Quote of the Day

"Do not worry about the future.  It makes no sense to worry if God loves you and has taken care of you.  However, when God blesses you, remember to keep your eyes on Him and not the blessing.  Enjoy your blessing day by day just as the Israelites enjoyed their manna, but do not try to store the blessings for the future.  There are two peculiar characteristics of pure faith.  It sees God behind all the blessings and imperfect works which tend to conceal Him, and it holds the soul in a state of continued suspense.  Faith seems to keep us constantly up in the air, never quite certain of what is going to happen in the future; never quite able to touch a foot to solid ground.  But faith is willing to let God act with the most perfect freedom, knowing that we belong to Him and are to be concerned only about being faithful in that which he has given us to do for the moment.  This moment by moment dependence this dark unseeing peacefulness of the soul under the utter uncertainty of the future, is a true martyrdom which takes place silently and without any stir.  It is God's way of bringing a slow death to self.  And the end comes so imperceptibly that it is often almost as much hidden from the sufferer himself, as from those who don't even know he suffers.
Sometimes in this life of faith God will remove His blessings from you.  But remember that He knows how and when to replace them, wither through the ministry of others or by Himself...
Eat then your daily bread without worrying about tomorrow... The same God who feeds you today is the very God who will feed you tomorrow.  God will see to it that manna falls again from Heaven in the midst of the desert, before His children lack any good thing."  Fenelon, Let Go, p.28

Why Modesty?

Guest writer Heather Greenwood shares some thoughts with us on modesty.

Why Modesty?

“And this is his name whereby he shall be called: ‘The LORD our righteousness’.” Jer. 23:6

Why modesty? Why, when one becomes a Christian, is there a new awareness of the need to dress in a way that is described as modest (without extravagance or showiness; not showing off skin or form)? 

“..In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety...” 1 Tim. 2:9

When one takes note of all the clothing sold in stores that does not actually cover up the wearer, but rather provides ornamentation for the flesh, it seems that the way clothing is made in these days defeats its original purpose. Clothing should be synonymous with “modesty”; clothing should actually clothe.

And why clothing? “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Gen 3:7 

The purpose of clothing is to cover the shame of our nakedness, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve. Clothing that reveals bare skin that ought to be hidden, or reveals the outline of the form underneath through tightness, or draws attention to sensualize the body through ornaments and tailoring,is inadequate to cover the shame of nakedness and falls short of God’s intended purpose.

The necessity for clothing to cover the shame of nakedness points to our need for Jesus to give us an adequate covering for the shame of sin. Every time we have chosen sin we have made ourselves unacceptable to God and worthy of his condemnation. 

“ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and annoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. 3:18  

The day of judgment, when each one will stand before God, will reveal whether we have covered ourselves adequately. When one is awakened to their sin in this life, the right response is a sense of shame and need for covering before God. Many seek to cover themselves by becoming a white-washed tomb that outwardly looks good but is full of dead men’s bones, but without the Lord Jesus Christ and the application of his blood to atone for our sin (“It is finished”), any inferior covering fails in the same way that most retail-store clothing fails to hide nakedness! God does not find our fig-leaf loin-cloths acceptable.

He must provide a suitable covering or we die in our sin. God, in Christ, has made available to us a “robe” that proves the one acceptable covering for our shame! Those who have trusted in Christ Jesus our Lord will be wearing these garments of “The LORD our righteousness” for all eternity! And those who have trusted in fig leaves and the whitewash of dead works cannot, and will not, stand before his righteous indignation for the sin they still bear, having not trusted in Jesus alone in this life.

Modest clothing, and our need for it, is merely the shadow of the substance, Christ.

Those who wear clothes that don’t cover, and those who are modest but without the Lord Jesus, have missed the point. He is the substance; his righteousness is what we have great need of, and whether or not we “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ today has eternal ramifications.

Do you have a sufficient robe for the day of judgment?

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Col 2:6-7

Another post on Modesty by guest writer Melissa Bickish

For great outfit ideas click here

What Godly young men think of modesty 

No Coffee Vanilla Latte

Health/Beauty

Just recently shared this recipe on my blog Simply Real & Raw.  It's a quick and yummy beverage that's perfect for cool early mornings.  

No Coffee Vanilla Latte 

Original recipe by Dave Asprey, the Bulletproof Diet p. 254 (Stage 1 of SCD)

2 cups hot water

Up to 2 Tablespoons grass-fed unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1-2 Tablespoons coconut oil

Stevia to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until you have a creamy drink with a nice layer of foam on top.  

Quote of the Day

“There are moments when the eyes glisten with joy: and we can say: ‘We are persuaded, confident, certain.’ I do not wish to distress anyone who is under doubt. Often gloomy doubts will prevail; there are seasons when you fear you have not been called, when you doubt your interest in Christ. Ah! what a mercy it is that it is not your hold of Christ that saves you, but His hold of you! What a sweet fact that it is not how you grasp His hand, but His grasp of yours, that saves you. The Lord’s promise once given is never recalled.”

C. H. Spurgeon (Day by Day p. 62) 

A Future Husband List

Spiritual Lessons

While growing up, have you ever known girls who made their "future husband lists"?  I knew a few.  The first time I considered doing one was after I read Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin's list in their book "So Much More".  (Highly recommend that book!)

Since then I've also talked to young women who think having a "list" is a silly foolish thing to do.  I recently had a discussion about the pros and cons to having a list and why I do.  I thought I would share with you some of these thoughts.

A Future Husband List

Good Idea or No?

Having requirements and hopes has been such a help to me.  In the past, if I wondered about a certain young man I was able to keep myself level headed because I could compare him to my honest hopes and expectations.  It's amazing what can be "justified" when we feel like we are interested in someone!  More recently it has helped me to realize what type of woman I need to be if I expect such a husband.  Plus it has given me specific things to pray for my man. My "list" isn't a shopping list with requirements, but more of a prayer for my future man.

It's a personal thing to share, but I think I would like to share that prayer with you.  To encourage you and to maybe inspire you to do the same!

My Prayer for My Man

• I pray that You Jesus will save him and You assure him of his salvation.
• That You create a real and evident mature relationship with You in him.
• That You would make it his certain conviction that the KJV is the English translation of the Word of God and that You would establish correct doctrinal beliefs in his heart.
• That without a shadow of a doubt, You would be first in his heart, then family, the the church, then country.
• That You create him to be a man I can respect naturally.
• That You give him Your love for children and make him instinctively a protective man who considers children, not offspring or burdens, but human lives to mold, and blessings with a desire to raise as many or as few as You tell us and to be open minded about adopting and to commit our childrens training to You.
• That You would give him a burning desire to be financially faithful and that You would make him a better steward with money than I am. But that You'd give him a sensitive and generous heart.
• Jesus, I pray that You'd instill my man with a vision. Something he can even pass down to his children. Something that You can (and please will) equip me to encourage and help him attain. Something that furthers Your kingdom in some way. Something greater than he alone can achieve, but needs You (and me :) ) to strengthen him in. Something I can cheerfully follow knowing it is Your will.
• Please give him an irreproachable character. Noticeable fruit. Make him a man in my father's eyes.
• Please establish a strong Christian worldview, making him at least one step ahead of me in politics and education.
• Please mold him into a man that can easily meld into my family and gain their hearts.
• Please give him an enthusiasm and deep appreciation for godly music. And an enjoyment of singing.
• Please establish habitual humility. And a frankness, and reality in his personality. Please establish Your confidence in Him, Holy Spirit. And an appreciation and ability to distinguish real beauty and modesty.
• Jesus I ask that You create a strong sense of manliness in him. Confidence. Leadership. That anyone who sees him would know without a doubt – there's a man. Please convict him now of any childish or effeminate ways.
• And Father, please, with all my heart I desire and pray that You give him a passionate desire to be healthy for You and his family's sake. That he would be well balanced in this issue and inspire me to be also. That he would appreciate that attribute about me.
• I pray that You would give him a sweet gentleman's heart and that a chivalrous nature would be a desire, ever before him, to attain.
• I pray, and with full assurance know, You will make him into a Spiritual leader who desires to pray with me, inspire me and lead me forward. A man who habitually reads good authors and enjoys a healthy spiritual diet and meditates on Phil. 4:8 “food”. Someone who holds this standard as important...even imperative.
• A man who can laugh and cry. A man who desires to express his emotions without embarrassment.
• A good work ethic.
• Someone unafraid to spend quality one on one time with me and enjoys it, craves it and makes the effort to do so.
• Please give him a hospitable heart.
• I give You the choice whether to establish a steady, command or visionary dominance in his character. You know best. But Father, would you please allow him to have some adventurous spirit?
• Also, I ask that You would keep him from becoming obsessed with sports. And that You would give Him a love for some of the same passions I have. And an acceptance of Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday celebrating.
• And a few hopes – that he would dance with me. Not afraid of showing affection towards me, even publicly, that he would crave wooing my heart. That he would enjoy health. He would be a Psalm 112 man. A perfect man (Ps.37). And a non-conformist Caleb.
• That You would teach me to be a woman worthy of such a man, and show me ways to start honoring him right now.   

I would just like to encourage you that there are godly men out there. It can be discouraging to feel like the godly male species is extinct.  But I know several godly good young men.  And what is better -- if we have a God who has destined us to be helpmeets, He must have a godly man handpicked for you.

This worry seems to be a widespread discouragement to Christian girls.  But we have to remember how big our God is.  If He is sufficient in creating a universe, He definitely is able to create and keep a godly man for you.  Our duty is to be faithful in what He has called us to.  With our focus and attention on Him and His kingdom, our singlhood years will be profitable and useful, and certainly not a bore.

The world sees singlhood as "standby".  We are unmarried because we are abnormally sheltered or prudish, self righteous girls with naive goals.   The church wonders at us and feels sympathetic to our plight.  "Don't worry, Prince Charming is right around the corner."

Are we on standby?  Is singlehood a plight?  Or a stage to survive?  Certainly not!  We are kept as treasures.  We do wait for one man, and one man only.  But singlehood is a beautiful productive season of womanhood.  We are not half-persons.  We are not broken.  We are not waiting for life to begin.  Paul even called this time a "better" than married life.  (1 Cor. 7).  It's to be embraced.  Prince Charming might not be around the corner.  Who knows what God has in store for your life.  Even those of us who are certain we are called to be wives someday, have no idea when "someday" is.  What if He has work for you to do as a single until you are 35?  Should this cause anxiety?  Not at all.  He purposes and plans.  We faithfully obey.

  We are to do our man good all our days. (Proverbs 31:12).  It's possible.  We are not to pine for him, worry over his existence, or hunt him down.  Our duty is to do him good.  Praying for him would be a good start.


 

Quote of the Day

 "He does not need to transplant us into a different field, but right where we are, with just the circumstances that surround us, He makes His sun to shine and His dew to fall upon us, and transforms the very thing that were before our greatest hindrances, into the chiefest and most blessed means of our growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle Him. No dwarfing of your growth in years that are past, no apparent dryness of your inward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in any of your past development, can in the least mar the perfect work that He will accomplish, if you will only put yourselves absolutely into His hands, and let Him have His own way with you."

(Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Strength for Daily Needs p. 209)

A Consecrated Heart

Spiritual Lessons

What has a Consecrated Heart to Fear?

Just recently my brothers and my two dearest friends went on a two week car trip.  During some of the long hours of driving we had some great discussions.  One of them was on our insecurities.  It revealed to me how everyone has secret fears...even the most seemingly confident people.  The introverts, extroverts, women, men... we all have them.  

The past year I have been forced to face many fears.  Some of them I've had since I can remember.  Others are only recently recognized.   

 Sometimes my health dictate my emotions.  And even when I know it is...I can't seem to fight it.    This past year I've struggled with depression.  Just as hard as the lows, are the "highs".  I have had evenings that feel like an epic ending...the future is just around the corner.  I'm in "happily ever after" and all my dreams must be coming.  They will happen.  And the next morning I wake up unsure if God really finds me a good daughter.  Nothing is guaranteed; why was I so sure before?  I feel dirty and sinful, all past godliness is behind me and I am digressing.  I'm condemned.  I'm a complainer.  I'm a disappointment to those I love.  I'm convinced I'm ugly.  My body physically struggles...I am sick, I put on weight, even though I'm allowed little food.  I feel unlovely, and therefore unlovable.  My will to live ebb and flows.  Which makes me feel guilty.  I am extreme.  I either endlessly self examine, or throw caution to the wind.  

Some of my fears are related to relationships. Sometimes I don't want to get too close to people because I have this unreasonable fear that as soon as my heart attaches, Jesus will require of me to cut them away.  It has happened before.  For some relationships it would be easier to "detach" than to vigorously work and maintain.  I find autonomy refreshing and easier, and escape tempting.  Other relationships require a great amount of courage to face.  I fear them; but God has specifically put them in my life.  

These are my most recent fears.  And I only share them because I desire to share with you what Jesus has been showing me.

"What has a consecrated life to do with being afraid?"  Francis Havergal 

I stared at that question a long time.  I realized all my journal entries lately have been filled with fears.  Untitled, but definitely fears.  

Am I consecrated?  Who consecrates me?  What does consecrate mean?  Consecrate means to be made and declared holy and separate.  God consecrated me when I became His child.  I am consecrated.  If I am His, and I am willingly His vessel, then why am I afraid?  My peace and security and standing does not depend on the fervor of my devotion.  It has nothing to do with how healthy I am or what I look like.  It is not based on my crosses, my crucified life, or my state of relationships.  It has nothing to do with how I feel.  

What if He asked of me to continue on "broken" and sick?  Then I can be assured that it is His good pleasure, that it is for my benefit, that He is being a good Father, and will provide the strength.  Why?  If I am consecrated to Him, than I am His responsibility.  And He is either a good, all knowing God who loves me and has separated me to this "cross" for a purpose; Or, He is a merciless tyrant who decides random cruelty on His consecrated children.  

The same love that grants my desires, denies the ones that He knows will hurt or hinder me.  He understands every peculiar and unreasonable fear, my hopes and dreams, my strength and weaknesses.  I cannot cringe from pain more than He loathes to see me hurt.  But He has allowed it, for a greater good.  Why?  Because He is either a good Father, who knows what He is doing and proves His love by not sparing me beneficiary pain.  He trusts me with a weighty cross.  Or, He has consecrated me to an unprofitable and lonely path and enjoys allowing pain without reason.  

Health is a privilege.  Not a guaranteed necessity.  If I am His, and He is my infallible master, it is not my responsibility to worry about why I am sick, or if I will ever heal, or if it's an accidental evil.  I am His charge and He is responsible for my welfare.  My job is to be scrupulously obedient and give Him glory in my bonds.  Fearing them will bring Him very little glory.  What has a consecrated heart to fear?  

Why would He allow my heart to attach only to rip it apart later?  Why does He allow heartstrings and then tell me "no"?  Am I at fault?  Can a heart be helped when it comes to dreams and hopes?  A hope seems to be an involuntary act, not a premeditated one.  And yet He would only deny that which would be evil.  I fear pain. But, when I think of the cost of consecration I have to smile.  Would it be hard to let go?  Yes.  Would it hurt?  Yes.  Would I have His strength to obey?  Yes.  Would I heal?  Yes.  Would I ever regret obeying.  Never.  The unconsecrated hearts have no similar hope.  They are made to let go.  They hurt.  Their dreams are dashed.  But they rely on their strength.  They often do not heal.  

There is no fear in real love.  I am a consecrated heart.  I am separated to a jealous, strict, loving, all- knowing God who loves me more than I can comprehend.  I can relish the fact that I am His.  How freeing!  I will end with this short snippet from my diary:

"Take over this consecrated heart Father.  Man this little vessel.  It's sea tossed and uncertain of it's destination.  Rule my heart with ferocious tyranny.  Here I am -- laid bare.  What has a consecrated heart to fear?"      

Free Ways to Health

Health/Beauty 

Free Ways to Health 

Most everyone who knows me, knows that I enjoy studying, pursuing, researching, practicing, and even lecturing on the subject of health.  In the past year I've talked to many people who desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but bemoan the fact that being healthy is not only hard, but expensive.

I thought I would share a few inexpensive (not-so-tedious) ways toward a healthier lifestyle.  These are things I implement in my habits and find them helpful, if not essential.

Exercise

Habitual exercise is not only helpful with maintaining a healthy weight, but it is an overall boost to your day.  Walking, stretching, sit ups are all free ways to health!

Drinking more water

How much water do we really need?  Water is an essential compoent to our makeup.  It makes up approximatly 60 % of our body weight. The Institute of Medicine dtermined an adaquate intake for men is roughly 13 cups.  For woman about 9 cups daily.  With additional exercise you will want to drink more water.  Twelve oz. for every thirty minutes according to some.  Some excellent ways to drink enough water for those of us who find it challenging are:

-- Drink two cups of water with every meal
-- Keeping a water container with you when you're in town
-- Adding essential oils or drinking sparkling water with meals  

Substituting White Sugar

White processed sugar is not only "not good for you", but it's also really bad for you.  For a more detailed post please read Sugar. Some natural substitutes for sugar would be:  Raw honey, maple syrup, Rapadura, Stevia, date sugar, blackstrap molasses, malted grain syrups, sorghum syrups, and naturally sweetened jam.


Eliminating Refined Starches 

I couldn't stress enough how essential this is to one's overall health. 
Refined carbohydrates in the gut can stimulate an overgrowth of candida albicans. Candida is a natural fungi that breaks down “dead” foods. With a diet that includes an over-consumption of dead foods, (like sugar and refined carbohydrates), candida multiply uncontrollably. Heavily yeasted foods can also encourage an unhealthy multiplication of candida. The yeasts will actually change form, attach and grow into the intestine, causing holes where undigested foods and toxins can enter the bloodstream. These toxins also produce candida and trigger allergic reactions.  For more on this topic please read my post: Is a Gluten-Free Diet Healthy?

Eliminating Bad Oils

Today, many health experts say that reducing fats in the diet is essential for losing weight. It is true that fats have more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates.

But it is carbohydrates such as sugar and starches that create the most weight gain. Though Fats have more calories than starches, fats satisfy hunger four to five times as much as carbohydrates. Fats are essential to our health. Fats are our storage of energy. They help protein do it's job and also start chemical reactions that contribute to our immunity, reproduction and our metabolism.  Interestingly, fats help the body to absorb fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. Our brains cannot work without fat. Obesity could be curbed easily by cutting back on grains, pastries, starches and sugar which, if not burned right away, store up as weight. Good Fats are not the culprit.  For more on fats and oils please read my post:  Healthy Fats?

Writing

Express your way to health! I've realized this fact in my own health journey -- my mental state actually does play a huge part in the success (or lack thereof) in my health.  How I view myself or my family-life status, or circumstances, really is important.  When I am able to sit and "observe" these things through writing, I find a peace and security.  An actual therapy.  Once while experiencing awful pain I wrote a poem.  I found real physical relief while writing.  My emotions, once analyzed and expressed, made my pain easier to endure and from then on I began the habit of expression.  It has benefited me throughout my entire health journey.

Good Sleep

Going to bed at a decent hour and getting up early has been a life saver for me at times.  Sleep needs vary with age and health, but the recommended average is 7 hours a night.  For more info you can go to the Sleep Foundation's website.  Yep, there's such a thing!  sleepfoundation.org


Ideas 


DIY Body Wash Recipe 



















Visit Simply Real & Raw!



Whole New Mom's Healthy Hairspray



Happy Food Healthy Life




DoTerra's Healthy Spritzer

Quote of the Day

"Interpose no barrier to His mighty life-giving power, working in you all the good pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly to His sweet control. Put your growing into His hands as completely as you have put all your other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He will. Do not concern yourself about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always. Accept each moment's dispensation as it comes to you from His dear hands, as being the needed sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say a continual 'yes' to your Father's will."

Hannah Whitall Smith (Daily Strength for Daily Needs p. 169)

Worn Out Love

Spiritual Lessons/ Political & World Issues  

Guest writer Chris Hutto from Voices of Dissidence shares an amazing thought on "worn out love".  Hope it is as big of a blessing to you as it was to me.

Worn Out Love 

Love is a worn out word.

Everyone, sinner and saint, knows that we are supposed to love one another. Everyone desires to be loved and everyone attempts to express their love to others, no matter how warped or flawed their presentation. The world teaches an ideology of lust, tolerance and irresponsibility and masks it with words like love, understanding and freedom. God is love but lust is a corruption of love. God understands every trial and temptation we endure but He has no tolerance for sin and wickedness. 

God is a God of freewill but He must hold us accountable to the wrongs we have done.

Love and peace have been hijacked by our society and lauded as the standard of liberalism. Our culture teaches a love without God. But a love without God is no love at all. It becomes man’s own self-righteousness. This love is as filthy rags in the sight of God.

We have let the world define love for us. Their perversion of this godly attribute has become main stream by the media we allow into our homes. Hollywood films are saturated with this sugar coated lust. The book stores and libraries are overflowing with books that glorify what God detests. And the Christian mind is meditating on this perversion until he begins to interpret the Scriptures the same way. The Christian’s mind must be renewed and transformed.

Many children’s books teach that you are only accepted and loved if you are able to out perform others. Secret love affairs are presented as romantic and exciting. The main characters in films capture their audience’s admiration by their appearance. Love is only given when something else can be gotten in return. Is this the love of the Bible?

Love has become cheap and overused. 
The world has stolen and warped who our God is and we just stand by and let them. We let them every time we welcome a filthy movie into our home. Every time we apologize for the wrath and judgment of God. Every time we refuse to show our neighbor real love. Every time we become ashamed at sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a sinner. Every time we dwell on an evil thought. Every time we refuse to tear down an idol in our heart.

When we are public witnesses for Him we are accused of being hateful. That is because they don’t understand true love. How could they? They have never accepted the one and only love, Jesus. They call us hateful because they don’t understand that hate isn’t the opposite of love. Jesus said that we are to love God and love our neighbor as our-self. When He was challenged at who that neighbor was, He responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Anyone we pass by with a need is our neighbor. The Samaritan that helped the Jew about to die was the perfect example of love. His love was proven by action. That is why hate isn’t the opposite of love but apathy is. Apathy is the priest and Levite that saw the need and passed by. That is our world today. A world of self-love. The priest and Levite no doubt thought that they were doing the right thing in passing by. They probably thought, “I don’t know that man. He’s no concern of mine.” Maybe they thought, “That man isn’t MY ministry.” or “I won’t be able to perform my duties if I stop and help.”

Real love actively searches for those in need. It doesn’t wait for a need to arise because it already knows that there are needs on every side. Love came into this earth in human form to SEEK and save the lost.

The world says that we are hateful for having a righteous standard and for following the moral standard set in place by the Creator of the universe. They tell us that we must be tolerant of sin and accept it as who they are. But this isn’t love at all. Love warns of coming judgment. Every sin WILL be judged one day and for us not to tell the lost of this fact is a sin; the sin of apathy. People may become defensive when faced with their sin but we must be loving and obey God anyway. He does the work of drawing and saving. All we do is present the unadulterated truth of God in love.

So what does love look like?

All we have to do is look at His Word. We don’t have to learn what love really is by the culture around us. We have the answer already. Stop borrowing the definition from the heathens.

1 Corinthians 13 tell us what love really is. I know that it is long but it is worth reading.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And 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.

And 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.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity 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.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When 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.

For 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.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

I have a question for you Christian. Is this the love that you have for others? Is this what you gained at the moment of salvation? If not, why not? A way to see if this is the love you have is to take a closer look at verses 4-7. But instead of reading charity, substitute your name in there instead. So for me I would read, “Chris suffereth long, and is kind; Chris envieth not, ect…”  Now you do it.

“_______ suffereth long, and is kind; _______ envieth not; _______ vaunteth not him/herself, _______ is not puffed up,

_______ doth not behave him/herself unseemly, _______ seeketh not his/her own, _______ is not easily provoked, _______ thinketh no evil;

_______ rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

_______ beareth all things, _______ believeth all things, _______ hopeth all things, _______ endureth all things.”

So is that true of you? Is that true of me? Did is sound laughable to you? Does it sound like a lie or over-exaggeration? If so, why? If God is love and if we have God dwelling in us as Believers, than why don’t we have His love flowing out of us? Why have we covered up the beauty of God’s character and smothered it with a faulty imitation. That’s what the lost do because they are separated from our Father. Why should we act and live like that world, denying the very person that gave us life?

Love has been robbed of it’s beauty.

It is about time that we show the world God’s love. This starts at home with your closest neighbor and extends to the uttermost parts of the world. Lets focus on the ones that God has already brought into our lives. If you can’t love God, who has given us love and grace and mercy beyond our comprehension, than you won’t be able to love your family. And if you can’t love your family, who you have grown up with, you won’t be able to love the stranger that reviles you because of Christ.

We need to be honest with God about the human love we try and manufacture in our lives. Ask Him to love others through you. It is possible. We can do ALL things THROUGH Christ. Claim the love that He has bestowed upon you and throw off the bands of the perverted, worn out love of the world.