Who do we love most?

I love Toby Mac’s, Made To Love song!! Love it! Love it! It talks about how we are made to love Him, we were made for Him and made to adore Him and to be loved by Him.

Have you ever really just internalized those lyrics? I was made FOR THE LORD. I was made to love and adore Him!!!! I was made to be loved by Him! Wahoo! If that doesn’t make you excited!?

So, do we live by those words? I can’t say that I do all of the time. Sometimes I forget that I was made for Him and not for myself. Sometimes I catch myself coming to Him with a list of requests before my list of praises and adoration. Sometimes I even forget that I was made to be loved by Him!

Often times I sneak up onto the throne of my life where my Lord should be. I forget why I was made. Self can be so big in our lives that it obscures our view of the one true master. “Have self confidence.” “Take care of your self, you deserve it.” “Listen to your heart.” “You’ve got to take care of number one.” “Treat yourself.” Self help books, etc… The world trumpets self, but self absorption is the last thing we need. The only thing we should be absorbed in is the Lord. He’s the only one who can satisfy our needs and desires. He never leaves us lacking.

When we’re on the throne of our lives, we always want more. We live for the next temporary high, the next sensation. We’re never satisfied. Never complete. Never content. We weren’t made to entertain ourselves or to make ourselves feel good. We were made to worship. Made to love and serve. Selfishness can wreck our lives and the lives of those in contact with us. Sometimes its destruction is subtle and sometimes it’s loud. Without the Holy Spirit’s self- control in our lives, we’re serious prey to Satan, and our lives leave a trail of despair and destruction.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:16

The Lord, who made us so that He could love us, draws us into relation with Him. His instructions equip us in battle, even battles against ourselves/flesh. When we feel our inner man trying to take the throne, the Lord tells us to turn from self and instead love our brothers and sisters, and to seek after goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness and kindness.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
2 Peter 1:5-7

I really believe we’re fooled when we think that we can make ourselves happy. We can’t. We weren’t made for ourselves, so we can’t fulfill or satisfy ourselves. The devil would like to make us think that we could.

“Lord, I pray that we find delight only in you. I pray that we feel your God made void in our lives and that when we try to fill it with anything other than you that we feel empty and left wanting. I pray for a longing and yearning for you, one that cries out louder than our selfish longings and yearnings. I pray that we would give up anything for you, including our tendencies to try to rule from your throne. Lord, we were made to love you and be loved by you!”

Written by Stephanie

Forgiveness

“as far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalms 103:12

Praise God that He does not treat us the way in which we deserve or the way in which we treat other people who have wronged us. Instead, He shows us compassion, grace and His abundant love. He treats us in a way that is the example of how we should treat others who have wronged us.

Jesus taught that when we are sinned against, forgiveness is limitless. He paid the ultimate price for our forgiveness by giving His life so we have no grounds for withholding forgiveness from someone else. He says that we must forgive those who sin against us if we want God to forgive us. That is powerful.

Forgiveness can be a difficult thing when we hold on to past hurts too tightly. We become obsessed with the feelings of rejection and deception, and they begin to eat away at our soul causing bitterness. It leads us to a place without joy, and the Holy Spirit is grieved.

Once we realize the importance of forgiveness and its significance in our fellowship with God, we are able to break free from those chains of bondage and experience a more abundant life in Christ.

“Father God, I ask that today you teach me the importance of forgiving as You forgive. I pray that I not hold on to the things that others have used to hurt me so as not to grieve You or shadow the sacrifice Your Son paid for my forgiveness. I thank you for the limitless forgiveness that you offer me daily and for loving me enough to wipe it away and not bring it to mind again. Thank for your abundance of love, grace and mercy. Amen”

Written by Nicole

Rebuke

“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.”
Ecclesiastes 7:5

Have you ever been rebuked? Have you ever rebuked? The Lord placed rebuke on my heart the other day. I wanted to know what true biblical rebuke meant, what its biblical purpose was, and how it was to be used. I also wanted to know what biblical rebuke isn’t. Here’s what I found.

What- The Greek word for rebuke, elegcho means to find fault and correct. A rebuke is a means that God gives us to overcome sin. It helps us draw out sin and draw nearer to God. It’s purposeful, but most times it’s hard to receive and hard to give.

Who: In the bible, it’s usually Christ and elders in the church who do the rebuking. Rebuke should also come from someone who has godly wisdom and a mature walk (filled with the Spirit). If someone is new in their walk, he or she should seek counsel before “administering” rebuke on someone else.

Why: We must be confronted with our sins if we are ever to be delivered from them. Even knowing and acknowledging the importance of rebuke and the delivery it eventually affords us, we reject it. We’re prone to rejecting it because we often times love our sin more than our Lord and the things he instructs us to do.

“For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”
Romans 7:15

“Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.” Love conceals sin, and an open rebuke exposes it, cleans it, and heals it through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Because rebuke brings us closer to the Lord, we’re wise to accept it and to accept it with joy.

How: When giving a rebuke, it should always be done gently and with unconditional love.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”
Ephesians 4:15

Godly rebuke gears more towards exposing the sin and “speaking the truth in love” to the person being corrected. It involves seeking the truth behind the sin to discover the condition of the heart. It requires using God’s word (1 Timothy 3:16-17) so that the Holy Spirit Himself can convict that person and bring to light the sin that is being exposed. There is punishment or discipline involved with the idea of training or education the offender and helping to lead them down the path of repentance and restoration.

Rebuke should be given at the right time with the right words (Prov 15:28) You should be specific regarding the sin and offer a biblical solution(s). A rebuke should never be given with a sinful attitude. As tough as it may be to receive a rebuke, and as natural as it may be to react in pride, we should accept a rebuke with gratefulness. We are called to confess, repent, not justify and not lash out in anger. We have to remember that we’re responsible with how we respond to a rebuke.

Where: It should always be done privately, never in front of others.

When: When the person rebuking and the rebuked have each other’s undivided attention.

Lord, I pray that I learn the power and purpose of biblical rebuke and that when in my giving and getting of it that I honor you. I pray that I never issue rebuke with selfish sinful motives and that in my receiving of rebuke that I be able to decipher between true biblical rebuke and unbiblical rebuke. I pray that the rebuke I receive and that I give result in closer relationships with you, and that the labor of them birth good fruit.

Written by Stephanie

Sin

What is sin? According to the original translations of the bible, it means, “to miss the mark”. This means we miss the standard that was set by Jesus and the perfection that is God. We are all sinful and are easily tempted because of our sinful nature. Christians are ruthless for trying to compare sins. We tend to think that murder and adultery are major sins and those of lying, gossiping, cursing, idolatry and envy are of less value. None of us is good and does good all the time. We all are sinners and have fallen into some sort of temptation and sin.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23

Temptation comes from our own sinful desires and draws us away from God. It does not come from God because He cannot be tempted by evil and He does not tempt anyone. (James 1:13) Jesus too was tempted and is able to sympathize with our struggles and weaknesses. He was tempted in many ways and was able to overcome them all. God is faithful and will not let us be tempted more then we can bear and He will always provide us a way out. We decide whether we will walk away or fall deeper into sin.

Until there is repentance and the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us, we are covered in sin. We try to put a price on sin saying that one is worse than the other but to God, they all cost Him the sacrifice of His Son. Because of this, we cannot compare ourselves to others and we must resist the temptation to act as if we are righteous.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:8-10

In our own strength, we cannot escape our own mistakes nor be righteous. We have to recognize our weaknesses so that we will be able to rely on the sacrifice that Jesus was for each of us. It is then, in His strength that we can walk away from sin. Our sin can only distance us from God and so He wants us to recognize the sin and repent of it so that our relationship with Him can be restored.

Written by Nicole

Possessions

It is human nature never to be satisfied with what we have and to desire more. We are human, and human nature says to focus on ourselves and to make sure we are happy and have everything “WE NEED.” Can we really find true happiness in material possessions? Can that new car or new house really make us happy? In fact, it can, but only for a moment. Then we are off looking for the next new thing to bring us real pleasure.

I think we can all name at least one person that has had everything his or her heart could ever desire and still he or she has yet to find true satisfaction in any of it. We spend money on material things and find ourselves getting lost in the need for more. For some it may be a want for fame, entertainment, the right clothes, the bigger home, the newer car, the right membership. Maybe it is even more knowledge, higher income, more friends, better titles, finer foods or the right look. However, the temporary disguised satisfactions only fade and leave us dissatisfied. They even can become our gods in that the desires for them reign over us. In the end, even though subtly, they destroy our marriages, witnesses, relationships, finances and ultimately our lives. Our insatiable materialist desires and unhealthy worship of them have their source in the one who purposely comes to steal, kill and destroy.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
John 10:10

There is only one light in the world that will permeate our hearts with the satisfaction we so long for in this world. His name is Jesus Christ and His desire is to have a personal relationship with each of us.

“…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

He wants to saturate that empty void in our hearts. Our efforts to buy things, meet new people, try new jobs, explore new activities will always be in vain and will still leave us feeling empty. The longer we search the more obsessed we become with stuff and it becomes harder to recognize our need for a Savior.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”
Titus 2:11-12

Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for us when He died on the cross so that if we choose to believe in Him will one day spend eternity in Heaven and be complete. His blood covered the sins of everyone in this world and He so desires to fill that place in our hearts. His desire is to have a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us and in that, we will find fullness of life and be truly blessed.

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”
John 10:10

Once we have given our lives to Christ and have been filled with the Holy Spirit we recognize that He is the only one thing that will ever satisfy our souls. The hunger we mistakenly feed with material possessions will finally be quenched, and we will then know the abundant life He has promised for us.

Written by Nicole

Strongholds

Spiritual warfare is a real thing and it involves all believers.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:12

Satan will attack from every direction and he knows our very strongholds. Strongholds are what hold us in bondage because we begin to think a certain way based on a distorted idea of our circumstances. We remain imprisoned by these things as long as we believe the lies presented to us. Satan is always trying to attack our minds with doubts and fears, discontent and irritation. He develops a well laid out scheme that takes time to cultivate. His attacks are persistent and he is relentless in his cause to send us into a downward spiral that leads us stumbling in our walk. His plan is so laid out that sometimes we do not see it coming until it is too late and we are already caught up in the middle of it all. We are going to be constantly under attack when we choose to live for the Lord and place Him on the throne of our life. Satan cannot physically harm us but he is constantly at work trying and wanting to see us fail. We were bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and no weapon fashioned against us will stand when we put our faith and trust in Him.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Christ’s death on the cross was the ultimate defeat over Satan and his attack to claim our souls.

“And having disarmed the powers of authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Colossians 2:15

We now make the choice to accept Satan’s invitation to dwell upon our past or our weaknesses. This is what he hopes for and encourages us to do. We must stand firm in the word of God and hold to the truth He sets before us, that we have been forgiven.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…”

Ephesians 1:7

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalms 103:12

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we have His strength and can overcome the cleverness and deceit of Satan and his attacks. We must remember that sin does not come from bad genes and Satan definitely does not make us do it. We choose to act on the things that surround us or lies that are put into our minds. Satan does not ever force our hand; those decisions are made entirely on our own. This occurs when we are focused on ourselves and away from the Lord. We cannot live a God centered life when we are on the throne. So be encouraged, when you put on the Armor of God and place Him on the throne, stand firm in His promise of protection and love against the battle that wages on daily when you choose Him above all else and trust His word.

Ephesians 6:12, II Corinthians 10:4-5, Colossians 2:15, Ephesians 1:7, Psalms 103:12