True Love

Perhaps one of the most sacred, pure words that this world has perverted is the word “love.” Hollywood would like us to believe that love is entered by “falling” into it. They claim that love comes at its will and that when it leaves, it is permissible to leave the one who had been the recipient of that love. Children who date during the teen years often say “I love you” to several different people before they are even close to marriage, and hardly know the depth of the words they are saying. Their mindset is that love is that gushy feeling of attraction they so selfishly crave. Emotional satisfaction is their heart’s desire, and they cannot gain that satisfaction outside of God. So, if love is not that drippy, disgusting puppy dog look that the actors portray so well, what is it?

Love is a choice. It is not merely a state of emotion- emotions can change, and they do. Love is a consecration. While the world pushes a self-serving attitude, the Bible teaches that love is sacrificial. If you truly love someone, you will serve them. The father who works the majority of the day, comes home tired, and serves his wife by helping to repair the house is showing true love. The mother who wakes up at all hours of the night to care for her sick baby is showing true love. Love is a commitment. If you would give anything in the world to make them happy, you love them. When you pass over harsh statements and choose to think the best of the people who hurt you, you love them. If you are willing to lay down your life for a person, you love them.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

God is Love. We have all heard that statement, but sometimes we forget the reality of it. God is the only One untainted by the curse of sin; therefore, His love is perfect. Because God is love, it is sacred and holy. When God chose to love us at Creation, it was for all eternity. He knew that He would have to give His Son to die for us. He knew that we would fail Him repeatedly, even when we have accepted His love. He knew that scores of people would reject the love that He gives, but He chose to love us still. The love He has shown towards us is so wonderful that it is hard to understand, but we must accept it by faith, and marvel in it!

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

It is easy to lose sight of the love of God as a Christian. We go about our duties, even doing them well, but we do them out of obligation, nothing more. We think that by faithfully fulfilling our duties we will gain more love and favor of God, and when we are finished, we wonder what level of favor we have reached. We look down on others who seem to do less at church or those who are not “in the ministry” and assume that God has more love for us because of what we do. Why is this? Don’t we realize that since we could not earn our salvation, we can never earn His love and favor? We accept His gift of salvation by faith: we must accept His love for our Christian walk the same way.

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: Acts 10:34

The truth of God’s love is that it never changes. When a man rejects God, the love of God still abounds towards Him. When a Christian refuses to submit to God’s will, the Father loves him just the same. When a man is totally sold out for God, seeking Him daily in prayer, reading His Word, and serving others, God still loves Him the same way He loved the man who rejected His love.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

God is no respecter of persons; therefore, His love must be the same towards all. What a wonderful thought. If a person believes this, they can be as close to God as the Apostle Paul was, or the disciple whom Jesus loved- John.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Christian, don’t be discouraged when you fail. God understands that we are flesh, and wants us to rest in the strength His love gives every day.

 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14

The danger of the truth of God’s love is that some would misuse it. “He loves me no matter what I do!” they say in pride. Running about in sinful pleasure, they squander the life God has given them. God loves them just the same, it is true, but He will hold them accountable for their response to His love. At the Great White Throne, those who have ultimately rejected God’s love will be judged for their rejection of God’s love. They will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, every Christian will give account for his life. Both those who choose to squander their lives and those who serve God only out of duty will be ashamed before Him.

 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Every Christian should passionately desire to stand unashamed before Him. When a person gains the proper view of God’s love for him, he will respond with a heart full of awe to the God who showed such love towards him. God honors those who serve out of a heart of love.

It is possible to serve without love, but love without service is impossible. Service without love is vain, but love in service is priceless.

Take some time to meditate on God’s perfect love today. Do you love as Jesus loved? Do you choose to love the unlovely? Do you sacrifice your rights and desires for others? Do you serve without love, or are you so overwhelmed by God’s love that you cannot resist loving and serving Him every day?

 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 in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 1 John 4:16-21

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Christmas Light

This is a time when light is abundant. Glittering strings of light hang from brick, wood, and stone,  a myriad of colorful decorations of all shapes and sizes lighting up the panorama. Lights are everywhere. Scores of people wait for hours to drive through a few blocks of beautiful Christmas displays, and a few brave the sharp winds to get  a better view on foot. Beautiful fir trees are everywhere to be found, whether they be real or fake, and are decked out in color schemes of the owners’ choice. As families struggle to find spare electricity plugs in their homes, citywide electricity usage is no doubt leaping up the scale. Light are everywhere. Millions of people flipped on their individual displays of light this evening. The majority of those people, however, had no idea what their lights symbolize.

Christmas is all about Light.

2000 years ago, the Light of the world was laid in a manger. Jesus came for you and for me. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4-5

Because of the sinfulness of our hearts, we could not understand the gift He came to give. Without Christ, we have no hope and life has no purpose. Jesus came to give us life and a purpose- to glorify God! He came because of our blindness, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18

We don’t have to die in darkness; we have the promise of life with the Lord forever. This promise is to all those who will turn to Jesus in faith. Just as wonderful is the fact that we don’t have to live in darkness today. Life is not meaningless, and evil need not pervade our fleeting days. We must not live in darkness. Because Jesus conquered sin and death, we can have victory over sin daily. We must choose to “walk in the Spirit.” We have the true Light of Christmas living in our hearts!

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” ~Ephesians 5:8

The next time you stop to admire some Christmas lights, admire our Christmas Light, the Savior, too.

Merry Christmas!

Twins?

What’s it like to have a twin? Do you like it? Don’t you wish you didn’t have to share your birthday? Can you read each other’s minds? Do you act alike? Do you finish each other’s sentences? Do you share everything?

I am privileged to have a twin brother. I wouldn’t be a normal kid for anything in the world! Jordan is one minute older than I, though he likes to stretch it to a minute and a half. Don’t feel sorry for my being the younger twin- I was at least a foot taller than he for the majority of our grade school years and part of our high school years. You can only imagine the mischievous fun I had as a result of that misfortune. 🙂 We have had our scuffles and disagreements just like normal kids, but we also had more fun growing up than normal kids, I think. Now I have a built-in bodyguard, and he has a built-in backseat driver. (Haha)

At times we have gotten asked the weirdest questions. Several times I have been asked if we are identical twins. …NO. I certainly hope not! Haha.
Why, yes, we are the same age and have the same birthday. We’re twins! Yes, we have double birthday parties, and no, we don’t share a cake on our birthday. That’s a no-brainer. No, we don’t dress alike, and despite the popular belief in twin telepathy, we stopped speaking our own language at least fifteen years ago, sorry.

This has all been silliness, it’s true, but to be serious, I am very thankful for my twin brother.  Growing up with such an awesome friend and confidante has been the best thing ever. I don’t know what it’s like to be “normal”, and I seriously don’t know how all you “normal” people survive. I do know, however, that God blessed me beyond measure in giving me Jordan! I’m so excited to see what the Lord does in our lives in the future!   

In Tune, or Out of Tune?

I could sit and play the piano for hours.

The other day, however, as I began to play a piece I had recently learned, a very repulsive sound met my ears. The piano was so out of tune that the usually clear melody sounded muddled and the unique chord structure that I had taken pleasure in before was much too heavy. The melody, which had usually come very easily to my fingers, was now being forced because of the stubborn weight of the keys. It was a struggle to communicate the message through the instrument at all. I was not pleased with the fruit of the instrument.

I wonder how often God would use us, and does use us, but the fruit of our lives is not pleasing to Him because we are so out of tune with Him. He gives us the same opportunities as He does other people, but because we are out of tune with God’s perfect will, the fruit is totally different. How often does God play a melody on the keys of our life, but because we are out of tune, the sound repulses Him? Does He have to work over us with much difficulty because of the weight of our stubbornness? Does He attempt to speak to us and through us, but because of our impurity have to set us aside for a more choice instrument? I shudder to think that the song of my life to God is repulsing Him.

Recently, a dear pastor’s wife came to the college ladies’ ministry class that is held every Wednesday during the chapel hour. Her peculiarities almost caused me to close my ears to her message, but when the Lord allowed me to see past all that, I was moved beyond words. I realized she was not peculiar, but merely possessed the personality of one who had allowed Jesus Christ to become her identity. She was who she was, living her life joyfully to the praise of the One who created her and bought her. Her peculiarities endeared her to us as we realized the  importance of her message. She shared how that both she and her brother had been called to the ministry, but they had made very different choices. She chose to submit to the will of God, and the joy of the Lord was evident in her life. Her brother, however, though called to preach at a young age, had chosen to disregard God’s call on his life, and was  living very miserably.  The sweet lady then shared how she is now caring for her husband around the clock as he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. “What an amazing lady she is,” I pondered, as she spoke to us tired college girls on the subject of being overwhelmed. I was suddenly very ashamed of my petty problems and the self-pity I felt with a full schedule and finals drawing so near. That dear lady, though dealing with momentous trials, is living a life of praise to God. Both she and her brother had the opportunity to be used of God, but her brother chose to be out of tune with God’s will.

My prayer is that I may live, as Dr. Ernest Childs says, “open-handed,” fully yielded to God, and constantly giving a sweet savor of submission to my Lord. He is worthy of our deepest sacrifice because He created us and bought us with His precious blood. Each of us has a choice to make. We must choose either to live for self and earthly pleasures that do not satisfy, or to live for the One Who deserves our service, and as a result experience true joy in life, and treasures for eternity. Will you be in tune with God, or will you settle for mediocrity, living a life out of tune with God’s perfect will?

 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:11-13

What if?

What if every time I opened my mouth to say “I,” I said something about my Savior instead?

What if every time someone praised me, I praised my wonderful Father? What if every time a conversation headed towards gossip, we all slapped our hands on our mouths, knowing the danger to which we were headed? What if college students spent more time talking about God and His Word than they do talking about the opposite gender? What if Christians could stop in a public place and pray when a need arises? What if our whole life was consumed with the goodness of our God?

Why not? Why not waste our breath on speech that is fruitful? on speech that edifies? on speech that “will not return void?” Why not waste away spreading the Gospel? Why not be wholly consumed with the marvelous goodness of our God?

I do not want fame, fortune, popularity, or success. I want to “waste away” spreading the Gospel and edifying the believer. I want to be wholly consumed with the goodness of my Father.

Psalm 119:41-45
Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Colossians 4:6
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

“I Cannot and I Won’t.”

That statement caught your eye, yes? Precisely.

The fact of the matter is, that statement in and of itself has nothing to do with my post. This post is really about contentment. What is contentment? Well, you might say, it is the times in life when I haven’t wanted anything. Not so. Contentment is actually that moment when you realize you don’t have all you want, but “you have all you need.” Contentment is, in my opinion, the state of complete rest in the Good Shepherd’s care, guidance, and provision. A content person may not know where he is going, how he will get there, or who will go with him, but he has no doubt that God is guiding and will do what is best for him. A content person does not seek promotion, but is faithful. A content person does not seek wealth, but always seems to have more than he really does. A content person is quick to glorify God with the good fruits that come out of his life, because he realizes that everything he has belongs to God.

Here is the application of the title of this post to the rest. Fanny Crosby, one of the greatest hymn writers of all time, wrote a simple yet thought-provoking poem as a young girl. It is important to understand a bit of her testimony before examining the poem. She became blind as an infant when a man who was not really a doctor applied a hot mustard poultice to her eyes. God in His providence allowed this to happen to poor Fanny, knowing the blessings her many beautiful, descriptive hymns and poems would bring to Christians for centuries to come. When she could have become bitter at God and the man who destroyed her sight, Fanny Crosby chose contentment. This is one of my favorite poems.

Oh what a happy soul am I
Although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy
That other people don’t;
To weep and sigh because I’m blind,
I cannot, and I won’t.

1Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.