A Life that Begins Marriage Right

The beginning of marriage starts before you even meet the person that you are to marry. This may sound a little strange but most, if not all, of the problems in marriage are the weeds of the seeds that were planted before marriage. How much easier it is to only plant good plants with good fruit in our marriage rather than to allow the seeds of weeds or plants with bad fruit to be sown. We all reap what we sow.

Galatians 6:7-9 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

There are three enemies of a great marriage. These three enemies will destroy the love that God designed. A great marriage can be the closest experience to heaven if done God’s way. The Lord designed for marriage to be the closest picture of God’s love.

I John 2:15,16 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 word “lust” literally means desire. When we lust for something then we are simply desiring something that is outside of God’s will. God’s will is perfect and His love is perfect. When we succumb to a lust then we have given in to a desire that is not a part of His will and it will bring destruction to our lives and the lives of those around us. A great marriage is made of two people who have learned to not give in to the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes. They also have recognized the deceitfulness and emptiness of the boastful pride of life. These three things will destroy love in a marriage but they must be dealt with in a person’s life before they are married. We take into a marriage who we are. If we have failed in these areas then we are taking into our marriage the seeds of failure that will reap a marriage without true love or respect. You can not keep covered up who you are in your heart.

James 1:12-17 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

It is through learning to persevere under the trials of life that our character is formed. Blessed in the man or woman and blessed will be their marriage if they have learned before marriage to flee from temptation and to turn to the Lord with all of their heart to receive His grace to do life right. If you can seek Jesus Christ and learn to walk in His ways before marriage then your marriage will be a picture of life rather than death. If you give into your lusts before marriage then you will be greatly tempted after marriage and it is you, yourself who will bring about the death of your marriage. Marriage is a gift from the Lord that He wants to give to His children but it must be done God’s way.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 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.

The Lord is perfect in all His ways and there is nothing to add to it and nothing to take from it. God has so worked that we should fear and honor Him. He is good and His love is perfect. When you do marriage God’s way then you will praise Him for His good and perfect gift.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

It is most important to remember than you can only have a great marriage through Jesus Christ alone. He is the One who designed marriage and He is the One who will give you the strength and wisdom in how to do marriage right. If you did not start marriage right then He will help you if you turn to Him with all of your heart. Where sin, which is giving into lust, abounds His grace and love abounds all the more. There is no life and no marriage that is beyond His grace and mercy.

Romans 5:20b,21 but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Just as when sin reigns in a person’s life there will be death when grace reigns in a person’s life then there will be righteousness, or in other words, the life and marriage will be done right with the outcome of life. However, the grace, righteousness and life is only through Jesus Christ.

 

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 of A Great Marriage

A great marriage is God’s design for His children if it is His will for them to be married. He came that we might have an abundant life and part of that abundant life is an abundant marriage if marriage is a part of that life.

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

It is the devil who comes only to steal, kill and destroy and he will do that not only in your life but in your marriage if you let him. The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:6-8 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The first step to having a great marriage is to realize and acknowledge that you can not do it on your own. We all need God’s grace and the way to get God’s grace and help is to humble yourself before the Lord. He gives grace to the humble. He opposes the proud. Pride says that “I can do it on my own and I can do it my way.” When you humble yourself before the Lord then you are resisting the devil who whispers in your ear that “you have got this and don’t need the Lord”. Cleanse your hands means that you need to take it out of your hands and put it in the hands of the Lord by giving it to Him. Purify your hearts means that you can not be double minded, but single minded by being fully surrendered to the Lord. A double minded person is one who can not decide how to do something. Should they do it “this way or that way”. A pure heart says that you want only to do it God’s way. When we are fully surrendered to the Lord and put our marriage or future marriage in God’s hands then He will show us His ways and give us His grace. God’s ways are God’s wisdom and He will give to all who ask Him if they are not double minded.

James 1:5-8 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

So, the beginning of a great marriage is to ask God for wisdom. Don’t lean on your own understanding but trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Faith is trusting in the Lord and asking Him for wisdom is an expression of that faith. He wants to help you and direct you. His ways are perfect and He is good.

Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

If you will build your marriage on God’s wisdom then it will be firmly established and will be able to endure the storms of life. The days will be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Your marriage and home will be a refuge to you and all who enter.

Proverbs 24:3,4 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.

 

 

 

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.

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

A Life with Understanding

The Lord is good and there is nothing twisted in His ways. However, if you do not know Him then you may think that He is not fair or that He may even be twisted in what He does. Not so, He is just and He is good all of the time. This is His nature and who He is. All of the utterances of His mouth are right and there is nothing crooked or perverted in them. Those who have understanding know this.

Proverbs 8:8,9 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.

A person who has understanding will come to Him daily and even moment by moment will commune with Him. They will want to live in His presence and will not have to be like the horse or mule that requires something to make them come to God.

Psalm 32:9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and it is sweeter than honey to the soul. There is no comparison to knowing Him and when you learn to live in His presence and in the knowledge of Him then you will truly know that nothing compares with the knowledge of Him.

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

The way to get more understanding is to keep his commandments. Many people want to understand His commandments before they do them but actually the obedience comes first and then the understanding. The Lord tells us to “not speak in the hearing of a fool lest he despise the wisdom of our words” so if He tells us to be that way then how much more will He not teach a fool His ways. It is foolish to not obey Him and do what He says.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

Understanding is what is supposed to characterize the people of God.

Deuteronomy 4:6 So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

What characterizes a person who understands and knows the Lord is that they will keep His commandments. To the degree that you keep His commandments is to the degree that you know Him.

I Chronicles 22:12 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

To depart from evil is understanding. If you tolerate sin in your life then not only does the Lord not “understand” or excuse it but it is you who does not understand and know Him. How easy it is to say when we sin, “God will understand”. That is a lie from the devil.

Job 28:28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

The Lord loves you and He wants you to depart from evil because He knows that is for your good and for the good of everyone else. The Lord hates evil and wants us to hate it as well. Evil causes grief and He sent His Son to save us from evil. He has compassion on all.

Job 36:5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

Do you know Him and have understanding? Go to the Lord and ask Him for understanding that you might know Him. Read His Word and pray that you might understand it. He loves you and has come to give you light, life and understanding, which is the knowledge of Him. He makes your life sweet and brings life to the spirit and healing to the soul.

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

 

A Life of Understanding

A life of understanding is a very exciting life. Could you imagine understanding matters that the world wonders about and yet never come to know? They are ever seeking but never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

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

The beginning of true understanding is to not lean on your own understanding. We look and perceive with our eyes and ears. All we can do is observe but not know about the inner workings of many matters in life. When we look to Him then He gives us insight into the “why”. The creator of the universe who made it all not only understands but will give to His children great understanding. For example, “why do men behave the way they do?” We know a man’s wants but what are his needs? The Lord who made men knows them better than anyone and will give you insight. The Bible says that the eyes of man are never satisfied. Once a man’s wants are satisfied then he will often go elsewhere. There are certain things that a man needs and he will generally go, stay and return to where his needs are met. The same is true for all of us. We will go where our needs are met but our wants are constantly changing.

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

If you want to understand then rather than study the desired object get to know the One who is the Creator of all things.

Exodus 35:31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship;

Keeping God’s commandments will give you understanding. Obedience comes before understanding. Often we want to understand and then obey but faith is obeying first and then He rewards us with understanding.

Deuteronomy 4:6 So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

God’s Word is what gives understanding.

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

The fear of the Lord and understanding go together.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;

Ask the Lord for understanding. King Solomon asked for understanding and it pleased the Lord so much that He gave him riches, honor and life.

I Kings 3:9 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

He gives understanding and along with understanding comes blessing.

Job 12:13 With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding.

To depart from evil is understanding.

Job 28:28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’ “

Apart from understanding, which is the knowledge of the Lord, we are like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49:20 Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, Is like the beasts that perish.

One who seeks understanding has a heart to obey the Lord.

Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart.

Do you struggle with confusion? The opposite of confusion is understanding. The Lord says that He is not a God of confusion. When you find yourself saying, “I am so confused,” then stop what you are doing and ask the Lord to give you understanding and seek Him in His Word. He wants to give you the knowledge of Him and show you understanding.

I Corinthians 2:9, 14-16 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.”

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The truly spiritual Christian appraises all things yet he himself is appraised by no one. The non Christian, or natural man, does not accept nor understand the things of the Lord.

 

A Life of Understanding but Misunderstood

Often one who understands life will be misunderstood by others in this life. Other people will not understand why they do what they do because those who misunderstand have a lack in the knowledge of God. God is the basis of all knowledge and understanding and without Him true wisdom, knowledge and understanding will even seem like foolishness.

I Corinthians 1:18-21 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

The beginning of true wisdom and understanding is to realize that we have no wisdom and understanding on our own.

Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

There is more hope for a fool than for one who is wise in his own eyes. There is no wisdom and no understanding apart from the Lord.

Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom and no understanding
And no counsel against the Lord.

The way of a fool is that he is wise in his own eyes. Turn to the Lord and you will receive counsel, wisdom and understanding.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Once you turn to the Lord then He will give you wisdom and understanding. Your life will be different because He will set you apart for something far bigger and greater than you can imagine. You will understand others but you, yourself, will not be understood.

I Corinthians 2:14-16 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The natural man, which is another name for a nonChristian, will not understand. That is alright that they do not understand now. You be faithful to the Lord and pray that one day they will come to know the Lord and understand. When you act on the mind of Christ, which is His Word, then you will be light and light brings understanding. You will be salt and salt preserves knowledge. The works that you do in His name will bear witness of who He is and will point others to Him. This is what it means to know Him and to make Him known.

 

 

 

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 Blessed with Understanding

If you have understanding, which comes from knowing the Lord, then you will be blessed and you will be a blessing to those who you are around.

Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding produces favor,
But the way of the treacherous is hard.

When you have understanding you will receive favor with others. A lack of understanding will make life hard for you. If you are married then a lack of understanding will make life harder for your spouse and your children.

Proverbs 14:6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.

Knowledge is power, according to God’s Word, and the more knowledge you have in life the more power you have and it will decrease any feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. Knowledge is easy to one who has understanding. This is one very important reason why children should be taught the knowledge of the Lord so that they might receive understanding so that their schooling in life will be a joy and not a constant hardship.

Proverbs 14:29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.

Do you ever struggle with anger issues? It is a symptom of a lack of understanding.

Proverbs 14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
But in the hearts of fools it is made known.

This verse about wisdom resting in the heart of one who has understanding is interesting. The person with wisdom and understanding will be at peace within their heart. The one who does not have wisdom and understanding will “feel” within their heart the pain and sorrow of their lack of wisdom. Their heart will be broken but it will be because of their poor choices. their poor choices are because they did not know what to do and acted according to their “own” understanding.

Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of understanding.

Finally, the fool who lacks understanding will bring about his own death. Before he dies physically, his soul will have already died. Often, if he is married, his marriage will die. How many people  get married but the love dies and it is only two people existing together? It is because of a lack of understanding. The fool brings destruction to himself and eventually death, because he chose to not seek God and receive understanding. He chose to go his own way.

Proverbs 19:8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;
He who keeps understanding will find good.

Understanding is interesting because you can lose it. If you turn from the Lord then you will wander from the way of understanding and soon even doubt whether there is a God and doubt if He loves you. These doubts come from neglecting your relationship with the Lord and/or backsliding from the what you were taught earlier in life.

Proverbs 21:16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

Return to the Lord and you will receive understanding live once again. Ask the Lord to pour out His Holy Spirit on your life if you have strayed from Him or to give you His Holy Spirit if you have not yet surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

He is the Spirit of understanding.

Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

When you have Jesus Christ then you have wisdom and understanding. You will also have counsel, strength, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. When you have Jesus Christ in your life then you will truly understand and know God for He alone is God and His Holy Spirit will live within your heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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