Do You Want to Love? Part 3

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.                  Philippians 1:9-11  ESV

Find a nice thick concordance and look up the word ‘emotion’. We all know what emotion is, we all experience emotion every day. But the Bible does not use the word. The experience of emotion is not new to mankind, and the Bible does not ignore it. The Bible speaks to emotion but uses other words for it. The Bible calls this experience ‘passion’ and ‘sensuality’.

‘Passion’ and ‘sensuality’ are not words that are always good, or always evil. Our passions and our body’s sensual perception are ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in relation to what we are passionate and sensual about. Passion refers to the strength of our desire for something. Often it refers to the strength of our visible desire for something. Sensuality refers to what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Sometimes our sensual passions are revealed in physical lust for something or someone.

Our emotions; our passion and sensuality, have a lot to do with how Americans define ‘love’. But this is NOT the heart of God’s definition of ‘love’. God’s love is primarily a choice, not a feeling.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”.      1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We can choose to be patient, and kind, and humble, and polite; even to people we don’t emotionally like very much. We can choose to act in a loving way even when we don’t ‘feel’ like it. We can choose to treat our enemies in a loving way; even though it is hard to like your enemy emotionally. In fact, trying to find warm friendship with your enemy may be playing on the wrong side of the edge of sanity.

There is no doubt that our passions and sensuality affect our expressions of patience, and kindness, and the rest of God’s definition of love. But do not think that the key to faithfulness toward God is based on how you feel. Christian love is based on what you know, and what you discern, and then on what you choose to do.

Look again at the Philippians passage at the top of the article. Our love is to abound more and more “with knowledge and all discernment”. Certainly ‘knowledge’ begins with remembering how God defines ‘love’. Certainly ‘discernment’ involves measuring yourself (and other people) in relation to how God defines ‘love’.

At some point in your Christian pilgrimage you simply must come to grips with remembering what God says about love. Then you can commit yourself day after day to choosing to love God and others. As you dare to try this, you will find that your love will abound, and over time it will abound more and more. The Christian life will take on God’s intended meaning. This is good for you, it is good for your spouse and family, and it is good for the people around you.

Or, you can be swept away with sensual passions toward infatuation, romance, friendships, physical intimacies and altruism. You can even think you are pleasing God while you do so, whether God agrees with you or not.

Do not let your love grow cold. Love on purpose. Thank God for the experiences of passion and sensuality, but don’t let anything cloud your intention to follow Jesus Christ in the way He leads. Passion and sensuality are real, but the love of God is more real; and more powerful. If you express your passions and sensuality in the love of God, then they are holy.

The book, ‘The Most Excellent Way’, can help.

Do You Want to Love? Part 2

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.                  Philippians 1:9-11  ESV

Is God, the Holy Spirit, leading Paul to pray for something that is not the will of God?

In the previous verse (Phil. 1:8) Paul called God as witness for how he yearned for the people with the affection of Jesus Christ, himself. The Apostle Paul was definitely asking God for something that God would do. Paul’s prayer is a request that God would definitely bring to pass; IF the recipients wanted to love.

It is my hope that God will give you the gift of faith regarding His words, so that you can follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this life of love; and not just wait for ‘eternal life’ to begin in the here-after.

In group prayer meetings it is common to hear prayers for someone’s healing, of for someone’s employment, or for someone to find faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. These are good prayers, and we should always be willing to ask God for these blessings.

But it is very rare to hear someone asking our Lord for the ability to love Him and others ‘more and more’. It could even be considered a mean-spirited insult to ask the Lord that the pastor, or another person, be blessed with the ability to be more loving. We presume that ‘love’ is inherent in our nature (actually, it is not). We assume that love is automatic. In our ignorance of the love of God we neglect the importance of God’s Great Commandment, to love Him will all of our being(Matt. 22:37, 38). We try to be disciples, yet ignore Jesus’ own priority of the New Commandment to ‘love one another’ (Jn 13:34, 35), even though loving one another is the primary mark of His disciples.

We live in a world that is filled with much lawlessness, and we see it increasing over the years. The increase of lawlessness alarms us, for we see prophecies of the last days coming to pass before our eyes. But it is easy to see the problems of ‘other people’ and miss the warning signs that are meant for us, personally.

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12).

Has the love of the American church grown cold? If American Christians do not even know what ‘love’ is; then their love is stone cold. Can our Lord’s prophetic condemnation of people in the last days be about us? You can decide to find out, and then make sure that it is not about you.

Please do not assume that the American cultural definition of ‘love’ is accurate in God’s eyes. Such an assumption on the part of the Christian church is direct evidence that love in the church has grown cold. God has told us about His most excellent way, and continuing apathy about His greatest priority is inexcusable. This is a terrible thing. It is faithlessness to what God considers most important.

Learn what God means when he uses the word ‘love’ (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Watch your desire to treat people in this truly loving way and measure your faithfulness to your Lord by the harmony you find between what you say you believe and what you actually do. Watch the way you think about people, and the things you say to people, and the things you do to other people; and measure your thoughts and words and actions against what God has said.

Measure your Christian maturity against the scale of your love ‘abounding, more and more’. Then you will feel no shame when someone prays that you will be more loving. You will understand it as a request for God’s greatest blessing upon you. In hungering and thirsting for this righteousness you are on your way to being satisfied (Matt. 5:6).

If you want direct evidence that love is growing cold in American churches, then you can see it for yourself. The next time you are in a prayer meeting, offer the request “that the people of the congregation become more loving”. It is certain that someone will write your request down. One or two may voice the request in prayer. Perhaps you will find that your request will find a tiny part in the enthusiasm of the congregation. Perhaps you will find that the congregation does not even know how to meaningfully pray for love. Perhaps you will find that the congregation is far more intense as they pray for health, and wealth, and personal convenience.

The book, “The Most Excellent Way”, can help you, your spouse, and your family and church. 

Do You Want to Love?

Part One

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.      Philippians 1:9-11

Do you want abounding love in your life? Do you want abounding love to spread through your family? Do you want so much love that your life cannot contain it? It is possible! It can become normal!

Prayers may not be guaranteed to come to pass. Often we pray for healing or for a change in the circumstances of our life. We know we need to pray in harmony with God’s will, or the answer from God will be ‘No’. If you have spent time in prayer, you know that even the ‘yes’ answer that we want may come as, ‘Yes, but not yet’.

Is there a way to pray that will always be answered, ‘Yes, right now, all you want’?

Yes there is! To love God and others in the way that He defines ‘love’ is always God’s immediate will. There is never a time that He says, ‘No’, or ‘Not yet’. After a person has been given faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the answer is always, ‘Yes, right now, all you want, until you stop wanting it.’

That is why the Scripture says, “that your love may abound more and more”. It is God’s will that you love. It is always God’s will that your love abound. It is always God’s will that your love abound more and more. What prayer can possibly be offered that is more in keeping with God’s will for you?

However, there is a question that you must answer first, otherwise you could be chasing after the wind.

What does ‘love’ mean to you?

God offers abounding love to you. But you need to know how he uses the word ‘love’, or you have no way of knowing what you are praying about.

Let’s be clear. God is not going to bless you with an abundance of what Americans consider to be ‘love’. God is not going to cause infatuation to abound more and more in your life. He is not going to bless you with more and more sexual intimacies, as if that brings about your purity and blamelessness on the day of Christ.

God is promising to fill your life with the qualities he speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. God IS love, and he will fill your life with His steadfast love. God is love, and He will make you more and more like Him so that your love may flow into the lives of your family and friends. He will do this every moment of every day. He will answer your prayers for love that abounds more and more. 

Christian Marriage: A Model for Surviving the Future

Yes, I am also unhappy with what the United States is doing in regard to defining marriage.

Yes, I am glad that many are working politically against the trend of redefinition.

Yet, Christians are still free to emphasize God’s purpose of marriage. Why wait until the concept of ‘marriage’ is further maimed within our culture? Perhaps we could equip our congregations with what is right in God’s eyes whether the culture ever agrees or not.

I wonder, should we ignore the need for our young people to know about God’s purpose of marriage? Perhaps you do not ‘feel’ a need to set the whole culture right. Can’t we try to equip the next generation with the truth of God?

So I am putting up a ‘model’; a ‘work in progress’, of what could be said as part of the wedding ceremony. I am looking to others to give improvements.

This post is only about constructing the words of a wedding ceremony that is faithful to the Words of God.

Begin-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Everyone,

We are gathered here, in the presence of God, as witnesses to what is about to take place. We are here to see and hear the commitment that {Groom} and {Bride} are making in this public setting.

{Groom} and {Bride} are entering into a covenant with God and each other, to live together as husband and wife, with the presence of God, Himself, as the primary blessing of their union.

While American marriage is little more than a social contract; Christian marriage is a Covenant first, and a contract second. The Covenant is major, and binding for their lifetimes. The contract is legally binding, but far less meaningful. Only wickedness or death will break the Covenant. They are about to commit themselves to God and one another for the rest of their lives. This is a holy moment.

{Prayer}  “Holy God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Judge of All Mankind, we come before you in humility and faith in your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to ask for your blessing upon {Groom} and {Bride}. They have faith in You, and give themselves entirely to you, knowing that you will lead them throughout their lives; through better times and worse, though richer or poorer, through sickness and health, ‘till death do they part, or the Lord Jesus Christ, returns.”

“We acknowledge our sins before you though we cannot fathom how terrible they are. We thank you for your gracious gift of forgiveness through Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. We hope to live eternal life in your presence, through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and through your Holy Spirit living in us.”

{Groom}, do you take {Bride} to be your Christian wife, to love her as Christ loved the church, to give yourself up for her, to encourage her growth in Christlikeness, to lead your family in the holy spiritual priorities of:  personal repentance, personal humility, confession of your own sin, willingness to forgive, Christian love, and continuous meaningful discipleship under the leadership of God’s Holy Word and Holy Spirit?

{Groom} “I agree, and I will do it!”

{Bride}, do you take {Groom} to be your Christian husband, to submit to him as to the Lord, as the church itself submits to Christ, to encourage his growth in Christlikeness, to lead in the holy spiritual priorities of:  personal repentance, personal humility, confession of your own sin, willingness to forgive, Christian love, and continuous meaningful discipleship under the leadership of God’s Holy Word and the Holy Spirit?

{Bride} “I agree, and I will do it!”

{Groom}, if you are committed to this action, then repeat after me; “{Bride}, with this ring, I pledge my life and love, and enter this marriage covenant with God and you, in the name of the Father, and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

{Bride}, if you are committed to this action, then repeat after me; “{Groom}, with this ring, I pledge my life and love, and enter this marriage covenant with God and you, in the name of the Father, and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Since {Groom} and {Bride} have freely entered into a marriage covenant before all of you, you are asked to pray for them and encourage them to remain faithful to their commitments to God and each other.

{Prayer} “Sovereign Lord, you have entered into covenant with your children, {Groom, first name} and {Bride, first name}, we ask in Jesus’ name that you seal this covenant, and bless them abundantly, that your love* may abound in them more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to your own Glory and Praise. Amen”

According to our Lord’s own word; “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Amen, and Amen.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you {Husband and Wife, named as they desire}.

{To husband}, You may modestly kiss the bride.

End-----------------------------------------------------------------

Again, this is only a first ‘model’, I welcome your suggestions.

It is all worthy of thought.

*Philippians 1:9-11

Is it Important to Understand the Great Commandment?

There is nothing more important for everyone than making peace with God through the saving grace that comes though Jesus Christ.

But becoming born-again is only the first moment of a new life of peace and fellowship with your Creator. What is most important after you are born again?

The Bible says that all the Law and the Prophets depend on God’s command to love Him and our neighbor. Matthew 22:36-40 ESV

Indeed, we are to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind.

If we allow the inadequate American cultural concept of ‘love’ to become personal truth, then we find ourselves pursuing infatuation, romance, physical intimacy, preference, altruism and/or warm friendship with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind.

Do all the Law and the Prophets depend upon the American cultural definition of love?

What kind of pollution is that?

God is Love?

It says twice in the Bible that God is love*.

1 John (4:8, 4:16, ESV)

But if Americans believe that love is a variable mixture of infatuation, romance, physical intimacy, preference, altruism and/or warm friendship, then do they know who this ‘God of love’ is in any meaningful way?

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a (ESV) that: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

So if ‘God is love’, does God’s own definition of love give us insight? Yes it does! For we can see in the words and thoughts and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ that he loved us and that he also loved his enemies.

If we know what God means when He says that He is love, and we know how he defines the word, do we know who God is in any meaningful way? Yes we do!

If we know what God means when He says that He is love, and we know how he defines the word, are we better able to discern His Holy Spirit within us? Yes we are!

If we know what God means when He says that He is love, can we discern whether our words and thoughts and actions are godly? Yes we can!

But if we do not know, and remember, and practice the love of God on purpose, then we risk worshiping a god of infatuation, romance, physical intimacy, preference, altruism and/or warm friendship by default. This is not who God is. Isn’t such a god a false god? Isn’t living as if American love is the great commandment a way of worshiping falsely?

I wonder how many American Christians like worshiping their own experiences of infatuation, romance, physical intimacy, preference, altruism and/or warm friendships?

What do you think?

*agape, not phileo

What is Love?

The American culture believes that love* is a variable mix of infatuation, romance, physical intimacy, preference, altruism, and/or warm friendship.

Everyone may experience American cultural love, but the American understanding of love is totally misleading for the Christian when they think God means American ‘love’, when actually God means something entirely different.

For example: God says, “Love your enemies.” Matthew 5:44 ESV

It is absurd to think that God wants you to be infatuated with your enemy. Nor does he expect us to be romantic and physically intimate with our enemy. How can we think God wants us to prefer our enemy?

The American culture will not change their usage of ‘love’, but the Christian can change and understand what God says and then understand what God expects and what He will bless.

God gives us a definition of love that is quite different than what our culture believes.

The Bible says, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.           1 Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV

It is possible to sincerely love our enemy, as God directs, once we understand what God means. All of our words and thoughts and actions toward our enemy can be loving when we are willing to love them the way God loves them.

Think about it, the implications are vast.

*When I use the word love on this blog I mean the definition of the Greek word ‘agape’. When I want to use the meaning of ‘phileo’, I will make it plain.