Category: Uncategorized

A Life Understanding Man’s Need for a Lover

God’s design for a wife is that she is to be her husband’s lover. A man’s need for a wife is deeply embedded in his need for a lover. God’s design is so good that a husband will not only be satisfied with his wife as his lover but he will be intoxicated with her love. When Adam saw Eve, his response was (WOW!). The original Hebrew can not adequately translate it into English but that was basically his response.

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:23

The Lord still wants to give a wife to a husband and the Bible says that if the man does it right then on his wedding night he will be so lit up on her love that he will outshine the sun.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, Psalm 19:4b,5a

Understanding a Wife’s Gift to Her Husband as His Lover

A female has the unique privilege to be called a gift, a reward and a favor to a man. The Lord made man with a physical appetite for the most intimate expression of love. A woman does not have the same physical appetite. A woman longs for the love of a man just as a man longs to love a woman. If a man has physical intimacy with a woman outside of marriage then it is “like sitting down and eating a steak dinner”. It will satisfy his appetite for the moment but it will not satisfy his deepest longings and needs. A man longs to know and be known. The word for physical intimacy in the Bible was that the husband was “to know” his wife. A man wants his wife to be unknown by all other men. She is to belong to him alone. A woman is a mystery to a man in many ways and that mystique that she has is part of her beauty. She is a much finer aspect of creation. Her beauty is not just physical but it is in her character, it is in her purity, it is in her innocence and it is her manner.

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:9

Understand that God’s ways are the best for girls and women. He does all things well. If you will keep yourself pure and become the woman that God designed you to be then you will be beautiful to the man God gives you to and will be treated like a queen by your king. A man has only one heart and life to give and he wants to give it to a girl who has not been with another man. There is something within a man that compels him to treat a woman of fine character and beauty with respect. Beauty is on the inside and causes any woman to be beautiful to the man that God has designed for her. Also, marry a man who has kept himself pure then he will be faithful to you as he has learned to keep his physical appetites under control.

IF you have not stayed pure then ask God to cleanse your heart, mind and soul. Give yourself to the Lord and He will make you into a new creation. He is the Creator and He is the only One who can make all things new. He can and will restore your purity if you give yourself to Him, but then you must keep yourself pure by His strength. There is always hope in God no matter how much a person has messed up, if they will turn to Him.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. II Corinthians 5:17

A Life Understanding a Man’s Need for a Wife

When God created man and the rest of creation it was good. There was not anything to add to it or anything to take from it. The Bible says that God works in such  a way so than man would fear (which means a very awe inspiring respect) Him and honor Him. Man was made perfect and all of creation was made perfect so that it was a delight to the Lord. However, the Lord said that it was not good for the man to be alone. It was not good then and it is not good now. A man needs a wife. He needs her support, her companionship, her love and respect and when he has a good wife then he becomes an even better man than he would be alone. Her encouragement, her response to him, her smiles, her affections, her happiness in being his wife inspires him to even greater heights than what he would do alone. An excellent wife is his crown and makes him a king who can conquer much and achieve much when there is peace and harmony in his kingdom.

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4

Understanding What a Man Needs in a Wife

A man needs a wife. If a woman learns to become an excellent wife then she will be greatly exalted for the first thing that anyone notices about a king is his crown. A king’s crown is his glory. A man does not need someone who will shame him. The Bible says that a man will encounter the “reproofs of life” and those reproofs of life are very effective in correcting a man. A man needs his wife’s support, love, intimacy, friendship, companionship and trust. You will be more precious than jewels to him when you become the wife that God wants you to be.

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. Proverbs 31:10

Do not be a man’s conscience. A man fights with his conscience and if you want fighting in your marriage and home then that is a sure way to get it.

A Life Understanding the Man’s Leadership Role

The Lord made man to rule and gave him the position to rule over creation. The Lord made man to work and to rule in the world. Every man is a king in his own eyes. This is not a bad thing because they Lord made man to be a ruler. Man is not egotistical in feeling this way but he does need help to rule. He longs for a queen to rule with him and be a helper and a support to him. The Lord said that it was not good for the man to be alone.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18

Understanding the Woman’s Support Role

He needs a woman to be his queen and his helper and support. He will recognize her by the fact that the Lord has made her to be suitable for him and to correspond to him. This means that she will understand his heart and she will respond to his heart. The Lord made her to be a support to him and such a strong support that the word has the meaning to be as strong as cement. She will not waver in her support of him but will believe in him when no one else does.  She will be so important to him that he will see her as a savior in many ways. (The word “helper” in this verse refers to the wife and it is the only time in Scripture where it refers to a person. Every other time it refers to God.) She will be stronger than him emotionally but he will be stronger than her physically. They will need each other and as they become one then they will conquer together. They will share each other’s joys and sorrows and each other’s successes and failures. When he is down, she will be up so that they do not sink together. They will encourage and pray for one another. Together they will make it if they will put their trust in the Lord because God has decreed it.

The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:20-23

Understand that a young lady who learns to treat a man like a king will never lack male friends. When a young lady can see who the young man is becoming and be an encouragement then she will thrive in her relationships and friendships with men. Most men long to be a king, because that is who God has made them to be, but they still lack the confidence and maturity. As a young man chooses to follow the Lord then he will become the person that God designed him to be and he will one day look for the girl who sees him as the man of God that was created to rule in God’s creation. He is not looking for a girl who will compete with him or who feels the need to “put him in his place”. There is plenty of competition and the world is continually “putting him in his place”. He needs a comforter and one who will encourage him. He needs a girl who will believe the best in him and see him for the person that God sees him as. He needs a girl who will stick with him and love and respect him in times of better or worse. A man who believes in the Lord will believe in what the Lord has for him and blessed will be the young lady who becomes his helper, his support and his queen. He will choose her to be his wife and he will be her husband.

A Life Understanding a Man’s Need to Lead

The Lord made men and women to rule. Both men and women are to lead. Each one has their own sphere of influence. The Lord designed for man to rule in the world. A man is born to be a leader. He is to lead not only in the world and in his workplace but also in his home. It does not mean that he is better than anyone, for leadership is a position given by God. A man must first learn to lead and he does so by being under leadership. There is a chain of authority that begins with God. As long as Adam was under God’s leadership and authority then he would rule well. A man who wants to do what is right will recognize and respect authority in others. For this reason, an older man can be under a younger man. A man understands that with authority comes responsibility. A man will respect another man, even if he is younger, by his wisdom and skill in leading and his faithfulness to fulfill his responsibility.  A man was made to lead as the Lord leads and when he does, those who are under him are blessed.

‘He who rules over men righteously,
Who rules in the fear of God,
Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springs out of the earth,
Through sunshine after rain.’ II Samuel 23:3b,4

Women were also made to rule but when Eve sinned the Lord put her under Adam’s authority. The Lord did this to protect her from being deceived again. Girls were never designed to be on their own even when they are older than the “legal” age. They are to go from their father’s authority to their husband’s authority. It is the father who gives his daughter to the man who is to love her and be her leader. For this reason, it is very important that a daughter stay under her father’s authority until marriage. Her father is her protection from boys and later men who would like to take advantage of her. Her father loves his daughter and will not give his daughter to a man who will be abusive.

So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well,  I Corinthians 7:38a

Do understand that a woman can not see through a man but a man can see through another man. Do go to your father for advice on any boy that is interested in you. When your father sees that you are looking to him for advice then he will most likely want to give it. However, if your father thinks that you have already made up your mind to do what you want to do then he will often not say anything. You need your father’s counsel. Other than your decision to become a Christian, the most important decision that you will make will be who you marry. The Lord gave you parents and especially fathers, to help you.

A Life that Believes and Receives

The Lord God has given us a wonderful revelation of who He is. He is Truth and that is who He is. The truth of God are the facts about God which describe His character or, in other words, who He is. The facts or truths about God never change. He is who He is and He has been who He is before all eternity.

“Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?” Isaiah 43:13

The Lord God has no beginning and no end. God was not created for He is the Creator. God has always existed. Man was created by God and we will never be able to grasp what it means to be God or to fully understand everything about God. He has chosen to reveal Himself but there are still many secret things about the Lord that we do not know and in all probability could not comprehend. In His love, He has made Himself known and in His love He has not revealed all to man.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, Deuteronomy 29:29a

The only true revelation of God is found in the Bible, which is His inspired Word, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, who is fully God but became fully man when He was born of a virgin, lived and died on a cross and was raised from the dead. The Word of God became flesh and lived among man in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the revelation of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3

Jesus Christ has existed for all eternity. He was at creation.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26a

Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God. He is God Himself.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:3

God, the Father, sent Jesus Christ, His Son into the world, to speak to us, to reveal to us who God is and to demonstrate His great love for us, so that we might understand and believe in God. He wanted us to know Him so that we would believe in Him and trust Him.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Hebrews 1:1,2

Jesus Christ and the Father are One and we know God through Jesus Christ.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Only those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savoir have eternal life. A person believes the truth of who Jesus Christ is and they receive the promise of eternal life. The one who believes and receives Christ becomes God’s child and is born into the family of God.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12

The child of God receives the greatest of all love. They are adopted into His family, their sins are forgiven and their guilt removed.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. I John 3:1

They also become a new person and begin to become like Christ. The Lord starts transforming them into the person He created them to be. He removes the bad and gives them a new heart and a new start in life.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. II Corinthians 5:17

Not only does the one who believes in Jesus Christ and who receives Him as their Lord and Savoir become a new person but they start living the new life that God has for them. He came to give us life, but not just life, but an abundant life.

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10b

Come to Him today. He has come to you and given you an invitation to come to Him that you might know His great love, His forgiveness, His cleansing within and His power to overcome. We come to Him through faith, which is believing Him and trusting Him.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God I John 5:4,5

A Life Understanding a Man’s Work

Understanding Men and His Work

Man was made from the dust, or in other words, man was made from the earth and he relates to the earth. Men do not mind getting dirty when they work because it is a part of work. One of the first things that the Lord gave man to do was to work. He gave him a job to do and that was to cultivate the earth and to name the animals. Men need to work in the world. Men receive their identity and self respect from their work. One of the first things that a man is asked is. “what do you do?”. When a man can take healthy pride in his work that he has done his best then he feels good about himself. A man is at home in the world and he feels at home when he is outside in nature. A man appreciates what he works for. A good man wants to work for what he gets and he does not want handouts. A man respects another man’s work and understands that he needs to be paid for his services. A man needs to be respected in his work and the Lord gave man a job to do in naming the animals and the Lord respected Adam’s work. Whatever name Adam gave to an animal, then that became the animal’s name and the Lord accepted it.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15

Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. Genesis 2:19

Understanding Women and Her Work

Woman was made from a person and she relates to people. She was not given a job in the world to do like Adam was given. Her job was to be Adam’s helper or support. The word “support” literally has the meaning of being something like cement. She is to be such a support to Adam that he knows that she will be faithful and immovable in her support of him. He needs for her to become all that God designed her to be so that he can become all that God designed him to be. A woman gets her identity and love from people. Often as a child, a girl will play with dolls and pretend to be a “mommy” and she will imagine what it will be like when she has her “own” family and home. As she matures she will be sometimes be asked. “do you have a boyfriend?” and when she is older the first question that she is often asked is, “are you married?” or “do you have children?”. Later on in life, she will be asked, “do you have grandchildren?”. She sees herself as who she is in relationship to people and will say that she is a mother or grandmother. If she works outside of the home she will usually go into a people oriented field, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, etc. A woman also can make an excellent business woman but for different reasons than a man. However, a mother who works outside of her home is often torn between her job and her family. When her children are conceived, they are a part of her. She begins to be intimately acquainted with her children even when they are in her womb. When a working mother comes home she will work some more because God made her world to be her home and her home is a major part of her world. No one can take care of her home and children like she can and the Lord made her that way. Just as a man takes pride in his job, so a woman takes pride in her home and her family. She cares about the way her home looks and how her children are fed and dressed. God made her to nurture and to make a home for her family. She does not like dirt and some women will clean and clean their home. A man has to learn these things. It is not natural for him, but if he loves his wife and children then he will seek to learn what is important to his wife in the home and with the children.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:21-23

Understand that men and women are different. They were each made unique and they are wired differently. One is not better than the other but they are very different. Their longings, desires and needs are different. The more you understand the needs of a young man then the more you will be blessed and the less you will be hurt. You will be far more satisfied when you learn to appreciate the differences and not try to make men like women nor women like men. A man is happiest when he is fulfilling his calling as a man and a woman is happiest when she is fulfilling her calling as a woman.

A Life Free of Fear and Worry

Fears and worries are two of the biggest challenges of life. It begins when we come into the world. You can see the fear and worry in a baby and they let everyone know by their crying. They cry if they are fearful they won’t be fed or they become anxious if they can not see momma. As we grow older we don’t become less fearful but we just learn to not express our true feelings. We learn to cover up and pretend but on the inside the fears and anxieties grow. Will we be able to do what we need to do to make it in the world? What will the world be like? The list is endless of our fears and worries. Then if we add on to that all of the fears and worries that everyone else thinks we should have then it is no wonder that some people have a nervous breakdown. The Lord never intended life to be that way.

Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
“For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8

There are basically two choices in life. We can choose to trust in the One and only God, the Lord God, who is our Maker and Creator. He fashioned us and He made us to have a love relationship with Him. He made each of us to trust Him and to be His child. The other choice is that we can trust in ourselves or others and allow our heart to turn away from Him. All of us come into this world with our hearts turned toward God. We choose to either respond to Him and trust Him or to turn away from Him and trust in something else, whether it is science, knowledge, people or ourselves. Everything and everyone, other than the Lord Himself will let us down and disappoint us. The Lord is the only One who can satisfy our souls because we were made to know Him and to be loved by Him. The Lord is also the only One who can set us free from fears and worries. This freedom will only come to those who trust in the Lord God. The word Lord means Master, so the person who trusts in the Lord must allow Him to be their Master. The word God usually refers to Savior. When a person trusts Him to be their Master then He becomes their Savior. He will save them from their fears and worries and be their Provider and Protector forever and always.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:9-11

Once a person calls upon the Lord then He is with them forever. He will never leave them or forsake them. All others may forsake them but He will not. You can trust in the Lord now and forever. He becomes your Lord and you Savoir and He is a present help in time of trouble. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5b

A Life Understanding Boys and Men

Do Receive Understanding

As with anything, if you want to understand a subject matter then the best way to understand it is to go to the one who created the subject. The one who created anything can give you the greatest understanding, not only “about” the subject but the understanding of the “manner” of the subject.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

If a girl wants to understand boys or if women want to understand men then they must go to the One who created man in the beginning. Not only will He give them understanding but He will give them instruction (which is wisdom) on what to do and what not to do so that they may not get hurt. Many girls and women have been hurt by boys and men simply because they did not understand boys and men.

Do Not Trust Your Own Understanding

Do not trust your own understanding of males of what you think they are like. A female will look at a male through their own perspective and try to “figure” him out. A male is made completely different than a female.  He thinks completely different than a female, he acts completely different and he does not have feelings the way a female does. Neither a male or female is right or wrong but they are different and will have different perspectives, thoughts, actions and reactions to the same situations. Do not trust in what you think you should do or in what your friends think you should do.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Do trust in the Lord with all of your heart and go to the Lord and ask Him for wisdom and understanding. He wants to help you.

A Life with Love is A Promise Kept

Love is keeping a promise. When one does not keep their promises then they lose all credibility, not only with the one whom they have broken the promise, but with all others. A promise made should be a promise kept. Love gives trust, worth, security, peace, significance, joy and every other good thing that we can imagine but the one who loves is only as good as their word.

in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, Titus 1:2

God made a promise to Adam and Eve after they sinned that He would have a provision for them. There would come One who would crush Satan on the head. In destroying the work and power of the devil, God would also free man from the power of sin and death through the One whom He would send. The Bible is the history of the Lord fulfilling His promises to man through sending the gift of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, through whom we can receive eternal life. For this reason the Bible is the history or “his story” of God’s faithfulness.

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:14,15

Jesus is the good news that we have heard and He is the One whom God sent to bruise Satan on the head. Jesus Christ defeated death when He went to the cross and God raised Him from the dead. He is alive and those who have put their trust in Him will also receive eternal life. God’s promise beginning with Adam and Eve and again to Abraham and Sarah and again and again through His Words to the prophets was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ Acts 13:33

Since everyone beginning with Adam and Eve have sinned then it is true that everyone is in need of the promised salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Galatians 3:22

The promise of salvation is a promise of life, not only in this life but an eternal life that will be forever. Those who believe in Jesus Christ will never die.

This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. I John 2:25

God promised a Savior who would come and die for the world. His name is Jesus Christ and He will save His people from their sins.

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:21-23

This Savior, Jesus Christ, would be crucified, dead and buried and raised from the grave on the third day. He appeared to those who were on earth and then He ascended into heaven.

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. I Corinthians 15:6-8

God promised to send the Holy Spirit after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit came and lives within those who belong to Christ.

Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Acts 2:33

Those who hear the message of truth, the Good News of salvation and believe in Jesus Christ are sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, Ephesians 1:13

The Lord has been faithful and He has fulfilled His promises that He has made in His time. He is faithful to His promises. He has promised to come again and in His time will fulfill that promise also.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; Hebrews 10:23

Jesus Christ is coming again to receive those who believe in Him. He is faithful and blessed will be those who are full of faith and have believed His promises.

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:3

There are and will be many who will laugh and mock at His promises just as they did in the days of Noah. However, God is faithful to His promises and He will not be mocked.

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. II Peter 3:3-8

It is only God’s mercy that continues to allow men, women and children to call on Him. He wants all to repent and come to Him. He wants all to be saved.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

He takes no delight in anyone perishing. Whoever will call on Him can be saved. He is not slow about His promise of coming again.

But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? Ezekiel 18:21-23

If you have not done so, while you have the opportunity, turn to the Lord and turn away from your sins. The Lord will not remember your sins when He comes again if you turn to Jesus Christ. The Lord wants to give you life. He is a merciful God and is patient, not desiring for any to perish.

…even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. John 3:14b, 15

Love is a choice and He is calling to you in love to come to Him so that your sins may be washed away. He is a forgiving God and He loves you.

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

The east and the west never meet and this is how far that the Lord will separate your sins from you. You will never see them again and He will not remember them or hold them against you.

I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25

The Lord keeps His promises. Love is a promise made and a promise kept.

A Life with Love…the Greatest Love

There are different degrees of love and yet each degree is only fulfilled when it is an expression of all of the heart. In every love relationship there is a lover and a beloved. There is an initiator and there is the one who learns to wait until the initiator initiates. There is a pursuer and there is the one who is pursued. There is one who takes more of the responsibility and there is the one who responds. There is the leader and there is the follower. The one with the greatest love is the lover who initiates, pursues and leads and who also has the greater responsibility in the relationship.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

God’s love is the greatest and our love for Him is a response to His love for us.

We love, because He first loved us. I John 4:19

God pursued us when we did not pursue Him. God looked down from heaven to see if there was anyone who pursued Him. There was no one.

God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God.
Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 53:2,3

God sent His only begotten Son into the world when the world did not want Him that the world might be saved through Him. Christ died for us, not when we loved Him, but while we were sinners and had turned our back on Him. We did not love Him but He loved us. We did not pursue Him but He pursued us.

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

We are His beloved and He is our Father, our Lord, our Savior and our Lover and Friend if we have given our life to Him and have come to know Him in a personal way. We become His child, His follower and disciple, His beloved, His servant and friend when we respond to His great love through faith and obedience.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. I John 3:1-3

God’s love for those who have responded to His love is a great love in that He has given them His name and adopted them as His children. God’s love is the greatest love ever expressed. Those who are His children have fixed their hope on Him for they have trusted in Him.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:7,8

The church is the bride of Christ and she is preparing to see Him as His bride. Her clothing will be her righteous acts that she has done in faith and obedience to His Word. Jesus Christ is preparing a place for His bride and will come again and receive her to Himself.

for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:2b,3

In the same way, a man is to pursue a woman to be his wife. A woman is to wait for a man to initiate and pursue her. She needs to learn how to be a responder. She needs to use the time of waiting to become the kind of woman that a man would want as a wife. Every man wants what God has designed for a woman to be; a faithful, loving, pure companion and lover who will do him good all the days of her life and one in whom his heart can trust. He will have great gain if she is a woman who fears God.

An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12

She will also be a good gift to him and he will have obtained favor from God.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22

The man is to be a picture of Christ in the marriage and he is to take the greater responsibility. He is to have the greater love and is to die for his wife as Christ died for the church. He is to be the lover, the pursuer, the initiator and the leader before the marriage and in the marriage. The wife is the beloved, the responder, the follower and is to belong to her husband, just as the church belongs to Christ.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, Ephesians 5:25

Belong means that we are to be longing for the one whom we belong to. The wife is to be longing for when her husband comes home and when she can be with him. She is to delight herself in her husband as the church is to delight herself in Christ. She is to allow her husband to be the head of the family as Christ is the head of the church. The husband is the lover and the wife is the beloved. She is to be loved by her husband.

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:23,24

When a young lady understands that she is to be the responder, follower, beloved one and the one who is to be pursued then she is more ready for marriage than ever before. When she understands God’s incredible and wonderful design for love and marriage between a man and a woman then she will not want to manipulate, initiate, speculate or expect. She will understand that God’s plans for her life are so much greater than what she could imagine and she will want to trust God for the amazing gift that He has in store for her.

but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9

When a young man understands God’s amazing plan for love and marriage then he will want to wait on God’s timing and live according to God’s ways. He will not want to defraud a girl and take something that is not his to take. He will understand that she will be a gift to him and something more wonderful than he can imagine. He will understand that if he does not treasure and keep pure what the Lord is giving to him then he will robbing himself and his future wife of much happiness and joy.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; Psalm 19:1, 4b, 5a

The young man who fears the Lord and trusts him will outshine the sun on his wedding day. He will want to praise God and tell of how wonderful He is. He will also realize that God’s ways are perfect and there is nothing to add to them or take away from them.

I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. Ecclesiastes 3:14

Both the young man and the young woman who loves the Lord and loves righteousness will be filled with great gladness and a great love for each other for they will have lived life according to God’s ways, which are the right ways to do life.

“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.” Hebrews 1:9

The young married couple who has trusted the Lord and allowed Him to give them His amazing gift of love and marriage will truly experience the life that the Lord came to give us. They will not have allowed the devil to rob them of the joy and happiness that God sent Jesus to give to us.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

The Lord came that we might have life in every area. A great marriage for those whom He calls to be married is a part of the life that God designed. His gifts are good and wise are those who love Him, who trust Him and who keep His ways.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

The Lord wants to give you His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the gift that God gave to all of mankind that they might know Him. Jesus Christ died for everyone in the world. Those who believe will have life. Those who disbelieve will not only miss out on life but they will be condemned. Jesus Christ came, died and rose again for all of us. Jesus Christ came to take away our sin that we might be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God.

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

There is no greater time to give your life to Jesus Christ than today. He will take not only your sin and guilt and give you forgiveness and life but He will take your fears, He will understand your deepest longings, He will pray for you when you don’t know how to pray, He will never leave you and He will protect and save you in this life and for the life to come if you surrender your life completely and totally to Him.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13