#Bible – Page 4 – Instructions To A Young Life

A Life that Believes

Believing in the Lord is what gives us life. If you want to live life to the fullest then you must believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

John 20:30,31 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus Christ performed many signs and miracles attesting to the fact that He was God. He died and rose again and more than five hundred people saw Him after He was raised from the dead.

I Corinthians 15:3-6a For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time,

God’s Word and the Gospel is the power of salvation for all who believe.

Romans 1:16,17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Someone who believes will come to the Lord in faith. It is coming to the Lord in faith is what saves a person. Intellectual belief is not enough. We must come to Him and put our trust in Him to forgive us of our sins. One of the aspects of faith is to come to the One whom you believe in.

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The Gospel is God’s good news for everyone. Salvation is a gift from God through Jesus Christ and is not a result of any amount of good works that we could do to earn it. It is a gift from God to all who will believe and put their trust in Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

All who come to Him will be received by Him and will receive forgiveness. He will not cast anyone out who comes to Him. There is no sin too great and His grace invites all to come.

Luke 7:47-50 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Have you come to Jesus for forgiveness? Coming to Him is the faith that He wants from us. For this reason prayer is an expression of faith. We come to Him in prayer and receive Him and what He has to offer then our response will be one of love for Him. When we realize how great a debt of sin He has forgiven us through His death on the cross then our love for Him will be great. We owe Him everything.

A Life with A Great Love

Love is the greatest of all gifts and without love a person will die. They first will die in their soul and then their body will die. We all need to be loved and we can not truly love others unless we ourselves are loved.

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13

It is love that gives our lives significance and worth. The greater the love, the greater the worth and significance a person feels.

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

The greater the cost of the love reveals the worth of the love.

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

Love must come from the one who loves for it to be unconditional love. Otherwise, it is a selfish love, that is a “I love you because…” of what you can do for me or what you can give to me. A selfish love is not really love because once the condition is gone then the love is no longer there.

…for God is love. I John 4:8b

The Lord is the only One who has perfect love. His love is unconditional. Unconditional love is not based on the object of the love but it flows from the one who loves. There is no other love as the love which God has for us. A new word had to be created when God came to earth through Jesus Christ. The love that God showed to the world is “agape” love. It is a love that was shown to mankind on the cross. It is a love that gave when the recipient did not deserve it. It is a love that can not be comprehended except through Jesus Christ.

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

The Father sent His only Begotten Son to die for us when we were helpless.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6

There was nothing that we could do to save ourselves. There was nothing that we could do to help ourselves from the judgment that each one of us deserves. There may be degrees of the expression of wrong that each of us does but each one of us has sinned against God in some way or form. The Lord made man upright but man, himself, has failed to live an upright life.

Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices. Ecclesiastes 7:29

Everyone has messed up. As hard as anyone can try, he can never live up to perfection. He will always fail.

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and who never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20

The Lord in His great love for us knows that man has failed and so He made a provision for man at His own expense. He paid for our failures with His own payment.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:10

Propitiation means that God satisfied the payment for our failures. It is a legal term meaning that He took care of the justice that was due to us. The judgment that was ours, He took on Himself and experienced the punishment that we deserved.

knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. I Peter 1:18,19

Jesus Christ paid for our sins through shedding His blood on the cross. He died for everyone. He died for each one of us so that each one of us could live forever. Death was never in God’s plan for mankind. Life was His plan and He made it possible through His death, through which He offers us the gift of life.

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

Jesus Christ offers this gift of life to everyone. Each of us messed up and earned death but because of the great love of God, He offers the gift of life to everyone.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Eternal life is a free gift. There is nothing we can do to deserve it. There is nothing we can do to pay for it. There is nothing we can do to earn it. However, we must receive it as a gift.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:12

The way that we receive this gift of eternal life is to pray and ask Him for it. We do this by calling on His name. When we confess the Lord Jesus Christ with our mouth and believe in our heart we will be saved.

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

The Lord Jesus says that not only will we be saved and given eternal life and but He promises an abundant life and a life where we will not be disappointed. These are amazing promises that are offered to everyone but only experienced by those who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He must become our Lord for Him to become our Savior. When He becomes our Lord then He takes away our sin as “He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. Then He becomes our Savior then He saves us from our sins, for as it is written, “you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins”.

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

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

See how great a love the Father has offered to us, that we should be His children and be called by His name. This is a love that can only be received. We can not fully understand it. However, when we receive this great love our lives are changed forever. We not only receive great worth and significance but we also receive the ability to trust Him. Once we trust Him with our life then we can trust Him with everything else. It is this love that gives us faith and hope. The faith to trust and the hope to believe in Him.

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

For it is God’s great love that gives meaning to all things. Without Him we can do nothing.

Love never fails; I Corinthians 13:8a

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13

A Life that Is Wise

Wisdom is applying God’s instructions and commands to your life and living accordingly. Wisdom is living out God’s Word and living by God’s ways in every area of your life. All of our life is connected in one way or another. What we did yesterday affects our life today. What we will do tomorrow will have an impact on us and will bring us life or death to our soul and our body.

Proverbs 9:12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

What goes into our mind influences our decisions just as what goes into our body affects the health of our body. If you want to be mentally and emotionally healthy then you must guard what goes into your mind and heart.

Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

You may not want to apply God’s Words to you life just as when we were younger we did not want to always eat vegetables but if we ate what was right then our body would function right. If you will live by God’s Words, whether you like them or not, then you will function right in your mind and your heart. You will be healthy mentally and emotionally. You will be very pleased with the outcome. You will not be disappointed.

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.

You will not always understand God’s ways and that is okay. You do not need to understand them to do them just as you may not understand how a computer works to use it. The more you keep God’s commandments then the more you will understand them. However, understanding comes after obedience to them.

Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.

Wisdom will bring life to your spirit, soul and body.

Proverbs 4:5-9 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.

If you do not forget her, forsake her nor turn away from the words of her mouth then wisdom will guard you from making wrong decisions. Love her and she will watch over you. Wisdom will help you marry the right person and teach you how to have a great marriage. Wisdom will prevent you from making stupid decisions on your job, in relationships and in every other area. The number of mistakes that you have made in life is an indication of how often you have needed wisdom. How many regrets do you have and how many missed opportunities? Again, wisdom will keep you from these things. Often people will say after great pain that they are a better person for it but if that is so then they would want other people to go through the pain so that they could learn also. You are not a better person for the mistakes that you made but you are a better person for the lesson that you learned. However, how much sweeter life would have been if you had known the right thing to do so that you would not have had to learn the hard way. Who wants to live a life of tears and mistakes? You are not stronger at the broken places but you are more vulnerable where you have fallen so you guard the broken places much more.

Proverbs 4:7-9 The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.

How much sweeter life is with wisdom. When you get wisdom and understanding them you will realize what a precious treasure that you have. You will prize her and embrace wisdom. Wisdom, in turn, will exalt you and honor you. She will place on your head a garland of grace and present you with a crown of beauty. Wisdom will give you that beauty that nothing else can compare to and you will radiate from the inside to the outside. All desirable things can not compare with wisdom.

Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

Proverbs 8:17-21 “I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.
“Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.
“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.
“I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

Do you love doing life? Are you excited about what each day holds for you? Are you excited about the future? The Lord wants you to live life to the fullest and you can only do this by wisdom. Just as in a sport, the athlete who gets better and better enjoys the sport proportionately. So it is with life, the more wisdom that you have then the more you will look forward to each day and enjoy life.

Proverbs 10:23 Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool,
And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.

A Life that Understands God’s Design for The Wife

God’s ways are perfect and they are good. The Lord gave us marriage as a gift and for our good. God’s design is for the husband to love and honor his wife and for the wife to respect and love her husband. A husband needs to be respected and a wife needs to be loved. If a husband loves his wife then his wife will want to respect her husband and in the same way, if a wife respects her husband then the husband will want to love and cherish his wife. Together they are a picture of God’s relationship with His people, which is a love relationship. When we live according to God’s ways then we will know significance and worth and feel secure and free. When we follow His ways by faith then we receive understanding. Often we want to understand first and then follow but we are to “trust and obey” the Lord and then we receive understanding. The husband is not to “lord over the wife” and the wife is not to “go her own way”. The Lord has made the husband and wife to be one. It is the most intimate of all relationships and when experienced according to God’s design it becomes the sweetest of all relationships and brings much comfort and joy to both the husband and wife. They each need the other. It is true that “it is not good for man to be alone”. This applies to both men and women. Even though sometimes the Lord gives the grace for someone to not marry, it is God’s design for most to marry. I hope that this post will bring you encouragement and instruction on how to have not only life in your marriage but an abundant life in your marriage. Jesus Christ came that we might not only have life but an abundant life. He loves us and gave His life for us that we might know love, peace and joy, which comes through Him. This post is God’s design for the wife in the marriage.

A wife is a gift to her husband. So much so that the Lord uses the word helper in Genesis 2, which can also be translated savior. It is the only time in Scripture that word is referred to a person. Every other time that word refers to God.

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

That is how important a wife is to her husband. When she is a godly wife then she is truly like the Proverbs 31 wife and she “does him good all the days of her life” and “the heart of her husband trusts in her and he has no lack of gain”. She does not bring her husband grief but she is so valuable to him that he not only desires her but he needs her.

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

The second word the Lord uses is that she is “suitable” to him. This word means in the Hebrew that she is to “correspond to him”. When the word correspond is broken down then it literally means “cor” and “respond”. She is to respond to his heart, since “cor” means heart. This is a beautiful picture of God’s people (the church) as we are to be like King David and be a people after God’s own heart.

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

There are truths in God’s Word concerning marriage that are often overlooked. One of these truths is that “moral excellence” is the root of true love. A wife longs to feel loved by her husband. If she feels loved then she will want to do anything to please him because that is how the Lord has made her. However, if a couple has compromised morally before their marriage then they have sown seeds of destruction that are manifested after their marriage. This truth is found in II Peter 1. The Lord tells us seven characteristics that we must have if we want Christian love in our relationships. The first is to supply moral excellence.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. II Peter 1:5-7

It is the female that allows a man to touch her in ways that are reserved for marriage. The Lord instructs the man not to “touch” a woman in Corinthians. The Lord says that it is not good for a man to touch a woman. The word “good” means the highest form of love. So, the way a man shows love to a woman is to wait until marriage to touch her. This is important because once there is touch in a relationship between a man and a woman then the relationship changes. She has given part of herself to the man. Not only has the relationship changed in that way but also the female begins to be deceived. She can no longer see clearly.

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. I Corinthians 7:1

There is another truth important in marriage relationships and this truth is to protect the female, especially when she can’t see clearly. This truth is in Corinthians that “the father gives the daughter away” to the man she is to marry. He transfers the authority and responsibility to the “husband to be” at the wedding ceremony. Since a woman is so easily deceived she is to never be out from under protection and authority. Her father is her protection from the Lord before marriage and her husband is her protection from the Lord after marriage. Sometimes when a wife does not feel loved by her husband then she needs to ask herself these two questions: “Did we morally compromise before marriage?” and “Did my father want me to marry him?” She may say to herself that her father did not say anything but that is usually because he knew that she would do it anyway. These truths are very important to understand because a female can never see through a man. She needs her father to see the man for who he is. A father will not want to give his daughter to a man that he does not approve of for his daughter. This truth is also very important to understand from a female point of view. If she violated these truths then she married this man out of disobedience and wanting to “go her own way” and then when she wants to leave him because she does not feel loved then the disobedience is continuing and now she wants to “go her own way” again. If she can get someone who has authority in the church to say that she can leave her husband then it seems that she has approval to leave her husband.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5

However, the Lord has given the responsibility to older women to teach the younger women to “love their husbands”. An older woman can see through the manipulative tactics of another woman whereas a pastor can not. The Lord has made men to protect women and often a woman can appeal to that aspect in a pastor so that he will tell her that if she is being abused then she should leave her husband.

But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband. I Corinthians 7:10

Even if a woman is in a marriage that is difficult then the Lord has given her clear instruction on what a wife should do. He says in I Corinthians 7:10 “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband”. This is very clear and straightforward. She is not to leave. When a wife leaves her husband then she is relieving him of the responsibility of marriage that comes with the authority that God has given to him. She is getting out from her God given authority. She is allowing herself to be influenced and deceived by the evil one. She has no protection from the lies that she hears in her heart and the lies that she hears from others. She has opened herself up to much greater pain and grief. It is very rare that a man will abuse a woman that he respects. She sowed the seeds of disrespect before they were married. However, the marriage is not hopeless, for with the Lord, there is always hope.

In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. I Peter 3:1-6

The answer is not for her to leave. Rather the answer is for her to apply I Peter 3: 1-6 This passage is very important to understand when the first four words are understood. “In the same way” is referring to being mistreated as Jesus was and to do what Jesus did, if we are His follower. Jesus was reviled and suffered greatly. However, He kept entrusting Himself to Him to judges righteously. The Lord will deal with a husband who mistreats his wife. It is important to understand that nearly every wife will “feel” mistreated at some time or other and some will feel “abused”. Whether she is suffering unjustly or justly the Lord will help her. Women can be very sensitive to things that a man is totally unaware of and she may feel unloved and unappreciated. Sometimes a man has to learn how to “love” his wife. If a woman responds to her husband in a God given way then he will learn how to live with her in an understanding manner. This is crucial for a husband to understand as each wife is uniquely made.

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way…I Peter 3:7a

The next truth in the I Peter 3:1-6 passage is that she is to submit to her own husband. She is not obligated to submit to any other man. A woman can only submit and respond to one man. The expression of her submissiveness to her husband is obedience, “being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord,”.

Jesus Christ is a wife’s LORD and her husband is her lord.

But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:24

Submission is obedience. Obedience is the expression of submissiveness. They are hand and glove. This is very important as a woman may be tempted to say to herself, “I am submitting to him but I don’t have to obey him”. The Lord has called her to not only submit but to obey her husband.

The Lord says that a woman is not to say that she made a mistake in marrying the man.

Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? Ecclesiastes 5:6

What are the works of her hands? It is her children. One of the reasons why the Lord says that He hates divorce is because of what it does to the children.

This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” Malachi 2:13-16

How many children have been hurt by divorce? How it must grieve the heart of the Lord. What is the answer for the wife if her husband mistreats her? She is to keep her marriage vow.

When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! Ecclesiastes 5:4,5

The marriage vow is made to God. It is not ended until death. Even it one of the married persons is unfaithful it does not nullify the marriage vow of the other. The Lord gives instruction on what a wife should do if she does leave her husband.

(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), I Corinthians 7:11a

Again, the Lord speaks to this issue in His Word.

But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. I Peter 2:20b

Many struggles in marriages come from not following God’s blueprint for marriage. However, He says that when His ways are not kept then grace abounds. Grace abounds to do the right thing. This grace is not a freedom to do what we want or “as a covering for evil”. This grace is the ability to live in obedience to God’s ways.

but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, Romans 5:20b

The Lord says in His Word that, “God meets the one who delights in doing righteousness”. Righteousness is doing it right, which is obeying His commandments and living God’s way. Another verse is “the work of righteousness is peace and the service of righteousness is quietness and confidence forever”. How wonderful it is when God’s people live according to God’s ways. There is peace in the home and grace truly reigns through righteousness, that is, living according to God’s blueprint.

so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21b

It is only by God’s grace that a husband and wife can learn to “consider one another more important than themselves”, which is the attitude that characterized Jesus Christ. The biggest enemy to love is selfishness and it is only in Christ that someone can learn to love in an unselfish manner. When this is done in the marriage then this couple experiences the greatest of all loves and they become a fragrant aroma of God’s love to all who know them.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:3-5

A Life with a Home Within

When we become a believer in Jesus Christ then the Lord comes to live within us through His Holy Spirit and He makes a home within us where He comes to dwell in us.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16,17

The Holy Spirit is not only a Helper who is always present in times of trouble but He is also a Comforter who comforts us in our sorrows and struggles.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:26,27

The Lord wants us to learn to abide, or in other words, live in Him, who is the home within us so that we might live continually in His love and comfort, and also in His strength and His instruction.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

The way that the Holy Spirit counsels us is through God’s Word. The Lord tells us to abide in His Word and let His Words abide in us. The word “abide” means to make your home in such a place, or in other words, make it your abode. So, as we make God’s Word dwell within us and we dwell within His Word then we will experience His comfort and love and know His instruction and protection. His Word is our refuge and home, a place of sweet contentment.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. John 15:7-9

When we learn to abide in Him and have His Words abide in us then He says that we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us. This promise shows how much the Lord wants us to learn to abide in Him and let His Words abide in us. The value of the promise shows the importance of the instruction. When we abide in His Word then His thoughts take the place of our thoughts and His ways take the place of our ways. Everything we do in life is a response to the thoughts within us. If those thoughts are negative and destructive then our actions will be negative and destructive. If the thoughts within us are good then our actions will be good, not only for us but for all who are around us.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8,9

The Lord’s thoughts are good and they will bring you great comfort. His ways are perfect and as we learn them and do them we will experience His great love.

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:9-11

God’s commandments are His ways. We learn His ways through His commandments which are in His Word. When His Word abides in us then it helps us keep His commandments. When we keep His commandments we experience His love and our joy is made full.

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I have taught you today, even you.
Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
To make you know the certainty of the words of truth
That you may correctly answer him who sent you? Proverbs 22:17-21

How do we abide in God’s Word and how do we have it abide in us. We do this by reading God’s Word and then by memorizing it and putting it in our heart. As we do this then God’s Word becomes more and more pleasant for us. We learn the certainty or the “truth” of the words of truth. Then one day when He calls us home and we meet the Lord Jesus face to face we will be able to correctly answer to the One who has loved us so much that He died for us that we might have an abundant life here on earth and eternal life in the life to come.

“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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Do you need comfort and love? Are you weary of turmoil within and a heaviness in your soul. Come to Jesus Christ. He will give you rest. Learn from Him for He is gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls. The Lord Jesus Christ does not turn away anyone who calls on Him. His arms are open wide. He went to the cross and died for all of us. He rose from the dead and lives again and will come again for those who have come to Him in this life.

A Life that Is Not Condemned

No one wants to be judged but the truth of the matter is that we will all be judged. However, not all will be condemned. There is no greater peace than to know for sure that you are going to heaven. Many religions offer “maybe the possibility of heaven” but they can not offer the assurance of not being condemned to hell. Also, their “possibility” will always fall short because they are all based on what you do to earn heaven. Jesus Christ offers assurance “without a doubt” of not being condemned. He alone can make this offer.

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ took the judgment and the punishment for the entire world. We were due the consequences of our sin but Jesus Christ took it for us. All of us are just as guilty as everyone else because we all have sinned.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The Bible says that not only have all sinned but we are all equally guilty.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Have you ever said a lie? Have you ever taken something that was not yours? Have you ever cheated? Have you ever lusted or been jealous or envious? If so, then you are guilty of all. However, the Lord offers you forgiveness if you will repent and turn to Him. Repenting means turning away from your sin and turning to the Lord. Jesus came to call us to repentance.

Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

There must be repentance for there to be forgiveness.

Luke 24:47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You will know when you have repented because you will feel clean on the inside and times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 3:19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

You will be a new person and will no longer want to do the things you did before. The Lord wants there to be evidence of your repentance. If you are still hanging out with the same people and doing the same things that you know are wrong then you have not repented.

Matthew 3:8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Not only are you a new person in Christ and your old life has passed away but you have been set free from the condemnation that once would have come to you.

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

Jesus took your condemnation on the cross when He shed His blood for you so that now you are forgiven and given a new life in Christ.

Hebrews 9:22b all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The final judgment will not come from the deeds you have done, whether it was good or bad, but the final judgment that will condemn people to hell is whether they trusted in Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins and to give them eternal life in Him.

John 3:17-19 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. 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.

God did not send His Son into the world to judge you but to save you from your sins. If you believe in Him then you will not be judged and you will not be condemned but if you do not come to Jesus Christ then it is because you want to continue in your sin because you love the darkness rather than the light. Come to Jesus so that your sins might be wiped away and forgiveness and eternal life will be given to you.

Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

The Lord is kind and it is His kindness that leads us to repentance. He is rich in kindness and He is patient not wanting anyone to perish. Come to Him. He is calling all of us into a relationship with Him.

II Peter 3:9 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.

A Life that Is Full of Wisdom

If you really want to live life to the fullest, and it is possible, then you desperately need wisdom. We all need God’s wisdom and wisdom is His instruction on how to live well. He came that you might have life and might have it abundantly but we sabotage our own lives by not knowing His ways and not living according to His wisdom. God’s wisdom is His ways.

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

Even though Jesus is the Son of God, He still needed to learn God’s ways and the wisdom from above. Jesus was full of wisdom but He had to be taught just as we need to be taught God’s ways.

Luke 2:40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, becoming full of wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Jesus learned the Word of God and lived according to it. This is what it means that God’s grace was upon Him. God’s grace enabled Him to grow strong and full of wisdom.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

The Lord will also give us His grace to live according to His ways. Just as Jesus increased in wisdom, we too, are to grow in wisdom.The Lord promises to give wisdom to anyone who will ask Him. He gives it without reproach, which means, He does not say “I told you so” rather, He is waiting for you to ask so that He can help you live life without needless pain.

James 1:5 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.

God’s Word is the source of wisdom.

Proverbs 4:5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

If you want to become full of wisdom then you must become full of God’s Word and be filled with His Spirit. As you seek to obey the Lord in what He says in His Word then He illumines your heart by His Spirit and fills you with His insight and wisdom.

Psalm 119:98,99 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.

You must love God’s Word, live by God’s Word, dwell in God’s Word, meditate on God’s Word and devour God’s Word. If you will do this then you will see the quality of your life greatly improve and not only will you be blessed but you will be a blessing to others.

Proverbs 3:13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.

Measure your life by God’s Word and see where you are in His wisdom. Are these the qualities that characterize your life?

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

Wisdom will illumine your face and you will be a light to the world.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.

God’s wisdom will give you insight and you will be like the stars that shine.

Daniel 12:3 Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Jesus was full of wisdom and He wants to fill you with His wisdom. He has made this offer of wisdom to all but it is only those who seek Him who will find and discover His wisdom. Much of the pain we go through in life is not knowing His wisdom. He has given us many gifts but if we do not have His wisdom then we never experience the joy of His blessings, rather sadly, we experience much sorrow because we don’t know His ways.

Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich,
And He adds no sorrow to it.

Let Him make you rich in good gifts rather you becoming poor with much sorrow because you don’t have His wisdom. Let Him make you rich with a loving spouse and loving children. Let Him make you rich with a clear conscience rather than poor with shame and compromise. Let Him make you rich in the things that really make life rich rather than you becoming poor with the cheap substitutes that are only counterfeits to the real gifts of life. The Lord is good and wants to give you good gifts that will bless you.

James 1:17 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.

Last of all, if and when you become a mother, one of the greatest gifts that you can give to your children is to teach them God’s ways so that they will be full of His wisdom beginning at an early age.

A Life with Kindness

We all long to be around kind people and we want others to show kindness to us.

What is desirable in a man is his kindness, Proverbs 11:22a

Kindness comes to those who are kind.

Will they not go astray who devise evil? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good. Proverbs 14:22

Kindness is not a characteristic that comes naturally. We are all basically selfish and self centered. Kindness is a character quality that must be learned and received. We learn kindness when we receive kindness.

With the kind You show Yourself kind; Psalm 18:25a

There is a cycle in our lives. When we are shown kindness then we learn to be kind. When we are kind then we receive kindness from others. However, if we are all basically self centered where do we begin to learn kindness.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4

The Lord is kind and when we experience the kindness of God then that is the beginning of our repentance. Repentance is turning from ourselves to God. Repentance is recognizing the selfishness in ourselves and turning to the Lord Jesus Christ to change us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Galatians 5:22

We can not change ourselves but the Lord changes us when we become born again by His Spirit. When we are born again, we receive His Spirit and become His child. We are born into His family and He becomes our Father. He is kind and the fruit of His Spirit within us is kindness. When He comes to live within us then He shows His kindness to us and enables us to be kind to others.

When we are kind to others then we will experience more and more the kindness of God. When we experience the kindness of God then we want to show kindness to others even more. It is a beautiful cycle that the Lord gives to us. Before we realize it our life is full on the inside and we will no longer feel empty as we did when our life was all about us and satisfying our desires and needs.

The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25

The outcome for the person who learns to be kind is that their life will be satisfied and full of meaning and the Lord will water their life. The hand that gives is always full but the hand that receives is always empty.

A Life that God Uses

There is great joy when you see the Lord using you to bring others closer to Him. The Lord gives us the incredible privilege of entering into His joy through service to Him. There will be some that will hear the precious words when they see Him, “Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” The Lord allows us to taste of that joy here on earth.

Matthew 25:21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

The Lord has chosen the weak things of the world and the foolish things to shame the wise and the strong. Don’t feel as though you must be someone “great” for the Lord to use you. He delights in using the weak because then His strength and His greatness is made known. So, if you feel like one of the “least in the kingdom” then you are in a great place.

I Corinthians 1:26-29 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,so that no man may boast before God.

The Lord wants us to boast in Him and not in ourselves. He is the One who accomplishes all things. We are merely His instrument and get to see His glory and share in His joy.

I Corinthians 1:30,31 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

However, if you want to serve Him and be used by Him then He wants you to be faithful to Him. Begin by learning to be faithful in the small things, such as, be faithful to spend time with the Lord every day in your quiet time with Him or devotions with Him. Spend time with Him, not just reading about Him, but communicating with Him. Spend time in His Word and allow His Spirit to speak to your heart. The Lord Jesus spent every day with the Father and first thing in the morning. He awoke every morning to listen as a disciple. The Jesus did what the Father instructed Him to do. He obeyed completely.

Isaiah 50:4,5 The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.

Praise Him for who He is. Sometimes it is easier to take God’s Word and use it to praise Him. Thank Him for everything and learn to thank Him through the day. Talk to Him about your cares and concerns, which is an aspect of prayer. Another aspect of prayer is praying for others. The Lord’s prayer is a great help in learning to pray.

Matthew 6:9-13 Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

Most people struggle with prayer and even the disciples struggled for it was the only thing they asked Jesus to teach them.

Luke 11:1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

Finally, know the Word of God for His Word is what He uses. He uses a heart that is surrendered to Him and that is filled with His Word. Many of the people that the Lord has used were not in vocational ministry. Don’t seek ministry seek Him. If the Lord leads you into ministry then follow Him but remember the Lord uses people not positions.

II Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Now, present yourself to the Lord. Allow Him to choose what He does with your life.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

He is the potter and you are the clay. He formed you and made you and knows perfectly where the best fit is for you. He is the Master and we are His servants. The Master chooses and sends and the servant obeys and goes.

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.

There is no limit to what the Lord can do with one whose heart is completely His and who has learned to be faithful in the small things. The Lord says that if you are faithful in the small things then you will be faithful in the big things. Be faithful, surrender your heart completely to Him, learn His Word and study it diligently and then trust Him. He does all things well.

II Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

A Life Filled with The Word

If you will fill your life with the Word of God then your life will overflow with great joy, peace and thanksgiving. You will see the Lord in everything for all of life is an expression of His Word and who He is. The whole world is full of His glory. Your eyes will be opened and you will see His glory. As His promises fill your life then you will see His love for you in a thousand different ways.

II Corinthians 1:20a For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes;

There are over 5,000 promises in God’s Word and it is impossible for God to lie. You can depend on His promises and they are your greatest treasure if you are one of His children. The Lord is unchangeable committed to His Word and His promises will never fail.

Hebrews 6:17,18 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

The Lord has given you the inheritance of His promises and He wants you to take refuge in Him so that you will have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Romans 4:21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

His Word is God’s language and when you speak His language then He hears you in a special way and will fulfill the promises that you pray back to Him.

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

His Word is truth. The more you learn to pray His Words the more assurance you will have that your prayers are being answered.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

Just as each one us delights in hearing our names spoken and our language spoken so also the Lord delights in the prayers of His people when they pray His Words.

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

Your life will be full of life when it is full of God’s Word.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God’s Word is what will cleanse your heart as our heart is deceitful but God’s Word is like a mirror that when we look into it then we see our heart as it really is. If God’s Word is in your heart then the mirror will continually be before your life so that you will not forget if you just heard the Word and did not put in your heart. If your life is filled with God’s Word and you do what it says then the Lord says that He will bless you in whatever you do. A really amazing promise to the one who will do exactly as He says.

James 1:23-25 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.

Is your life filled with God’s Word? Is His Word within your heart so that you can do exactly as He says and not forget it? How does a person know if God’s Word is in their heart? If it is in your heart then you will talk about it. You will not be able to contain it within your heart but when you open your mouth you will speak what is in your heart.

Luke 6:45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

You will not merely be a hearer of the Word but a doer and you will be blessed and you will be a blessing to many.