Dear Jenn...

Dear Jennifer, 

I wish I could spend more time with you than we have together right now...just the two of us. If you would let me, I would spend each moment telling you what I love and admire about you. I know you would just stop me (and that's actually one of the things I love about you, you're selfless!), so I thought I'd spend what time I have today telling you what it is about you that keeps me head over heels in love!

Let me start with the smallest reason I love you....because you're absolutely beautiful! Every part of you amazes me. To steal Solomon's expression, you're "altogether lovely." Your eyes hold me prisoner. Your smile brightens my entire day and gives me the strength to push through anything that may happen. Your hair frames your face better than the finest gold or silver. Your skin is like a magnet for my hands! Your body is put together so perfectly that I just find myself staring sometimes...The rest of this very personal paragraph has been edited for family reading. :)

Whew! You see how fast that heated up? That's what a minor thing like your physical appearance does to me! But that's just the beginning...

I love the way your sense of humor works. True, we may not always laugh at the same things or at the same time - usually because your humor is a little more sophisticated than mine. But when what we think is funny overlaps, and we start laughing together, it's priceless! I love those time when we can't stop laughing. I love it when we finally gain control over ourselves...only to lose it all over again when we look at each other! There isn't another person in the world that I laugh like that with! 

I love how you care for me. It's obvious to me that there's no one else you'd rather be around more than me. You always say the right things. You always have what I need taken care of. In fact, as I'm writing this, I can't think of the last time I had to ask you for anything! You always seem to know what I need and have it done before I know I need it!

That's not just true for me. The way you constantly care for our kids is yet one more reason I love you. You watch over them, love on them, teach them, and provide for them. True, the money may come from my paycheck, but if it were left to me....I wouldn't have a clue what to get for them or what they needed. You keep them in nice outfits, feed them the best meals, and give them the best stuff! These kids are so blessed to have a mom like you! More than anything I want for our kids...I want them to become just like you! 

 
I love your voice! When you sing, I forget about everything else... all I want to do is stop and listen. As awesome as it is to hear you leading praise and worship at church, it's just as good to hear you beside me. And it's not just singing! No other voice on earth moves me like yours! When you're talking to me, you never lose my attention. When you're excited about something, I can't help but be happy with you. When you're feeling down, your voice breaks my heart. No one else can affect me like this - with something as simple as the sound of your voice! 

These are just a few of the many things that I love about you. There has never been a time that you didn’t deserve every ounce of love I could give you – and I don’t anticipate any time in the future! However, I don’t love you just because you’re so loveable. If (and this is a huge IF!) you stopped every one of these things today…I would still love you. Do you know why? Because I’m following a model of unconditional love – Jesus Himself! He loves us whether we’ve done anything to deserve it or not. And that is exactly the kind of love I want to show you, Sweetie.

You're perfect for me, Jennifer. I know it was God Who brought you to me. And I always pay that I would be the husband you've always deserved. All I want to do is love you like Jesus loves us - to be so totally devoted to you that I lose track of my own life!

I know you've heard all this before. I wish I could come up with new things to say. But words just don't do justice to how you make me feel! Maybe fifty years from now, when I'm older and smarter, I'll have something more to say about how much I love you. Then again, that's fifty more years to come to love you more - so I'm probably going to be in this same predicament! 

I love you Jennifer...now and always!
Your husband

Loving God Because...

John 21:16 “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

Churchgoers are always so quick to acclaim their love for Jesus. It’s the subject of countless of their songs. It makes up the content of millions of their prayers. And it is the sole focus of many (many) sermons all over the country on any given Sunday. We’ve made it into a creed in Christendom – an almost mindless repetition during our worship services; “I love You, Jesus!” But do these people who claim love for their Savior really understand what they’re saying?

Our love for God isn’t all that spectacular. It was never the focus of either the Old or New Testament. True, we are commanded to love our God with all our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength – but this is far from being the theme of the Bible! The Bible doesn’t focus on our love for God, instead it focuses on His love for us!

(As a side note: loving God is not a feeling! It’s not a fondness toward Him or an emotional high during a church service. Jesus was very clear what it meant to love Him – “If you love Me, you will obey My commands.” You cannot claim to love Jesus and ignore what He has told you in His Word!)

Like I said, our love for Him isn’t all that amazing. Take a look at 1 John 4:10 – “In this is (real) love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Do you see that? Our love for God isn’t a big deal! It’s not worth all the songs, sermons and repetitions that it’s been made into. It’s God’s love for us that should be understood!

The man who wrote this verse, John, had an excellent understanding of love. He is often referred to as the “apostle of love.” He’s the one who penned these amazing passages:

“Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

“Perfect love has cast out fear…”

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

“God is love…”

And yet, for all his focus on love, John never once spoke of his own love for Jesus! Instead, he referred to himself simply as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” When it came to how much John loved Jesus – he never thought it was worth mentioning! John understood that his love for Jesus was nothing compared to Jesus’ love for Him!

And herein lies a truth that many Christian misunderstand. On several occasions I have heard well-meaning believers claim to love Jesus “no matter what!” As if there was ever going to be a time when Jesus didn’t deserve their love? Our love for God is not unconditional! He deserves every ounce of love that we can give Him (and so much more!) There has never been a moment in history when He didn’t deserve the love of mankind! Drawing again from the apostle of love – let’s look at the first phrase of 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because…” There you have it – we love Jesus because! We only love Him because we have a good reason to!

And what is this reason? Let’s finish verse 19 – “We love Him because He first loved us.” Our love for God may not be unconditional (He deserves every bit of it), but His love for us is completely unconditional and undeserved. It is because of His unconditional love towards us that he deserves our love! Verse 9 of the same chapter elaborates on the amazing, unconditional love of God: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”

We were sinners – He was righteous. We were worthless – He was worthy! We deserved nothing, but He gave us everything! Can you see how we’ve missed it by insisting on our love for Him while essentially ignoring His love for us? We need to keep a firm focus on how much God loves us. With this understanding - knowing just how much He loves us - it becomes almost effortless for our heart to respond “I love You, Jesus!”

Dear Abigail...

April 16, 2013

Dear Abigail
     Hi baby girl! I can’t believe your mom is almost eight months pregnant with you already! It seems like just yesterday we were looking at three positive pregnancy tests, laughing and crying all at once. That day changed everything for us! Even though we waited for you for two long years – we still had a hard time believing it at first!

     And now you’re almost here. I’m sure you know by now how much I love your mom – you hear it all the time! And I’m sure that you also know that we argue sometimes – but that’s nothing to worry about. As much as you’re moving around right now, and as strong-willed as you already seem to be, I’m sure we’ll have our own arguments too! But I hope you’re already finding out that no one in this family goes to sleep angry!

     Sadly, I have no idea what kind of world you’re going to grow up in. Horrible things are happening all around us even now. Where this world is going to go from here, I don’t even want to know! You’ll go through some hard times. You’ll experience some things that my generation never experienced. You’ll know other kids whose families are being torn apart – or were never there in the first place. You may even experience some very dangerous situations. But I promise you this; the same God that watched over your grandpa and grandma, the same God that protected and guided your mom and dad will watch over you! We’ll teach you how to hear His voice – and if you’ll pay attention, He’ll always place you at the right place at the right time! God will bring you out of every problem on top!

     God is always faithful – and we are going to show you this from the moment you’re born. I told you before that you’ll probably have friends with destroyed or nonexistent families. But I also promise you this, you will never have to go through that! You can rest assured that you will always have your mom and your dad. I’m going to do everything I can to be an example of God’s faithfulness. I’m going to love your mom the way Jesus loves us. I promise you this – you will never have a stepmom or a stepdad…I love your mom too much for that! Besides, there’s no way I’m ever going to let some other person raise my beautiful little girl!

     You’re not going to be normal, Abigail. Why? Because normal isn’t good enough for you! It isn’t normal anymore for girls your age to live with their mom and dad. The normal right now is to have a mom and a sperm donor. (I’m trusting that it will be decades before you even know what that term means!) It isn’t normal for kids to have parents involved in their life. And it certainly isn’t normal for them to have a mom and dad who are committed to raising them up spiritually. But that’s what we’re going to do!

     Even as a girl, you’ll know the Bible better than most Christians – because we’ll be reading it every night. Before you hit your teenage years, you’ll know how to talk to God…and how to hear Him speak to you! You are going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, Abigail. I can’t wait to see His calling on your life start to show up!

     It’s important for you to know that I’ll do everything I can to guard that calling on your life…even if it means chasing away some of people who want to be your “friends”. If you’ll trust us, your mom and I will show you what kind of people are worth having around – and what kind of people aren’t worth the time of day! And…many, many years down the road…I know you’ll meet the righteous young man who will take you by the hand and lead you into the next level of God’s call on your life! From that day on, the two of you will walk with God together. Now, I don’t even want to think about that day! But I hope you’ll trust our input on that decision too. If you’ll pay attention to the way I treat your mom, you’ll see how your own husband (…in the very distant future…) should treat you.

     Above all, know this…I love you Abby! I’m going to do my best to teach you, to guide you, and to protect and provide for you. And when the times come that I don’t know how to help you, please let me take your hand and lead you to the One that has all the answers! After all, He loves you even more than I do!

Looking forward to seeing you for the first time,
Your Loving Dad

For Everyone Who Thinks They Love Jesus

So you think that you're in love with Jesus? You think, because you go to church and get emotional during the worship songs once a week, that your relationship with Him is ok? Do you believe that His grace covers everything you do? Well, let's see if that's the case! After all, 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." There are a few tests in the book of 1 John that every believer needs to apply to their life.

The first test can be seen in verses 6 and 7 of chapter 1...
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.^"

You can claim that you're walking in the light, but walking in the light equals fellowship with other believers. If you're not in consistent fellowship with other believers - if you think you can be an island to yourself - then you're not walking in the light and you're lying if you say you have fellowship with Jesus. 

Remember this equation: unbroken fellowship with Jesus = unbroken fellowship with other believers.

The second test is in chapter 2, verses 3 through 6
"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.^"

You can't claim to know Jesus if you're not doing what He said! In this passage, John is basically repeating what Jesus told him in John 14:15 ("If you love me, keep my commandments."), John 14:21 ("He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me."), and John 15:10 ("If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.").

Jesus gave us the way to measure our love for Him: love = obedience.

Does God's grace forgive us when we don't obey? Of course - but that isn't the extent of His grace! If we are truly in grace, then we won't stay in sin! God's grace also teaches us to leave sin behind (Titus 2:12) and empowers us to do what's right (Hebrews 12:28). If you're using grace as an excuse for sin - you do not love Jesus!

A third test can be seen in chapter 3, verse 14
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death."

You can't say that you have a new life in Jesus if you're nursing a grudge against one of your brothers or sisters. If you refuse to forgive another believer, if you still feel even a hint of hatred in your heart toward them - you're still in death, not life.

But, lest you get confused about what kind of love you should have, John goes on to clarify the type of love we should have for our brothers and sisters. A lot of people know John 3:16 - but very few people know 1 John 3:16 - "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

As completely as Jesus gave Himself for us, we are commanded to give ourselves to our brothers and sisters. Does Jesus hold you at arm's length when you sin against Him? Would He avoid you in Walmart if He saw you? Do you think He ever has a smirk on His face when He talks about you?

If anyone had a right to be angry and hold a grudge against us, it was Jesus! But He gave up His rights and laid down His life for us. This is the kind of love we're called to have for our brothers and sisters. Whether we feel like it or not, whether they deserve it or not, we must love anyone who is of the household of faith. You don't have a choice, my friend - this is the price of living in the light!

So there are three tests. There are more throughout first John - but how do you measure up to these three?

Do you stay in fellowship with other believers or have you isolated yourself?

Do you obey God's Word or do you try to use His grace to excuse what you know is wrong?

Do you love other believers and give up your rights for theirs, or are you still nursing anger and unforgiveness toward someone?

You can't get around this! This is how you know!

Yahweh's Benefits - Part 2

Psalm 103:1-2 “Bless YAHWEH, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits...”

We’ve already seen that we are made up of three parts; spirit, soul, and body. From John 4:23 we know that our spirit is (or should be) always in a state of worship. This is why we can worship God anytime and anywhere without any emotion needed! Our soul, however, needs to be “primed” in order to worship. This is the point of Psalm 103:1-5 - leading your soul into worship. We pull our mind, will and emotions into worship by remembering Yahweh’s benefits.

Last time, we looked at the first three benefits in this list
1. Forgiveness of all our sin - past, present, and future!
2. Healing from every disease - no matter how big or small
3. Redemption from eternal destruction

But David didn’t stop there. There are three more benefits in his list:

4. “...Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies...”

The Hebrew word for “lovingkindness” is the word chesed. This beautiful, ancient word has no true English counterpart. FIrst of all, it carries the meaning of compassion and tender care in action. In other words, it is the very act of mercy! Secondly, this word denotes the motivation behind the act - an intense love.

God loves us with an intense, burning love. Song of Solomon 8:6 describes this kind of love: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame.” The very last word in this verse, the word we translate as “vehement flame” is the word shalhebeth - it means “the very fire of Yahweh.” God’s love burns for us out of His very nature!

5. “...Who satisfies your mouth with good things...”

God is the giver of good things. Jesus compared and contrasted the Father with earthly parents to make this very point. If you, as sinful and wicked people, know how to love and care for your children with good things - don’t you think your Father in Heaven will provide for His kids?

To many people don’t understand this. If they did, they would pray much differently! Instead of begging and pleading for things that they don’t even believe God wants to give them, they would come boldly and ask in confident faith. That is the only type of prayer that gets answers! There is one continuing theme whenever the Bible teaches on prayer; prayers of faith get answered, prayers of doubt and unbelief are ineffective.

So it is vitally important to believe that God wants to satisfy His kids with good things!

6. “...so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”

Face it, life is tough. It takes a toll on all of us! Have you ever had a day that was just harsh? How about a harsh week? A month? What is the best way to repair ourselves when we’re beaten down by the pressure of life?

For most people, it’s time off. We get away from it all and rest. Whether it’s just rest on the weekend or a nice, long vacation - rest has a rejuvenating effect on all of us.

But what happens when the pressure seems to never stop? What do you do you’re just as overwhelmed after a vacation as you were before it? The answer is the last benefit on this list - a renewed youth. This doesn’t mean turning the clock back physically. But it does carry the meaning of reversing the damage that life does to all of us.

When we let Him, God has this wonderful way of healing the damage of a lifetime and lifting every burden from our shoulders. Without the weights and pressures of natural life, we’re then free to soar into the spiritual life that God has prepared for us.

These are benefits that we must remember. David emphasizes this in verse 2 - “forget not all His benefits.” Why is it so important to remember these six things?

First of all, these are six areas that so often drag us into depression. How often have you seen a believer depressed about what they did wrong? Would it be better for them to remember the benefit of forgiveness? How often does the fear and worry of sickness blind us to the way God cares for us? Have you ever lost sight of your eternal destiny in heaven and found yourself completely focused on this temporary life? Have you ever felt alone and unloved? Overwhelmed with lack? Beaten down by life in this world?

If any of this sounds familiar, then you need to sit down and remember the benefits of Yahweh! The only way to rise out of this kind of oppression is to get your focus back on spiritual things. Life in this sin-filled world can be harsh and overwhelming. But we have everything we need to stay above it all! God’s promises give us victory over the normal life!

Just look at what Peter tells us about the promise of God: “...by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [promises] you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” God’s promises to us give us access to His own divine nature!

The Other Side Of Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her...so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

There's been a lot said about the husband's role in the marriage. This is only right; after all, he has an enormous responsibility placed on his shoulders. He is called to love and lead his wife at the same time – this balance is not always an easy thing! On the one hand, the spiritual direction, physical security, and weighty decisions all fall squarely on his shoulders. On the other hand, he isn't allowed to be bitter or harsh toward his wife or treat her with misunderstanding. I believe that this is the largest calling any man can step into during his lifetime; it's the calling to represent Jesus' own love to his wife!

Having said this, there has been surprisingly few writings or discussions about the wife's side of marriage. There are far too many “real men do this...” and “real men do that...” quotes flying around – and they're usually written by women (or teenage girls) who are simply reiterating what they wished men would be like. When was the last time you saw a “real women...” quote? Have you ever seen one? We've given all the blame for failed marriages and relationships to the men involved, without realizing that the Bible's formula for marriage goes beyond “husbands, love your wives.”

Wives have a responsibility in their marriage too! To start with, let's look at three Biblical responsibilities of every born-again wife.

#1 – Submission
Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

This is probably one of the most ridiculed passages in the Bible. Today's society belittles this passage as chauvinistic, anti-woman, abusive and backwards. But, as believers we know this passage was written by the foremost Expert on marriage. God was the one who designed marriage, and let's just pretend that He knows what's best for us!

Remember how the husband has the responsibility of modeling Jesus' love for His church?
In the same way, the wife has the responsibility of modeling the church's submission to Jesus! We should be submissive to Jesus in everything, right? What if we don't agree with what He thinks is best for us? Should we still submit to what He wants? Of course we do! We submit to Jesus through trust – knowing that He loves us and wants what's best for us. This is the way a wife should submit to her husband. Whether she agrees or not – she should submit to him, trusting in his love for her.

#2 – Respect
Ephesians 5:33 “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

This verse is the ultimate summary of what every Christian marriage should look like.
Now, we all agree on what is being said to the husband. Inevitably, every failed marriage is blamed on the man's lack of love. While that may be the case sometimes, let's not forget that the woman is called to respect her husband in the same way that he is called to love her. In other words, a wife's respect for her husband should be unconditional, just like his love for her is to be unconditional.

Wife, do you want to have your husband's love only when you deserve it? Would you rather feel safe, knowing that he loves you no matter what – or would you want to constantly wonder about how he feels about you?

Remember this, your husband feels the same way about your respect toward him as you feel about his love toward you! Your marriage wouldn't last long without his love toward you, would it? Do you realize that there are marriages in danger because of the lack of respect towards the husband – probably as much as the lack of love towards the wife?

Women crave love – this is why the Bible tells husbands to love their wives.
Men crave respect – this is why the Bible tells wives to respect their husbands.
Men and women have been made differently. So is it really surprising that we look for different things from our marriages?

#3 – Phileo
Titus 2:4 “...that they admonish the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,...”

If women were created to give and seek after love, then why would God have to remind them to love their husbands and children? The answer is found in the Greek word that is used in this verse. This isn't the kind of love that most would think of. It isn't the Greek word eros – or the romantic type of love. It isn't the word agapeo – or unconditional, God-kind of love. This word in Titus 2:4 is phileo – it simply means “friendly.”

In this passage, God is reminding wives to be friendly towards their husbands and children. Why would God have to remind them of this? Because the pressures of life, the overwhelming emotions that they feel, and the cares and concerns that weigh on the mind will sometimes pressure them into being “unfriendly.” It isn't intentional – it isn't due to the lack of love – it is simply because they're feeling overwhelmed!

God was – and still is – calling women to rise above what they feel, and live in the proper relationships that He made them for! This is as much of a challenge for them as the call to love is to a man – both of them take work and neither comes naturally. But, for those couples who choose to live God's way, the rewards are well worth the effort!

“One thing every husband (or would-be husband) needs to know is this: love is a commitment, not a feeling. We should never love our wives for what they do, how they make us feel, how they look, or even who they are. That kind of love is shallow and subject to change. As husbands, we love our wives simply because God tells us to!

This kind of love brings safety into marriage - meaning your wife can trust you to always love her, whether she makes you happy or mad. This is the kind of (unconditional) love that God shows us; and it’s our responsibility to demonstrate this in our marriage.

When you make the choice to love your wife - without waiting for the right ‘feelings’ - that choice will produce the kind of joy and happiness that every couple is looking for.”

Don't Look, Don't Touch!

Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”

This is pretty clear, right? Any married person having sex outside of that marriage covenant is a clear violation of God’s law. Make no mistake about this. It doesn’t matter how your spouse is treating you, it doesn’t matter if you’ve “fallen in love” with someone else, it doesn’t matter what you want or what you feel - any sexual relations outside of your marriage covenant is wrong!

We live in a society that places little to no value on commitment and way too much value on emotions. Your covenant with your husband or wife wasn’t intended to be based on emotions. Your love - and your fidelity - should be based on what you promised, not what you feel at any given moment.

Adultery is serious. It’s devastating. It destroys lives and tears families apart. It carries from one generation to the next like a disease. Many thousands of men and women, even people who were strong in faith and used mightily by God, have fallen to the sin of adultery...and God hates it!

The consequences of adultery are tragic.

Proverbs 6:32 “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own life.” Do you see that? Adultery destroys your life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers...will inherit the kingdom of God.“ Adultery keeps you out of the kingdom of God.

Proverbs 6:34 “For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.” There are always consequences of adultery - In this world (with other people) as well as the next (standing before God).

Listen to what Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” There is no question here, God will judge adulterers. Why does He hate adultery so much? Because He intended marriage to mirror His relationship with the church. You see, marriage isn’t a two-way contract - it has three partners. You, your spouse and God. God is always faithful to us, He never fails us. He keeps His promises and His covenant and He expects us to do the same! This is the type of covenant He created marriage to be, faithful and unconditional!

For most people, it’s obvious that going outside of your marriage covenant for sexual gratification is wrong. We can see that there are drastic consequences for adulterers. But what we don’t seem to realize is that God’s command against adultery doesn’t only apply to our actions - it is also binding on our very thoughts. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.“ Wow...Jesus just told us that a lustful look is going to be judged the same way as a physical act!

God has poured out His grace on us and has empowered us to live a godly life. Because of this, He expects us to go further than mere outward obedience. Now He expects obedience from the heart. He expects us to do more than abstain from illegal relations - now He expects us to guard our hearts and our eyes. Job had insight on this even before Jesus came. This is what he said in Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.”

There is one more side to adultery that often goes unspoken. This is the spiritual side of adultery. You see, when we were born again, we committed our lives to God. We entered into a covenant of grace, commitment, and loyalty. When we made Him Lord, we made a promise to serve Him exclusively. But so many of us break this promise and go outside of our covenant with God to find satisfaction. We break our commitment and begin to “cheat” on God for the thrills of sin. Listen to what James tells us in his letter: “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.“ Whenever we take God’s plan and passion for our life, and mix it with the way the world does things - we become spiritual adulterers.

While I’m writing this, I know that there will be people who will nod their head and mentally agree with every word - but then go right back to what they were doing before. So listen to this closing statement from Romans 2:22, and take it to heart: “You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery (those of you who agree with everything you’re reading right now),’ do you commit adultery (in action, in thought, or in spirit)?”

What Makes A Murderer

Exodus 20:13 KJV “Thou shall not kill.”

In light of the things that have happened in recent days, perhaps our society could use a little clarity on this, the sixth commandment. Firstly, this commandment isn’t the complete ban on ending life. The Hebrew word that the King James translates “kill” is ratsach. Its literal meaning is premeditated murder or manslaughter - in other words, it’s the intentional murder of an innocent person. Actually, every other english version carries the literal meaning of ratsach and translates it as “murder”.

You see, we were created in the image of God - the crown of His creation. We’re the only creatures that have a spirit attached to our soul and body. Every human being is a beautiful thing; and our life is precious. It is so precious, that God demands justice for every innocent life that is cut short wrongfully. What is the price that a murderer must pay? Genesis 9:5-6 tells us: “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” God was very clear, anyone who purposely cuts an innocent life short will have his own life cut short.

This isn’t barbaric. This isn’t fighting murder with murder. This isn’t “cruel and unusual.” This is justice. To end the life of a murderer is to give value to the life that he took. It’s saying, “we value life so much, that we’re going to demand in from the hand of anyone who steals it from another.

I probably should clarify - this kind of justice doesn’t belong to the individual. We as individuals have no right to take justice into our own hands! This is what Paul said in Romans 13:4, “For he [the government and authorities] is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” When God set up earthly governments, He gave them the responsibility of carrying out justice for any civil wrongdoing - including murder. He has entrusted them with the protection of human life under their authority, and He will demand an account one day!

But, what I want you to see is that the sixth commandment becomes significant for a believer in another way. Like all of the commandments, God is just as concerned with the heart as He is with the action. This command is much deeper than a simple prohibition on murder. Listen to what 1 John 3:14-16 says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.  Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Did you see that? God holds someone who has hatred for his brother equally as guilty as a murderer! Why? Because hatred is murder - in the heart. We are called to love each other, to bear with each other, and to continue in fellowship with each other. When we continue in love for each other, John says we have passed from death to life. So there is a very strong connection between love and life. This same connection exists between the lack of love (hatred) and the lack of life (death). When we step out of love for anyone, we’ve stepped out of life. If we do this, if we begin to hate anyone, the penalty of murder rests on our spirit - death. You see, when we have hatred or bitterness in our heart toward a believing brother or sister, God sees their blood on our hands!

If only more churches realized this! If only this was common knowledge among believers! We would be much more repentant, I’m sure! But instead, we have Christians with murder in their hearts coming and waving their bloody hands in God’s face while they worship! How can we still think that God takes hatred and unforgiveness lightly? Isn’t it clear to us that He views it the same as murdering an innocent life?

Believers step out of love and into hatred for the same reason that most murderers murder - anger. That person did something wrong, hurt us somehow, and instead of pulling a gun and shooting them, we harbor bitterness and unforgiveness in our heart. But in God’s eyes, there’s no difference! Whether you think you have a right to hate them or not is irrelevant. Whether you think they should be forgiven or not is irrelevant! God gave us a very clear command - love them!

Let’s take it one step further. We all know that God is a merciful and forgiving God. His mercy covers all our sin, it’s everlasting, and it’s new every morning! But did you know there is one condition to having your sins forgiven? You can find it in several verses:

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Matthew 18:35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Colossians 3:12-13 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Do you realize that God will not forgive your sin when you hold unforgiveness in your heart? Do you realize that, as long as you’re holding that person guilty for the hurt they caused, God holds you accountable for your sin? Don’t you understand that loving and forgiving others are the conditions for receiving any forgiveness from God?

James 2:13 “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” I don’t know about you - but I need mercy! Because I need God’s mercy, I must show mercy to others.