Uncategorized – Page 42 – Instructions To A Young Life

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

“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.

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

A Life with Love Is Pleasing

After Adam and Eve came Seth and then Seth had a son named Enosh and then men began to call on the Lord.

To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4:26

It was not until the seventh generation after Adam that Enoch was born. Enoch obtained the witness that he was pleasing to God.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:5

The Lord says that Enoch prophesied and that he also lived by faith. There is not much more we know about Enoch other than that he obtained the witness before his being taken up that he was pleasing to God and that God took him up so that he would not see death.

It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Jude 14-16

Who were these men that Enoch prophesied about so many hundreds of years earlier. These were ungodly men who did ungodly deeds in an ungodly way. They also spoke ungodly things about our Lord Jesus Christ.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 4

These ungodly people whom Enoch prophesied about were people who turn the grace of God in licentiousness. Licentiousness is basically saying that because we are “under grace” we can do whatever we want to do. We have a license to sin. We are not under the law but under grace therefore, we are free to do whatever we think is right. This also characterized the children of God in the Old Testament when they were at one of their lowest points.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25

The people also were warned about this earlier.

You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; Deuteronomy 12:8

What also characterizes these ungodly people who will experience condemnation?

These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Jude 16

The ungodly are grumblers, who find fault in others. They also follow after their own lusts and speak like they “know it all”. They are also manipulators through their flattery, which is the characteristic also of the immoral woman.

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” Jude 17,18

How can we keep from being deceived by these ungodly people who come into the church? The best way is to remember the words of Scripture that the Lord gave to us through His apostles.

These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. Jude 19

Not everyone who is in the church is part of the church, which is, the body of Christ.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Jude 20.21

The Lord tells us through Jude to build ourselves up in the faith. We need to pray in the Spirit and keep ourselves in the love of God. We keep ourselves in the love of God by keeping His commandments while waiting anxiously for His mercy when we comes again or when we go home to be with Him.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24,25

Our faith is in Him, who is able to keep us from stumbling and to make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. To Him alone belongs all glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever.

But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

Jesus, Himself, said that we need to pray that we may have the strength to escape what is coming and to stand before Him when He returns.

If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

If you find yourself falling and struggling now in a relatively time of peace, what will you do when the persecution for being a Christian gets even greater? Strengthen your heart in the Lord Jesus Christ through time with Him in His Word and prayer while you can so that you may stand before Him when He comes again. Seek to be pleasing to the Lord just as Enoch was. There is a good possibility that the people that Enoch talked about also lived in his day. Enoch lived by faith and obtained the witness that he was pleasing to God. The Lord did not allow him to see death. The wages of sin is death. This is what it means to be kept from falling and stumbling in the Christian life. The Lord is able to keep you also from seeing death. When you love someone you want to please them.

A Life with Love Is Not Prideful

After Adam sinned he hid himself because he was afraid. He was afraid of how the Lord would respond. No longer was Adam responding to the Lord in obedience but Adam initiated sin and now he was anticipating God’s response. He speculated and presumed that the Lord would not be pleased and may even be angry so he hid himself. The relationship now had gotten turned around because Adam had sinned and it was no longer according to God’s blueprint. God is the initiator and man is the responder. The One who is the leader and begins the relationship is the initiator.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

God began the love relationship with man and God had a plan for Adam and Eve. He gave them a purpose in life and a calling. He gave the man and woman glory when He made them in the image of God. He crowned them with honor.

What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. Psalm 8:4-8

Adam and Eve in their pride and foolishness disobeyed God and were no longer responding to His love for them. They thought they knew better than God. They became in a sense like God but since they were not God, they failed miserably and lost everything. They lost their fellowship with God and they lost their glory and honor. They lost the trust that God had in them. They lost their home. They lost the joy of being in God’s presence. They lost experiencing His love. They lost it all because of their pride.

When pride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

In a similar way, the man is the leader in his relationship with a woman. He is to be the initiator and she is to be the responder. The man is the one who initiates and begins the marriage. God has made the husband to be primarily responsible for the marriage.

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

The woman is called to respond to and follow her husband. It is a woman’s pride that makes her want to control the relationship. It is not God’s blueprint for marriage. God made the man first and brought the woman to him. If you want your marriage to be successful then you must follow God’s plan and have your marriage be built after God’s blueprint.

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

The marriage relationship is to be a picture of God’s relationship with man. If you are a wife then your relationship with your husband is a picture of your relationship with the Lord. If you are a husband then your relationship with your wife is a picture of how well you understand and know the Lord and His love and how obedient you are to Him.

This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:32,33

If a wife is and does as God has called her to be and do, then she will be the crown of her husband. She will receive glory and be crowned with honor.

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, Proverbs 12:4a

If the husband does and is as God would have him then he will have that excellent wife whose worth far exceeds jewels. His heart will trust her and he will not lack gain. She will do him good all the days of her life.

A Life with Rest for the Soul

When God created man and woman, He made each person to be body, soul and spirit. Man and woman were created in God’s image and God designed for each of them to have fellowship with Him.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

When Adam and Eve sinned they brought death into the world. Death to the spirit came immediately and fellowship with God was broken. Death to the body began with sickness, aging and eventual ceasing to breathe the breath of life. Death to the soul came with their sin and continued to come each time they sinned. Along with death to the soul came fear, shame, guilt, regret, sorrow, loneliness and much pain.

For the wages of sin is death... Romans 6:23a

When sin came there also came separation from God.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:2

Along with separation from God came a lack of peace and a lack of purpose. There came into man’s heart a restlessness and void that only God can fill. Man has continually tried to fill that void by pursuing many things and achieving many goals but it only increases the emptiness and the void becomes bigger. What they thought would make them happy only leaves them empty. There is no rest for the soul until it finds it’s rest in God. The soul lives forever, either in hell away from the presence of God and with an eternal emptiness and restlessness in it or the soul will live in heaven with God, experiencing the peace and fullness that God designed for man and woman in the garden of Eden. Each person’s soul has a destiny that is determined by either coming to God or by turning away from God during its time on earth. Once death to the body has happened then it is too late for the soul.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once… Hebrews 9:27a

Rest to the soul comes when a person comes to God through Jesus Christ. He is the only way to God because He paid the wages of death on the cross for each soul.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

When He paid the price for man’s sin then He opened the way for man’s relationship and fellowship with God to be restored and for man to live eternally in the love of 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

Jesus Christ is the gift of life that God gave to man to provide a way out of the destiny of sin, death and hell. However, like every gift, it must be received to experience it and have it for one’s own self.

“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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18

Whoever believes in Jesus Christ has eternal life and will not be judged for their sin. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ comes to Him. Whoever comes to Jesus Christ will find rest for their soul and will be restored in their relationship with God.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28,29

The Lord is humble and gentle with those who come to Him. He understands our weariness and how sin has robbed us of life. He loves us and is calling to each of us. This invitation is for you and everyone else you know. Whoever comes to Him will never be rejected.

…the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. John 6:37b

A Life with Love Does Not Judge

Love does not judge others and love does not condemn others. There will be a place for judgment and there will be a time for condemnation but we are not in that place or that time.

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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16,17

Those who believe in Jesus Christ will not be judged. They have passed out of judgment into life.

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18

Those who are afraid of being judged have already been judged by their own life.

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:19,20

Each person will judged and condemned by their own words.

But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36,37

Judgment day is coming.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, Hebrews 9:27

It will be a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God.

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31

The Lord will judge the Christian and the Lord will judge the non-Christian.

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. I Corinthians 11:31,32

Either we can judge ourselves or we can let the Lord judge us. If we judge ourselves rightly then we will not be judged by the Lord, for we will have judged ourselves according to His truth.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:8,9

The only way that we can judge ourselves rightly is according to God’s Word. We must look intently into God’s Word and let it be a mirror of our heart. Then when we see the wickedness and evil of our heart then we can confess to the Lord what is true. We have all sinned and our hearts are deceptive.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25

How much of the Word of God are we actually doing? It is only what we are doing that we really believe. Faith is acting on God’s Word. Faith and fear can not live together in the same person. Anything that is not of faith is sin.

and whatever is not from faith is sin.Romans 14:23b

Are you growing strong in faith or are you controlled by your fears?

yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, Romans 4:20

The Lord did not give us a spirit of fear.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7

The only way that a person can live life fully with an absence of fear is if he lives a life of faith and obedience, fearing the only One who has all power and with whom judgment belongs. When you fear God then you see His love and that love empowers you to believe Him and live a life of faith.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. John 15:13,14

God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world or to condemn the world but that the world might know His great love. Those who love Jesus Christ and keep His commandments know His love. Those who don’t love Jesus Christ have brought judgment and condemnation on themselves because they have not believed in the One who came to love them and give them life. Love is a choice and the Lord gives us the choice of life, forgiveness and love through Jesus Christ or death, judgment and condemnation apart from Jesus Christ.

A Life with Love Can Be Forsaken

True love does not forsake but love can be forsaken. Love is always a choice. If there was no choice then it would not be love. God gave man the freedom to choose. Man can love God or man can leave God. You can choose to love your spouse or you can choose to leave your spouse. There is the freedom of choice in love. Love is an act of the will and is not based on an emotion. Emotions come and go but we can always choose to love and when we choose to love our emotions will follow. God chose to love man even when man chose to not love God.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Genesis 3:8-10

Adam and Eve were afraid because they had forsaken the Lord and they hid themselves from God. If we feel guilty then we don’t want to see the one who we have sinned against. Adam and Eve had sinned against God by desiring something other than what God had for them. Even in their sin the Lord had not forsaken them and He still sought to love them and provided for their needs and gave them hope through a promise.

He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15b

The Lord promised a Savior who would crush Satan on the head.

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21

The Lord provided clothes for Adam and Eve.

Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. Jeremiah 16:11

Just as Adam and Eve forsook the Lord when they did not obey Him, so we also, when we do not obey the Lord we too are forsaking Him for another god. It may be the “god of fleshly pleasure or fleshly desire” or we may be forsaking Him by pursuing the “god of the boastful pride of life” and neglecting spending time with Him in His Word or in prayer.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. I John 2:15-17

Anything that we love more than God or in place of God has become an idol in our heart. We can not love God and love idols. Anything that keeps us from doing the will of God, by obeying His Word, has caused us to forsake God and His love for us.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. Matthew 6:24a

We can not serve two masters. We will love one and hate the other. We can not serve God and serve something else. The love of God is what must be our one and only choice.

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:37-39

We must love God more than any other human relationship. We must love God more than life itself. When we love God more than all else then we will find love and life.

O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord. Jeremiah 17:13

Those who forsake the Lord and His love will be put to shame.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10

The Lord will not forsake those who trust in Him and seek Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7

The Lord gives us a choice. We can love Him and forsake all others or we can go our own way and forsake Him. Just as in a marriage, we must choose to love our spouse and forsake all others or we can forsake our spouse and “love” another. Love is a choice. Christianity is a love relationship with God that is based on God’s love for us and our response to His love. Will we forsake “our” way and turn to Him or will we continue to go “our” way and indulge in “our” unrighteous thoughts? If we will turn to Him with all of our heart then He will have compassion on us and He will forgive.

The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. Psalm 145:8