"The God of Love Lives!"

Odd title, if you really think about it; but for someone who has been a Christian for almost thirty years, I must confess that I have seen a lot of stuff that could make one wonder. Our biggest problem in our quest for godliness is ourselves; my biggest problem in my quest to love with the Love of God, is my lack of godliness. That is the way I see it anyways, how about you? As I was thinking about Jeremiah and God's call upon his life, I began to wonder why God really put that portion of Scripture before me; and then it hit me right in the middle of my heart: Perspective is the thing which we really lack! I know it sounds weird, and maybe even sounds like it could be somewhat secular; but our perspective of God, our perspective of others, and our perspective of ourselves, all have got to be in order. Take Jeremiah for example; his perspective about the calling upon his life was way off, so God needed to adjust his perspective. You could even say the same about Isaiah, who while in the presents of God, felt undone and of unclean lips; not worthy to be in the presents of God; which was actually the right perspective. However, God changed his perspective by having one of the seraphim's fly over a put a live coal from the alter upon his mouth, saying, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged". Our perspective of who we are in Christ must be kept; we are nothing without Him, and can do nothing of Him without Him living in us. Now comes the part that is hard to speak. If we are going to have the right perspective when it comes to Christ living in us, then we must stop looking to others for their living Christ out, and just focus on Him living in us. We can not see the fullness of what Christ can do in us, while we are looking through the prism of others. Heck, we can not even look to ourselves! We must come to the understanding about the God of Love that is living in us. Living in us means that He is alive in us; which means that He is molding us and shaping us in every area of our life. Therefore, if I lack something in my life which I know I must have, then it is because I have not surrendered completely to His molding and shaping. In other words; I can love, as His Love is perfected in me, as long as I am dependent upon Him perfecting me...

"The God of Love"

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) Sometimes we need to have a little different perspective to really know God's Love. The question that I asked myself, and actually asked you also, was if it was within me to love my wife with the Love of God; in other words, can I love her with an 'Agape' Love? Which, I answered by saying that I must first know what Agape is before I can even begin to express it, or live it out. Correction: Before I can live It out, It must be living in me! Then shall I know It!!! The opening verse which is from chapter one of Jeremiah, was the introduction by God to him, about the calling upon his life. This is a very interesting ordination, because Jeremiah was very young at the time of his actual calling; however, by God's perspective, he had been called for quite some time. Besides the task that he had been called to, his age was also a factor in the initial rejections that he received by his countrymen. He did not want to be a prophet in the first place, but the urgency of his message was like a fire raging within him, and he could not contain it. However, his response to God's introduction was in verse 6: "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child." His is an example of total faithfulness to God, regardless of personal desires or circumstances; because, after God put His words within him, he could not help but speak them out. Along with this task of speaking forth the word of God to a dying nation, he also felt the pain of the judgement he had to declare; thus, he was known as 'The Weeping Prophet', because his burden was so heavy. So, what the heck does this have to do with God's Love? Well, for one, we are not the maker of His Love, He is! I cannot make myself love with the Love of God, and neither can you; but it is God who must love in us, and through us; and then, and only then, can we begin to love with the Love of God. Jeremiah had no desire to be God's prophet, nor did he think that he could; however, God's word placed within him changed all that, and nothing could stop him from speaking forth God's words; not even the sadness of the message. Most importantly, it was God all along that was in charge, even before his birth; even before he was conceived God had the words prepared for him to speak. The Love of God can only be found in One place: The God of Love!!!

"Love's Response Again"

As I was saying, before I had to go and love on my wife: just as the wife is responding to the love of her husband, so too, the church must respond to the Love of Christ. Now then, reason would have it that if the wife does not respond, then the husband would have cause for concern (to say the least); but the problem here is, we are not talking about reason; because reason by definition means to do what is logical, do you see a problem with that? Well do you? I would say a big fat yes! God's Love is not logical; in fact, His Love flies in the face of logic, because He loved us even when we had no love for Him; even to the point of dying on the cross for us. Hey husbands, are you listening! What was His response to our love? So you say that your wife does not love you anymore, and has even told you that to your face; then what is your response? The world would say that it is over, and that it is time to throw in the towel; God would say, to love her more; and if that does not work, then love her more than that, or any other thing on this earth. When it says in John 3:16, that God gave His only begotten Son, it means that Jesus was the only One of His kind; it also means that Jesus was the Father's best that He had to offer, that we might be saved from our lost and unloving state. So then; have you given your best? If you think you have, and she is still not loving you, think again. Or better yet, give your best to God first, and then watch Him transform your life into a life that can actually Love your wife as Christ loved the church! Have you given your best to God? Have you given Him nothing at all? Have you even loved Him at all? If not, I have some good news for you: God still loves you, and will even respond to that; in fact, He will love you even if you turn your back on Him. And you know what else? His response is open arms; arms that are extended wide for all to see...Only the Best, for even the worst!

"Love's Response"

So then, why would His commandments be grievous to me? Could it be that I am not loving Him back enough? 'To whom much is given, much is required' could be the answers I am looking for; because, if God has forgiven me much more than I should ever need, how then should I be able to love Him enough? In reality, God does not love one person above another, although it may appear to be the case; but the picture we see is the persons response to God's Love, which gives those watching the assumption that God is loving them more than them. Do you actually think that Jesus loved John more than Peter? Although John referred to himself, as the Disciple whom Jesus loved; it was John's love for Jesus which brought this conclusion into John's heart, as well as the others: as Peter asked, "Lord, and what shall this man do?"; which was in response to Jesus telling Peter the manor of death he must suffer, and Peter wanting to know what would happen to the Disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:19-22). May I be bold enough also, to lay something out there that may or may not be received with great comfort; but the love which we have towards God greatly effects the amount of God's Love that we receive. That being said, I must remind you, that it is not that God is loving you more, but that you are receiving more of His Love, and the response to His Love is fanning the flames. Which again, is much like the love a wife will have towards her husband; where the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church, yet the wife is called to reverence her husband (Ephesians 5:33). This reverence word has a way of twisting the Scripture to suit someones ego, because in the simplest definition, the word means to fear; which would not go over well with most wives. However, in the context of what Paul is saying about how the church is to reverence Christ, which is in response to the Love of Christ for the church; this word reverence, is more of a responding love, or a being in awe of the love that is given. (I so wish I had loved my wife this much 8 years ago...)

"Love's Pure Light" - 7

'Could he go all the way?' That's the phrase I heard in my head as I went to sleep last night, and yet I know that this journey is nowhere close to being completed. However, Love's Pure Light as a title is finally going to be brought to a completion, and what better way to do that, then to have it fall on the number seven. After I wrapped up yesterday's post, I thought about how bold John was in his statement, "His commandments are not grievous"; because to be perfectly honest, I can find myself struggling in trying to keep them, so to say they are not grievous; well, let's just say that I feel sometimes that I am grieving in my effort to be righteous. Here is the deal with the Love of God: when God created man, the one ingredient that was lacking in man, was his Love for God; don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Adam did not love God, because I am sure that he did; what I am saying, is that the fullness of God's Love was not known to Adam. Although Adam had the ability to love God with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength, his capacity to do so was not fully developed. God provided for man all that he needed, but until the need required for God to give of Himself, man could not know the fullness of God's Love. How can I make this outlandish claim? Well, for one, the fact that Adam and Eve hid from God after having eaten of the tree that they were told not to eat from; this is called fear, and fear is not something which has place in Love (Agape). In other words; the fact that there was a fear from God, tells me, that the Love of God was not fully comprehended in Adam's heart. Notice that I did not say 'Fear of God', because the point of that meaning had already been lost with the act of sin; now what Adam was feeling was a fear from God's wrath, besides the fact that they felt naked; which actually reinforces my point, because the nakedness that they felt, was a direct result of their guilt, and the sinfulness of their flesh. The more I think about it, the more I can see that God works all things for the good; because the devil meant it for bad, but God meant it for good; say what??? The death that man suffered in the Garden that day, was that catalyst needed, to bring God's Love to Pure Light... "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness (no fear) in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world (not of this world). There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment (punishment). He that feareth is not made perfect in Love. We love him, because He first Loved us (our response!!!). (1 John 4:15-19)

"Love's Pure Light" - 6

I don't know why, but I just had to do this again. As many of you may know, six is the number of man; which, for the most part represents the day on which man was created. I for one, think that it represents something a little more regal, yet not quite royalty. If the number which is the representation of God is seven, because on the seventh day God's creation was complete and then He rested, then the number six comes pretty close; don't you think? But here is the problem that I see with that line of thought: first off, God created man in His own image, however that is meant to be; but, at the same time He gave man the free will to love, which also came with it, the free will to sin. Secondly, He is Pure Light, and in Him is no darkness at all; man was created from the dust of the ground, and last I checked, the dust did not light much. And then thirdly, but most definitely not lastly, man's life, his love, his very soul is the breath of God; which tells me something very important about man's existence: it is nothing without God!!! That all being said, the most important ingredient of our existence is Love; and not just a love for life, or our love even for each other, but the Love of God that is manifested within us, that makes us love God; which, if you want to get really technical, is the completing ingredient of our creation. This is precisely why God gave man free will to begin with, that man would of his own free will love Him and have fellowship with Him. And then entered sin, which separated man from God, because God is pure Light and does not have fellowship with darkness (sin); and in the process of this separation, man's love for God was replaced by a love for the darkness (yep, you guessed it, sin); and the more man sinned, the more he loved the darkness, and would avoid the Light (Love of God), or for man's sake, the love for God. This is the reason for the sudden burst of Light, which was given by God to man through what Jesus Christ has done on the cross. It is this 'burst of Light' which instantly yanks the fallen man from the darkness and into the Light, which then frees man to once again have the will to love God. Finally; it is this love in man for God, which draws man closer to the Pure Light, and further from the darkness!!! Which is the reason John can make this very bold statement in chapter 1 John 5:3 & 4, "For this is the Love (Agape) of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (firm persuasion)."

"Love's Pure Light" - 5

Just when you thought it was over, Light shines out of the darkness! Never Give Up!!! "For God, who commanded the Light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) Within this passage from Paul's Letter to Corinth, there are two different forms of light mentioned; one is direct Light of God, while the other is more lighting the way. Both are derived from God, but one is just more direct, and transforms instantly; while the other is more of a sustaining light which keeps us from slipping back into darkness. This is very similar to the difference between 'pure' and 'purifying'; which if you remember, to be made pure was something which was done to us by God through Jesus Christ, while purifying is what God will do in us though our obedient heart. Now, when it comes to the Love of God: there is the Glory of God which has been shined in our hearts, so that we can see what Jesus Christ has done for us; while there is also God's Love, which has done what was needed to transform us into His Light. In other words; there are two different forms of God's Love at work in changing us, yet both have the same source; almost as if one is for changing our heart, and the other for changing our mind. If I had the know how to draw a picture of what I see, I would become very famous, but I don't; however, I do think that I can illustrate it with words, the only problem with that, is that some words mean different things to different people. When a description of something is put into words, there are many different ways to see what is being described, depending on one's own point of view. So; if you see a Big God who has a big giant heart, that loved us so much that He could not bare to see us perish in the darkness, so He commanded the Light to shine into the darkness with the Gift of His Son; while in the same fashion, has made this Light to shine in our hearts, which then softens our hearts in order to see His great Love for us; which then lights up the Truth within us, so that our way is well illuminated; and then, as if that was not enough, He provides us with His Spirit so that not only is our way illuminated, but so are we... (Some of you have a vision of a Transformer, don't you?)

"Love's Pure Light" - 4

I usually do not go over three days with the same title, but this one has not yet been brought fully to Light... "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:15-17) There is a reason that we are to love one another, besides the fact that Jesus said we should do it; it has to do with God's dwelling place, and the fact that He does not dwell in darkness. Maybe you might be wondering what darkness has to do with not loving one another? Maybe you need to know what darkness means? There are several different forms, or meanings for darkness in the Scriptures; but they all have something very much in common, which is the association with the word 'void'; or to put it in the simplest terms, empty space! The reason that this is so very important to the life of a Christian, is because this was the life of ruin that they came from: void and without Light. To put it in a way that even the simple minded Believer can understand: If you walk in darkness, you are not in the Light; and if you hate your brother, then you are walking in darkness, and void of the Light... "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and True Light now shineth. He that saith he is in the Light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the Light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." (1 John 2:8-11)

"Love's Pure Light" - 3

You 'Know' that you are His Child when you can see Him; yes or no? Okay; here is another little question: How does He make His abode in us? I know your thinking the Holy Spirit is the way He does, right? Well your right; but He also will manifest Himself within us by His Love; which, if you were following this blog several days ago, I shared that it is His Love which is the reason for passion to do His Will. This is the power also behind the Holy Spirit, because when we look at the character of Love and that of the Holy Spirit, they are very similar in how they work. So, the real mystery behind how the Holy Spirit works, is not why He does this or that, but when; the why that He does something, is all about Love: to demonstrate the Love of God; which, if you want to get real technical about it: it is to manifest Jesus Christ, in one way or another. The real question for me (and maybe some of you), is when does He work the work's of Christ? As I was reading the verses that I ended with yesterday, I could not help but think of something very, very dear to my heart, which is, why my asking for my wife to be healed has not been answered? Verse 22 says, "Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him"; so then why have I not received when I have asked? Could it be that I am not doing enough to please Him? You know what; I don't think that God works that way. Call me ignorant, if you will; but I really do not think that God bases answered prayer upon performance. That being said, I do believe that He answers the prayers of His Children; however, the only thing that I have found which Jesus promised the Father would give us was the Holy Spirit. Even though we want healing, work, stability in our marriage, etc, etc; it is the Holy Spirit which has been promised, and sometimes, it is all that we get. But God; who is mighty in Love, and is full of wisdom, knows what we need more than we do; and it is the Holy Spirit which gives us comfort through anything, and who makes even the worst trial something other than a trial, but an experience to know God's Love. Other than that, I really do not see a reason for the when in God's answering of my prayers, but I can begin to understand the why that He does not... "And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that keepeth His commandment dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He has given us." (1 John 3:23 & 24)

"Love's Pure Light" - 2

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8) This verse, taken from what is commonly known as The Beatitudes, which was also called, The Sermon on the Mount, I have written in my Bible after 1 John chapter 3; but the funny thing is, this verse is written out, but the Scripture reference with it is John 14:23. As I was looking at that verse in John 14:23 yesterday, at first reading, I thought, Hey, this is not "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God", what was I thinking when I wrote this? I thought maybe I had one of my half-sleepy sermon notes written at the bottom of the page; but then as I read the Scripture again, this time also including the question asked by Judas, the Light went on! The word for pure, which is in Matthew 5:8, is the word 'katharos' meaning to be unsoiled or clean; which is a whole different meaning than the word 'purifieth' from 1 John 3:3, because the later means to prepare one's self for purity, while the first one means to be pure. Specifically, in Matthew 5:8, it means to be clean or pure in a spiritual sense from the pollution and guilt of sin, sincere, upright, and void of evil. Couple that with the word for heart, which is 'kardia' meaning the seat and center of human life; which consist of the desires, feelings, affections, passions, impulses, i.e., the heart or mind. Now what we are talking about is very much in line with both John 14:23 and 1 John 3, because what Jesus was saying, as He answered Judas' question, How is it we can see You, but the world can not? (paraphrased), was that only a sincerely pure heart can see God, and a sincerely pure heart, is a heart that loves Him; and a heart that loves Him will keep His words! And as we look to the meaning of pure, as specified for this Scripture, it means to be free from not only the pollution of sin, but the guilt of sin also!!! "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:20-22)

"Love's Pure Light"

And then again, there is a certain power which comes from appreciating the Love that God has bestowed upon us; something that can not be explained, but must be lived in order to know. In John chapter 14, Judas (not Iscariot), asked Jesus in verse 22, "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will make Our abode with him." (John 14:23) The more I appreciate the love that I have for my wife, the more I love her. This is not a selfish thing I am talking about, but more of a desire within me to experience the love that is appreciated; in other words, I have a desire to manifest the love that is within my heart more, when I know how special that Love is, and the more I experience that love, the more I know how special it is. The Love that God has given us for one another, for our spouse, and for Him, is a Love that is born within us; He makes this Love come alive in us, as He makes His abode in us. That being said; there is a joint effort which we must have, or put forth; something which we must do in order to experience the Love which we know to be in us; or, to put it another way: we must put the Love into motion in order to experience and appreciate how special this Love is that we have been given. We are not talking about Salvation here, so don't try and put the two together; what we are talking about is the Love of God making us into the best person that we can be. Do you want to be the best husband, wife, child, employee, boss, or servant of God that you can be? Then we must learn to experience God's Love in our lives! It is one thing to know His Love by the Salvation we have been given, which is the Love we have inherited; but, it is something all together different to experience that Love being lived out in our lives. Okay, maybe this is not that easy to explain; or maybe the experience cannot be known until it is lived, therefore, it is not explainable? Much the same as seeing the need for Salvation; which we can not see until we see the sin we have that separates us from our God. Or the Love that God has for us, is not really known in our hearts, until we understand what He has done for us, and the 'Great Price' He paid, so that we could be in Him and He in us. Living out the Love of God simply means that we are loving God back! How else do we show our appreciation? "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we Know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him." (1 John 3:18 & 19)

"Love Perfected in Us" - 3

I know that there are some who have tried to see what my point is, and can not yet see the importance of Love in the reason to live out righteousness, but it is there; the problem is just me and my lack of explanation; but then again, maybe it's not. First off; I tried to think of an easy way to explain how God's love towards us, is actually the same love we have one to another, just on a smaller scale. The reason that this is good to know, and can benefit our walk, is that we can know what Love we have been given. As John started the section of Scripture, which we have written as chapter 3, he was instructing us to 'Be a Child of God'; and as a child, we have been given something inherently from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; three separate levels of Love, yet all having the same source. Verse 1, which I shared on several days ago, starts out,"Behold, what manner of Love (Agape) the Father hath bestowed upon us"; which can be taken to mean several different things; all at the same time. The previous chapter, which also speaks about how we are His children, has as it's theme that we know what we should do, and that no one needs to tell us, because we inherently know. After knowing what we know we must do, the next thing, is to take action on what we know; thus the point of 'To Be a Child of God', which requires us to live out the Love which we have been given. Another way to view the opening of verse 1, is to see this declaration as one of appreciation; in other words, to be in awe of the magnitude of Love that God has towards us; this might work for the second part of verse one, but it hits a little speed bump at the end of the same verse. The second part of the verse says, "that we might be called the sons of God"; which could be viewed as the continuation of appreciation in what God has done for us; which is what we must have, and do. But the point I believe that John is making is more in line with the first; which expresses more of the Love which we have been given, more than the way that we are loved. The third part of the verse is what tells me this is so, "therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not"; which in my view, illustrates the inherent quality of God's Love which we have been given, that the world cannot seem to understand. That being said, there is something which brings us into a place (if you can call it that), where we are no longer living for the things which we once loved, but have a new Love inside us, which lives for God. That is why John expressed the things he did in verses 4-8, about those that sin being of the devil, and those that do righteousness being born of God; because it is based upon our inheritance as a child of God! "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." (1 John 3:9 & 10)

"Love Perfected in Us" - 2

As I was saying, how can I even begin to purify my wife without first being pure myself? But you might say, how is it my job to purify my wife? or, how can you think that you can be pure? Well, for one, I can be pure, if I want to be; and so can you, because being pure is a matter of choice. Say what? Didn't I say that we would not be perfect until we are in His presence? So then, how can we be pure now? John was making a point about the direction of our lives, not about what state are lives are in; we can not live a sinless life, only Jesus could do that; but what we can do, is to set our affection on Him, and then strive towards His perfection. Then, and only then can I seriously begin to purify my wife; which in case you did not know, means to sanctify her with the washing of water by the Word. My ability to sanctify her with the washing of water by the Word, is seriously tainted if I am not living my life as one who holds the Word to be true; meaning, that if I do not let the Word purify my life, how can I expect it to purify her? (rhetorical question) What does this have to do with Love? Everything!!! Love is what motivated Jesus to be pure, sinless, and do the will of the Father; because He knew what was at stake, His direction was towards the cross, and to get there sinless. But some might say, Well ya, but He was God, and could do no sin. To which I would answer, But He was also a man, that could be tempted. We have to remember something that is very important: Jesus had to be manifested in the form of a man, live a sinless life in that form, and then die a sinless man for the sins of all that sin (everyone). Now, when it comes to me and my desire to purify my wife, Love is the motivating factor that drives me to be pure; because I know that it is only by being pure (moving in the direction of purity) that I can purify her. Again, you might say, How is it your job to purify her? to which I would answer, What part of One did you not understand? "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:7 & 8)

"Love Perfected in Us"

God's Love was perfected in His Son Jesus Christ, but what about us? Can His Love be perfected in us? If so, when? I believe His Love will be perfected in us, once we are in the presence of Jesus Christ the King of Glory; until then we are to strive for that perfection. But you might ask, why strive for something that we can not achieve? Ah ha; that is the lie from the enemy; that is exactly what the devil would have you accept: Why bother trying, if I cannot obtain it; besides, I am forgive of my sin, so I will be alright. Let's look again at the athlete that I illustrated the other day; this time we shall add the Head, Jesus Christ. Now, think about this with me, if you want, because I was up most the night with this (I should have taken notes). If Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body, then who is making all the decisions? Does your arm decide what your legs will do? The game has now changed; no longer am I, as a son of God, just going to be trained to love in this world, but now my training is for another. To fulfill the love required to move, react, or respond to the passions of this world is within my ability to achieve; but to even begin to fulfill the Love required to start approaching the Kingdom of God, is only possible in Jesus Christ. Now then, the painful part of the training: to deny the flesh! The word 'purifieth' which is in 1 John 3:3 is not a word to be taken lightly. As I have shared before, I made the wedding invitations for our wedding, which there is a picture of back in a blog from last January. At that time I was about six months old in the Lord; just a babe in Christ, however, I was full of the Spirit, and believe that I was being directed by God in most of my life. The Scripture that I typed inside that invitation was from Ephesians 5, with regards to a husband and a wife; which is also a Scripture that I hold dear unto this day. That being said, when it comes to verse 25-27, there is something that is abundantly clear about how we are to Love our wife as a husband: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it: that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." How can I even begin to fulfill my obligation to my wife, which is to purify her, if I have not purified myself??? "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him was no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him." (1 John 3:4-6)

"Love Perfected"

"Behold, what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not." (1 John 3:1) Here is the thing about perfect Love: it is in us, but it is not of us. If I could put it another way, say something a little easier to understand, then I would say, that our flesh can not comprehend the perfect Love of God; however, His perfect Love is in us, because His Love is perfect and He, being in the form of the Holy Spirit, dwells within us. That being said, the thing which we are to inspire to become, is that which has been placed in us; but we have one problem completing that task, and it is called our flesh. We must never think that we have achieved perfection, because we can not! As soon as we start believing that we have achieved perfecting God's Love, we are going to be in for a rude awakening; I can guarantee it! There is a reason for John to say that the world does not know us, because it did not know Jesus; besides the obvious revelations of who Jesus really was, there was something which Jesus brought, that we have been given also: it is called 'God's Love'. However, unlike Jesus, who was the manifestation of God's Love in the flesh, we cannot move with such authority; why? Because we are sinful creatures in the flesh, yet He was sinless, even though He was born in the flesh. The world can not understand the magnitude of God's Love; it is just not something that you can see through the eyes of the flesh; and because of this fact, many who think that they do understand His Love, are deceived because they have accepted it to fulfill or comfort the passions of the flesh. Maybe passions is the wrong word to use, but maybe not; because the passions of the flesh are not all sinful, however they are all carnal, meaning that they do not leave this world. Because these passions of the flesh do not leave this world, then they may seem easily achievable, or attainable; and thus, they are made to look much like the world, compared with the Perfect Love of God. (What the heck did I just say?) "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. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." (1 John 3:2 & 3)

"Love Endures All Things, Because?"

Do you want to know how long I was gone (as if you cared)? I think it was about an hour, but not much more than that; because I could not stand being away from my wife for another minute. Oh, I would be away from her all the time to work, golf, Men's Retreats, etc; but not like this, not like I left her at home in anger. Maybe you don't understand what I am saying, partly because you might not have ever left someone you love in anger; or maybe because you have done it so often, that it really does not count any more? I never left before because we were fighting; in fact, I would make a point of not leaving, even if I had to leave, until our dispute was settled, or at least to a point where we were not angry any more. Even if I went outside just to cool off, I would always try to keep a close eye on my wife, knowing that her heart was in pain. This is what brought me back so soon when I left, that desire to protect her heart; even though we were fighting, I still knew that I needed to protect her heart. Do you see yet what leaving means? Leaving says, I don't care about you anymore. Jesus said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you"; why would He say that, or even need to say it? Because He Loves us!!! Because we are His Body!!! Do you see the point that Paul was trying to make in chapters 12 & 13? We can not, without some very severe damage to ourselves and others, just discard a member of our Body; just like I could not leave my wife unprotected, because I loved her so much and knew that her pain, was, is, and would be my pain: Why? Because we are One!!! Okay, maybe you don't understand the One thing very well? Do you need some help? Here is something which might help (or not): Say that you are trying to be a professional athlete, and that in the process of setting out to accomplish this goal, you will have various factors of opposition. You will have those in the your life (the world or outside the body), you will have your mind (will to do), and you will have your body (members); all of which will at one point or another be a deterrent to your goal. As a training athlete, the will to do something is pretty much the same as love; it is what drives your ambition, and keeps you working through all the pain, as well as ignoring those that say you can't do it. So, as you are training, you will notice that your arms are a little weak; so what do you do? You cut them off??? No, you work on making them strong enough to compete! Now, let's look at you; because this body of One has you also as a member, and sometimes you need a little work also. The one thing that was the hardest thing to fix in that fight with my wife, was the fact that I left. I prayed that she would not see it the same way that I did, and that she did not count it against the promise that I made when we were married. If as an athlete, your arms are vitally important to your game, then you are not only going to make them strong, but you will also keep them safe, or free from harm; which means that you will make adjustments to the way you live, or chances you take that might bring harm to your arms. This is my role as a husband; to not only strengthen and protect my wife, but to also make adjustments within myself which ensure that I especially, do not become the cause of any harm to her. Anyway, I hope that helped a little? "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Corinthians 12:26 & 27)

"Love Endures All Things, Regardless"

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Regardless of what? What is it that seems to stubble our love for one another? Thinking back to when I would have a fight with my wife, it was the fact that she had to know how much my heart hurt which really made me mad. Can't she see how upset I am? would be the question in my mind. If you were thinking selfishness, then you are half correct; because the thing that upsets love the most is feelings. Sometimes present, sometimes not felt at all; but feelings are the product of our emotions, and are not the product of Love. Emotions are directly attached to the flesh; I feel happy, I feel sad, I feel like I am in love, I don't feel loved at all; regardless of what I am feeling, real Love does not faint, fade, or fail. Feelings are one of the childish things which should be put away, because the man of God does not care any longer about what this body may feel like doing. If there was one thing that Jesus expressed more than any other, it was that we must do what we might otherwise not feel like doing: love your enemies, give them the other cheek, walk two miles when asked to walk one, give them your coat also; all of which require the 'I don't feel like it' attitude to be thrown out the window. But you see, here is where we stumble; time and time again, we look to how we feel: I don't feel good about this, or that? It is really not a question about you when it comes to Love, but more about others. My worst remembrance of a blow-out fight I had with my wife, was about Bush's Baked Beans, believe it or not? I asked her to get some of my favorite beans to go with our dinner and she came home with a new kind of Bush's Baked Beans for me to try; I did not feel like trying something new, I wanted what I knew I already liked; it didn't take long for that to get ugly. Thinking back to that horrible day, was like thinking back to when my parents would have me go to bed without dinner: empty inside! In my own stupid childish way, I had no concern for what my wife felt as I scolded her for her mistake; which became my mistake!!! And then, after realizing my stupidity, and giving her, what I thought was my best apology, I was shunned; 'Oh no she didn't', was the reply in my heart; and now the new fight continued, until I did something which I never had done before, I left. It hurt so bad when I did, I can not begin to express it; but it was as if I had just killed something, and now I did not know what to do. If I stayed gone too long, maybe she would get concerned; if I went back too soon, maybe there would be no change. But no matter what the outcome, the thing that I felt worst about, was the fact that I had left. Nothing can make a person feel a lack of love more than leaving... "But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely (well-formed) parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism (split) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." (1 Corinthians 12:20-25)

"Love Endures All Things"

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11) As we move among each other, we have a tendency to sometimes hurt the ones we love. Sometimes it is unintentional; and then again, sometimes it's not. I went to see Jack Black's new movie on Christmas morning, which is called Gulliver's Travels, and before going I had read several of the reviews, both secular and Christian. All of the reviews that I read said pretty much the same thing: no plot, waste of time, big flop, etc, etc; however, they also spoke very ill of the musical number towards the end of the movie, which was when everyone broke out into singing the song, "War! ... What is it good for? ... Absolutely NOT!" Let me tell you something that happen to me during this routine, I cried; not just cried, I wept; it literally came from deep down inside me. Why must we war amongst each other? Why do we set out to hurt one another? It's one thing to gracefully turn away and to go somewhere and pray: Lord, what should I do? But that is too lonely for many to do. Instead, we look for those that we can put on our side; it's the old 'strength in numbers' thing; you know what I am talking about. I relate the stupid things that my wife and I would fight about to this concept, with one more little twist: fighting among each other, no matter how trivial the issue, causes casualties! People get hurt, children loose there self esteem, hearts get scared, and that is just talking about what happens to the family when husbands and wives fight each other. When we take this issue into the church, things are magnified a hundred fold, because now we are talking about the Body of Christ; which, in case you did not know, is One. I know I have covered this subject before, but this is a little different, because this time it's about Love. When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 about Love, he was completing a thought about the Body of Christ, which he started directly talking about in 12:12. It is important that we understand what Paul is trying to get across in the verse I started today's blog with, because when we are the Body of Christ, or if we are part of the Body of Christ, then those things which we did as a child (unlearned), we must not do as a man (one who knows better). For example: one thing that I have learned since becoming a man is that the major characteristic of the flesh is to get it's own way, and the major characteristic of Love is to deny one's self, or one's way. Therefore, if I revert back to my childish ways, then what I am actually doing is to put myself before others, or doing what I have learned not to do. (??????) WHY? (??????) "That there should be no schism in the body; but that all members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Corinthians 12:25-27)

"The Love of God Proven"

"He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him." (John 6:56) In the scientific community, for something to be considered a scientific fact, there must be a way to prove it is not so. In other words, if you are going to say that it is a fact that the world is round, then there must be a way to prove that it is not round in order for that statement to be fact. In the case of elementary arithmetic, to prove 2 + 1 = 3, you must take the sum of the two numbers and subtract one number, which should give the other number; such as, 3 - 2 = 1. This is how things are proven; or at least how they use to be proven; I am not quite sure anymore if logic rules the day. However, when it comes to God's Love, eternal life, and the Gift of our salvation, there is only one way to prove that they are so: The Proof is in The Pudding! That's right, you heard me correctly; simply put: you must taste and see for yourself. In the case of Jesus explaining that He was the Bread from Heaven to those that asked Him for a sign of 'His Work', it is impossible to know that what He is saying is true unless you taste and see for yourself; you can't even begin to understand it, which is what happen to many that day. Likewise, to know, and to prove that a heart of stone can be changed into a heart of flesh, one must first open the door of their heart and let Jesus in. Upon doing so, the heart will be changed into a Living heart; a heart that actually works; carrying and pumping the Breath of Life throughout the soul, and even out into the body of the flesh, which others may see, and also witness the proof of God's Love. Even if you think you understand, and you believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world, you will still not be able to prove His Love for you, until you actually make it personal; each and everyone must taste and see for themselves. We can not just take someone's word on such a matter; there must be an individual commitment and action taken within a persons heart; to open the heart and let Jesus in. No one else can open your heart for you, and just thinking you believe will not work. It must be real to you!!! "As the Living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." (John 6:57)

"The Love of God in Us"

Okay, maybe you thought what I posted yesterday was out there; wait till you get a hold of this. I was trying to figure out a way to explain the flesh that I saw in my dream, and have to admit that it is not easy; mostly because what I saw was not human, or the way things appear to you and I. But what I saw was more like a glowing body, which was almost transparent; almost like when you put a flashlight against the palm of your hand and can see the inside tissue, veins and bones; kind of like that, just with a white tone instead of red. Without getting into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo, I thought I would try to illustrate what the Lord was showing me with just some basic scientific facts. The first and most important fact to my illustration is that our blood stream delivers oxygen to all the parts of the body; every thing that is within us, and even our tissue, requires a constant supply of oxygen to survive; not just blood, but also the oxygen that is carried within the blood. Why is this so important to the Love of God? Well, for one thing, the heart of stone which we have been born with, due to the fall of man, can not pump life, or, in this case Love. So, even though we have the seed of God's Love within the core of our being, there is nothing there to circulate and get that Love flowing. But God; who commands the stars to stay in their places, has made this heart of stone into a heart of flesh; flesh which pumps blood, and which provides the needed oxygen to the soul, or in this case, God's Holy Spirit, which is the Breath of Life. In case you were not aware; my wife's condition was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. It seems that the brain requires oxygen also, and lots of it. When you deprive the brain of it's needed oxygen for an extended period of time (in her case it was 35 minutes), the brain begins to die and the vital functions of what the brain controls can be lost. This lack of oxygen to the brain was the cause of a failed heart; her heart just stopped working. One of the reasons that we found which caused her heart to stop, was a lack of blood being supplied to her heart; in other words, she bleed to death. It would seem that there is also a supply of blood required to keep things moving; the pumping heart will not pump without a certain amount of the material that it is to pump. Much like the illustration that I saw in my dream; that seed of God's Love, although it is present, is not enough to bring that stony heart to life. But God!!!! "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great Love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened (made us alive) us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7)

"The Love of God" - 3

By now you probably have lost all interest in these daily rantings, ramblings, or whatever you want to call them; but I am holding on, and promised God I would continue as long as He gave me something to say; even if I did not understand what I was saying; which brings me to the post for today (?). As I was laying next to my wife this morning, I could not help but wonder, what makes her to keep going? What enables her to continue breathing, day in and day out? This life we are given here on this earth, although short compared to eternity, is precious and is a gift from God in and of itself. I do not claim to know much, but God has shown me something that I want to try and explain (if I can). Each and everyone of us are given a life, and this life that we have been given comes from God; I hope you all knew that? Because this life comes from God, it has certain attributes of it's creator; the One who made it and holds it's cells together. One of those attributes is Love, which, although faintly realized, it is there somewhere deep down in the center of our souls. When sin separated man from God, this separation was not a complete 'no more God' separation of man, because man still had the soul he had been given, and the flesh God had formed; what was missing however, was the Spirit of God. This flesh, however temporary it may be, was made by God; fashioned by the hands of an Almighty Creator; that made it to represent Him, in one way or another. The soul, now that is another story; because, from what I believe that God has shown me, the soul which God created in man is something that is very unique; unlike anything which God had made. This soul, when created, was brought into existence by the Breath of God (Gen. 2:7); this Breath of God, known as the Breath of Life, is the Spirit of God; and when this Spirit of God was breathed into man, the soul was born. However, when man sinned, the soul remained, but the Spirit which had given it life was removed; thus leaving man's soul with a yearning to be reunited with the Breath of Life; almost as if the soul could not breath, or take in the air that it needs to be full. But what remains, even though it has been without the Spirit, there is still a part of God, because it is still a part of God and His wondrous creation. Thus, we find 'The Love of God'; somewhere deep down inside; beneath that stony heart, there is a seed of God's Love. Then I have to wonder: Does God speak down to us, or out of us? or both, depending upon the circumstance? "Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth. The Glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in His Works." (Psalm 104:29-31)

"The Love of God" - 2

"And Hope maketh not ashamed; because the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:5) You see; what I believe happen to Peter is that he lost hope; hope that Jesus was going to establish His kingdom; hope that he was going to be given eternal life with the Christ. To really understand what 'Agape' Love is, there are two things I believe we must know: the first is, where does it originate? and the second is, what is the heart of man? The first question is easy enough to understand; because the Bible says in the opening verse, "the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost", which is God's Spirit; and the Love mentioned here is 'Agape' Love. So, if we need an answer to where 'Agape' Love originates, we can say that it originates with God, by God, and from God; whichever way suits your fancy. However, the heart of man is a little harder to define; because it is not our physical heart. I think we all have a different view of what the heart represents, and it really does not matter what that view is, as long as it has the same center core; because that is what the heart of man is: the center core of man's existence. As I was looking up this word for 'hearts' this morning, I could not help but notice something: there is no differential between the heart and the mind within this definition; they are both listed as if they are one of the same. After some serious thinking, I started to wonder about my wife and her mind, which, although it is severally damaged, it is not the center of her existence; and neither is the heart that is within her chest. The center of her existence is her soul, which is something hidden within her, yet lies clearly visible by God. This center of her existence is the most vitally important part of who she is, because it is who she will continue to be, long after leaving this earth. As I was thinking about that, and how little man knows about the brain's complete functions, I could not help but think about how little we know about the soul. Really; we have no idea what it looks like, or where it even is; is it in the center of our body? in our heart? in our mind? After thinking about this, I wondered what Jesus meant by, "To Love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength"; and if what He actually meant by this, was to Love God with all that is within me!!! Now this is interesting, because the Love that is within me comes from God! I just can't wrap my head around this!!! "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

"The Love of God"

This is a very touchy subject, I mean that literally. I think there was a TV show once that was called 'Touched by an Angel', but I don't think I ever watched it. I guess they would not have wanted to call it 'Touched by God', because that would have seemed too much like a religious show. But, in all seriousness, the Love which we have been given is heaven sent, in more ways than we might understand. If we have any love within us, it is usually just skin deep, and is easily taken out of the way once our skin is offended. Even valiant and heroic men or women have been so, not because they had more love than others, but because the love which they did have was deeper and harder to be compromised. Take Peter for example, in John 13:37, Peter made a statement which may or may not have been from his heart, "Peter said unto Him, Lord, why can not I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake". Well, we know how that went, don't we? Does that mean that Peter did not have a deep love for Jesus? No, I don't think that is the case at all; but rather that the love which Peter had for Jesus was rooted in the wrong place. The reason that I say that is because of what Peter does in the Garden when Jesus is arrested, which we can see in John 18:10, "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus". You must know, it took a whole lot of courage (or stupidity) to draw a sword in the presence of all those that came upon Jesus with weapons; yet only hours later, Peter would deny that he even knew Jesus. As I said, his love was rooted in the wrong place, because Peter's love, even after his acknowledgement of who Jesus was in John 6:68 & 69, was based upon the life which he knew, this life, the here and now for eternity. The way he saw things, Jesus was going to establish His kingdom here on this earth, for all eternity; defeating the Romans, and establishing the Jewish nation back to it's greatest spender, once and for all. Not exactly the kind of thing that is accomplished by dying on a cross, now is it? But, when we love based upon the truth! And what is truth? For one: The Love of God is truth, and can not be denied... "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some will dare to die. But God commandeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

"Love In The Flesh" - 3

Would I give my life for my wife? You bet I would! If giving of myself would do the job of healing her, I would do it; I would give her my brain, if that were possible; is it? But you know something that is really strange: if I remember correctly, I would have given myself before for my wife also; at least I think I would have; at least I said I would have. However, there were times, times that I would be so selfish, so unloving, so, all about me, that you would have never been able to tell that I actually cared for her needs or desires. I can honestly say, that for over seven years and four months I have not once raised my voice to my wife. In fact, I kind of miss having arguments with her about the most stupid things; the major things, like life and death, we had those down; but stupid stuff, like how many stars there are (imaginary topic, I could not remember why we would argue?), these stupid things which afflicted my ego, were the things which would spin me out of control. This morning as I was praying I fell back to sleep, thus the late post; but as I was sleeping I saw something which was so strange in a dream, I saw my flesh; I know, you are probably wondering, What's the big deal? But this is different, because what I saw was different; there was something sacrificial about this image that I saw, which was not normal for the way I see my flesh. Usually, I see my flesh as the thing which gets in the way; in the way of my relationship with God, as well as my loving my wife, as well as others; but this time I saw it as an object of Love; a source for which Love is made visible; a vehicle in which Love is to be dispersed. It was then I realized something extraordinary, something which made my wake up and do that V-8 slap in the head; duh, that is why I am here!!! That is why Jesus came in the flesh!!! Because, "without the shedding of blood, there can be no removal of sin"; likewise, without the denial of the flesh there can be no expression of 'Agape' Love; because, 'Agape' Love is giving of one's self for the sake of those that you love (agapao or phileo). This is what those that did not understand Jesus could not see; the bread which He spoke about, which was His flesh, was called bread for the reason for which He came in the flesh; that those that were called could see the sacrifice that was made. Much like those that asked for the sign, looked back to the manna given to their fathers in the desert, as the sign to believe; those before looked to the Christ; those that were present, saw the Christ; and those after, look back to the Christ; which was the Bread from heaven, or God's Love made manifested in the flesh... "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." (John 6:67-69)

"Love In The Flesh" - 2

Also, in case you did not know this, 'Agape' Love is seen! I hope you understood that by what I have been saying, or if not, at least by what Jesus was saying in John chapter 6. His flesh which He was taking about is the manifestation of God's Love, which is the sign that they asked to see, but did not understand the reason for the sign which was given. The manna given to their fathers in the desert was easy enough to understand, because it was to feed their bodies, and to satisfy the bodies nutritional need. However, Jesus' flesh, that they could not understand, because they could not see their soul's eternal need. The difference between the two is like black and white; however, there is no difference between seeing or knowing the need; one is being feed physically, while the other is to be feed spiritually; one is temporary, while the other is eternal. In other words; we must see God's Love for us, in order to receive God's Love; or, as Jesus was trying to get those following Him to see, that He, being sent from the Father, was in fact the real Bread from heaven, which is for the eternal soul, not for the temporary flesh. Likewise, real love is manifested within us, and is seen by the action it is meant to accomplish. For example, love, whether 'agapao' or 'phileo' are action words, which before they can be put into action, must have a source behind them; in other words, you can not love without Love... "For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the Living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever." (John 6:55-58)

"Love In The Flesh"

In case you did not know, 'Agape' Love is a noun, which means that it is a person, place or thing. As I was reading a portion of John 6 this morning, I couldn't help notice the magnitude of love expressed in verse 51, "I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Because, as I see it, Jesus was really trying hard to convince those that were listening how important it was that He came. Unfortunately, as we see in verse 52, they really did not get the point He was trying to make: "The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" It is kind of like trying to get a fish to breath out of the water; they will try, but not with much luck. This Love that is being expressed here by Jesus, is the kind of Love that only is understood once it is learned; and the only way it is learned, is by the Father drawing us unto Himself, and showing us. If anyone can make a fish breath out of water, He can! Sometimes we just have to know the source of Love, to actually see that Love, and this is one example of a time like that. Now then, getting back to my love for my wife; there is something which I can do to express my love towards her, which is much the same as how the Father expressed His Love towards us, and it has to do with me giving of my flesh; on a whole different level, that's for sure. This giving of my flesh, for me, is to die to myself in the regards of my needs, or my ambitions; this is not easy for me to do. When we look at the example, or instruction that Paul gave in Ephesians 5:25, we can see, after looking at John 6:51, that it is a little more meaningful. As Paul puts it: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it"; which, as we can see from John 6:51, requires the giving of the flesh. I can tell you right here and now, I don't care how strong you think that you are in the Lord, if you don't die to your flesh, your flesh will rise up! Okay, maybe you don't see the connection; but our flesh is stronger than we think, mostly because it is still hanging around, but more importantly, because it wants it's own way; even at the expense of others, including our wives, our kids, our friends, our Pastors. And what is our own way? Well, for one, the way we think things should be. We have a picture in our minds of how things should be, and that is how we expect things to be; anything that is contrary to that picture, makes us uneasy, uptight, and even, unloving; depending on how much, or how long we dwell upon the way we want it to be. For me, the picture that I have for my wife and I, is closer to the way things use to be; however, the way things are is not very close to that picture. I try to make my pictures come to life: movie dates, going out to eat, watching a sunset; it really doesn't matter what the picture is that I have, when it is played out, it does not look the same. Therefore, I must look beyond this flesh, and it's desires; looking to God, and His desire for us; His desire for me, as a husband to be obedient to what His Word tells me to do, and to Love my wife, even as Christ loved the church!

"Love Misunderstood"

Simply put, love sometimes gets misunderstood. Is it for me that I love, or is it for another? If it is for me, than wouldn't that be self love? One thing that I noticed about the Garden, God provided man with everything he needed; and when God saw that man needed more, then He provided for that also. So, wouldn't you say that love, real love, looks for and sets out to fulfill the needs of another? Even if that person does not know that they even have the need; but real love will see the need, and then try to fulfill that need which they see another in need of. As for my situation, I can only do what I think is going to comfort my wife, and give her some strokes of affection. It almost always happens, that as I am laying next to her and holding her, she will fall asleep; relaxed and asleep in my arms; hopefully dreaming of better circumstances. Most of the time, as I fall asleep with her, I will dream of her and I together, usually doing something really strange; but in these dreams, she is fine, talking, and doing something which others take notice of, like teaching a child to fish (she loves to fish). Real Love does not care how self feels, but will rather give up self for the life of another, even if the other does not understand why. As we read a little further through John chapter 6, we can see Jesus trying to explain to those around Him why He had come, where He had come from, and how they must come to Him. It says in verse 66, "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him". From the time they had asked Jesus to give them a sign, and they used the manna which their fathers did eat as a sign of validity, Jesus expressed Himself as the real Bread from heaven; and in this expression of being Bread from heaven, He used the Himself, His body which had to be given, as the means to obtain Life Everlasting. The problem with those that did not believe, is that they did not see their need, which was not based upon the flesh, but upon the spirit; they, however, could not see beyond the flesh. Before we can see our need, the real need, we must see the Father; understanding who He is, where we stand from Him, how we must be brought to Him, and the Bread of Life which will bring us there... "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life." (John 6:44-48)

"Living Love Out" - 2

I almost did not do this today. I just could not get over the pain I felt in my heart by thinking, If I had only loved my wife this much before she was injured, maybe she never would have gotten sick in the first place? Then my mind took off. I am amazed by how much the mind can think up, and by all the places it can travel. This morning I found myself in the Garden of Eden, watching, wondering, looking to see how God expressed His Love to man before the fall. Sometimes there needs to be a reason to show love; a reason that takes us outside of our selves. As I look at my own situation, I can see that the way I express my love to my wife now is far more passionate than I would have been in the past. Don't get me wrong, we had our passionate times, but this is different. This kind of passion that I am talking about, is more of the kind that tries to convince, almost as if I was trying to win her heart. Before she was injured, I had no reason to win her heart, because she was mine already; but maybe that was the problem all along, because she was mine already, I had no reason to go out of my way to express my love to her, to try and win her heart. We just don't know what we have until it's gone...

"Living Love Out"

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." (John 6:32 & 33) As I went to sleep last night, I thought about another love, about 'Agape' Love, and whether or not I could love my wife with that kind of Love. To really know if that is possible, I must first try to understand what 'Agape' Love really means; easier said than done. In the two verses of God's Love Letter to us that are mentioned above, Jesus is answering those that asked Him for a sign, that they may believe Him; something which they could see, like the manna, which their fathers did eat in the desert. That manna, although special in of it's self, only satisfied the people's hunger for food needed to feed the body; and with the exception of one day out of the week, that manna was only good for one day. Likewise, any sign that Jesus were to have shown them, would only have been of a temporary nature, because it would be, and such is everything that is visible: temporal! The manna from heaven which was given from God to the children of Israel in the desert, is a real good example of 'temporary', and was not a very good sign for those that asked Jesus for a sign which would demonstrate His 'Work' that He was sent for; because the work that He was sent for was eternal. Much the same, is my quest to love my wife in the same way that God Loves us, which I can not actually even begin to fulfill in this temporal body. Okay, maybe I am getting a little dramatic, and trying to express something which is not that hard to conceive; but I don't think so, because the way I see what Jesus is saying, there is really nothing to see. The True Manna from Heaven is God's Love; but before someone can see God's Love, His Love must be manifested into their heart. Why is this? Because God's Love is God's willful direction toward man; and it involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. Man wants his flesh to be satisfied, and to be comforted by the things of this world; which does not consist of the forgiveness of sin. But God wanted to provide man with the forgiveness of sin, which provides man with something that is far greater than this world could ever give: Life!

"Love Lived Out"

As Jesus was speaking those words written in John 6:26 & 27, those that heard them most likely did not understand, or even care what He was saying. Because His point was not about being feed, or even the working of miracles, but rather that we should labour for those things which will not pass, much like being filled by food will barely last a day; however, "the meat which endureth unto everlasting life", now that will last forever. You see, 'agapao' and 'phileo' have something very much in common, they are both verbs; and as such, they both define an action, or reaction; either way, there is action involved with both of these types of love. As I laid beside my wife this morning, I had to wonder which of these two action words I counted upon the most; or better put, which one did I live out the most? And, while dwelling on this for about 20 minutes, I wondered if a person could love both ways at the same time? Well, could they? One way of loving looks for comfort in a relationship, while the other way of loving looks to comfort; one way looks to be pleased, while the other looks to please. But, the question I would ask, and did ask, is can you have it both ways? Which I then began to try and figure out as I was comforting my wife; just stroking her face and telling her how much that I love her; not really expecting any reaction, but just loving her all the same. And after about another 20 minutes of this, I came to what I think is a conclusion: it does work both ways! Really, I think it does! The love that I expressed to my wife, whether she could express it back or not, that didn't matter to the love that I felt for her; in fact, if anything, that love was magnified by the fact that she was afflicted and could not love me the way that I would have wanted. It was as if I had a greater love for her in her affliction, then had she not been afflicted; is that weird? I think it is a matter of being satisfied verses comforted; or maybe, it is a matter of longing? There is something about God's love for us, that is expressed in this manor of loving the afflicted more, because of the longing; because the separation caused by man being afflicted by sin, caused a longing in Him for man to be restored. Much like the parable of the 'prodigal son', which is more about the love for the lost, than that of affliction; however, what I am talking about is the Father's longing for His children, and the fact that He loved the lost one with a greater compassion then the one that was not lost. It is almost like there is a 'wanting to love' someone back to health, or back to being in a position in which they once were; and it is this 'wanting to love' that is felt both ways...

"Love Lived"

No matter how you slice it, if love is not lived out, then, it is not love! This morning I just laid in bed, my wife's bed next to mine, and just thought about all the things we would do together on New Years Day. One of our favorite things to do was to go skiing; to just take off up to Mt. Shasta and have a blast. I thought about what it would be like if I took her up there now; could she ski down the mountain in one of those sled like contraptions that require someone to guide it down the mountain? Would she even like it? Usually I would have my niece here with me at this time of year, which would help comfort (distract) me through what is otherwise a very lonely time of the year. Don't get me wrong, I do love spending time with my wife during this time of the year, but it is not the same; and that is what I felt this morning, lonely, but not lonely for my wife, for that she is, and I still have her to love and care for; but the companionship, that is what I found myself needing; the friendship of two people in love. There are several different kinds of love that are expressed in the Bible, and they are all expressed on many different levels. The first thing that I thought I would do this year, is two-fold: I wanted to somehow share about the love I have for my wife, while also exploring the magnitude of God's love, or love in general. Take for example the subject of my heart today; this type of love which I was longing for has two different levels of meaning; fore, it is the kind of love which can be expressed by both an 'agapao' love and 'phileo' love; the difference between the two are the levels of response expected to the love given, or shared. The kind of definition of 'agapao' is, to esteem, love, indicating a direction of the will and finding one's joy in something or someone. Which differs from 'phileo' that means to love, indicating feelings, warm affection, the kind of love expressed by a kiss. The longing I experienced which was closely related to 'agapao' was my desire to express the joy in my heart towards my wife; to show her, in one way or another, how much she means to me. While the other, 'phileo', was my desire to experience a joyful moment together; to share in the love we have for one another; or, to put it more bluntly, to get something out of this relationship, that brings me pleasure. As you can see, one is based upon a commitment towards expressing love; while the other is based upon
the expression of love. This brings me to realize how God loves me, and why knowing His love towards me, is so vitally important. God's love for me, is His desire to express to me, in such a way that I can understand, just how much He loves me; to get me to see His love for me that is not based upon my expression of love towards Him, but His to me; that is the 'agapao' type of love. Yet, He also has a desire to experience a 'phileo' type of love, which is to be brought about by my realization of His love towards me; which then brings about companionship, or friendship; expressed by feelings of longing for being in His presence, and His desire to have me there with Him... "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because you saw miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto Everlasting Life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed." (John 6:26 & 27)