The last couple of weeks, my pastor, who also happens to be my uncle, has been preaching on love that lasts a lifetime. One of the things that has really stuck out to me is that love is not a noun; it's a verb. This is really a hard concept to grasp. When I think of love, I know that I many times view it as this thing, a feeling; something that I either have or don't. It has really been eye opening to think of love as a verb. During a small group session, several of us were discussing what it means for love to be a verb. We did not come up with a good explanation. Over the past week, however, I believe that God has revealed to me what love as a verb is. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-6, Paul tells us that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the Truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." I think that before this week, I thought that if I loved someone, it would be followed by these actions. God has shown me that doing these things is loving someone. I have worried some about my future marriage. Will I be able to really love my husband? Well, that depends on if I decide to or not. If I decide to, I can be patient with him. I can be kind to him, I can be humble. I can be slow to anger. I can be respectful. With God's help, I can do all of these things. By doing them, I will be loving my husband, regardless of how I feel.
This same principle goes with loving God. In John 14:21 Jesus tells us that, "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jesus says that by following His commands, we are loving Him. It doesn't matter how many times I say I love God, if I am not following His commands, I am using love as a noun. What a relief. Even if I do not have a fluttery feeling when I think about Jesus, I love Him by following His commands.
The great thing about love being a verb is that if you do the actions, the feeling will follow. In terms of a marriage, if I constantly an looking to love my husband the 1 Corinthians way, it can change the way he loves me and can give me a love that lasts a lifetime. Not just an "i love him" type of love, but a passionate, can't wait to see him every day, just want to be with him, kind of love that everyone wishes for in a marriage.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
I am the Church.....
At the age of 3, I asked Jesus to come into my heart. What a relief to know that I always had a best friend in Jesus! He forgave me of my sins and His death once paid the penalty even for the sins I have not yet committed! As I've grown, I've also grown in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, but I still have so much to learn! The God of the universe knows me, and wants me to know Him! He doesn't want me to know about Him like I might know about a professional athlete or a movie star. He wants me to know Him like I know my family, and like I will know my future husband! He wants me to know His thoughts. He wants me to know His heart. He wants me to know the intimate depths of His beauty and Majesty! Oh, to know my Savior more! That is what I long for!
I have come to realize that although I asked Jesus to come into my heart, I still do not understand the depth of what that means. In the Old Testament times, God dwelled among the people in the temple, more specifically in the Ark of the Covenant. In Exodus, God's presence was on the Earth as a pillar of fire and pillar of clouds. The Israelites, God's people, where slaves in the land of Egypt. After 400 years of slavery, they cried out to God, and He sent Moses to deliver them. God led the group, made up of over 600,000 fighting age men (Numbers 1:46), with a pillar of clouds in the day, and a pillar of fire by night. "He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people" (Exodus 13:22). What power! Once the Israelites were safely out of Egypt, God met Moses on a Mountain. "Now mt. Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently" (Exodus 19:18). When God's presence is somewhere, there is great power! God wanted a place to live among His people, so He instructed the Israelites to build the Ark of the Covenant. When God put His presence in this place no one could touch it. God instructed the Israelites to use poles to carry it, and when one man touched it, he died (2 Samuel 6:6&7). There was so much power, his body could not take it. After Moses would spend time with God, His face would literally glow! (Exodus 34:29-30)
When Jesus came down and lived as a perfect sinless man, and died in my place, He made a way for His presence to live in me! When I asked Jesus to come into my heart at the age of 3, God's presence took up residence in me! "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). My mom recently asked her youth group what the Church is, and they said it's the House of God. I am the House of God. I am the Church! It's not about where I go on Sunday mornings. It's not about how I act while I'm there. It's not about putting in my time. God is living in me ALL the time. Do I reflect that? It changes my view of things. What do I put the House of God through? He's inside me. Does He also live through me? He knows my heart. But is my heart fully His, or do I still cling to selfish ambition and impure motives. "Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). I am the House of God. God, with all His Power, lives in me! So, what is my Church like? What about yours?
I have come to realize that although I asked Jesus to come into my heart, I still do not understand the depth of what that means. In the Old Testament times, God dwelled among the people in the temple, more specifically in the Ark of the Covenant. In Exodus, God's presence was on the Earth as a pillar of fire and pillar of clouds. The Israelites, God's people, where slaves in the land of Egypt. After 400 years of slavery, they cried out to God, and He sent Moses to deliver them. God led the group, made up of over 600,000 fighting age men (Numbers 1:46), with a pillar of clouds in the day, and a pillar of fire by night. "He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people" (Exodus 13:22). What power! Once the Israelites were safely out of Egypt, God met Moses on a Mountain. "Now mt. Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently" (Exodus 19:18). When God's presence is somewhere, there is great power! God wanted a place to live among His people, so He instructed the Israelites to build the Ark of the Covenant. When God put His presence in this place no one could touch it. God instructed the Israelites to use poles to carry it, and when one man touched it, he died (2 Samuel 6:6&7). There was so much power, his body could not take it. After Moses would spend time with God, His face would literally glow! (Exodus 34:29-30)
When Jesus came down and lived as a perfect sinless man, and died in my place, He made a way for His presence to live in me! When I asked Jesus to come into my heart at the age of 3, God's presence took up residence in me! "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). My mom recently asked her youth group what the Church is, and they said it's the House of God. I am the House of God. I am the Church! It's not about where I go on Sunday mornings. It's not about how I act while I'm there. It's not about putting in my time. God is living in me ALL the time. Do I reflect that? It changes my view of things. What do I put the House of God through? He's inside me. Does He also live through me? He knows my heart. But is my heart fully His, or do I still cling to selfish ambition and impure motives. "Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). I am the House of God. God, with all His Power, lives in me! So, what is my Church like? What about yours?
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