God’s Love Energizes Believing

Something got me going on this topic again. I don’t know what it is, but I feel that this is perhaps the most important topic a Christian can study. If a Christian learns to walk in God’s love, his life is changed. God’s love gives wings to life. His love sets a man free.

Recently I saw a verse in Galatians that got me thinking.

Galatians 5: ⁶For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

The word faith here comes from the Greek word pistis- which means believing in this context.

The word worketh is the Greek word  energeō  which means- to put forth power, be at work, to be operative. Our English word energize or energized comes from this word energeō.  ENERGIZED I like this word.

Love is the Greek word agapē- which is God’s Love.

Let’s put this in simple terms, believing is energized by God’s Love. If our believing is energized by God’s love, then isn’t this the most important topic a Christian could focus on? All of life is based on believing. We are either believing positively or negatively in our daily life. When you walk in God’s love your believing is energized and brings about positive result.

1 Corinthians13: ¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. ²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. ³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.  ⁴Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  ⁵Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; ⁶Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; ⁷Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ⁸Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. ⁹For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. ¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹²For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. ¹³And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The word charity in this chapter is the word agapē.

Agapē-

can only be manifested by a person who has received the gift of holy spirit from God. This chapter deals with works that born again believers can do.  With out God’s love all those works are nothing. Spending time in God’s Word and learning HOW to walk in His love is the most important thing a person can do in life.  

Recently I read something that peaked my interest in learning more about this topic. The writer mentioned that an atheist could partake in the divine love. In truth an atheist can receive the divine love via God’s Word, but an atheist could never manifest God’s love. An atheist does not have the spirit God gives to the person who believes Romans 10:9&10. An atheist is strictly a body, soul person who cannot know God. Though God’s divine love is available to the atheist via His Word a true atheist rejects what God says in his Word. Therefore an atheist could never manifest God’s love. Only a Christian believer can manifest God’s love.

Ephesians3: ¹⁶That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
¹⁷That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
 ¹⁸May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
 ¹⁹And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
 ²⁰Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
 ²¹Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

 In God’s love (agapē

) you can comprehend the breadth, length, depth and height and be filled with all the Fulness of God. It’s in walking in love that the greatness of God’s Word will truly come to light for you. That love passes knowledge. Remember, knowledge puffeth up. Without the love that God makes available that  person is a sounding  brass or a tinkling cymbal.

Look at how much God loved us. He allowed his only begotten son to be put to death so that we could be saved. Could you give up your son or daughter so that the world could be saved?  God is the biggest giver I know. He is the largest supplier of love in the world.

John 3: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So we know how much God loved us. We can see by the Word what Love is not, and we can see by the Word what it is, and what it does it does for us.

Here is a list of the things that the love of God is not.
1.   A sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal
2.   Nothing
3.   It envieth not
4.   Vaunteth not itself
5.   Is not puffed up
6.   Does not behave itself unseemly
7.   Is not easily provoked
8.   Thinketh no evil
9.   Rejoiceth not in iniquity.

God’s Love:
1.   Suffereth Long
2.   Is Kind
3.   Rejoiceth in truth.
4.   Beareth all things
5.   Believeth all things
6.   Hopeth all things
7.   Endureth all things
8.   Never Fails

Since this post could exceed over 10,000 words or more with the depth of this topic. I’m going to write in sections. This article is designed to get you thinking about God’s love and working God’s Word and researching  it yourself.  In my next article I’ll be writing about how to walk in God’s Love.

Let Go, 2012 Is not the End

The world is getting all hyped up on the prophecy that the end of the world is coming in 2012. I’ve been asked by several people if I think that this will happen. The only way I can think of to answer, is to go to the Word of God and let it speak.

In the book of Acts before Jesus Christ ascended the disciples were pressing him to know when the kingdom would be returned to Israel. He made an interesting statement.  Here’s what he said:

 Acts 1:⁶When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  ⁷And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

 Jesus Christ told his disciples that it is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Lord has in his power. Note it says that the times and the seasons are in God’s power. This of course is not talking of the end of the world as we know it. However Jesus Christ told his faithful follower that it is not for them to know the times or the seasons which the Lord has in his power.

There is even more information in 1 Thessalonians 5 ¹But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  ²For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ³For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  ⁴But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. ⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  ⁷For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.  ⁸But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

See if the day of the Lord is going to come as a thief in the night then the unbelievers of the world are not going to know about it before hand. Here’s my take on the end of the world predictions. If someone tells you that the end is going to come on a certain date in a certain year at a certain time, you are guaranteed that it will not happen then. No one knows the day time or hour that the Lord has put in His power.

The key is to get born again of the spirit of  God (Romans 10:9-10) and put on believing and love. We are not to be asleep spiritually but sober and vigilant in seeking God.  Those who are living God’s Word will be ready when the day of the Lord comes. Folks we are not appointed to wrath, but to salvation by one Jesus Christ. So live love and enjoy doing it. God’s abundant blessing are coming your way as you believe His Word.

We don’t live in fear of the future but we look forward to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now that’s a great way to live and think.

The Benefits of the Worst Days of My Life

The Beginning

The day began like any other day but concluded like no other. I remember punching the time clock and leaving my job. It was a crystal clear day as I opened the door and spotted our silver and blue GMC Safari conversion van. As I walked up to the door to greet my wonderful wife, she blurted out the worst words I have ever heard. “Your father collapsed at work today and is in the hospital in a coma.”  I wanted to believe he was going to be ok, I prayed and did every thing I knew to do in order to help facillate this.  My heart and believing were to no avail.

My dad was a great guy though I can’t say that I always agreed with him on certain topics.  He stood tall for me, and I still miss him. He had a dry sense of humor similar to mine. When he was nervous he would oftentimes get out his comb and comb his hair in a certain way to help relieve the stress of a situation he was confronting. All in all he was a gentle and kind man that the whole community loved.  The fact that the line of well wishers to get into the funeral parlor stretched out the door and down the street  is witness to the fact that he was a well respected man in his hometown.

So when my wife arrived at my job that August day, the beginning of the worst days of my life began. After finding out, I immediately booked a flight up to New York to visit my now in a coma state father. I have a few  visuals of my father that I still see in my head . One of them is from this trip which I tend to want to forget. Suffice it to say that going to the hospital is never a good scene when your loved one is in a coma. Another visual I have of him is him combing his hair while trying to confront me on something I still firmly believe in. The third picture  of him is one from a fishing trip where we had a great time just he and I sharing with one another and enjoying some father son time.

The Second Worst Day

After the visit in the hospital, I had to return home to wait and see exactly what was going to happen with him.  Eventually doctors determined that he was brain dead and would never recover. My heart sank that day as we got the horrible news from the neurosurgeon.  I especially hurt for my mom who had a terrible decision  to make. So my dad passed away in September the month of his birthday. He was sixty nine years old and it was time for me to return to New York to attend his funeral.  Now that I’ve totally brought myself to tears again while writing this, it’s time for me to move to the benefits of the worst days of my life.

Sharing the Benefits

You ask how in the world could there be any benefits from someone so close to you dying? So here we go!! I firmly believe that the Word of God has all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Many people question what happens in death, but I don’t! I developed a standard that I want to go by and I’ve utilized it to gain a knowledge of what actually happens when a person dies, or as the bible calls it fall asleep. Though those were the worst days of my life I had comfort because I know I’ll  see my father again at the return of Jesus Christ because he believed Romans 10:9&10.  I was able to share this with my mom and those attending the funeral and bring them comfort. Now I know that not everyone is a Christian and that’s ok. You can always become one. I also realize that not everyone is going to agree with me. Even Christians at times will dispute what I’m about to write and the atheists probably quit reading when the word God was first mentioned.

Here’s the Skinny on the Benefits when a Loved one Dies

The truth is when a loved one dies, they go to the grave to await the return of Jesus Christ. There is no consciousness in the grave, the book of Ecclesiastes makes that clear as a cloudless day.

Ecclesiastes 9:⁵For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
¹⁰Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

So there you go, the dead know not anything, this means that they can’t be looking down on you which should be a benefit, if their looking down on you when you’re victorious in sports they are also looking down on you when you do something wrong or when you’re making love. Would you want dead grandma looking down on you while you are making love? This also shuts down the psychic theory that your dead Grandma  could come and visit you. If there is no consciousness in death and they (the dead) know not anything how could they find their way to visit you?  Remember there is a counterfeit spirit realm out there that wants to snowball you into believing lies. In truth a psychic can only know something about you that has been brought to them by the counterfeit spirit realm. Which is why it can seem so genuine because they can know things about you that no one else knows.

Most Christians believe that when you die you go straight to heaven to be with God,  but this can’t be true. If there is no consciousness in the grave how would they know that they were with him.  There are some verses that make the implication that there is immediate life after death but the truth is those verses must fit in with what the Word says in Ecclesiastes. If you are immediately in heaven upon expiring then why would God bother to have the return of  Jesus Christ to get your body from the grave?

 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 
¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The truth the benefit  and comfort that you can have when someone dies is the knowledge that you will see them again at the return of Jesus Christ. It’s like my dad went on a long vacation but the benefit is I know that I will see him again at the return of Jesus Christ. Right now he is in the grave in a state of unconsciousness, but his next waking moment is the return of Jesus Christ. For him the moment of his death is the return of Jesus Christ, Because there is no consciousness in the grave. It’s like going to sleep at night your next waking moment is the morning. Folks because of this knowledge I no longer fear death. I hurt terribly when someone dies but I know  that I will see them again. 

Conclusion

 

Though these were the worst days of my life I was able to share some of this information  with  people attending the funeral and bring comfort to their hearts. Let’s face it the  death is a sting, but thanks be to God which gives us the victory through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’m believing that the truth here brings comfort to your heart.  The knowledge that you will see your loved one again is worth its weight in gold. If  it this brings you comfort to you, then you to will benefit as I benefited from the worst days of my life.