieve Lasting Happiness and Success, "One of the most important requirements for success, once you have decided what it is that you want, is the quality of willingness. Successful people are willing to pay the price, whatever it is and for as long as it takes, until they achieve the results they desire. Everyone wants to be successful . . . . But most people are not willing to pay the price. Occasionally, they may be wiling to pay part of the price, but they are not willing to pay the whole price. They always hold back. They always have some excuse or rationalization for not disciplining themselves to do everything that they need to do to achieve their goals."
Being a virgin before marriage may indicate that a person has some love of God. John 14:15 Amplified Bible says, "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands." Virgins have been obedient to one aspect of Exodus 20:14 the Message Bible which requires us to practice, "No adultery."
A non-virgin may also love God irregardless of having sex outside of marriage once or thousands of times. Some non-virgins have sinned sexually, received the forgiveness, transformation and love of God and have been walking in beautiful, Biblical, sexual balance for a while.
God does not consider virgins more spiritual or worthy or better people than non-virgins. God offers His love to everyone. God inspired the Apostle Paul to say in Galatians 3:28 New Living Translation Bible, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."
In some parts of the globe a woman can be killed if she is not a virgin before marriage. Hymenoplasty surgery to attempt to restore a broken hymen is routinely performed in parts of the world, such as Muslim countries and other places. In Japan hymenoplasty is called "virginity rebirth." Jesus Christ does not require hymenoplasty and other mutilation of our bodies to be holy.
If you are a non-virgin who has sought the forgiveness, transformation and love of God to empower you to celebrate single sexuality and to celebrate sexual relations inside of marriage, but find yourself struggling with your self-worth, shame, fear, guilt or something else, keep on asking God to help you to fully receive His love. God views us as individual, priceless treasures. He wants us to have the same view of ourselves as He has of us.
If you are a virgin who looks down on non-virgins, repent of being judgmental, condemning, haughty and self-righteous like many of the religious leaders during the time of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. Jesus Christ tells a story in Luke 18:10-14 Amplified Bible which says, "Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men--extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers--or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am! I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
When we have received
a lot of the love of God, we are able to give out a lot of the love of
God. Having received the love of God, non-virgins will not feel bad
about themselves and/or envy virgins; also virgins will not feel
superior to non-virgins or envy non-virgins. God takes all of our sins
and works them out for His glory and our good. International practical
Bible teacher Joyce Meyer was repeatedly raped by her father as a child and as an
adolescent. As a young adult she went through a divorce. Later she
married Dave Meyer, and later still together they have a Christian
ministry potentially impacting 4.5 billion. Luci Swindoll is a single who
has an international Christian ministry and writes in her book, I Married Adventure,
"It's daring to be curious about the unknown, to dream big dreams, to
live outside prescribed boxes, to take risks, and above all, daring to
investigate the way we live until we discover the deepest treasured
purpose of why we are here."
Whether we are a non-virgin or virgin, if we have received God and are continuously seeking to mature in our relationship with God and people, then celebrate who we are just as we are.
While a virgin has not sinned in having sexual relations with another human being, a virgin has sinned in some ways. Virgins and non-virgins have sinned in multiple ways. Romans 3:10 Amplified Bible says, "As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one." The solution to a lack of righteousness is offered to virgins and non-virgins in Romans 6:23 Amplified Bible which says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord."
When considering someone to marry we don't want to disqualify a person based on being a virgin or non-virgin. What is much more important is marrying a person who has received an eternal relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. While many are concerned about the chronological age of a spouse, what is more important is to be and to marry someone spiritually mature; someone whose relationship with God is deep like the earth's deepest lakes of Lake Tanganyika in Africa and Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia; someone who constantly chases God, and is consequently constantly improving.
A person can be a virgin or non-virgin and still be spiritually immature. A good marriage is the fellowship of two spiritually mature Christians who are continuously cooperating with God to change into His likeness.
Many people receive Christ, but refuse to grow in their relationship with Christ, themselves and other people. The Bible gives us the blueprint for living. Joshua 1:8 Amplified Bible says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success." Some people want to succeed, but they are not willing to do what it takes to succeed. Brian Tracy writes in his book, No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline 21 Ways to Achieve Lasting Happiness and Success, "One of the most important requirements for success, once you have decided what it is that you want, is the quality of willingness. Successful people are willing to pay the price, whatever it is and for as long as it takes, until they achieve the results they desire. Everyone wants to be successful . . . . But most people are not willing to pay the price. Occasionally, they may be wiling to pay part of the price, but they are not willing to pay the whole price. They always hold back. They always have some excuse or rationalization for not disciplining themselves to do everything that they need to do to achieve their goals."
Being a virgin before marriage may indicate that a person has some love of God. John 14:15 Amplified Bible says, "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands." Virgins have been obedient to one aspect of Exodus 20:14 the Message Bible which requires us to practice, "No adultery."
A non-virgin may also love God irregardless of having sex outside of marriage once or thousands of times. Some non-virgins have sinned sexually, received the forgiveness, transformation and love of God and have been walking in beautiful, Biblical, sexual balance for a while.
God does not consider virgins more spiritual or worthy or better people than non-virgins. God offers His love to everyone. God inspired the Apostle Paul to say in Galatians 3:28 New Living Translation Bible, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."
In some parts of the globe a woman can be killed if she is not a virgin before marriage. Hymenoplasty surgery to attempt to restore a broken hymen is routinely performed in parts of the world, such as Muslim countries and other places. In Japan hymenoplasty is called "virginity rebirth." Jesus Christ does not require hymenoplasty and other mutilation of our bodies to be holy.
If you are a non-virgin who has sought the forgiveness, transformation and love of God to empower you to celebrate single sexuality and to celebrate sexual relations inside of marriage, but find yourself struggling with your self-worth, shame, fear, guilt or something else, keep on asking God to help you to fully receive His love. God views us as individual, priceless treasures. He wants us to have the same view of ourselves as He has of us.
If you are a virgin who looks down on non-virgins, repent of being judgmental, condemning, haughty and self-righteous like many of the religious leaders during the time of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. Jesus Christ tells a story in Luke 18:10-14 Amplified Bible which says, "Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men--extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers--or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am! I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
If
you are a virgin envying a non-virgin, repent. Never envy sinful
behavior. Sin hurts multiple people in multiple ways whether we see the
pain or not.
Most people are not virgins when the marry. However, 73 percent of non-virgins say sex inside of marriage is better than sex outside of marriage.
Most people are not virgins when the marry. However, 73 percent of non-virgins say sex inside of marriage is better than sex outside of marriage.
Whether we are a non-virgin or virgin, if we have received God and are continuously seeking to mature in our relationship with God and people, then celebrate who we are just as we are.
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