Loyal, Lasting Love

What is love, really? There are many different answers, for there are different types of love. Happy feelings and sweet gestures between a husband and a wife is usually the first type of love which comes to mind.  The sharing of one life, one purpose, one goal. And then there is the deeper, sacrificial love in a marriage that makes a marriage strong and enduring. There is also family love that gives itself through devotion, camaraderie, and friendship. There is brotherly love between two kindred hearts, and the love for those we share sweet fellowship with in the house of the LORD. But the best love, the greatest human love, is love directed toward the LORD God, love that is with all the heart, soul, mind and strength.

Just what does it mean to love God completely?

Love is Loyal

Love is defined to be, in part, unselfish loyalty. As Americans, one thing which demands our loyalty is our nation, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Throughout America's glorious history, millions of our homeland's men and women have put their lives on the line because of their fervent love and loyalty. They gave all they could because they believed our valuable Constitution and priceless freedoms, bestowed by God in His grace, were worthy to defend.

I am truly sickened when I consider the ungrateful citizens of our country who rail against our valiant soldiers, thoughtless of the fact that, because of the people they despise, they aren't dictated or living in poverty. We cannot tell how much we owe to them! I am so proud of our soldiers and am deeply thankful for their unselfish sacrifice so that our liberties may survive.

As soldiers in the army of the Lord, loyalty is a must. Quite simply, loyalty is but due to our Commander-in-Chief. Compromise with this world makes us enemies of the cross, aiding the enemy who wants to destroy God's work in every believer's life. As a solider in Christ's heavenly army, we are given clear commands from His Word. Giving all we can muster in obedience to those orders, denying the sinful flesh, and boldly following our victorious Lord is dauntless proof of firm loyalty.

When you boil down the choices we have as soldiers of the Lord, we have only two: conquer or compromise. Win or lose. Victory or defeat. Giving in is a whole lot easier than fighting faithfully, and very often that is the weak decision of the flesh. But if we trust in the power of His might, crying to Him in the battle, the victory is already secure through our risen Lord. As the soul-ascending hymn rings, "Onward come our great Commander; Cheer, my comrades, cheer!" It's up to us to choose to obey His orders. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3)

Love is Devoted

When I think of loyalty, an image enters my mind... the content, trusting eyes of a dog gazing into the face of his master as he is being gently, lovingly petted. This is a sight we see quite often. Do you think such a happy creature would have a single thought in his furry mind of leaving the side of his master? Certainly not! Once a good petting is begun, there aren't many things that can coax away such a pleased puppy.

Needed: Righteousness

Devotional by Pastor Tim Luchon; from Baptist Bread

Psalm 18:24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

I have heard many professing believers, when brought to task about their outward sins, say, "Well, God knows my heart!" To their attempt to excuse their sin I have said, "Yes, He does know your heart. But He also saw your hands do the wrong."

There is a principle that is many times overlooked, which is the principle of practical righteousness in the sight of God and men. A Bible believer understands that there are four types of righteousness in the Bible.

1. The righteousness of Jesus Christ--Revelation 16:5
2. Our own righteousness--Isaiah 64:6
3. Imputed righteousness--Romans 4:6-7
4. Practical righteousness--Psalm 18:24

As born-again believers, we have a responsibility to do that which is right in the sight of God and in the sight of men. This kind of righteousness is to be included in all of our attitudes, actions and our appearance before the God who sees all, and all who see us.

Our verse teaches that we can be blessed of God as a believer, but our level of blessing will be in direct proportion to how much we purpose to live practical righteousness in the sight of our Savior.

Let's make sure we do not forget that what our hands do in this world is to be witness of a heart surrendered to a Holy God!

The Worshiping Church

Devotional by Dr. Keith Gomez; from Baptist Bread

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

A real church glorifies God. Most of the liberal churches in America glorify man in the flesh. You can tell by their music, their preaching, their dress, and their attitude. It has nothing to do with the spirit of God. It has everything to do with the fact that they are glorifying man. But the real church glorifies God.

Not only does a real church glorify God, but a real church worships God. We have been taught that we have worship services. The Word of God does not talk about a worship service. You'll find what we do described as a preaching service, but you'll not find a worship service. We come to worship. It is not a ritual. Worship is a "choice communion" with God. Worship in a real church is a wonderful thing. Worship is giving to God, not taking from God. When we worship God, we sing unto Him, and we sing His praises. A real church worships God.

The offering is another opportunity to worship God. It's a type of worship, and a real church worships God. When we pass the offering plate, it is an act of worship and it is right to do. I thank God that real churches are worshiping churches. A worshiping church will say "AMEN!" right there!

Patrick Stood upon the Rock

Patrick of Ireland. He is most famous in our society today for being a Catholic saint who did good things in Ireland. His name is associated with the color green (for being Irish, supposedly) and four-leaf clovers. Most people, curious about the holiday on their calendars which rolls around each year, have sought out factual information about who he really was and what he really did. Most people, however, have not learned the entire historical truth about this great man of God.

For centuries of history, the Roman Empire struggled to conquer the Celtic people of the British Isles. Eventually, the teachings of Christianity were established in this land and the evil Druid religion, which once tightly gripped Celtic society, lost its power over the lives of the people. The historian Tertullian gave an account that Christianity accomplished what the Roman Empire could not.

Because the British Isles were separated from mainland Europe, the British were not greatly impacted by affairs which rampaged in Europe. Consequently, only one Roman persecution upon the Christian church reached them during this period of history, and while the church and state were being united under Emperor Constantine, the Celtic churches remained independent. Until the seventh century, churches of various religions in Britain were unaffected by Roman Catholicism. Although separate churches held their own doctrinal positions, some contrary to Scripture, the beliefs and practices of baptismal regeneration, infant baptism, salvation by church membership, and an organized priesthood were not even conceived in the churches before Roman Catholicism's military conquest of the British Isles.

The man we know as Patrick of Ireland was born Succat of England in the late 4th century A.D. His father was deacon of a church which was, of course, independent. Although he grew up in a Christian home, as a teenager Patrick was rebellious toward Christianity. It was when Patrick was sixteen years old that he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. 

Their Rock Is Not Our Rock

Devotional by Evangelist Tim Green

I Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

In Ireland, a street preacher was preaching of Christ, the Rock of our salvation. A heckler began to cry out, "What about shamrock? What about shamrock?" To the delight of the serious listeners, the faithful orator cried out in reply, "On Christ the solid Rock I stand. All other rocks are sham rocks!" How true!

If you are trusting or standing on anything but the Rock Christ Jesus today, you are relying on sham rock. Your feet are in the quicksand of confusion or the miry clay of misplaced hope. Jesus Christ is not the best foothold to stand upon--He is the only one! "I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name."

Our faith should be firmly placed in the Rock of Ages, the Stone cut out without hands, the Rock upon which the church was built. Join in chorus with the Irish street preacher as he leads his pedestrian congregation and shuts the mouths of his gainsayers: "On Christ the solid Rock I stand. All other rocks are sham rocks."

Faith Is the Victory

Devotional by Evangelist Tim Green; from Baptist Bread

I John 5:4b ...And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

In an old, downtown church I found this motto: "A TASK WITHOUT A VISION IS DRUDGERY; A VISION WITHOUT A TASK IS A DREAM; A TASK WITH A VISION IS VICTORY." The message was thought provoking and its theme inspiring.

All of us have labored at some task and the toil has soon turned into drudgery (read: pulling weeds or washing windows). Some have had ideas that were nothing more than pipe dreams, because there was no substance to them and no effort put forth to bring them to pass. However, when a noble task and an inspired vision are wed, victory can and will be the result. Some men have dreams of building a grand work for God, but they leave our the key word--WORK! Others have invested their lives in fruitless effort, far outside and away from the will of God. What a drearisome existence that soon becomes!

Victory and the spirit of the overcomer is founded in the bedrock of Bible faith. Faith in the unseen hand of God at work and the evidence of His efforts are plain for all to see. Faith is not an item to boast about having but a secure ingredient in the walk of the child of God.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, saw the proof of God's victory and heard it proclaimed, "God... calleth those things which be not as though they were." (Rom. 4:17b).

A Raging Arctic Blizzard

In the meantime of finishing a lengthy post on living our love for Christ, I thought I'd share a bit about life in Arctic Alaska, a widespread area of the earth where global warming is the least of concerns. (chuckle)

We're digging out of a two-day blizzard, the biggest blizzard we've had in a few years. Simply walking my family's dog, Max, outside was a breath-taking challenge. Despite the serious weather, we had two men attend our evening church service on Sunday. Praise God for their commitment! Below are some pictures of a faithful Eskimo man braving the elements to be in God's House. You may have difficulty seeing him in the first photo; he's a bit more visible as he nears the front door.

He finally made it! You can't tell in the pictures how much of a struggle walking into the wind is. It is powerful and bone-chilling. God will certainly bless his effort and faithfulness!

I don't feel as though I can adequately describe the effects of the blizzard, so I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. Here's an effective contrast of a telephone pole across the street, during and after the storm.

The drifting snow utterly buried a little old Eskimo sod house we have on the church property, beside our house.

Aerial shot; all you can make out is the roof.Even the side away from the wind got plastered!

Front side; snow is very good insulation, you know. =DOther side; notice how the wind sweeped the snow
in such a perfect circle around the building.
Looking the other direction.
The door was completely buried until Dad shoveled it out!
Our poor husky, Duke, had to suffer in
the cold and wind for two days and nights. =(
Back view of the soddy and Duke's humble abode.
Some drifts in the village. The ground
is somewhere beneath all this snow. =D
Our neighbors house gets very buried every
winter. Her front window gets piled over with
snow, without fail.
Not five minutes after I came inside from taking these
pictures, a bulldozer pulled up and starting moving the
snow beside our house. Thank the Lord!!! What a blessing.
My dad and brother would've had a time moving it by muscle.
It's a good thing I got the pictures when I did. =)

As you can tell, the blizzard was quite something! Sunday evening, after coming in with Max, I was describing to my older sister how incredible it was outside. We chattered excitedly for a while, then she mused to me of how mighty the wind was on the sea of Galilee, and Jesus simply rebuked it and commanded with authority, "Peace, be still." In just an instant, there was a great calm on the once tormenting sea. Shivers went up my spine! For Christ's unlimited power to be put into that perspective--something I could truly comprehend, having just felt the blasting surges of wind moments ago--awed me. Of course Jesus could calm the storm of the sea with His word. As the disciples exclaimed, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" He is the Son of God Almighty! He created the world, and He controls even the mightiest forces of nature!

Thinking of this marvelous passage of Scripture, my mind ran over several times Jesus' rebuke to the disciples, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" This rebuke, I'm sure, stunned and silenced them more than the first, burning their hearts with conviction. Do you realize--Jesus said "NO faith"! Scripture tells us Jesus marveled only twice, and both times it was due to faith.

The first was evidenced in the centurion who came to Jesus, beseeching that He would heal his servant who was grievously tormented with the palsy (Matt. 8:5-6). "Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him." (v. 7) But the centurion acknowledged, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." (v. 8) The centurion realized the power and authority Christ had (v. 9), but he also knew how unworthy he was of the Lord's very presence in his own house. His faith in Jesus was so great that, "When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." (v. 10) And Jesus healed the centurion's servant with only a word, just as the centurion believed He would! This passage tells us a lot; the Lord marvels at great faith. This believing centurion's example inspires me. Truly our Lord is gracious and full of compassion!

Yet Christ marveled a second time. Jesus was "in his own country," teaching in the synagogue on the sabbath day, "and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?" (Mark 6:2) The people who heard the Son of God preach were astonished! They ridiculed His power and wisdom! They continued their gossiping (in the house of God, no less--what gall!), "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him." With their "teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives" (Prov. 30:14), this faithless group slandered Jesus Christ! They didn't believe such mighty works could be wrought in the hands of a common, lowly carpenter. He said to them, "A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them." Because of the people's unbelief in His sovereignty, His works and miracles were hindered in this place, the very place He lived up until He began His earthly ministry. He healed only a few sick folk! Just think of what mighty things Christ would have done had they but believed!!! Here we see, "And he marvelled because of their unbelief."

Faith is the only thing that caused Christ to marvel: Great faith or no faith, as His disciples on the raging sea. We can trust Him! He is mighty! He is willing and ABLE to do "great and mighty things which thou knowest not" if we will but call in faith! (Jer. 33:3)

Which one will we be? Will Jesus marvel at us in the storms we face this year... this month... this week... Will He marvel at us today? Will He do great and mighty things for us, or will His amazing acts be hindered because we fear the storm and chose not to trust Him?

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

An Assembly of Men

Click image to enlarge

While studying for a school report I'm writing on socialism and America (what two powers are more incompatible?!), this quote by James Madison greatly inspired me. I formulated in my mind how effective the quote would be with The Signing of the Constitution by Howard Chandler Christy. What a blessing modern computer software is. =) Please feel free to save this to your computer for a desktop background--or whatever other use you desire for it.

Selflessness

Devotional by Mrs. Molly Audiss

(From Christian Womanhood's weekly evotions)

Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

A very damaging philosophy was started and embraced in our country in the 1960s and 1970s--feminism. This teaching really took hold of the female population, and it has not let go since. No matter how godly our mothers were, or how well they trained us, any girl growing up since the 1970s has feminism "in her blood," because it saturates everything in our society. We must be aware of this wrong philosophy, and we must be able to discern if this wrong thinking has corrupted our own minds.

I have heard many Christian ladies speak on the topic of submission. This topic is so opposite of the world's femininistic view, that, each time I hear teaching on this subject, the speaker must first spend a few minutes "disarming" the audience, just to get a crowd of women to give her a hearing. The ERA movement has really sold us a bill of goods, telling us that submission is a very bad thing.

Submission is actually a very biblical and Christlike characteristic. Submission is not a woman being a slave and a doormat to her husband. Submission is, very simply, unselfishness. It is wanting the other person to get his way. It is giving up what we want for someone else. Jesus showed us the example of true submission when He came to earth and died on the cross. Philippians 2:7 and 8 says, "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Submission is not just for the husband-wife relationship. This kind of selfless living is the way that God expects each Christian to act toward all human beings. Submission is to be used toward parents, siblings, children, coworkers, employers, neighbors, strangers driving in the car next to us on the road, etc.

The book of Ruth is all about submission. Ruth shows nothing but unselfishness throughout this story. Her submission was mainly toward her mother-in-law. Allow me to point out something interesting in the Scriptures. There are two sets of verses in the Old Testament that are often used to show love and commitment between two lovers.

1. Genesis 31:49 "The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." This verse is usually found on a necklace divided into two halves. Each person wears one half.

2. These verses are often found on wedding programs. Ruth 1:16 and 17 "...Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if oiught but death part thee and me."

The interesting thing about these verses is that neither one of them has a romantic origin. Both of these verses are conversations between in-laws. The first reference is spoken by Laban to his son-in-law Jacob. The other verses are spoken by Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi. Sometimes an in-law relationship is a tense one. I thank God for the wonderful bond I have with my mother-in-law; but oftentimes there can be strains in in-law relationships. I think that the Lord wants to teach us that, even in difficult relationships, submission is always the answer!

Look at how unselfish Ruth is. She leaves her own country, her own family, and everything she has ever known to stay with her mother-in-law and be a help to her. Then, she humbles herself and gleans (which is close to begging) in a field so that she and Naomi will not starve. Later, on Naomi's request, Ruth swallows her pride again as she agrees to ask a rich land owner to marry her because it was his duty! That is what you call unselfishness. Thankfully, everything works out, and, like Cinderella, Ruth marries the rich man and goes down in history.

The Lord is not interested in our looking out for "number one." He wants us to submit in our relationships. As always, this is the direct opposite of what the world tells us is the way to happiness. But our God knows that the surest way for us to be happy is for us to live unselfish lives. It is not natural--it is supernatural--we will need the Lord's help every day if we endeavor to die to our own wants and live for others. Let's swallow our pride, purge our minds of feminist thinking, and start today a life of submission.