Monday, November 15, 2010

Loving through Obedience

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me;. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and show myself to him."

John 14:21



God loves me unconditionally, I know that for sure. All I have to do is think of what I am like when I am at my very worst. All I have to do is think of the things that I have done that I don't want anyone to know about, those words I’ve spoken in haste that I wish I could eat, and the thoughts I think that I am thankful that no one else can hear. God sees it all and yet He still sent His son to die for my sin. John 12:46 says, "I am come as a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness." It is not God's intent for us to live in darkness. He has illuminated and exposed our sin and desires that we confess it and accept His forgiveness. That Kind of love demands a response, but if I am really honest I have to ask myself if I really love God? I claim to, but how do I show it? For awhile I went to the extreme and berated myself for my failures thinking that it would prove my love by showing how sorry I am when I sin against God. However the above verse points out just how wrong that perception was. His desire is for me to express my love for Him through my obedience.



As human’s we all have certain things that we interpret as love. Some people like to be touched and some prefer gifts. Some like conversation while others appreciate acts of service. Still others cherish being told, " I love you." I could spend all day talking to my child, but if she needs hugs to feel loved and I don't hug her she will not know I love her. Well, God in His grace and in His goodness has told us if we want to show Him our love that we should obey His commandments. Obedience is God's language of love! God loves it when we talk to Him, worship Him, learn His Word, and serve Him by serving others. But in 1 Corinthians 13 it is clear that without love none of those things matter. If the intent of my heart is not to obey Him all of those other things don't really matter -- they are empty works. So what does it mean to obey Him? There are so many commands, but today I will touch only on a few.



First, Ephesians 6:1-2 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. Honor thy father and mother…," One way to love God is to obey your parents and to honor them. He placed you in their lives and He did it with your best interest in mind. He doesn't ask you to honor them if they are perfect or to obey them when we feel like it. I have been very blessed with my kids honoring me. There are times that I have had to correct them and they were teachable. Even at the times I didn't handle everything right, they showed me grace. Parents are learning to parent as they raise kids and it is a godly thing for a child to be willing to learn, respect and forgive their imperfections. They have a tremendous responsibility and will answer to God for how they parent; be sure you let them obey God. Honor is more of an attitude of the heart…the silent treatment, the looks, the stomping don't reflect honor.



Sarah, Abraham's wife, is a beautiful example of how a wife should honor and respect her husband. She honored her husband even though he didn't always protect her…she chose to respect him even when he didn't deserve it and God blessed her for it. I can show God my love by respecting my husband.



Ephesians 4:12 says, "Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, impurity." God gave this command to Timothy who was a very young pastor leading a church. It is applicable to us as well. Paul says that we can be a shining example in the way we act, love, and relate or trust God. It does not matter if we are 15 or 80, we can be an example to those around us. If our church is a healthy church there will be baby Christians 23 can help grow by choosing to live in a way that our actions, love, faith and your purity point them toward deeper relationships with God. In the moral climate of our world, the opportunity to shine bright is enormous when we obey God. Is it always easy? NO WAY! But when it is hard and we have to depend on Him for the motivation and the strength to obey we develop a real and intimate relationship with Him.



I have to ask myself if I really love God, would others know it by my life? Would they know it by how I speak? Would they know it by the way I forgive? Would they know it by the way I treat others? Would they know it by my actions? There is one more consideration that I think is important to me as a woman. I Timothy 2:9a says, "In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with Godly fear and sobriety." I believe it is okay to be feminine and stylish and yet dress in a way that would not cause a Christian brother to stumble. We can use our creative abilities in dressing and still reflect the purity of God. Would they know it by the way I dress?



I am so thankful for the New Testament in that Christ took the focus off of the Jewish law and put it on loving Him, others, and ourselves. I can choose to move away from sin any time I am focusing on love by asking myself if the words I am about to speak, the actions I am about to carry out, or the thoughts I am thinking are loving.



Prayer:
Father, I pray that each one of us will come to understand more and more about your love and that we will respond to your love with obedience. May we learn to love you with all of our hearts, minds, and our souls and seek to honor you in everything that we do. You deserve our best efforts, our loyalty, our praise, and most of all our obedience. We love you, help us to obey you in good times and in bad! Amen.

The Real Enemy

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Ephesians 6:10-14.



There are times that I am feeling so stressed with the cares of life. There are times that I am struggling with trials and facing what seems like unending temptation. There are times that I am facing conflict that seems to have no resolution. From these verses I can see that it is so important to realize that Satan may be behind the stress and that it is he who is the true enemy. He would have me believe I am not capable of working through life’s stresses, unable to stand up under trials, not strong enough to have victory over temptation, or find a solution to the conflicts that I face. It is Satan who baits the hook in temptation and tries to real me in. He is the one who wants me to feel like I am rejected in the face of persecution, not Christ. Satan uses stress to draw my attention away from my God. He entices me to put too many irons in the fire and then mocks me because I all of a sudden find that I feel so distant from God. He discourages me from seeking God's guidance in what I should be involved in. Satan would like me to be so busy that I don't have time to pray, to read God's word, to be patient with people around me, or to get adequate rest which goes a long way in helping me face temptation. It would help me to remember that my spirituality is not measured by my business, but by the fruit of the spirit that is evident or is lacking in my life. It is measured by the way I love or fail to love both God and the others He puts in my life.



When I am facing conflict, it will help if I realize Satan is the one behind the conflict, not the person I am in conflict with. If he can stir up conflict in my family, my church, or among my friendships, he can destroy my witness. Conflict in this life is inevitable, but when I deal with it in a way that both parties are winning there is a potential that all parties concerned can be bonded even more tightly together revealing Christ's love to others. It will take compromise to preserve and tighten godly relationships, but through that pride is broken down and the integrity of our witness is preserved. Satan knows how to tickle my pride and my self-centeredness, convincing me that the enemy is a person and that I must win to be okay. He makes it difficult to hear and we end up twisting each other's words into something they were never meant to be. He excels at stirring up anger instead of humility. Oh that in conflict, we could sit and pray together so that we can identify the actual problem and work together to resolve it. Satan's tactic is to try to turn godly love into selfish hatred – that way people will not see Christ as someone they need or a Christians as someone they want to become.



James also makes it clear that in trials and temptations that Satan will be the one baiting us. When we go through a trial or say no to a temptation it is an opportunity to love God through obedience. It creates intimacy with God as we rely on His strength to say no to the things with which our flesh struggles. It is also an opportunity to abide in God’s precious protection. I would do well to remember that God's intent is for us to be given a chance to stretch and grow and to see how He operates in our lives, not to see us fail. God is faithful and He is good no matter what the outcome of a trial is. God is God and He is not bound to a system of rules that requires Him to work things out in a certain way or in a certain time frame. He has infinite wisdom, infinite creativity, and infinite knowledge about me, my circumstances, and others. He will do things in a way brings glory to Himself, reveals more of Himself to us, and transforms each of us into His likeness.



If we are facing persecution…we need to remember that Christ was hated. He promised that as we learn to walk like Him and talk like Him and love like Him that the world would hate us, too. When we are rejected for Christ's sake it is not us that they are rejecting us, it is Christ and His values in us that convict them. Because of that we should remain gracious and kind in the face of persecution and continue to make moral decisions that honor God. We are called to love and to pray for our enemies and that will take depending on the Lord for strength and courage.



I wonder if you are growing close enough to God to gain His perspective? Do you see your enemy as a person God has called you to love? Are you able to walk intimately with God through temptations and trials? Do you live with the perspective that there is a spiritual realm that we do not see and that is where the real battles are being fought? Joni Erikson Tada has shared that when she was still confined to her bed and seeing no purpose to her life that a precious friend pointed out that her faithfulness and prayers were being witnessed in the heavenly realms. Do you have that kind of spiritual perspective? I hope that we can each grow in that perspective and take joy in this sometimes difficult journey that we call life.



Prayer:
Father, we so often forget that there is a spiritual realm that we do not see. So often we think the enemy is the parents that you have given us to protect us, the teachers you have called to teach us, our spouse who doesn’t understand us, or the friends you have sent to confront the sin in our lives. Please help us in our relationships and in our circumstances to remember to saturate our minds with your truth, adorn ourselves with your righteousness and salvation, and to shield ourselves with faith! Please help us to adopt your perspectives of our situations and the people in our lives. Let us honor you in all that we do and say. Amen.

Introduction

Several years ago I realized that I often sped through my Scripture reading and gave it little thought. Yet, when I had meaningful conversations with friends or family members I replayed them over and over in my head. One day it occurred to me, that if I thought more about what God says in his word that I would not only know more about Him, but I would come to know Him in a personal way. I would know more about His thoughts, His character, His intentions, His passions, and His actions. So, I began to take one verse at a time and think on it and then journal about it. At the time I was served as a volunteer in youth ministry and shared my “Thoughts on God” with those girls. For a while I have been rewriting and posting them on this blog. I have realized when I am in the Word or move through my day focusing on God's presence that I have wonderful opportunities to Meet God in the Everyday. The Everyday can include storms, blessings, hard things, scary things, exciting things...just any where, anyplace, any time. I hope that you will be able to engage with what I write with both your head and your heart. I also hope you will be challenged to love, trust, and know the God of the Scriptures. It is my prayer that as you read you will experience Him at a deeper level and share pieces of your journey in the comments. It is my desire that we form a safe community of believers who pursue the God who loves us radically, eternally, and without reserve. As a precious pastor once told me, "Don't forget, Wendy, God is Good!" I find myself compelled by His Goodness and His Love to share so others can know Him through all the ups and downs of life. Please feel free to dialogue back and to share how each passage impacts you. If if there is a passage you would like me to write on or if you would like to be a guest blogger, please let me know. I am just learning to navigate this blog and appreciate the kind comments you have made in the past...I promise I will even try to respond if you leave a note. If you are blessed please share the blog with friends!